{"id":251803,"date":"2024-11-06T01:15:18","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T19:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/?p=251803"},"modified":"2024-11-06T01:15:18","modified_gmt":"2024-11-05T19:45:18","slug":"belling-the-illegal-cat-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/2024\/11\/06\/belling-the-illegal-cat-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Belling the illegal cat"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘India’s “Boat People”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\n

By Poonam I Kaushish<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

In the summer of 1975, hundreds of thousands fled South Vietnam after Saigon\u2019s fall for fear of political persecution. Escaping in rickety, unseaworthy wooden boats, the largest mass exodus of asylum seekers by sea in modern history. Giving rise to the term \u201cboat people\u201d. The world embraced them as refugees. US took in large numbers out of guilt, Canada, Britain, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan followed, even tiny Bermuda.<\/p>\n

Fourteen years later 1989, the world changed its mind. \u201cBoat people\u201d had become an albatross round the neck. What is more, a new breed of boat people, economic refugees: farmers, factory workers and labourers flocked looking for a new life. The international community in tandem with UN High Commissioner for Refugees drew a Comprehensive Plan of Action: Screening to determine if they were genuine refugees according to UN Convention. Two, repatriate those who failed the \u201crefugee test\u201d. Sounding a death knell to \u201cboat people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forty-nine years later history is repeating itself in India. Its \u201cboat people\u201d, read illegal migrants come in multitudes from neighbouring countries looking for new economic pastures. The influx started from Bangladesh post 1971 war, Pakistan, Myanmar followed. Since then over 45 million illegal migrants have become an albatross around India\u2019s neck.<\/p>\n

Mercifully, however, things look like changing. Just as the boat people lost world sympathy in 1989, New Delhi is awake and has changed its tune. Deportation is the new buzzword in North Block: Detect and throw out over 25 million illegal Bangladeshi migrants and 11,700 Pakistanis over staying in India, asserts Home Minister Shah.<\/p>\n

Last week, while campaigning in Jharkhand Assam Chief Minister Biswas said, \u201cChanging demography is a big issue for me. It is not political but a matter of life and death. I ignite fire against infiltrators. We have to set Jharkhand free\u2026Aadhar cards are being issued to infiltrators through madrassas\u2026tribal population is decreasing and Muslims are increasing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adding, \u201cin Assam, Muslim population is 40 % today, in 1951 it was 12% and 9 districts are Muslim majority and hold key for 60 of 126 Assembly constituencies. Over 85% of total encroached forest land is with Bangladeshis.\u201d Intelligence reports state, \u201cIn 70 years Assam\u2019s population increased from 3.29 million to 14.6 million \u2013 a 343.77 % increase\u201d over a period when India\u2019s population went up by only 150%!.\u201d<\/p>\n

Predictably, INDIA bloc \u2018secular\u2019 leaders competing for minority vote-bank consistently communalise the issue. Most recklessly import illegal migrants to inflate their vote-banks. Notwithstanding, the ugly reality that are changing States demographic landscapes, threatening livelihood and identity of indigenous people.<\/p>\n

Over 3,084,826 Bangladeshis reside in India alongside 100,000 Burmese Chins and 11,18865 Rohingya families. Seven districts of Bihar, Bangla, North East and Rajasthan are affected as also Delhi with over 15 lakhs and Maharashtra over 100,000 illegal Bangladeshi migrants. In Mizoram anti-outsider feelings vents itself in frequent volatile stir. In Nagaland, illegal Bangladeshis have more than trebled in past two decades \u2014 rising from 20,000 in 1991 to over 75,000 2001. Tripura is a tragic case of obliteration of local identity reduced from 59.1% in 1951 to 31.1%\u00a0 2011.<\/p>\n

In Rajasthan, UP and MP illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have taken advantage of laws to secure ration cards. From rag pickers, domestic help, agriculture workers to rickshaw-pullers etc are mostly illegal migrants, taking jobs away from citizens. Kerala too is now infested with them thanks to high wages for unskilled and semi-skilled labourers claiming to be from West Bengal or Assam and equipped with valid documents.<\/p>\n

Illegal Bangladeshi migrants have trickled into West Bengal\u2019s North 24 Parganas and Murshidabad districts and settled down as sharecroppers with local leaders help. Whereby, Muslim population has grown from 19.85% in 1951 to 27.01% in 2011. Ditto, along Indo-Nepal border adjoining UP, Bihar and West Bengal leading to demographic changes. The rising number of mosques and madarsas in last three years has raised serious security concerns.<\/p>\n

Worse, bases, sanctuaries and madrasas are mushrooming near international borders for supporting secessionist and separatist insurgency movements. According to RAW sources, the ISI has launched \u201cOperation PINCODE\u201d to bring the entire North-East under Islamic rule.<\/p>\n

Given the socio-economic complexities of our politics and society, international migration scholar Myron Weiner succinctly says: Population flows across borders \u201cdo not merely happen. More often they are made to happen\u201d. Governments sometimes force immigration \u201cas a means asserting dominance of one ethnic community over another\u201d.<\/p>\n

Where do we go from here?\u00a0 Pander to rabid rabble rousers? Pander to politics of vote banks? Allow Push-Pull theory of illegality to continue: Push back to poverty vs Pull of India\u2019s rich pastures.\u00a0 The option is narrow. The solution must be clearly dictated by India\u2019s primary security interest: its integrity and stability.<\/p>\n

With Opposition Parties trying their damndest to ensure the Government to take a humane and holistic view it\u2019s not going to be a cake walk. The UN Special Rapporteur on racism said India risked breaching its international legal obligations by returning the men to possible harm.\u00a0 Yet, security experts are unanimous: Refugees are adding to security threat of the region. Chittagong area, bordering Myanmar is a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism and provides shelter to secessionist forces in North East.<\/p>\n

With Bangladesh failing to keep up the pressure, Islamists are enjoying a free run under the garb of NGO activities. \u201cAlmost all NGOs have strong terror links,\u201d opined a North East security expert. Alongside with China\u2019s influence in Bangladesh and Myanmar; stakes are high for India.<\/p>\n

Besides, India in conjunction with its \u201cAct East\u201d policy to grow its influence in South East Asian countries and counter China\u2019s increasing presence in the region is actively pursuing good relations with Myanmar\u2019s army officials in the hope that it can enlist their help in acting against militants in North East, many of whom are based in Myanmar\u2019s Sagaing jungles.<\/p>\n

Undoubtedly, Government is aware that a grave problem exists and is doing all it takes to defuse this power keg. Towards that end both Centre and States need to plug holes in our social system, think out-of-the-box and put in place strong deterrence.<\/p>\n

Practically, strict policing and border management is vital. Locals need to be recruited for policing. Certainly, if one cannot stop infiltrators at the border then there is no way one can push them back. The issue is a grave demographic, economic and national security problem which if unresolved is only likely to get bigger in future.<\/p>\n

Half of South Asia\u2019s population lives in areas that are projected to become moderate to severe climate hotspots by 2050. If a large chunk of people in vulnerable areas are displaced, this will lead to further waves of emigration. In Bangladesh alone, 15 million people alone are expected to displaced due to environmental degradation.<\/p>\n

Clearly, history has come a full circle for illegal immigrants. The need of the hour is to continue dealing assertively with illegal migrants and set up time-bound measures. One needs to remember, disasters of history are the result of a Government\u2019s folly and perverse persistence in pursuing policies contrary to national interests. More than talking tough, Modi once and for all needs to bell the big fat cat of illegal migrants. \u2014 INFA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘India’s “Boat People” By Poonam I Kaushish In the summer of 1975, hundreds of thousands fled South Vietnam after Saigon\u2019s fall for fear of political persecution. Escaping in rickety, unseaworthy wooden boats, the largest mass exodus of asylum seekers by sea in modern history. Giving rise to the term \u201cboat people\u201d. The world embraced them […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-251803","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-features"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251803\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}