Hindu Vivek Kendra
A RESOURCE CENTER FOR THE PROMOTION OF HINDUTVA
   
 
 
«« Back
HVK Archives: Aliens in the east

Aliens in the east - The Indian Express

Editorial ()
14 September 1996

Title : Aliens in the east
Author : Editorial
Publication : The Indian Express
Date : September 14, 1996

Union Home Minister Indrajit Gupta told the consultative
committee attached to his ministry only half the story
when he said that the Centre was "actively considering"
the proposal from Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar
Mahanta to repeal the Illegal Migrants (Deter" nation by
Tribunal) Act because it had failed to achieve its objec-
tive. True, ever since the Act came into force, the State
Government has been able to detect and deport no more
than about 1,000 aliens. Nor can it be said that the Act
was not being seriously implemented because the respon-
sibility for it was in the hands of a government which
came to power on the basis of the 1979-85 anti-foreigner
agitation. If the results have not been up to the mark,
it is because of several complex factors. The first and
foremost is the near-impossibility of detecting foreign-
ers, mainly from Bangladesh, in a region which has known
such migration for decades, dating back to the pre-inde-
pendence period when the "grow more food" campaign in
Assam was jocularly equated with a "grow more Muslims"
programme.

Given the prevailing ethnic and religious considerations,
few would have expected the Act to work. According to
it, the complaint against the suspected alien would have
to be launched by someone living within a radius of four
kilometres. But the close personal and other ties pre-
cluded such initiatives. That is not the only reason,
however, why-the Act failed. If it is none other than
the ruling Asom Gana Parishad, which once led the cam-
paign against the foreigners, which is seeking its repeal
today, it is. because the party has realised that if it
wants to establish itself as a political force in Assam,
it cannot alienate nearly 30 per cent of the State's
population which is Muslim. Assam's past history has
also ensured that any movement directed against illegal
Muslim immigrants not only creates a scare among the
indigenous Muslims but among the Bengalis as well.

After the Congress's decline, the AGP's increased poten-
tial for growth has evidently persuaded it to tone down
its earlier rhetoric in an effort to extend its influence
among both the religious and linguistic minorities. At
the same time, it may have also regretted the fact that
its stridency encouraged other militant separatist groups
like the Bodos to make their appearance. The AGP prob-
ably felt the need, therefore, for a cooling-off period
by virtually suspending the anti-foreigner operation.
But in doing so, it is ignoring what is a grave problem
for all the eastern States, made all the more serious by
Dhaka's refusal even to acknowledge it. It is strange
that the matter was not even discussed during the recent
India-Bangladesh talks.


Back                          Top

«« Back
 
 
 
  Search Articles
 
  Special Annoucements