Author: Subir Ghosh
Publication: Sify.com
Date: May 14, 2010
URL: http://www.sify.com/news/the-silent-bangladeshi-invasion-of-assam-news-columns-kforQ3dhbhi.html?scategory=columns
A week ago, an unsettling incident occurred
in Assam that went largely unnoticed in the Indian media.
Over a thousand suspected illegal migrants
crossed the Dhansiri river and, with impunity, took over parts of Orang National
Park in Darrang district in the early hours of May 6.
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They came from the innumerable chars (riverine
islands) that dot the Brahmaputra river.
They did not come empty-handed - they brought
along building materials and cattle.
They apparently had come to stay. For good.
By the time forest guards spotted the invaders that afternoon, the migrants
had already erected a hundred makeshift houses or more. The unnerved forest
personnel called back for more hands and resources; they did not dare take
on the illegal migrants who were armed with sharp weapons. The latter had
not only come here to stay, but seemed inordinately determined to do so.
The forest department, in turn, sought the
Army's help.
Sometime in the evening, the eviction drive
began.
As the dismantling of the houses got under
way, the settlers predictably began attacking the forest personnel. This they
did after lining up women and children in front of them. The Armymen present
had to fire in the air to ward them off.
The expulsion operation went on for three
gruelling hours, with the forest department having to even use elephants to
chase away the recalcitrant encroachers. Finally, at the end of the day, the
national park had been cleared.
Even in a state where the issue of illegal
migrants has dominated the political landscape for the last 30 years or so,
this came as exceptionally alarming.
Unprecedented, arguably, is the word.
Illegal migrants can tilt the electoral scales
in close to half of the state's 126 Assembly constituencies.
If that is not enough, this was the first
sign of Bangladeshi migrants asserting themselves - over land.
The buzz in forest circles is that this was
the first such try; they fear more intrepid and brazen attempts from these
illegal migrants in the days to come.
The riverine islands and reserved forests
of Assam have been falling bit by bit to Bangladeshis for years now. But all
this while, the encroachment of the state's reserved forests and wildlife
sanctuaries/national parks had been a silent and ghostly invasion.
That is why the incident of May 6 needs to
be taken more seriously.
It is the first ominous indication of the
illegal migrants from Bangladesh asserting themselves physically. They need
more land, you see.
Let's look prima facie just at the issue of
reserved forests and protected areas in the state.
Settlers in the char areas on the Brahmaputra
near the national parks, especially Kaziranga and Orang, are known to be involved
in rhino poaching. Most of these people, not surprisingly, are Bangladeshi
migrants.
'Zero tolerance to illegal immigrants'
During a raid conducted by security personnel
at a few villages on the fringe areas of Orang in March, weapons and traps
used in poaching were recovered along with body parts of animals. All those
arrested were suspected Bangladeshi nationals. But then, you can never prove
that they are Bangladeshis.
Protected areas in Assam, like elsewhere in
the country, are in a precarious state. The problems they face are the same
- that of rampant encroachment, illegal logging, stone mining, and burgeoning
human settlements in contiguous areas, among others. Illegal migrants compound
these already existing headaches.
The state government has time and again made half-hearted attempts to jettison
encroachers from forest areas; each time these had to be withdrawn after a
few days of the launch. The hue and cry raised by vested interests was too
much for the government of the day to handle.
Most of these encroachers were projected as
Muslims and not as Bangladeshis. In these days of political correctness, no
political dispensation, least of all the Congress, wants to be seen as anti-minority.
Then there were those who talk of people and
forest rights. For them too, these settlers were not foreigners. They never
are.
The result was inevitable. The encroachers,
most of them illegal Bangladeshi migrants, stayed on.
How far-reaching the result was, is now there
for us to see.
It is no more a question of people's rights
over forest resources. It has degenerated into a sinister issue of illegal
migrants asserting their "unfettered" right to take over Indian
forests and sanctuaries.
Incidentally, Assam has the largest amount
of forest land under encroachment - 485,674 hectares. Andhra Pradesh, which
is much larger, comes next with 268,853 hectares. Statistics always denote
something, unless you are as blind as a bat.
What has been distressing is the scant coverage
the May 6 incident received in the media. Do a search on Google News and you
will get the tally.
No media coverage means no one knows about
it. No one knows means that no one is scared of this disconcerting episode.
That's what makes it so scary.
As it is, according to official Indian records
there are hardly any illegal migrants in Assam.
Bangladesh denies the existence of its nationals
in the state, or even elsewhere in India.
Most political parties in the state - from
the Congress to the Left parties - too don't believe there are any. Neither
the regional Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) or the nationalist Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) have been able to do anything about the issue when they were in
power either in the state or at the Centre.
There are only two kinds of people in Assam.
The first lot sees no evil, the second has no idea how to tackle this evil.
Add to this unconfirmed reports that the takeover
attempt of Orang was done at the behest of a Congress leader of the area.
Even while they were being pushed out of the national park, the encroachers
were heard issuing threats and making references to this Congress leader.
The All-Assam Students Union (AASU), that
had led the Assam Agitation in the Eighties, has taken umbrage, and made its
anger known after the incident. But that is all that it can probably do in
today's Assam.
The invidious invasion of Assam has been taking
place for several decades and successive governments have failed to arrest
this demographic onslaught.
One need not delve too much into history or
figures that are not authentic to make one's point; even recent official figures
will suffice.
India has 20 million illegal migrants
Enumeration of electors in Assam by the Election
Commission showed more than 30 per cent increase in 17 Assembly constituencies
and more than 20 per cent increase in 40 constituencies between 1994 and 1997.
Whereas the all-India average growth in electors
between 1994 and 1997 was 7 per cent, the growth in Assam for this period
was as high as 16.4 per cent.
It may be empirical, but the evidence is tell-tale.
The Assam Agitation, in hindsight, was successful
only in the signing of an accord. The issue over which the movement was built,
however, still rages on.
And now, a conniving Congress government in
the state and an impotent Congress-led alliance at the Centre have allowed
the problem of illegal migrants get out of hand. Yes, it is out of hand. If
the May 6 assertiveness is no proof, what more can one possibly want?
Assam, today, is probably in dire need of
another agitation.
The one of the Eighties was by and large peaceful.
The Nellie massacre may have been a brutal and gory exception; but then, it
was not officially engineered by the AASU. The next agitation, if one happens,
will surely be a more virulent, violent one.
