A ticking time bomb Address the infiltration problem boldly

Author: Editorial
Publication: The Statesman
Date: February 6, 2003

The BSF-BDR standoff at Coochbehar heralds a new and difficult phase in Indo-Bangladesh relations, directly related to a shift towards fundamentalist attitudes in Dhaka after the last elections. Relations have worsened since the April 2001 border skirmish at Roumari in which 18 border guards, including 16 of the BSF, were killed. Dhaka refuses to take back the 213 Bangladeshis on the plea that they are not its nationals although ample proof to the contrary is furnished. They see this issue in Coochbehar as an opportunity to test Indian resolve. Past experiences suggests a response from Delhi that is half- hearted and contradictory. Further, some states like West Bengal have for long backed Dhaka's contention that Bengali- speaking Indian Muslims and not genuine Bangladeshis are being deported. Buddhadeb deserves kudos for his realism; it was not always so. Marxists have hitherto looked upon Bangladeshi infiltrators as a vote bank providing ration cards and enrolment as comrades heading panchayats. No wonder 11 of the 20 million Bangladeshis living illegally in India are in West Bengal and Assam. Even the CPI leader Indrajit Gupta as the union home minister in 1996 had said that West Bengal was not facing any problem of infiltration. His other Left Front comrades said that infiltration should not be discouraged as it provided cheap labour. Jyoti Basu had called The Statesman's "Quiet Influx" series of reports on infiltration as a cock and bull story. The failure to speak in one voice against infiltration has encouraged Bangladesh not to accept its nationals in Coochbehar. Dhaka is afraid that to do so would result in throwing open the deportation flood gates. And Bangladesh would face disaster if India were to deport all the 20 million Bangladeshis that deputy prime minister LK Advani recently said were staying illegally in India and "posed the biggest threat to national security". We are not alone. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Japan and the USA are among the other countries which have started sending back lakhs of Bangladeshis staying illegally in those countries.

Delhi must seriously rethink whether its current policy of delegating to the states the power to detect and deport illegally residing foreign nationals should continue. Clearly the policy has not delivered. Doubts persist whether the institutionalised multi-agency task force and joint intelligence command comprising central and state agencies as proposed by LK Advani will be effective. Suggestions like a central immigration authority on the lines of US Immigration and Naturalisation Service should be considered. Delhi must act fast; it is late already.
 

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