HVK Archives: Continuing threat of Bangladeshi migrants
Continuing threat of Bangladeshi migrants - The Hindustan Times
Rakesh Sinha
()
September 10, 1998
Title: Continuing threat of Bangladeshi migrants
Author: Rakesh Sinha
Publication: The Hindustan Times
Date: September 10, 1998
The head generated on the question of the Bangladeshi nationals
between the West Bengal and the Maharashtra governments was not
surprising for those who are well acquainted with the tactics
and political character of the CPI-M and its left allies. By
disrupting the deportation, they tried to evoke Bengali
sentiment. However, the openness demonstrated by the BJP-Shiv
Sena government and the firm stand of Union Home Minister L. K.
Advani exposed their old tactics which they had practised during
the Assam agitation. Nevertheless, by demonstrating unfederal
behaviour the West Bengal government not only stopped the
process of deportation but also enhanced the moral of illegal
Bangladeshi migrants. During the anti-foreigner agitation in
Assam too, the communists, who were then allies of the Hiteshwar
Saikia government which was acting under the pressure of the pro-
infitrator Muslim lobby, flagrantly blamed the agitationists as
anti-Muslim and tried, in vain to dub them as anti-Bengali.
In a deliberate move to defame the BJP-Sena government and to
reinforce their support base among the illegal migrants staying
in West Bengal, the left parties have actually served the cause
of Bangladesh. Dhaka has seen in it and endorsement of its
official position that there is not a single Bangladeshi
national in India. In Bangladesh, there has been an organised
campaign by a section of intellectuals and the media for
legitimising the theory of lebensraum, living space for the
people of Bangladesh. According to statistics compiled by the
Bangladesh family planning department, in 1947 when India was
partitioned, the population of East Pakistan was 42 million.
After its independence in 1971, its population increased to 75
million, and at present it is 130 million. The number of
inhabitants per kilometre is 803, highest in the world. There is
no effective programme for reduction of the birth rate, which
was, according to the 1991 census, 31.6 per thousand. According
to a report of daily Sangbad (April 6, 1993), of the total
number of fertile women of two crore twenty lakh, 68.18 per cent
i.e. one crore fifty lakh refuse to adopt any family planning
methods. Unchecked population growth has led to a land crisis
which is apparent from the fact that there was only 0.20 acre of
land per head in 1992 and it would be near zero in the 21st
century.
Bangladeshi intellectuals, instead of emphasising strict family
planning, are looking for cure in a demographic aggression in
the border states of India. In an article published in Holiday,
a Dhaka weekly, on Oct 18, 1991, Mr Sadeq Khan wrote, he
predicament of Bangladesh is not entirely of its own making. In
the professed new world order, therefore, there should not be
any hesitation on the part of Bangladesh to seek equitable
sharing of responsibility to sort out its problem of over-
population and lebensraum. He described the influx of
Bangladeshi nationals in India as natural overflow of
population pressure=94. Hindus, who form the minority community in
Bangladesh, which is not a secular but a theocratic state, are
the biggest sufferers. In East Pakistan, out of a population of
42 million in 1951 there were 9 million Hindus. A large number
of them were forced to migrant to India in the early 0s. When
the issue became acute, Nehru and Liaquat Ali signed an
agreement, known as the Delhi Pact, on April 8, 1950. On of the
subjects of the pact was to protect the interest of minorities
in their respective states. Under the terms of the pact minority
ministers were appointed in both the countries. Mr C.C. Biswas
was appointed minority minister in India. His counterpart in
Pakistan, Dr A. M. Malik, used his office to encourage Hindus to
leave Pakistan rather than protect them.
Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, who later became the founder
president of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, attacked Nehru for dealing
weakly with Pakistan on the question of Hindus there. History
proved Mookerjee right. According to official statistics, the
relative share of Hindu populations had declined from 18.4 per
cent in 1961 to 21.1 per cent in 1981 and it further went down
to 10.5 per cent in 1991. The total Hindu population in 1991 is
less then 11.2 million. In some districts like Jamalpur,
Kishoreganj, Narayanganj and Pabna, even the absolute size of
Hindu population in 1991 was less than that of in 1961. The
Enemy Property Act, later renamed as Vested Property Act, were
used in pre and post-Mujib periods to confiscate the landed
property of Hindu households. In 1992-93, after the demolition
of the disputed structure in Ayodhya, there were attacks on
Hindus, temples were destroyed and property was looted.
Bangladeshi Hindus who were forced to migrant to India and
refugees.
But India cannot bear the burden of all those who treat India as
a labour market. According to a note of the Home Ministry,
infiltration is encouraged by some political and religious
elements. It should not be forgotten belong to the fertile age
group and the number of Indian-born Children of Bangladeshi
couples illegally staying in India is virtually unchecked. In
the border districts of Assam, Bihar and West Bengal there is a
high concentration of infiltrators and a large number of them
got their names enrolled in the voter's list as a protective
measure. According to the 1991 census, the Muslim population in
five border districts of Assam was more than fifty per cent. The
situation in the border districts of West Bengal is no better.
In Bihar the worst affected districts the Purnea, Katihar,
Kishanganj and Araria. The issue needs serious attention and
Advani's proposal for identity cards for citizen would help in
identification of infiltrators.
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