North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) on Wednesday urged the Centre to ensure that not a single Bangladeshi is granted asylum or rehabilitated in any of the North Eastern states. In a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home minister Amit Shah, NESO chairman Samuel Jyrwa and secretary general Mutsikhoyo Yhobu feared that the ongoing crisis in Bangladesh could lead to an exodus of its nationals into India, especially into the north-eastern region.
“At this juncture, it is also imperative for the Government of India to ensure that the border between North East India and Bangladesh should be thoroughly and strictly manned so as to detect attempted illegal migration from across the border,” NESO asserted.
NESO stated that past events indicated that whenever there was a civil war or a riot in Bangladesh, the region always had to bear the brunt of mass illegal immigration from the country. They said the unabated flow of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh (East Pakistan) brought forth an air of tension and stiff competition in the Northeast.
According to NESO, 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 created a sense of animosity between the two groups,” NESO stated.
The student body also said that the illegal settlement of these millions of foreigners led to a drastic alteration of the demographic structure in most regions of the seven north-eastern states. Owing to the small populations of indigenous communities, NESO pointed out that the illegal foreigners overwhelmed the minuscule indigenous populace overnight.
NESO said land grabbing became the order of the day and the traditional way of life of the natives was being outright disregarded by these immigrants whose ulterior motive was to forcibly carve a new homeland in the region at the cost of the dignity of the indigenous populace.
They pointed out that Tripura, under the onslaught of mass migration since 1947, saw a dramatic rise of Bangladeshi population, leading to the native tribal population being reduced to a mere 30% in their own homeland and state. They said this even led to the snatching of political power by these immigrants and the native tribals had become second-class citizens.
NESO said they were making the appeal for the overall interest, welfare and safeguarding of the microscopic indigenous people of the North East, adding that the NESO was looking forward for a positive and swift response from the Centre.
Tripura share a boundary of 856 kilometers with Bangladesh, Meghalaya shares a 443 km long boundary, Mizoram shares 318 km long boundary and Assam has a common boundary of 262 km with Bangladesh.
Hundreds gather at international border
PTI: Hundreds of Bangladeshi nationals gathered at the international border with India in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district on Wednesday, seeking to crossover claiming that they were under attack in their country, officials said.
The incident happened near Dakshin Berubari village in Jhaportala border outpost area, they said, adding that the Border Guard Bangladesh later took them back. These people belonged to five villages in Bangladesh’s Panchagarh district, which shares border with Jalpaiguri.
A local said those gathered across the barbed wire were pleading to let them in. “But we are helpless. They recounted their horrific experiences,” he said. Bangladesh plunged into uncertainty after weeks of violent street protests over job quota forced Sheikh Hasina to quit as prime minister and flee.