[Assam] Aliens issue: hope lies in mutual trust

Sat Aug 18 05:29:21 PDT 2007

>>>>>The solution lies in a united approach by both the majority and the minority communities. Illegal migration harms both. Sooner the realisation, the better. Assams future lies is mutual trust, distrust will lead to doom.

  How to take that united approach? Who would take the initiative? What would be the timeframe within which the realisation should come? The time frame within which that approach would give quietus to the mistrust and the minority would help the majority in weeding out the illegal migrants and stemming the flow into Assam? In otherwords, the step by step approach to bell the cat may be spelt out, please.

Nava Thakuria <navathakuria at rediffmail.com> wrote:

Aliens issue: hope lies in mutual trust

 Ranen Kumar Goswami
The aliens issue appears to have earned permanent residentship in Assams socio-political agenda. The issue has survived the six-year long Assam movement from 1979 and its culmination in the Assam Accord in 1985, the movement leaderships metamorphosis into the Asom Gana Parishad which captured the seat of power in Dispur and its failure to deport aliens the mushroom growth of minority organisations, the birth and death of IMDT, and the most important of them all, the beginning of identity assertion movements by various ethnic groups. The problem is still alive and kicking and is expected to remain so for a long time.

Assam is paying a heavy price in its chase for a solution to the problem as can be measured by the years and social efforts that have gone into it. It is clear, something must have gone terribly wrong. Can it be so that those who want to depart the foreigners are weaker than those who have an interest in the import of foreigners? The bitterness from the unsolved problem should have been between the people and the Government. Instead, it has affected the relations between one section of people with the other and the Government is enjoying the fun. Whatever may be its political colour, AGP or Congress, or whatever may be its pretensions, no Government has seriously done anything to solve the problem.

The problem is serious. Nobody disputes that there are illegal migrants. Disputes, however, crop up aplenty over the process of detection and deportation and prevention of further influx. Are these not the primary responsibilities of the Governments, both at the Centre and in the State? What they have done so far is for all to see. A question can be asked here, which is, what was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led NDA Governments role during its five-year tenure at the Centre? Because the BJP never misses an opportunity to raise a hullabaloo over illegal migration. The answer is simple, nothing worth remembering. It was the Supreme Court which struck down the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) or IMDT Act; the NDA Government did not do anything to get the Act repealed in Parliament. The partys role remained limited to verbal fireworks against the IMDT in Assam. And the sealing of borders? The border fencing work was as tardy during the NDA tenure as it had
 been during the tenures of earlier Congress or other coalition Governments. But one thing the saffron party and its allies do with a high degree of efficiency is the communalisation of the issue. In its eyes only the Muslim immigrants are foreigners, the Hindus are not. This approach is a recipe for disaster for Assam and the Assamese; because this restricts the number of Assamese only to those who are Hindus. Is this not a threat to the very existence of Assamese nationality?

The Assam movement started in 1979. Twenty-eight years have passed since then. All these years all the Governments have been casual in their approach to the problem. In 1983, Indira Gandhis Congress Government, instead of allaying fears in the peoples minds, introduced the IMDT to protect doubtful citizens. It was highly discriminatory, because it was applicable only in Assam. This meant, the Indira Gandhi Government was against illegal migrants staying in other parts of the country, but it did not mind their staying in Assam. If this was not discrimination, then what was ? A demand was raised in various quarters against the Act. Such an Act, as the Supreme Court observed much later, had never allowed the detection of foreigners. The IMDT has a life span of 22 years till July 12, 2005. But did the Congress Government respect the apex court verdict that had declared it unconstitutional? No. It tried to bring IMDT back through the back door and issued a notification called
 to the Foreigners Order 2006. It was also challenged in the court. The Supreme Court struck down this order too. In its verdict on December 5, 2006, the bench, comprising Justice SB Sinha and Justice P K Balasubramanyan, said it appeared that the order had been issued just as a cover-up for non-implementation of the directions of the court issued in the IMDT Act case.

After the Assam Accord all sections of people have agreed to abide by the decision that all Bangladeshis (or East Pakistanis) who came before March 25, 1971 can stay in the State. The problem is with those who came after that day. As has been seen, New Delhi and Dispur are the least bothered, which has left a fear lurking in peoples psyche, will Assam ever be free from illegal migrants?

On May 5, 2005, there was a tripartite meeting in New Delhi between the All Assam Students Union (AASU), the Centre and the Assam Government where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself headed the central team and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi led the State Government team. The AASU team was led by its adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya. The decisions taken at the meeting included upgrading of the 1951 National Register of Citizens to 1971, completion of the Indo-Bangla border fencing works within one year and inspection of the border by a team comprising representatives of the Centre, the State government and AASU to be led by the Union Home Minister. Its the second half of 2007 now. What is the progress so far? In the last Assembly session (from August 6 to 9) Assam Accord Implementation Minister Bhumidhar Barman admitted that even the modalities for upgradation of NRC are not ready yet. And the border fencing? According to the tripartite meeting decision, it was to be
 completed by May 2006. But that was not to be. On December 12, 2006 Bhumidhar Barman informed the Assembly that it would be ready by March, 2007. Even that did not happen. There was another tripartite meeting in Guwahati on July 11, 2007. Here the Government officials said the fencing would be complete by March, 2008. The officials also informed that the 32 Foreigners Tribunals in the State had detected only 54 illegal migrants while disposing of 545 cases in the five months that preceded July 11. But none of them could be deported as all the infiltrators managed to escape. All this, the attempt to reintroduce the IMDT through the back door, going slow on the NRC and border fencing and the minimum possible cases in tribals, clearly suggests the official inaction is not just dereliction of duties, but it is deliberate and carefully planned. This well-crafted indifference fuels the anger of those who want to free the State from illegal migrants.

The latest provocation was a group of alleged doubtful citizens, branded and driven out by the All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (AAPSU) as bangladeshis. The development began from July 13 and 14 when they found themselves on the Assam side of the Bandardewa gate. Organisations including AASU and AJYCP vowed not to allow them to stay in Assam. Even here, the Arunachal Government was spared the blame it deserved. Because, not to speak of Bangladeshis, even Indians are not allowed to venture beyond the bandardewa gate if they do not have innerline permits. So, how these doubtful citizens enter Arunachal in the first place? Does not the State Government owe an explanation to its people?

On the other hand, several minority organisations claimed these people were genuine Indians and should not be harassed. The issue turned into a dispute with AASU, AJYCP and others calling the ousted people doubtful citizens and minority organisations calling them Indians. The tension was all over, in the media, on the street and at public meetings. On July 28, an All Assam Minority Students Union (AAMSU) lender declared at a Press Meet in Guwahati that if harassment of minorities continues, Assamese people would be driven out of Barpeta, Dhubri and Goalpara districts. Fortunately, various organisations in Assam have deplored the statement and called it derisive.

On July 31 and August 1, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said in Guwahati that all the 3,300 people thrown out of Arunachal were genuine Indian citizens. This would certainly ease the tension through it was not a solution to the problem. And if there is no solution, the problem will provoke frequent tension in the State, threaten communal harmony and shake the very edifice of Assamese nationality. The fear and suspicion in the minority mind is to a little extent the result of political power play and to a great extent the result of the mistakes committed during the Assam movement. Say for instance, the Nellie massacre. Detection of foreigners is not possible if this suspicion persists. The Government is not at all interested to stop illegal migration. The solution lies in a united approach by both the majority and the minority communities. Illegal migration harms both. Sooner the realisation, the better. Assams future lies is mutual trust, distrust will lead to doom. 

The Assam Tribune, Guwahati, Saturday, August 18, 2007

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