Illegal migrants from BangladeshOur obsession with Kashmir, though justified, has consumed and diverted most of our attention from the silent demographic invasion of eastern states. If we keep ignoring illegal migrant issue from Bangladesh, another Kashmir is inevitable.
Sadly, most of us see this as a state or regional level problem than a national level problem and have severely underplayed its huge strategic importance. Illegal migration from Bangladesh is unique not just for its appalling number but also because of its treat to security and integrity to our country and the fact that it had continued for about a century and yet there is no end in site. Factors contributing to the problem are economic hardships, communal tensions, political uncertainty and climate disturbances. We will try to analyze each reason in a series of articles in the pretext of history, present realities and future approach.
Extreme Poverty in Bangladesh:
Search for livelihood is one of the biggest contributing factors in flooding of our eastern states with millions of migrants. Migration of people from the South (Bengal, East Pakistan and now Bangladesh) for economic reasons is dated back to the times of British Raj. The Bengali Muslims were first transplanted by the British as laborers in the flourishing tea garden industry of Assam. Subsequently, this set off an unstoppable trend.
After the India-Pakistan partition, the Bengali speaking East Pakistan was given an imperialistic treatment by the Punjabi dominated and richer West Pakistan, even though bulk of foreign exchange earnings came form the export of jute from the Eastern half. In return, Eastern Pakistan received only a third of money to be used for developmental project. This became a contributing factor in breaking of the country. After the formation of Bangladesh in 1971, the economic condition remained dire for a while. Even now, over-population, corruption and slow implementation of economic reforms have kept Bangladesh among the poorest countries, struggling to survive and feed its people thereby posing a huge strain on its resources. Consequently, population overflow is inevitable.
So how is this, a threat to our nation's security? First of all, huge number of refugees who migrated after the creation of Bangladesh was poor Muslim population (Bengali Muslims as well as Pakistani Bihari). Their concentration in one or two states like Assam and Tripura was especially troublesome. This invasion caused destruction of local culture and created a demographic imbalance, which in turn was the root cause of so called communal problems.
Assam is a very strategically located state, not just because of its geographical location as an entry point to seven sister states but also because it is highly rich in natural resources, which if managed properly could be precious for our country. If such communal problems and resulting polarized politics eventually result in isolation or segregation of this state then we could lose its treasure as well as the resources of six other north eastern states, which could be a big blow to Indian economy.
Secondly, locals had to compete with cheap labor provided by these migrants. Slowly but surely, the Bangladeshi migrants, for cultivation purpose, are occupying vast vacant land in Assam. It also puts tremendous pressure on the state's resources that are already stretching their limits to survive. It is evident from the per capita income of Assam that it is in constant decline against that of India. In the 1950s per capita income in Assam was little higher than that in India. In 2000-01, it was almost 40% lower than that in India!
So how could we deal with this problem? Serious consideration should be given to the recommendations made by S K Sinha (Governor of Assam, 1997-2003). As suggested by him, other than seamless sealing of border by fencing and border patrol, India should actively participate in the socio-economic development of Bangladesh. Successful implementation of micro-credit loans by Grameen Bank in Bangladesh is such an example. Development negates the motivation for migration and provides a long lasting and effective solution.
It is probably not possible to deport millions of illegal migrant who are in the country from last 30 to 40 year. Photo-identity cards, preferable biometric ID cards should be provided to Indians as well as Bangladeshi migrants at urgency level. Bangladeshis migrants could be stateless citizen without the rights of voting and ownership of immovable property. The most humane and possibly non-controversial way to deal with them would be by providing work permits, subjected to state wise quotas, which could avoiding concentration of migrants in one or two states, thereby helping not just the migrants but also the local population.
We must urgently deal with this problem in a bipartisan manner, or else we might be risking another Kashmir.
How to Fix Illegal Bangladeshi Migration
"The time for work permits has come. You might be surprised to know that as many as 85 million Bangladeshis have biometric National ID Cards (NIDs) which were issued ahead of the 2008 elections. These cards are now required for opening bank accounts, applying for passports and accessing public services. Indian work permits could therefore be issued to valid Bangladeshi NID holders with a greater degree of confidence. There are challenges in getting the Bangladeshi authorities to co-operate, especially in terms of validating IDs, but these are not insurmountable. That's half the solution. The other half involves the ability to positively identity an Indian citizen."
The article can be read at: http://in.news.yahoo.com/columnist/nitin_pai/12/how-to-fix-illegal-bangladeshi-migration
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