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>In all his analyes, Mr. Sanghvi has not mentioned Assam or the other
Northeast states even once. The illegal immigration >problem is a major issue
in these states. He mentions Mumbai, West Bengal and even Delhi, but is totally
unaware of where >the actual problem lies. It is in Assam, Mr. Sanghvi. So,
please make it a point to visit the state, and see for yourself, and do
>brush up on your research.
Is Assam in India?
Sorry for asking the question,
because I don't see anybody from Assam writing in National Newsparers about the
illegel immigration problem. I remember vaguely the peopel of Assam had an
agitation demanding all non Assamese out of Assam, but I did not know that
illegel immigration from Bangladesh is also a problem there. I know it is a
problem in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities.
Hey assam, please let us know what
is your problem.
RB
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, December 31, 2005 7:54
PM
Subject: [Assam] Illegal Bangladeshis, is
it a myth?
Here is an article from the Hindustan Times on the Bangladeshi
migration.
The article made me so upset, I dashed off my comments in a
hurry.
My comments are below (don't know if they will publish
it though).
I would urges others to also write to the HT if possible.
_________________________________________________________
Making
a 'Menace' of Migrants
Counterpoint | Vir Sanghvi (Jan 1,
2006)
Do you know how many illegal Bangladeshi immigrants
there are in India? Are there 30 million of them? What about 20 million? Or is
the figure as low as 10 million?
I ask because the truth is that
nobody knows how many illegal Bangladeshi migrants have made India their home.
Every figure you read will be an approximation or — and this is more likely —
a simple guess. The 30-million figure, for instance, is usually quoted by
people who want to claim that the problem of migration has now veered
dangerously out of control. Because 30 million sounds more alarming than 10
million, it is this figure that will get quoted. But nobody knows that there
are, in fact, 10 million illegal immigrants (the 30 million figure is just
plain ridiculous) because no statistics exist.
At an intuitive level,
however, we do recognise that there are many illegal migrants in India. The
border between India and Bangladesh is porous and there is little that anyone
can do to check migration. Moreover, many people in the border villages do not
recognise that an international boundary exists. It is not uncommon for a man
to cycle from a Bangladeshi village to a town in India to buy something — and
for him to then cycle back home on the same day.
So, there are many
Bangladeshis in the border districts of West Bengal. Because there are few
cultural differences, they fit in easily with the local people. Many of these
Bangladeshis do then make their way to such cities as Calcutta or Delhi.
This by itself should not be a cause for much concern. We were all
part of the same country till 1947 and it is inevitable that people will keep
moving between the nations of South Asia, no matter how the international
boundaries are drawn.
But, we are repeatedly told, the "problem of
Bangladeshi migrants" is different. First of all, there are supposed to be too
many of them. Secondly, there is a danger that some of them will have
terrorist links. And finally, there is no way that India can sustain such a
huge burden on its resources. There are simply not enough jobs to go around.
If you think about it, none of this makes much sense. The figures, as
we have seen, are just concoctions. The terrorism stuff is nonsense. There is
very little evidence that Bangladeshis foment terrorism in India and no
evidence at all that the rag-pickers, sweepers and domestic servants who
constitute the bulk of the illegal migrant population have a terrorist agenda.
That leaves us with the not-enough-jobs-to-go-around argument. This
seems reasonable enough till you realise that nobody objects to immigration
from Nepal. In fact, we actually encourage Nepalis to come and seek employment
in India and have special laws in place that enable them to cross the border
without passports and to work without visas.
So, why are there enough
jobs for Nepalis and not enough jobs for Bangladeshis?
Not only is the
answer obvious but here's another fact: many of those who have left Bangladesh
and opted for India are Hindus who feel increasingly alienated because of the
Islam-isation of Bangladeshi society. But, do you ever hear of a drive against
illegal Hindu immigrants? On the contrary, such parties as the BJP have
invited Bangladeshi Hindus to seek shelter in India.
No doubt, there
are enough jobs to go around when it comes to Bengali Hindus.
But why
blame the BJP alone? The Congress is as responsible for creating the scare
about illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. In 1993, when Narasimha Rao was Prime
Minister, we made the mental shift from seeing Bangladesh as a source of cheap
labour to suddenly seeing it as a menacing country from which millions of
illegal immigrants would deprive happy Hindus of their jobs.
It was in
1993 that the government launched Operation Pushback which authorised the
police to pick up thousands of poor Bengali Muslims from all over Delhi and to
send them to the border. Bangladesh refused to accept these people — claiming
that they were not Bangladeshis at all — and many were stuck in the no-man's
land on the edge of the border before eventually sneaking back into India
after bribing soldiers and officials.
Operation Pushback — and its
equivalents in other cities — continues to this day even if the name has
changed. It is still the responsibility of the police to round up illegal
Bangladeshis and to send them back across the border. The Delhi Police, for
instance, has ten Task Forces whose primary function is to scour Delhi looking
for Bangladeshis to ship back to Dhaka. In other cities too — and the
Bangladeshi scare has now taken hold in Bombay — more and more policemen are
being pulled away from their normal duties ( i.e., the maintenance of law and
order) and being told to concentrate on looking for Bangladeshis.
In my
view, the police should have better things to do. But even if you disagree
with me and
believe that illegal immigration is a serious problem, I don't
think it is possible for anybody to support the manner in which alleged
Bangladeshis are being deported.
I have been reading a pamphlet
produced by the Citizen's Campaign for Preserving Democracy. Members of this
group studied the way in which the police rounded up Bangladeshis. And what
they found is truly disturbing.
First of all, many of the people being
deported are not even Bangladeshis. Under the Foreigners Act, the burden of
proof is on the accused and not on the police (you are guilty till proved
otherwise). So the only way for a Bengali Muslim to prove that he is an Indian
is to produce documentation. But few poor people in India possess any
documents at all. So, the police can pick up and deport anybody they like as
long as: a) he speaks Bengali, b) is a Muslim, and c) looks like he lacks the
resources to defend himself.
Secondly, the notion of due process does
not exist. All civilised countries constitute some kind of judicial body that
serves as a court of appeal and allows the man who is being deported a chance
to be heard.
In theory, India also allows for this kind of appeal.
According to the Foreigners Act, there should be a tribunal. And the Illegal
Migrants (DT) Act of 1983 has a provision for a tribunal.
But no tribunal
has been constituted in Delhi under the Foreigners' Act. And as for the
Illegal Migrants (DT) Act, well, that's not valid in Delhi.
In effect,
this means that the authorities can decide that anybody is an illegal
immigrant and can throw him out of the country. There is nothing a victim can
do by way of protest. There is no appeal at all.
Thirdly, because the
police are not very good at identifying illegal immigrants, they rely on a
network of local informers who point out the so-called Bangladeshis. Because
these informers are trusted implicitly by the police, they have complete power
over their communities. Anybody who does not keep them happy will be deported
unless he then pays off the local police. This is a system that lends itself
to injustice and corruption and, of course, these are exactly the consequences
that follow.
Fourthly, the Task Forces work on the basis of a quota.
In a manner reminiscent of the sterilisation quotas during the Emergency, each
Task Force has to identify 100 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants every day.
Obviously, the police cut corners in an effort to fill this quota — even if
this means deporting non-Bangladeshi Muslims.
And finally, there is a
complete violation of all international protocol. Diplomatic procedure
requires that if you are deporting nationals of another country, you inform
that country's embassy or high commission. But nobody bothers to inform the
Bangladeshi Mission.
What worries me the most about all this is that
we in the media have been happy to go along with the Bangladeshi migration
scare despite its plainly xenophobic and frankly communal nature. Perhaps this
is because the victims of the injustice — the poorest of the poor,
rag-pickers, slum-dwellers etc — do not constitute our readership or
viewership or impinge on our world.
But this is no longer about poor
people or even about Bangladeshis. It is about how we define ourselves as a
society. Are we to become a country that allows policemen to pick up anybody
they like and throw him out without any kind of due process? Or are we to be a
society of laws where everyone has the right to be heard and where justice is
freely dispensed?
How you answer those questions does, I think,
determine your response to the drive against Bangladeshi
migrants.
______________________________________________
And
my comments below sent to the Hindustan Times
Mr. Vir
Sanghvi's article on illegal migration of Bangladeshis is yet another attempt
to diffuse the menace to sheer nothingness. He claims there are 10 million of
these migrants (because 30 million cannot be backed up by statistics). How
does he then back up his 10 million figure. Maybe there are none,
Mr.Sanghvi!
In all his analyes, Mr. Sanghvi has not mentioned Assam or
the other Northeast states even once. The illegal immigration problem is a
major issue in these states. He mentions Mumbai, West Bengal and even Delhi,
but is totally unaware of where the actual problem lies. It is in Assam, Mr.
Sanghvi. So, please make it a point to visit the state, and see for yourself,
and do brush up on your research.
The biggest problem in Assam is that the
Assamese are fast becoming a minority in their own state. The state is
inundated by illegals, and this has been continuing for at least the last 50 +
years. It is not just low paying menial jobs that are stake here. The whole
geo-political situation in Assam (and other adjoining states) is rapidly
changing. The local languages, cultures, and religious affiliations are
vanishing fast and being replaced by this migrant menace.
Huge migrant
populations also tax precious government resources. Many of these migrants
have close ties with Pakistan's ISI and other undesirable elements.
Politicians don't seem to care as they depend on vote banks from this
group. But true-blooded Indians should. Where is their sense of protecting
national boundaries?
It is extremely important for all Indians to look at
this problem seriously.
Yes, deportation proceedings for illegals should
follow the rule of law, and it should not be left to the local Delhi or Mumbai
police.
It is the sole responsibility of the Central Government to stem
the migration and it must dealt with promptly.
People like Mr. Sanghvi seem
to have just got wind of the problem because they see a few migrants in Delhi
or Mumbai. It is high time the powers that be in Delhi and reponsible
journalists wake up to the fact that India has been under a silent attack for
the past so many decades. Just don't wait till the problem reaches your
doorsteps in Mumbai and Delhi.
The problem is so acute, that there is a
very good chance for states like Assam becoming a part of Bangladesh, for all
practical purposes, in the near future. Is that what the rest of India
want?
Sincerely,
Ram Sarangapani
Houston, USA
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