Serious trouble with regard to the ‘illegal Bangladeshi’ issue appears to be brewing in the Indian state of Assam, which may have spill-over effect on Bangladesh. Though Dhaka considers this protracted issue as Indian internal political issue, government officials are of the opinion that there should be preparations on the part of the Bangladesh side to face any problem or problems that may be created from the trouble in Assam.
According to some officials, Bangladesh does not appear to have worked enough in this regard. Two recent court verdicts regarding the issue – one by the Guwahati High Court and one by Indian Supreme Court – have made things ‘much worse’, said eminent personalities of the state of Assam while talking to The Independent recently.
They, however, said that legal process is yet to be exhausted in this regard. According to some Assamese people, the ‘negative role of the state’s media’ is not helping at all.
“Every day, you will find more than one negative items in every newspaper,” said a journalist, who did not wish to be named.
On February 28, the Gauhati High Court ruled that the residency certificates issued by the secretaries of Gram Panchayet, the lowest tier of Indian local government system, will not be considered as valid link document for National Register of Citizens (NRC), which is being updated in Assam to detect ‘illegal immigrants’ in the state as per the Assam Accord of 1985 that states anyone who came to the state after the midnight of March 24, 1971 will be regarded as illegal. A link document is any piece of documentary evidence that establishes the connections of people born after this date with their parents and grandparents who have proof of being in the state before the cut-off date.
The verdict will ‘exclude as high as 48 lakh people’ from the NRC. Petitions have been submitted with the Indian Supreme Court against the verdict. This matter is now under the consideration of the India’s highest court.
On April 20, the Indian Supreme Court gave a verdict refusing to accept ration card as a valid document for people to get their names in the NRC, which will affect ‘more than 30 lakh people’. Petitions have also been submitted in this regard seeking remedy and alternative documents.          
48,00000 Panchayat documents submitted for the NRC. The court said the residency certificates issued by Gram Panchayat secretaries will no longer be considered a valid link document for the NRC.
Although both the matters are yet to be final, many including the ruling BJP leaders in Assam appear to have concluded that 70-80 lakh people have already been identified as ‘Illegal Bangladeshis’, according to the eminent personalities.
This issue is related mostly to Assam’s internal matter having political, ethnic, linguistic and cultural elements, they said adding that a fear is perhaps working in the minds of indigenous Assamese people that they may become minorities due to the rapid growth of Muslim populations and large number of Bengali Hindus.
Assam is a state of more than three crore people of which Muslims and Bengali Hindus account about 1.8 crore, said the eminent persons.
This ‘fear’ of being minority is making them nervous,
they said.
They also observe that migration from East Bengal (now Bangladesh) in Assam took place for centuries and generalising all Bangla-speaking people as ‘illegal Bangladeshis’, which

is happening now, is not a good thing for Assam’s present and future.
“Look, we are passing through a very tough time. BJP has created an environment of hatred and I doubt how much effective it will be. It’s not easy to conclude that 70-80 lakh people are illegal,” said Nitya Bora, editor of Assam’s largest circulated daily Asomiya Pratidin.
“This is a political problem which needs to be solved politically with exercise of wisdom,” he said.
“I hope people concerned are aware of the situation that may be created once you declare such a number of people as illegal immigrants. The consequences will be dire,” said Bora.
“Legal processes are yet to be exhausted. Everyone hopes that good sense will prevail and a situation inviting conflicts will not be allowed,” he added.
“If this is done, there will be a civil war. It is not so simple,” said Mahbubul Hoque, chairman of the ERD Foundation, Guwahati, and chancellor of University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya.
“Communal issue in Assam has not yet been hateful. But, if there is an attempt to deport a large number of people, it may lead to riots. How long will people remain quiet?” he said, criticising some media outlets for their negative roles.
“You will have to come to a point where you can reconcile and move forward,” he added.
Echoing the sentiment of Hoque, Dispur Press Club President Amal Gupta expressed his fear, saying, “Declaring 70-80 lakh people illegal will simply lead to a civil war.”
“This issue is a political one and time has come for the leadership to show their political wisdom for solving the matter once and for all,” he said.
“But, to be realistic, things are not ideal as we speak and no end to this problem is in sight,” he added.     
Monowar Hussain, a former member of legislative assembly from All India United Democratic Front (AUDF), said that this problem is going to remain in Assam in the near future because many people do not want it solved because ‘no more politics’ will remain if this protracted issue is properly and justly addressed.
“As far as I know, the Indians never raise the issue with us. Even, during our prime minister’s recent visit to India the issue did not come up” a top foreign ministry official has told The Independent.
“Since, the issue is not officially raised with us, I do not see any point to comment on that, he said, adding, “If or when they (India) will raise it, we will address it accordingly.”
When his attention was drawn to the statements of the Indian leaders about ‘illegal Bangladeshis’, he described them as nothing but election rhetoric.
“The Assamese did not raise the issue with me. As far as I am concerned it’s their internal matter,” Kazi Muntashir Murshed, the first assistant high commissioner of Bangladesh in Guwahati said. The Bangladesh assistant high commission started its operations in Assam on March 24.
“They do not raise the issue with us at talks at any level,” said a senior official, adding, “Whatever we know we get from the media.”
The officials said that Dhaka simply does not admit that Bangladeshis are infiltrating or migrating to Assam.
“Look at Guwahati and look at Dhaka. Why on earth, a Bangladeshi will go to Guwahati instead of Dhaka? I don’t see any economic incentives for Bangladeshis to go to Assam,” said the official.
“I would, perhaps, have understood if they said Bangladeshis are migrating to cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai or Bengaluru, which are much more affluent than Assamese cities and towns,” he added.
The official, however, admitted that there is very few, almost negligible, illegal movement between Bangladesh and Assam due to some other reasons.
Another official said, “Even in media we don’t see the Indians mention any exact figure of ‘illegal Bangladeshis’. They say millions and millions. They also don’t provide the definition of an illegal migrant. We are not responsible for any migration that took place before March 26, 1971.” The officials, however, said that Bangladesh will have to have an eye on the happenings in Assam and get prepared accordingly.
They admitted that it is true that there has been little work from the Bangladesh side in this regard and that more are needed to be done.