Fear of the immigrants
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: September 16 2015 -

The Government of India has decided to allow minority refugees from Bangladesh and Pakistan to stay in the country even after expiry of their visas on humanitarian grounds.

On humanitarian considerations, the Centre has decided to exempt Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals belonging to minority communities who have entered India on or before December 31, 2014, in respect of their entry and stay in India without proper documents or after the expiry of relevant documents.

The Government of India took the decision under Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and Foreigners Act, 1946.

This Union Home Ministry notification regularizing the entry and stay of minority migrants from neighbouring countries has evoked strong reactions in Assam.

The Government of India’s notification has drawn severe flak from organisations, legal experts and oplitcial circles.

Most of the views expressed so far are hinged to the apprehension that immigrants from minority communities in Bangladesh currently undergoing trial in various Foreigners Tribunals (FTs) in Assam may be freed soon if the notification was implemented in letter and spirit.

It has been reported that there are some 2.5 lakh cases pending in the Foreigners Tribunals, of which around 70 per cent (1.75 lakh) are of immigrants belonging to the Hindu-Bengali community.

Observers feel that if the Government decides to implement the order, all these cases, primarily those Hindu-Bengali immigrants will have to be withdrawn from the Foreigners Tribunals.

One legal expert was of the view that since the Centre has decided to take them as refugees, there is no point in continuing the cases which are mostly under the Passport Act.

However, the notification has come as a reprieve for Hindu-Bengalis from Bangladesh already declared foreigners and currently lodged at the detention camps in Assam.

Under the new condition and if these foreigners are freed, the very idea of applying the provisions of the Passport Act becomes “redundant”.

Observers have said that the tribunals were first set up in 1985 under the now-repealed The Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal ) (IMDT) Act.

It has been reported that crores of rupees of public money had been spent on the functioning of the tribunals.

Here, it is worth noting that the number of illegal immigrants detected has been reported as 59,512. So far 2,446 have been deported.

The immigrants registered with Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office (FRRO) have been reported as 13,900 with 636 pending writ petitions and 70 inmates in detention camps.

One can only wait and watch how the recent decision of the Government of India impacts the already volatile situation in Northeast India, particularly Assam.

A close observation will only be able to confirm if the fear of the migrants or immigrants are real or perceived.