Asom, a dumping ground of Bangla

Guwahati, Sep 16: For rest of Northeast, it seems, Bangladesh means the territory of Asom as whenever the "sister states" detect an illegal Bangladeshi- he or she- would be deported or to be released in Asom only.

"This is not a joke but a fact that is going on for decades", claimed the AASU.

Asom government had been turning a blind eye to such development for decades as the Bangladeshis start a new life in Asom, even as illegal infiltration remained the burning issue for past 30 years, said All Assam Students Union adviser Samujjal Kr Bhattacharyya.

Recent reports state that neighbouring Meghalaya in past 90 days had driven out over 300 suspected Bangladeshi labourers in Asom.

Some reports put the figure as high as 500. "And Asom let it all the suspected illegal settlers, indicating that they were Assamese people,'' Dr Bhattacharyya added.

In the most recent case, 50 such suspected laboureres were escorted by Meghalaya Police beyond Byrnihat area in the inter-state border on September 10. The suspects, arrested following complaints lodged by the Khasi Students' Union (KSU), had stated during interrogation that they were residents of Dhubri and Barpeta districts of Asom. They failed to produce any documents to support their claim.

However, it had been alleged that the Assam Police arranged for their transportation to the two districts almost immediately after taking charge of the detainees without verifying the credentials.

AASU president Shankar Prasad Roy said, ''We demand to know how can Asom government be convinced of a person's credentials if Meghalaya was not satisfied.'' Dhubri district is suspected to be a primary entry point of the infiltrators, who enter India taking advantage of loopholes in the border security arrangements. These infiltrators, then, settle in the same district or neighbouring places before being transported to others locations or states in the region through agents.

Though the nexus is in the knowledge of all, incidences of deportation are few due to lack of concrete evidence and alleged political safeguards. But the problem has gained such proportions in Asom that the state is being identified with Bangladeshi settlers, causing a serious threat to the indigenous population, the AASU alleged.

"The AASU had been fighting the illegal migrants, but the state machinery protects them from identification,'' Dr Bhattacharyya claimed.

Moreover, admission of the state government of the deported suspected settlers from Meghalaya had added to the state's dwindling image. Questions were being raised regarding the legitimacy of Meghalaya's act. But more were being raised on Asom's silent acceptance of these people as its citizens.

The recent spurt in deportation from Meghalaya had been trigerred by the KSU's initiative to identify and deport Bangladeshi infiltrators as they were making head-way into this largely tribal state also.

The Asom government had come under severe criticism from various quarters, especially as both Meghalaya and Asom are Congress-led states.

The AASU had been highlighting the infiltration issue for decades and had also launched the massive agitation in 1980's, which ended with the signing of the Assam Accord.

The AASU adviser warned that a massive agitation would be launched again if the government did not clear its stand soon.

Encroachment of 499.83 sq km of Asom land by Bangladesh had been admitted by the state's Revenue Minister and New Delhi had also sent its representatives to inspect the progress of border fencing. The infiltration and encroachment issues, along with alleged existence of terrorists' camps fighting India on Bangladeshi soil, had topped Indian agenda in all bipartite talks.

However, if the hassle-free pushing of suspected nationals to Asom by a neighbouring state is any indicator, Asom could soon run the risk of being a Bangladeshi majority state.

UNI