Whether involved in criminal activities or looking for livelihood, illegal immigrants will soon be in the fight for a Greater Bangladesh
Illegal immigrants is the hot topic and has blown into a full blown political war. Over the years the agencies in India have painstakingly worked to try and control this problem, but the hypocrisy of the political parties and the lust to use them as vote banks has prevented any major action.
When one speaks about the migration from Bangladesh, it is not a human rights problem. It is a clear attempt to establish a Greater Bangladesh and ensure that the bordering areas are always on the boil.
The illegal immigrants work in two patterns. One group is involved in criminal activities, while the other group looks for livelihood. However, what the Intelligence says that is both groups are equally dangerous. The large number which goes about its livelihood are the ones who will be told to join the agitation for a Greater Bangladesh, which was a sinister plot hatched by the ISI and is now being executed along with China.
The problem of illegal immigration has now been debated for decades. The same opposition which is questioning the Centre’s move against this problem had once raised similar concerns.
The states bordering Bangladesh have faced this problem the most. The locals say that they are overwhelmed by the outsiders, who are taking away their jobs apart from changing the demographic pattern. This has also led to tensions over the years and has very often culminated into violence.
Several measures including taking up the issue with the Bangladesh government have not yielded results. The border mechanism has been tightened and many have been pushed back, but they only return.
Officials explain that it is the perks that the illegal immigrants get is what makes them come to India. Perks such as voting rights thanks to the backing of the political parties is one major incentive. Since they form a part of the vote bank, parties such as the TMC and Congress do not agree that they pose a security threat. In fact, the issue had gone so far that in 1992, the Assam chief minister, Hiteshwar Saikia even declared that there are no illegal immigrants in his state.
The numbers too are alarming and Home Ministry officials say that there are over 2 crore illegal immigrants in India and since the year 1992, the number has increased by 67%. Former official with the Research and Analysis Wing, Amar Bhushan tells MyNation that the problem is immense, but the pseudo secularists do not agree that these persons pose any security threat. There is a clear numerical disparity in the bordering states with Bangladesh and this is a sinister plot by Pakistan and China to infiltrate the illegal migrants and keep the region on the boil.
He further adds that several of these persons have been caught making bombs, distributing fake currency, aiding terror groups such as the Islamic State and also those in Kashmir. Bhushan says that over there it is clear that a larger majority would be content waiting, earning a livelihood and then join the big agitation for a Greater Bangladesh, a ploy hatched by the ISI in the late 1970s.
In Assam, the Muslim League government was accused by the Congress of encouraging illegal immigration of Bengali Muslims from Bangladesh. The chief minister Mohammed Saadulla was accused by Congress leader, Gopinath Bordoloi of altering the demographics of Assam by encouraging illegal immigration.
In the year 1935, elections were held in India and The Muslim League had formed a minority government as the Congress was unable to get a majority. However, two years later, The Muslim League Government fell, following which Bordoloi became the CM. But he had to resign after the British entered the World War II without taking the Congress into confidence.
When Bordoloi became the CM once again in 1946, he took up the matter with Jawaharlal Nehru, following which the Immigrants Expulsion from Assam Act of 1950 was legislated.
According to this act, the illegal immigrants from the then East Pakistan would be expelled, and an NRC would be prepared based on the Census of 1951.
However, the issue died down following Bordoloi’s death, only to remerge 20 years later in the 1970s when the Assam Students Union took up the matter.
Today, Mamata Banerjee has taken centre stage when it comes to opposing the NRC. She was the same one who had led a massive campaign against the Left for not addressing the issue regarding illegal immigration.
Accusing the Left of indulging in vote bank politics, Mamata had even sought to raise this issue in Parliament. Back in 2005, she had demanded that the matter be discussed in Parliament and even said that the illegal immigrants are part of the voters’ list in Bengal. She said that the state had done nothing about it.
The Speaker of the House back then, Late Somnath Chatterjee did not allow the discussion, following which she stormed into the well of the house. She even resigned as MP, but the same was rejected as it was not in the prescribed format.
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