Dr.
N. Manoharan, Senior Fellow, VIF
Among other things, one of the major aspects
that have come out of the recent communal violence in Bodo areas of Assam is
illegal migration. According to the Group of Ministers Report on National
Security, illegal migration
has generated a host of destabilizing
political, social, economic, ethnic and communal tensions. Politically, the
Bangladeshi migrants are in a position to influence the results of the
elections in a large number of constituencies in the North East (about 32% of
the constituencies in Assam). Economically, increased pressure on land,
resulting in depletion of forest wealth, undercutting of wages of unskilled
jobs, forcible occupation of Government land by the migrants and a host of
other such issues, generate a ripple effect in the entire North East. 1
Illegal migration mainly takes place in the
eastern and north-eastern parts of the country from neighbouring Bangladesh.
Bangladeshis have been moving out of their
country due to economic, political and social reasons. There is a serious
crisis of ‘lebensraum’ (living space) in Bangladesh due to alarming population
growth rate without proportionate availability of land. This is going to worsen
further in the future with the impact of climate change and natural disasters.
As per 2011 estimates, the population density of Bangladesh is 964 per sq km,
one of the highest in the world. Only Singapore and small city-states like
Bahrain or the Vatican have higher figures.2 And, this is expected to increase
further in the coming years.
As observed by the Group of Ministers Report,
illegal immigration from Bangladesh has led to demographic upheaval and
generated serious communal, political, social and economic tensions and
conflicts in several areas of the northeast of India. The most affected states
are West Bengal, Assam, Megalaya, Nagaland, Bihar, and Tripura, although
migrants “have spread to far off states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Rajasthan and Delhi.” 3 Although the exact figure is not
known, it is estimated that there are about 15-20 million Bangladeshis staying
illegally in India. 4 The illegal migration of Bangladeshis
in fact triggered the agitation in Assam by All Assam Students Union (AASU) in
1979-85. Despite the Assam Accord of 1985 5,
the issue remains unresolved to this day and the “silent demographic invasion”
persists. Due to vote-bank politics, the motivation to block illegal migrants
from Bangladesh is absent. The gravity and scope of threats arising out of
illegal migration was highlighted by the then Governor of Assam, Lt Gen S. K.
Sinha in his report. Inter
alia, he points out,
This silent and invidious demographic
invasion of Assam may result in the loss of the geo-strategically vital
districts of Lower Assam. The influx of these illegal migrants is turning these
districts into a Muslim majority region. It will then only be a matter of time
when a demand for their merger with Bangladesh may be made. The rapid growth of
international Islamic fundamentalism may provide the driving force for this
demand. In this context, it is pertinent that Bangladesh has long discarded
secularism and has chosen to become an Islamic State. Loss of Lower Assam will
sever the entire land mass of the North East, from the rest of India and the
rich natural resources of that region will be lost to the Nation.6,
This applies to other states of the north-east,
especially those that share borders with Bangladesh like Tripura and Meghalaya.
In Tripura, the migrants have reduced the locals to a minority leading to rise
of insurgent groups like All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF). Bangladeshi migrants
have even spread to far off states in the region like Arunachal Pradesh, and
other parts of India and are seen as potential threat bearers. Some of these
migrants give shelter to Bangladeshi militant groups like HuJI (B) and are very
amenable to ISI activities. The Supreme Court, in its 114-page judgment, in
July 2005 observed that “The presence of such a large number of illegal
migrants from Bangladesh, which runs into millions, is in fact an ‘aggression’
on the State of Assam and has also contributed significantly in causing serious
‘internal disturbances’ in the shape of insurgency of alarming proportion
making the life of the people of Assam wholly insecure and the panic generated
thereby has created a fear psychosis.”7
Despite the enormity of the issue, the
response has been grossly inadequate. The entire stretch of 4,096-km
India-Bangladesh border is heavily populated, making monitoring extremely
difficult. Fencing has to a large extent been acting as an obstacle, but only
2,760.12 km have been fenced so far.8 The remaining stretch should be fenced
at the earliest, complimented with floodlights and hi-tech surveillance
devices. Most importantly, existing border has to be demarcated at the earliest
to make them free of ‘enclaves’ and ‘adverse positions’; much of activities
take place in these undemarcated areas. Although the Border Security Force
(BSF), in charge of policing the border, has been doing its job creditably, the
force levels are not sufficient to monitor the long and difficult border. Apart
from raising new battalions, it is important not to divert the BSF for duties
other than border management. They also have to be equipped legally to handle
situations at borders that include not only illegal migration, but also
smuggling, drug-trafficking, counterfeits, and militant movements.
Apart from creating physical hurdles, it is
also important to discourage illegal migrants through suitable deterrent
legislation. Till recently, illegal migrants in Assam were handled by Illegal
Migration (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983, that was held as
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2005 as it was “coming to the
advantage of such illegal migrants as any proceedings initiated against them
almost entirely ends in their favour, enables them to have a document having official
sanctity to the effect that they are not illegal migrants.”9 An exclusive refugee/migration law is
long pending. It is also vital to issue multi-purpose identity cards, at least
to curb further illegal migration. At some pockets of Indo-Bangladesh border,
issue of temporary work permits can be considered so that Bangladeshis can
come, work and go back. At the macro level, India should help in the overall
economic development and prosperity of Bangladesh so that its citizens need not
to go elsewhere for their livelihood.
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