Longtime Trump ally Lewandowski flirts with primary challenge against GOP governor
President Donald Trump’s first campaign manager and longtime ally, Corey Lewandowski, is weighing a primary challenge next year against Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire. “Everyone says being a Governor is the best job in Politics. I agree,” Lewandowski wrote in a social media post Thursday evening. Lewandowski’s news comes as Trump’s political team appears to turn up the heat on Ayotte over her resistance to the president’s push for mid-decade redistricting in order to protect the GOP’s fragile House majority in the 2026 midterm elections. There’s long been interest by some state Republican lawmakers in redistricting to make New Hampshire’s First Congressional District more GOP-friendly. Democrats have controlled both of the state’s U.S. House seats for nearly a decade. REDISTRICTING BATTLE: MISSOURI GOVERNOR SIGNS NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP INTO LAW And it’s possible the Republican-controlled New Hampshire legislature passes and sends to Ayotte’s desk a redistricting bill early next year. Ayotte’s predecessor, former Gov. Chris Sununu, three years ago, vetoed a new congressional map passed by Statehouse Republicans. ABBOTT CLEARS FINAL REDISTRICTING HURDLE AS TEXAS SENATE PASSES NEW TRUMP-APPROVED MAP The current governor has pushed back against the pressure campaign over redistricting. “I don’t think the timing is right for redistricting. And as I look at where we are and the things we should be focusing on, this is not something that I support doing at this point,” Ayotte told WMUR-TV last month. Ayotte’s team did not respond to a Fox News request for comment. A longtime New Hampshire-based Republican political strategist told Fox News “this comes down to whether or not the president is seriously interested in changing the outcome of this race. We’ll know a potential run would be serious if we hear from the White House that the president is driving this train.” “Otherwise I think this is more a case of firing a shot across the governor’s bow to get her attention in the hopes of getting her to actively consider signing legislation that would change the congressional districts across New Hampshire,” added the strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely. Two Republican-dominated states, Texas and Missouri, have already passed new congressional maps which combined could swing six House seats from blue to red. And nearly a half-dozen other right-leaning states are considering similar moves, after lobbying from the president and his team. It’s part of a broad effort by the GOP to pad its razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in next year’s midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. Trump and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House, when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections. The social media post by Lewandowski followed a report from Politico that he was considering a gubernatorial run next year. Republican sources confirmed the report to Fox News. The Windham, N.H., resident served as Trump’s campaign manager during the 2016 presidential primaries before being replaced during the general election campaign. But Lewandowski has remained close to Trump over the years, held senior adviser roles in the 2020 and 2024 campaigns, and keeps in regular contact with the president. Lewandowski, who for years served as a top outside adviser to then-South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, now serves as a senior adviser at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where Noem is Trump’s DHS secretary. This isn’t the first time Lewandowski has considered a statewide run in New Hampshire. In the 2020 election cycle, he flirted with a run for the Senate against Democratic incumbent Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. And in early 2021, he teased a possible 2022 run for governor months ahead of popular GOP Gov. Chris Sununu’s launch of his successful re-election bid. New Hampshire, along with Vermont, are the only two states in the nation to hold gubernatorial elections every two years. “I’ve known Corey a long time. If he’s passionate about something, then he’ll fight to the end to get it and I think he’s passionate about the people of New Hampshire and being governor is probably the best way he can serve them,” New Hampshire native Joshua Whitehouse, who worked with Lewandowski on the 2016 campaign and who’s a veteran of the first Trump administration, told Fox News Digital on Thursday. While Lewandowski would likely grab support from MAGA world if he runs for governor, his past political baggage could come back to hurt him. After facing allegations he made unwanted sexual advances towards a Republican donor’s wife at a 2021 charity event, he was pushed out of his job steering a top pro-Trump super PAC. Lewandowski later cut a deal with prosecutors in the case after he was charged with misdemeanor battery. Trump’s spokesperson said at the time that Lewandowski “will no longer be associated with Trump world.” And Noem’s spokesperson at the time said Lewandowski “will not be advising the governor in regard to the campaign or official office.” But he quickly worked his way back into both Trump and Noem’s political orbits. Lewandowski was also charged in 2016 after yanking the arm of a reporter at a Trump campaign event, but the charges were later dropped. The New Hampshire Democratic Party took aim at both Lewandowski and Ayotte in a statement. “Corey Lewandowski and Kelly Ayotte are two sides of the same extreme coin: Republican hardliners who have zero problem bending at the knee for Donald Trump and letting him steamroll New Hampshire families,” longtime state party Chair Ray Buckley claimed.
Sex offender called ‘poster boy’ for GOP’s transgender ideology concerns faces court hearing
Serial sex offender Richard Kenneth Cox appeared in Arlington, Virginia circuit court Friday facing several prurient charges, with a vulgar rap sheet going back to the George H.W. Bush administration. Cox has been described as the “poster boy” for Republican concerns about transgender ideology and permissive policies at schools and on sports teams as statewide electoral races in Virginia heat up. Cox, 58, was born male but recently began identifying as female, a change that allowed him access to women’s facilities at a Fairfax County recreation center despite his criminal record — sparking outrage from the commonwealth’s top GOP nominees. VIRGINIA AG FLAMES OPPONENT FOR SUPPORTING SEX-CHANGE ID LAW HE BLAMES FOR LATEST PEDOPHILE CASES An Arlington official told Fox News Digital on Friday that Cox appeared at 9:30 a.m. ET before Judge Daniel Tomas Lopez to face seven of at least 23 upcoming counts on the court’s docket. Cox is facing Lopez on two counts of possession of child pornography, a second-or-greater offense, two counts of indecent liberties with a child under 15, one count of indecent exposure, one count of contact with a child after conviction and one count of entering school property as a Tier III (the most serious level) sex offender. Four charges stem from October 2024, and two others from December of that year. More than a dozen other similar charges are scheduled to be heard Monday in Arlington, as well. VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICTS SUPPORT FOR TRANSGENDER STUDENTS’ RIGHTS IN GOVERNOR’S RACE SPOTLIGHT Two charges were lodged in connection with an Oct. 21, 2024, incident in which a victim at the girl’s locker room for Washington-Liberty High School’s pool witnessed Cox exposing himself. Two more charges were lodged on Oct. 30, 2024. In December, Cox racked up the remaining two charges in connection with an incident at a Barcroft, Virginia gym where he allegedly entered the women’s locker room and exposed himself to an adult and multiple children. After the incident at the school pool, Arlington Superintendent Francisco Duran sent a letter to parents saying Cox was not present during school hours and that the pool has a separate entrance than the school, according to ABC’s Washington affiliate. Duran said Cox was summarily banned from the pool, while adding later that “Arlington Public Schools will continue to foster an inclusive community for all, including members who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community.” BOYS BRANDED SEXUAL HARASSERS FOR COMPLAINTS ABOUT TRANS CLASSMATE USING THEIR LOCKER ROOM GO TO FEDERAL COURT The sentiment of that last remark has brought Cox to the forefront of political battles in Virginia in this year’s election. Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican running for re-election against former Del. Jerrauld “Jay” Jones, D-Norfolk, blamed his opponent for helping create the conditions in which Cox could victimize the community. Miyares pointed Wednesday to Jones’ support for a bill then-Gov. Ralph Northam signed into law that allows people to choose which sex appears on their driver’s license regardless of biology. “Jay Jones is complicit, allowing the scarring of the countless victims who watched as Richard Cox repeatedly exposed himself under the protection of a bill he voted for,” Miyares said. VIRGINIA BOYS NOTCH COURT WIN AFTER BEING LABELED ‘SEXUAL HARASSERS’ OVER TRANSGENDER LOCKER ROOM COMPLAINT Jones did not respond to a request for comment at the time, and Miyares also hammered Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano for declining to prosecute Cox for similar alleged transgressions to those in neighboring Arlington. Cox also reportedly defended himself in one such exposure case in a women’s locker room, by saying that “transgender people identify as belonging to a gender which may not conform to the sex they were assigned at birth.” “For a transgender person to be observed in a locker room nude is no proof that this also was anything more than platonic,” Cox said, according to ABC Washington. “Nudity among the ancients was not always segregated by gender either,” Cox wrote in a court document that spoke about “social nudity” in early Greek culture. PARENTS: VIRGINIA BOYS SUSPENDED AFTER QUESTIONING TRANSGENDER LOCKER ROOM POLICY WERE IGNORED BY SCHOOL Fairfax officials said at the time that one indecent exposure charge was dropped after an alleged victim did not appear in court. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, running for governor against former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, also called out what she called her opponent’s “word salad” when pressed on transgender issues in Virginia. When asked by Roanoke’s ABC affiliate about transgender women in girls’ spaces, Spanberger said that Virginia “until very recently we have had a process in place where, on an individual, one by one basis, schools, principals, parents, coaches were making decisions based on fairness, competitiveness and safety, where a child might be able or might not be able to play in a particular sport.” As for Cox, he reportedly told a judge in 1995 that he had been sexually abused by an older cousin as a child, and was “aware that I suffer compulsions to expose myself in public places.” Cox reportedly told the judge he tried to have himself castrated because of such urges but ultimately relented.
‘Squad’ Dem launches comeback House bid after anti-Israel views torpedoed campaign: ‘We need a fighter’
Former Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., announced on Friday that she is mounting a comeback congressional bid more than a year after losing her Democratic primary to a more moderate challenger. “St. Louis deserves a leader who is built different,” Bush announced in a video shared on social media. “That’s why I’m running to represent Missouri’s 1st District in Congress. We need a fighter who will lower costs, protect our communities, and make life fairer. I’ll be that fighter.” The “Squad” member was ousted in the Democratic primary in Aug. 2024 by St. Louis County prosecutor Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Mo., who is a more moderate candidate and had the backing of pro-Israel groups that spent millions to unseat Bush. “I ran for Congress to change things for regular people,” Bush said in the campaign launch video. “I’m running again because St. Louis deserves leadership that doesn’t wait for permission, doesn’t answer to wealthy donors and doesn’t hide when things get tough.” SPECULATION SWIRLS AS AOC IS RUMORED TO HARBOR 2028 ASPIRATIONS: ‘SAVVY POLITICIAN’ Bush was first elected to Congress in Nov. 2020, quickly joining the ranks of the progressive “Squad,” including Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, who were elected in 2018. AOC STARS IN NEWSOM REDISTRICTING AD, URGING CALIFORNIANS TO ‘FIGHT’ TRUMP FOR DEMOCRACY The Missouri progressive was re-elected in 2022, but she became the second member of the “Squad” to lose her Democratic primary last year after Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., also lost to a more moderate pro-Israel Democrat. Like Bowman, Bush had emerged in Congress as a vocal critic of the United States’ ties to Israel, calling Israel’s response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack a “war crime” for “Israel’s collective punishment against Palestinians.” “All across America, we see it,” Bush said. “Our rights rolled back, our history being rewritten, our lives on the line. The stakes for our community here have never been higher. I’m running because our district deserves someone ten toes down. For our families, for our wallets, for our safety, for our democracy, and for our bright future. St. Louis is built different, so am I, and so are we.” Soon after President Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Bush teased a congressional run to POLITICO. “The Squad will keep fighting,” she told the outlet. “The numbers will be lower for the 119th Congress, but they will keep fighting for people who have the greatest need. They’re not going to change their priorities and what they believe. The number of people in Congress on the team will just be smaller. But they’ve never been silent. Anyone who underestimates our power is severely mistaken, because we aren’t going anywhere, and I will always be Squad. I’m not going far.” While the country shifted to the right in 2024, with Republicans securing control of the White House and Congress, the upcoming midterm elections will prove a litmus test for Trump’s sweeping second-term agenda. And Bush’s announcement comes as Republicans secured victories in their redistricting battles, picking up five additional Republican-leaning districts in Texas and one additional conservative-leaning congressional seat in Missouri. Gov. Mike Kehoe, R-Mo., signed Missouri’s new map into law on Sunday as California Democrats seek to level the playing field with their own redistricting efforts. Bell’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
Trump puts Hamas on notice with deadline to accept Gaza peace deal
President Donald Trump issued a blistering public warning to Hamas on Friday, saying the “ruthless” terrorist group will be “hunted down, and killed” unless they release the remaining Israeli hostages and reach an agreement by Sunday evening. “They will be given one last chance,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “THIS DEAL ALSO SPARES THE LIVES OF ALL REMAINING HAMAS FIGHTERS!” “We will have PEACE in the Middle East one way or the other. The violence and bloodshed will stop,” Trump added. “RELEASE THE HOSTAGES, ALL OF THEM, INCLUDING THE BODIES OF THOSE THAT ARE DEAD, NOW! An Agreement must be reached with Hamas by Sunday Evening at SIX (6) P.M., Washington, D.C. time.” Trump said the United States, along with Israel and several wealthy Middle Eastern nations, have already agreed to a peace proposal. Failure to comply, he warned, would result in unprecedented military action against Hamas. TRUMP’S PEACE DEAL COULD END THE WAR IN GAZA OR NETANYAHU’S CAREER “Great, powerful, and very rich Nations of the Middle East, and the surrounding areas beyond, together with the United States of America, have agreed, with Israel signing on, to PEACE, after 3000 years, in the Middle East,” Trump wrote. “Every Country has signed on! If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas.” TRUMP DELIVERS ULTIMATUM TO HAMAS: ACCEPT DEAL AND RELEASE HOSTAGES OR PAY THE CONSEQUENCES “As retribution for the October 7th attack on civilization, more than 25,000 Hamas ‘soldiers’ have already been killed,” Trump continued. “Most of the rest are surrounded and MILITARILY TRAPPED, just waiting for me to give the word, ‘GO,’ for their lives to be quickly extinguished.” Palestinians considered innocent were also advised to immediately move out of areas at risk of “potentially great future death.” Trump said those who relocate would be cared for by relief efforts. TREY YINGST: HAMAS MUST ACCEPT TRUMP PEACE PLAN TO END WAR ONCE AND FOR ALL Last week, Trump unveiled a 20-point peace plan aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict. If accepted, Israel could secure the return of all 46 remaining hostages. The plan calls for an end to Israel’s military operations, the disarmament of Hamas and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip under a Palestinian governing body overseen by an international coalition led by the United States. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s acceptance of Trump’s plan could ultimately determine whether his government collapses or finds renewed support. Netanyahu’s party has become increasingly divided, with hard-right members threatening to topple his government over any concessions in the ongoing conflict with Hamas. Netanyahu previously said during a joint press conference with Trump last week that Israel “will finish the job by itself” if Hamas continues to threaten the region. Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
Venezuela slams presence of US F-35 fighter planes spotted off coast
Venezuelan government calls on US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to cease ‘thrill-seeking and warmongering posture’. Published On 3 Oct 20253 Oct 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Venezuela’s government has blasted an “illegal incursion” near its borders by United States warplanes and accused the US of “military harassment” and threatening the “security of the nation”. Venezuelan Defence Minister General Vladimir Padrino said on Thursday that at least five F-35 fighter jets had been detected, in what he describes as a threat that “US imperialism has dared to bring close to the Venezuelan coast”. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “We’re watching them, I want you to know. And I want you to know that this doesn’t intimidate us. It doesn’t intimidate the people of Venezuela,” Padrino said, speaking from an airbase, according to the Agencia Venezuela news outlet. “The presence of these planes flying close to our Caribbean Sea is a vulgarity, a provocation, a threat to the security of the nation,” Padrino said. “I denounce before the world the military harassment, the military threat by the US government against the people of Venezuela, who want peace, work and happiness,” he said. The presence of the US combat planes was detected by the country’s air defences, air traffic control systems at Maiquetia international airport, which serves the capital Caracas, as well as a commercial airliner, Venezuelan authorities said. In a joint statement, Venezuela’s foreign and defence ministries said the US combat planes were detected 75km (46.6 miles) “from our shores”. If the planes came no closer than the distance mentioned by Venezuelan authorities, then they would not have violated the country’s airspace, which extends about 12 nautical miles, or 22km, off the coast. Advertisement Still, the ministries accused the US of flouting international law and jeopardising civil aviation in the Caribbean Sea. Venezuela “urges US Secretary of War Peter Hegseth to immediately cease his reckless, thrill-seeking and warmongering posture”, which is disturbing the peace of the Caribbean, the statement added. Venezuela denuncia incursión ilegal de aviones de combate de EEUU en sus costas: «Provocación que amenaza la soberanía nacional» (+Comunicado)https://t.co/GnR4wLRDzz — Agencia Venezuela News (@AgenciaVNews) October 2, 2025 The Pentagon has yet to respond to requests for comment from media organisations. US media reported earlier on Thursday that President Donald Trump has notified Congress that the US is now engaged in “non-international armed conflict” against drug cartels, members of which would now be considered “unlawful combatants”. Trump’s move to a more formal war footing follows on from the US administration’s rebranding of Latin American drug cartels as “narco-terrorists” who are seeking to destabilise the US by trafficking illegal drugs across US borders. The move follows weeks of tension with Venezuela after Trump dispatched US F-35 stealth fighter jets to Puerto Rico, a US territory in the Caribbean, as part of the biggest military deployment in Latin America in decades and which has already seen air attacks on boats off the Venezuelan coast that the US president alleged were involved in drug trafficking. So far, 14 people have been killed in the US attacks off Venezuela that officials in Caracas and several independent experts have described as extrajudicial killings. Eight US warships and a nuclear submarine have also been deployed to the region as part of Trump’s so-called operation to combat drug trafficking, but which Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro says is a covert bid to bring about regime change in his country. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,317
Here are the key events on day 1,317 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Published On 3 Oct 20253 Oct 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Here is how things stand on Friday, October 3, 2025: Fighting Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Ukraine it was playing a dangerous game by striking near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and suggested Moscow could retaliate against nuclear plants controlled by Ukraine. The plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power facility, has been cut off from external power sources for more than a week and is being cooled by emergency diesel generators, which were not designed for lengthy operations. As both Ukraine and Russia blame each other for cutting off the external power at Zaporizhzhia and shelling the area, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia deliberately cut the external power as it was preparing to connect the station to its own grid. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said power had been fully restored in two areas of the border Sumy region hit by overnight Russian attacks. Repairs to power were also proceeding in the neighbouring Chernihiv region, where more than 300,000 consumers had been left without electricity after Russian strikes on Wednesday. The Trump administration’s desire to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine may not be viable because current inventories are committed to the United States Navy and other uses, a US official and three sources have told the Reuters news agency. President Putin warned any decision by the US to supply the missiles to Ukraine would trigger a major new escalation with Washington, but would not change the situation on the battlefield. Ukraine and Russia have exchanged 185 service personnel and 20 civilians in the latest prisoner swap. Regional security Advertisement Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, southern Russia, Putin said Moscow would carry out a nuclear test if another nuclear power did so after saying that he had seen signs a country, which he did not name, was preparing to conduct tests. Putin repeated his offer to the US of voluntarily rolling over an agreement capping the number of nuclear warheads in Russia’s arsenal when a key arms control treaty expires next year, if Washington agrees to do the same. Putin said Moscow never had any issues with Sweden or Finland and that their decision to join the NATO military alliance was therefore “stupid”. France’s detention of a tanker vessel suspected of operating for Russia’s “shadow fleet” is part of a new European strategy to block revenue funding Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine, President Emmanuel Macron said. The Kremlin said France’s boarding of the tanker was “hysteria” that could create problems for global energy transportation routes, while Putin condemned it as an act of piracy. Putin said the global economy would suffer without Russian oil, warning that prices would jump to more than $100 per barrel if its supplies were cut off. Politics and diplomacy German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he saw great agreement among European leaders on supporting the use of frozen Russian assets to provide loans for Ukraine – to be repaid eventually using war reparations from Moscow – adding that he expects a concrete decision on the matter within three weeks. Russia said the European Union’s idea was “delusional” and would prompt it to retaliate very harshly. Maxim Kruglov, the deputy leader of Russia’s liberal Yabloko party, which opposes the war in Ukraine, has been charged with spreading lies about the Russian army and could face up to 10 years in jail if found guilty. Kruglov’s lawyer said her client had been charged over two posts he had made on the Telegram messaging app: One post referred to UN data about the number of people killed in the port city of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine, which Russia took control of in May 2022, and another to events in Bucha, a town north of Kyiv, in March 2022. Voters in the Czech Republic are likely to oust their centre-right government in an election on Friday and Saturday, with polls favouring populist billionaire Andrej Babis to return to power on pledges to raise wages and lift growth while reducing aid for Ukraine. Adblock test (Why?)
‘Zubeen was for all’: Singer’s death unites India’s religiously torn Assam
Barpeta/Guwahati, Assam, India – For more than 15 years, truck driver Imam Hussain found solace in singer Zubeen Garg’s voice and music as he drove his vehicle on quiet and lonely nights along the Himalayan hills and plains of the northeastern Indian state of Assam. It was a period in which Bengali-speaking Muslims – the community 42-year-old Hussein belongs to – increasingly came under attack in Assam. They’ve been accused of being outsiders – even infiltrators – in their own home. Amid soaring Hindu-Muslim tensions, the music of Garg – a Hindu – served as a rare unifier. “His music was my inner peace,” said Hussain. Hussain says Garg’s songs gave him inner peace amid communal divide in Assam [Arshad Ahmed/Al Jazeera] On September 19, Garg died by drowning near Lazarus Island in Singapore, where he was scheduled to perform at the Northeast India Festival, an event that celebrates the art and culture of the Indian region. The sudden death of the 52-year-old artist, who enjoyed a cult-like status among millions of his fans in and outside Assam, triggered a massive outpouring of grief that further cemented his stature as a public figure whose appeal spanned divisions that have otherwise fractured the state. The singer’s wife, Garima Saikia Garg, issued a statement, saying her husband “suffered a seizure attack” while swimming in the sea. While Hussain was mourning Garg’s death, so was Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Hindu majoritarian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is accused by critics of fanning Hindu-Muslim divisions nationally and in Assam. Advertisement “He will be remembered for his rich contribution to music,” Modi said in a condolence message. “His renditions were very popular among people across all walks of life.” Thousands gather to have a last glimpse of singer Zubeen Garg in Guwahati, Assam [Zakir Hussain/Al Jazeera] Assam’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who belongs to Modi’s party, said the state “lost one of its favourite sons”. “Zubeen’s voice had an unmatched ability to energise people, and his music spoke directly to our minds and souls. He has left a void that will never be filled,” Sarma said. The Assam government declared four days of state mourning as Sarma flew to the capital, New Delhi, to receive Garg’s body when it returned from Singapore. A polarised backdrop Two days later, on September 21, tens of thousands of Garg’s fans gathered outside the main airport in Guwahati, Assam’s biggest city. They waited as state officials received Garg’s body after it landed. Then, they marched behind a convoy carrying the body to a stadium some 30 kilometres (19 miles) away for public viewing, singing some of his most famous songs in unison. Some held his posters, while others walked teary-eyed with candles in their hands. After four days of state mourning, Garg was cremated on September 23 with full state honours and a 21-gun salute. Those scenes of unity were a break from the religious and linguistic fractures that have deepened in Assam in recent years. Grieving fans gather for the last rites of singer Zubeen Garg in Guwahati, Assam [Zakir Hussain/Al Jazeera] The fault lines between the Indigenous Assamese-speaking and the mostly migrant Bengali-speaking communities in Assam aren’t new: They go back nearly two centuries, when the British brought large numbers of Bengali-speaking Hindus from Bengal to run the colonial bureaucracy, creating resentment among the Indigenous Assamese who feared the outsiders would take their jobs and occupy lands. A second wave of migration of Bengali-speaking Hindus and Muslims to Assam started in 1947 with India’s independence and the formation of Pakistan, which included the territory that in 1971 declared itself the independent nation of Bangladesh. Millions of people migrated from Bangladesh to Assam in these years, triggering backlash from the Indigenous Assamese, which often turned violent. Those ethnic and religious tensions continue to dominate Assam’s politics even today as suspicions over the identity and citizenship of mainly Bengali-speaking Muslims – pejoratively called “miya” – deepen, with thousands of them declared “Bangladeshi infiltrators” and many of them sent to detention camps or forced to cross over to Bangladesh by Indian security forces. Advertisement Garg was composing his music against this polarised backdrop, responding to the communal fissures with his verses and voice. On many occasions, the singer described himself as an atheist and a “social leftist” as he distanced himself from the state’s mainstream parties, the centrist Congress and the right-wing BJP. He was also a vocal critic of India’s deeply entrenched caste system. In an undated video now viral after his death, a person on stage is seen teasing Garg for not wearing the sacred thread worn by other Brahmins, who sit at the top of Hinduism’s complex caste hierarchy. Garg shot back, saying, “I am just a human. I have no caste, no religion, and no God.” In another instance, Garg in 2018 encouraged famous female Assamese Olympian, Hima Das, to consume beef in order to “gain strength” to compete in international and national sports events. Many Hindus belonging to privileged castes revere the cow, and its slaughter and consumption are banned in several Indian states. It is unclear whether Das accepted Garg’s advice. He was also at the forefront of a 2019 campaign against India’s controversial new citizenship law, which made religion a basis for expediting citizenship for immigrants from neighbouring nations, excluding Muslims. The law led to nationwide protests against Modi’s government, while the United Nations called it “fundamentally discriminatory” and urged a review. Assamese social media creator Dr Medusssa told Al Jazeera that as anti-Muslim hate permeated Assamese society, Garg’s public positions stood out, turning him into an emblem of Hindu-Muslim harmony. “It is precisely because of Zubeen’s persona of being inclusive, and how he represented marginalised communities through his songs, that his legacy is being claimed by all,” said Medusssa, who requested to be identified by her social media name. “He refused to belong to any particular community. He was for all.” For Akhil Ranjan Dutta, a political scientist at Gauhati University
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