Influx of foreigners posing threat to regional identity

TEZPUR, January 21: The Northeastern region in general and Assam in particular will soon see loss of its identity if immediate steps are not taken by the Government to stop the large-scale infiltration by Bangladeshis which has assumed alarming proportions in the State, highly placed official sources said. Talking to The Assam Tribune here, the sources said unless immediate steps are taken and the entire border with Bangladesh are not sealed, the problem of infiltration may compound further. The seven sisters today has become a dumping ground of infiltrators, the sources added. It may be mentioned that Assam shares a boundary of 269 kilometers with Bangladesh and the border area are mostly open land, hilly terrain, forests and rivers. The end result is a continuous flow of Bangladeshi migrants first to the border districts of Assam before spreading out to the other parts of the State. With an estimated 1.5 crore Bangladeshi nationals still at large in India the sincerity of the Border Security Forces (BSF) patrolling the border raise a question mark. Sources said that the border districts of Assam like Dhubri, Cachar and Karimganj had registered a high growth in population in comparision to other districts of Assam and added that out of the total number of 3,02,554 inquiries initiated till May 1999, only 31,264 were referred to the IMDT tribunals and the tribunals have so far detected 9,625 people as illegal migrants. Tripura, the tiny woodland of the Northeastern region with an international border of 839 kilometers with Bangladesh is another State which is bearing the heat of the Bangladeshis and the population growth rate has registered an upward trend in comparison to all India growth rate of population (1981-91). With common language, culture and special affinity, prosecution of minorities in Bangladesh etc are the factors which induce the Bangladeshis to infiltrate into Tripura in search of better prospects. But for Meghalaya, apart from the Bangladeshi menace the serious problem is the infiltration of the Nepali nationals. Taking advantage of the provisions of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the Governments of India and Nepal in 1950, the Nepali nationals from Nepal have been entering and staying in different parts of the region. Besides that Government of India withdrawing the Foreigners (Restricted Area) Order, 1963 has permitted the entry of the Nepalese anywhere in India. With the existing Chakma, Hajong and Tibetan refugees already posing threat to the economy of Arunachal Pradesh and to the identity of the people of the land of rising sun, the infiltration by Nepali and Bangladeshi nationals into Arunachal Pradesh has compounded the situation. Mukut Mithi, Chief Minister, Arunachal Pradesh, at a press meet, admitted that large-scale infiltration of Bangladeshi Muslims was taking place in the State and added that there have been reports of huge influx of Bangladeshi nationals in the form of low paid labourers. He said that many of them have been managing fake Permanent Resident Certificates from Assam to become voters and adds that local Arunachal politicians were helping these refugees to enter the electoral arena by enlisting them in the electoral rolls to make them a vote bank. However, a senior official of Arunachal Pradesh Government told this correspondent that the provisions of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, under which the State is within the purview of the Inner Line Permit system has a very remote chances for the Bangladeshi refugees to enter the State to occupy jobs both in the Government and Public Sector. Among the other Northeastern States, Mizoram, the most literate State in India, too has been suffering from the massive problem of infiltration both from Bangladesh and Myanmar with whom the State shares an international border of 714 kilometers and the ratio of Bangladesh and Myanmar stands at 55:45. Meanwhile, whatever may be the situation and the Government policy but the Apex court has came down heavily on the issue and has directed all the State Governments to the Northeastern region to submit their status reports on the illegal migration to find a lasting solution to this perennial problem recently. Of late the Assam Government too has decided to set up at least 28 police camps along the Indo-Bangla border in order to stop the influx of the insurgent groups as well as illegal infiltrators.