BJP’s 3 Ds

By Poonam I Kaushish

A bird should not build a nest in a tree that has no leaves. An African proverb which fits today’s ‘nowhere people’. Awash in saffron West Bengal has changed its tune: 3 Ds are the new buzzword in BJP-ruled Kolkata: Detect, delete, deport and throw out illegal Bangladeshi and Myanmar migrants. The illegals’ have become an albatross around India’s neck.

Fearing retribution, post election, many illegal Banglasdeshis have fled, while another 335-386 are being held in 11 detention/holding centres pending deportation.  Add to this over 7,000 illegal entrants were “pushed back,” 2,688 from West Bengal and 2000 along the Bangladesh border in Tripura, Meghalaya, and Assam in recent years, according to BSF data. And another 1600 through Hakimpur checkpost November last.

Shockingly, over 3,084,826 Bangladeshis reside in India alongside 100,000 Burmese Chins and 11,18865 Rohingya families. Seven districts of Bihar, Bangla, North East and Rajasthan are affected as also Delhi with over 15 lakhs and Maharashtra over 100,000 illegal Bangladeshi migrants. In Mizoram anti-outsider feelings vents itself in frequent volatile stir. In Nagaland, illegal Bangladeshis have more than trebled in past two decades — rising from 20,000 in 1991 to over 75,000 2001. Tripura is a tragic case of obliteration of local identity reduced from 59.1% in 1951 to 31.1%  2011.

Pertinently, BJP has made action against illegal immigration a major political and policy issue. Successfully, framing it as a mix of national security, identity politics, electoral strategy and ideology. It has raised concerns about cross-border crime, trafficking and infiltration because borders with neighbouring Bangladesh are porous in parts.

By taking a hard stance, BJP supporters see it as protecting national interests and helps consolidate support among voters who feel economically or culturally threatened by large scale undocumented migration which could change local demographics. Thereby, putting pressure on land, jobs, welfare systems, affect linguistic and cultural identity (a big issue in Assam’s politics for decades).

Hence it has pushed policies aimed at identifying undocumented migrants: National Register of Citizens (NRC), especially in Assam and Citizen Amendment which fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslims from neibhouring countries. It accuses rivals TMC and Congress of being “soft” on illegal immigration for vote-bank politics.

Opposition Parties like Congress, TMC see it as politicizing migration and identity. Both controversial policies as they exclude genuine citizens, targets specific communities (Muslims), implementation is complex and sometimes inconsistent. Primarily, as illegal immigration sits at the intersection of national security, identity, religion and human rights.

Simultaneously, they have to make sure they aren’t perceived as appearing “soft” on borders while also not alienating minority voters, which often leads to muted or indirect responses instead of aggressive opposition.

Consequently, caught between a rock and hard place Opposition Parties fear if they strongly object, they risk being portrayed as anti-national and pro-illegal immigration. So, many choose softer criticism or silence to avoid that trap. Hence, their criticism is careful, selective and often indirect.

Ironically, while in Assam TMC supports identifying illegal migrants, in West Bengal it strongly opposes “harassment” of genuine citizens. But it avoids sounding like it supports illegal immigration. So reactions are State-specific and nuanced, not uniform.

However, there is a difference between ground reality and rhetoric. Deportation is legally and diplomatically difficult, as one needs the other country to accept the person. Many people labeled “illegal” are still under verification or legal appeal. So the political messaging is often much stronger than actual deportation numbers.

Presently, actions are happening in distributed, administrative steps (detentions, verification, small deportations), so it doesn’t create one big flashpoint. Also, as deportation is not straightforward and uniform it requires nationality verification, cooperation from  Bangladesh, involves courts, tribunals and due process, Parties focus on process issues rather that deportation outright.

True, while sympathy for deportees is understandable, their stories speak of larger inequalities between countries which require wider conversations, not political point scoring or vote-bank politics. After all, no nation State allows free-for-all citizenship and illegal immigration has been a thorn in India’s flesh for decades.

Worse, bases, sanctuaries and madrasas are mushrooming near international borders for supporting secessionist and separatist insurgency movements. According to RAW sources, the ISI has launched “Operation PINCODE” to bring the entire North-East under Islamic rule.

Given the socio-economic complexities of our politics and society, international migration scholar Myron Weiner succinctly said: Population flows across borders “do not merely happen. More often they are made to happen”. Governments sometimes force immigration “as a means asserting dominance of one ethnic community over another”.

Where do we go from here?  Pander to rabid rabble rousers? Pander to politics of vote banks? Allow Push-Pull theory of illegality to continue: Push back to poverty vs Pull of India’s rich pastures.  The option is narrow. The solution must be clearly dictated by India’s primary security interest: its integrity and stability.

While security experts are unanimous: Refugees are adding to security threat of the region. Chittagong area, bordering Myanmar is a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism and provides shelter to secessionist forces in North East it’s not going to be a cakewalk. With Bangladesh failing to keep up the pressure, Islamists are enjoying a free run under the garb of NGO activities.

“Almost all NGOs have strong terror links,” opined a North East security expert. Alongside with China’s influence in Bangladesh and Myanmar stakes are high for India whereby it is trying to walk the tightrope of taking along both Bangladesh and Myanmar Governments towards a viable solution.

Undoubtedly, Government is aware that a grave problem exists and is doing all it takes to defuse this power keg. Towards that end both Centre and States need to plug holes in our social system, think out-of-the-box and put in place strong deterrence.

Practically, strict policing and border management is vital. Locals need to be recruited for policing. Certainly, if one cannot stop infiltrators at the border then there is no way one can push them back. The issue is a grave demographic, economic and national security problem which if unresolved is only likely to get bigger in future.

The need of the hour is to continue dealing assertively with these ‘nowhere people’ and set up time-bound measures. One needs to remember, disasters of history are the result of a Government’s folly and perverse persistence in pursuing policies contrary to national interests. Time, to once and for all bell the big fat cat of illegal migrants.  —— INFA