Kohima: The North East Students’ Organisation (NESO), a conglomeration of eight students’ bodies representing the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura, expressed concern on Wednesday that the tumultuous political events unfolding in neighbouring Bangladesh could have serious ramifications in India, especially in the northeast region where four states share a common international boundary with Bangladesh.
Protesters in Dhaka pelt stones as they clash with police during the ongoing anti-quota agitation (AFP Photo)
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the NESO stated that the ongoing crisis in Bangladesh will and may lead to an exodus of its nationals into India, particularly to the states sharing borders with the neighbouring nation. In the backdrop of the current situation, NESO underscored the need for the government of India to ensure that the border between northeast India and Bangladesh is thoroughly and strictly manned so as to detect attempted illegal migration from across the border.
Tripura shares a boundary of 856 kilometers with Bangladesh, while
Meghalaya shares a 443 km long boundary, Mizoram shares 318 km, and Assam has a common boundary of 262 km with Bangladesh.
Citing past events where the northeastern region had to bear the brunt of mass illegal immigration from Bangladesh, NESO mentioned the partition in 1947, where hundreds of thousands of Bengalis from East Pakistan illegally crossed the border and forcibly occupied lands in Assam and Tripura (then a Union Territory); during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, many from East Pakistan migrated to India, including the northeast, especially in the states of Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya (then a part of the composite state of Assam).
“The northeastern region is home to a plethora of indigenous communities, which are microscopic in numbers and lives, 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,” the organisation said.
It maintained that 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.
NESO pointed out that these northeastern states have witnessed mass movements in the past and till date demanding the immediate deportation of all foreigners from their states after migrants overwhelmed the indigenous communities in many pockets of their respected states.
Maintaining that such an unabated flow of immigrants into the region thus led to insecurity, agitations, riots, and clashes between these foreigners and the indigenous people, the NESO sought the immediate intervention of the Centre to ensure that no illegal migrant enters the northeastern states from Bangladesh and also requested that no single Bangladeshi should be granted asylum or rehabilitation in the entire northeastern region.
NESO comprises the 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).
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