Illegal Immigration in India - Political Concerns Over Bangaladeshi Illegal Immigrants

Political Concerns Over Bangaladeshi Illegal Immigrants

Further information: Assam agitation and Assam accord

Majority of the debate over Bangaladeshi illegal immigrants has revolved around Assam. In Assam, agitation against immigrants started as early as 1979, led by All Assam Students Union. Their demand was to put a stop on the influx of immigrants and deportation of those who have already settled. It gradually took violent form and ethnic violence started between Assamese and Bengalis, mostly Muslim. It eventually led to the infamous Nellie massacre in 1983 due to a controversy over the 1983 election. In 1985 Indian Government signed the Assam accord with the leaders of the agitation to stop the issue. As per the accord India started building a fence along the Assam-Bangladesh border which is now almost complete. However, Assam also has a large number of genuine Indian Muslim Bengalis. It is difficult to distinguish between illegal Bangaldeshis and local Bengali speakers. In some cases, genuine Indian citizens have been discriminated Allegations exist that nationalist parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party as well as the Indian National Congress have discriminated against Bengali-speaking Muslims. On the other hand, in some places reports of Bangladeshis being able to secure Indian ration and voter identity cards have come out.

After 1991 census the changing demographic patterns in border districts became more visible. It created anxiety and tension in India throughout the nineties. Both conservatives as well as moderates expressed concern on this issue. The first BJP government came into power in 1998 and subsequently ordered the construction of the Indo-Bangladesh barrier to stop migrants and illegal trade along the border. It was planned to enhance the already existing barrier in Assam and to encircle West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram as well.

The other Indian state affected by this problem, West Bengal, remained mostly calm during this period. However Indian newspapers reported that "the state government has reports that illegal Bangladeshi migrants have trickled into parts of rural Bengal, including Nandigram, over the years, and settled down as sharecroppers with the help of local Left leaders. Though a majority of these immigrants became tillers, they lacked documents to prove the ownership of land".

The Government of Bangladesh has denied India's claims on illegal immigration.

After 2001 census the anxiety somewhat reduced when the growth rates were found to have returned to near normal level, particularly in West Bengal, thus negating the fear that there was an unabated influx of migrants. Although some concern remains.

Lately, Bangladeshi illegal migrants have been moving to Kerala owing to the high wages for unskilled and semi-skilled laborers in the state. The Kerala police are reportedly finding it difficult to check the influx of these Bangladeshi illegal migrants. Kerala State Intelligence officials said they found that a large section of migrant laborers in the state claiming to be from West Bengal were actually from Bangladesh.