Author: A Staff Reporter
Publication: The Assam Tribune
Date: June 3, 2002
The indigenous people of Tripura
have been totally outnumbered by outsiders and if unabated infiltration
is allowed to continue, Assam will face the same fate in the years to come,
said the leaders of the Tripura Students' Federation (TSF). Talking to
newsmen here today, Sri Prasanta Deb Barma and Sri Subodh Deb Barma, the
president and vice-president respectively of the TSF, said that as per
the last census, Tripuras' population was 37 lakh, out of which only eight
lakh were indigenous people. They said that the indigenous people of Tripura
have lost their political and land rights and of the 17 ministers, only
five were indigenous persons of the State. They also pointed out that 'Kok-Borok,'
the language of the indigenous people of Tripura, is now only the second
language of the State.
The TSF leaders alleged that the
indigenous people of Tripura are fighting for survival but the Central
Government has not taken any step to solve the problem of infiltration
of foreign nationals into the State. The international border between Tripura
and Bangladesh is totally open and any Bangladeshi national can just walk
into Tripura. The TSF is planning to organise a seminar on the problem
of influx of foreigners into the region in collaboration with the North-East
Students' Organisation (NESO) in July.
Meanwhile, the chairman of NESO,
Sri Samujjal Bhattacharya said that the NESO would extend full support
to TSF in their fight for survival. He alleged that the Centre was treating
the people of the north-eastern region as second class citizens. The Centre
is concerned about sealing the border in the western sector, but so far
no effective steps have been taken to seal the border in the NE to check
influx of Bangladeshi nationals and ISI agents, he added. Sri Bhattacharya
said, "The CPM Government in Tripura is encouraging the Bangladeshi nationals
to come into India with the plea that only the poor people are coming in
for survival. Can the CPM force the Government of China to allow the poor
people of NE to infiltrate into that country?" he asked.
