The indigenous Gorias/Goriyas are a category of Assamese Muslims. Goriyas can trace their lineage back to the time of the 13th-century Ahom kings. Many came with Muslim armies and were captured in warfare.

Goriyas are described as hailing from Gaur, the ancient “Mahammadan capital” of Bengal.

Why were in News Recently : On February 6, 2020, a memo from the Minorities Welfare Department called for a “meeting regarding a socio-economic census of indigenous Muslims of Assam —Goria, Moria, Ujani, Deshi, Jola, Mainal, Syed etc”. After the meeting, it was decided that the word khilonjiya (indigenous) was contentious and would be replaced with the names of the four specific communities.

Indigenous Muslims in northern Assam’s Darrang district are now feeling the heat of an eviction drive that was ostensibly aimed at migrant Bengali Muslim settlers on the banks of the Brahmaputra.