IMDT Repeal Supreme Court ruling the next step
In a very welcome move the Supreme Court of India has declared the IMDT Act as unconstitutional. It is said that this Act was impeding the identification of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh into Assam. Also that all major political parties and student groups such as Asom Gana Parishad , BJP and All Assam Student Union (AASU) had been agitating and demandin its repeal . There had been fears that if illegal immigrants from the Islamic Republic of Bangladesh continued to swamp Assam and other parts of North Eastern India then there is very high possibility of a demand for another partition of India . The next partition could carve out muslim majority areas in the region - containing muslims mostly from Bangladesh. Reports had shown that these illegal immigranst had been settling all along the Indo-Bangla border.
Well, the Supreme Court has taken this decision right after the July bombings in London by Islamic militants and immigrants from Pakistan to Britain. In this light it can perhaps be discerned that the Indian intelligentia has now developed the courage to call spade a spade and tackle the probable birth of another Islamic nation amidst us. However, the ruling Congress party in India and as well within Assam state has been very ambiguous on this issue. It has been asking for an appeal against the court decision. Instead of taking action against the illegal immigrants who reportedly number in millio!
ns even
within Delhi : mostly in the slums along the Yamuna river it is only speaking of some possibility of wrongly targeting of Indian muslims in Assam as Bangladeshis. Why shouldnt the government take up the task of separating the grain from the chaff the Indian muslim from the illegal Bangladeshi ones? The Indian muslim organizations in Assam have also welcomed the Supreme Court decision.
Recent news-reports from Bangladeshi press also stress that due to poverty in Bangladesh hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi workers are illegally crossing over to India. They further stress that the removal of IMDT would harass these people. I wonder why Bangladesh does not create opportunities for its people. No-one in India had asked the people in the East Bengal (Bangladesh) to leave India and carve out a new nation - Bangladesh. Since they !
have gone
ahead with that they must take care of their people and keep them within their borders or reconsider the diplomatic possibility of rejoining Indian nation. I wonder whether the now-developing India would ever welcome the possibility of being burdened by another poverty ridden state (Bangladesh) if ever Bangladesh were to make such an offer.
As was recently brought to light Assam is far behind in distributing Voter Identity Cards. However, in meeting its targets for issuing them care should be taken to ensure that the cards are not distributed blindly to all who ask for them. Prominent members of the Assamese community must come forward (not just the news-media) to monitor the progress in identifying the illegals, jailing them and deporting them. Reports of collusion of Border Security Force guards at the border who take bribes to let illegals in must be examined and appropriate steps be taken to stem the corruption.
The issue must not be allowed to die a natural death since the agitation demanding the repeal of IMDT has achieved its end.
By: Umesh Sharma August 9, 2005
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