Prevent Bangladeshi asylum seekers in Northeast: AASU tells Modi, Shah

GUWAHATI: Amid the political crisis in Bangladesh, the North East Student Organisation (NESO) on Wednesday sought intervention from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to refrain from granting asylum or rehabilitation to Bangladeshi nationals within the northeastern states.

The NESO, a conglomeration of eight students’ bodies – All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), Garo Students’ Union (GSU), All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU), Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) and Twipra Students’ Federation (TSF) also demanded that the central government take immediate steps to curb illegal entries from Bangladesh into the North Eastern states.

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In a letter to PM Modi (the copy of which was also sent to Union Home Minister Amit Shah), NESO chairman Samuel Jyrwa and secretary general Mutsikhoyo Yhobu said: “We seek your immediate intervention to ensure that no illegal enters the northeastern states from Bangladesh and also requested that not even a single Bangladeshi should be granted asylum or rehabilitate in the entire Northeast region,”.

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“It is also imperative for the Union government to ensure that the border between Northeast India and Bangladesh should be thoroughly and strictly manned to detect attempted illegal migration from across the border,” the NESO said.

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The NESO said the crisis in Bangladesh can have serious ramifications in India, especially in the Northeast whereby four states share a common international boundary with Bangladesh.

The student body said Tripura shares a boundary of 856 kilometres with Bangladesh, Meghalaya shares a 443 km long boundary, Mizoram shares a 318 km long boundary and Assam has a common boundary of 262 km with Bangladesh.

The NESO said the crisis in Bangladesh will and may lead to an exodus of its nationals into our country especially in the Northeast.

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Past events indicate that whenever there is a civil war or a riot in Bangladesh, the Northeast always has to bear the brunt of mass illegal immigration from the country. During partition in 1947, lakhs of Bengalis from East Pakistan illegally crossed the border and forcibly occupied lands in Assam and Tripura (then a Union Territory).

Similarly in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, again lakhs and lakhs of East Pakistanis, migrated into Indian territory including North East India creating a demographic imbalance, especially in Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya (then a part of the composite state of Assam).

“This unabated flow of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh (East Pakistan) brings forth an air of tension and stiff competition in the Northeast. The Northeast is home to a plethora of Indigenous communities which are microscopic in numbers and live amongst their own communities in traditionally marked territories. The arrival of millions of illegal foreigners from other countries led to a contestation of space, forced cultural assimilation, economic competition and distrust between the indigenous populace and the foreigners. These illegal foreigners settled in the lands of the indigenous communities without the consent of the community leaders and thus creating a sense of animosity between the two groups. The illegal settlement of these millions of foreigners led to a drastic alteration of the demographic structure in most regions of the seven northeastern states,” the letter said.

“Owing the small populations of indigenous communities, the illegal foreigners overwhelmed the minuscule indigenous populace overnight. Land grabbing became the order of the day and the traditional way of life of the natives is being outrightly disregarded by these migrant foreigners whose ulterior motive is to forcibly carve a new homeland in the region at the cost of the dignity of the indigenous populace. Tripura, under the onslaught of mass migration since 1947 saw a dramatic rise of Bangladeshi populations leading to the native tribal population being reduced to a mere 30% in their own homeland and state,” it said.

“This even led to the snatching of political power by these immigrants and the native tribals have become second-class citizens. The tribal citizens of Tripura have to face discrimination, violence and marginalization daily. It is worth noting that Assam has and is still experiencing a mass influx of illegal migrants which led to a six-year-long Assam Movement, causing martyrdom to 860 lives which eventually led to the signing of the historic Assam Accord which promised to deport illegal Bangladeshis from Assam,” it also said.

“Similarly, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh witnessed mass movements in the past and to date demanding the immediate deportation of all foreigners from their states after migrants overwhelmed the indigenous communities in many pockets of their respective states. Such unabated flow of immigrants into the region thus led to insecurity, agitations, riots and clashes between these foreigners and the indigenous people,” it added.