Inner Line Permit - ILP - NESO Bandh and their role

RS Jassal *

Empty streets due to North East bandh called by North East Student Organisation in Imphal on 06 September 2012
Pix - Bunti Phurailatpam

Illegal immigrants of lakhs of people into NE is really a serious matter not only for the indigenous people but for the Indian nationals too as a whole. It upsets the living styles of the people who had never faced such situation from the outlandish till it assumes unmanageable limits with slow and steady absorption of essential resources into settler's kitty.

Flight of HH Dalai Lama in 1959 into Indian territories led to a short but bloody war between India & China after 2 years or so not only along the route he followed but at the areas which were not even covered by the route he had followed. Tripura had almost 8 - 10 MLA of Bangladeshi origin in its Assembly till five years back and Dimapur which is protected by ILP is presenting a fearsome face at its entry point to the land of 'Nagas', Nagaland for Christ, Manipur's Jiribam Sector along Man Bahadur Road up to 40-50 kms is again a sad story of how demographies work. Student's organizations & social organizations work only when alarm is created by hue & cry by people who suffer amidst wrong settlers. So far well & good. Just go through the following facts realize that this can also happen.

ASSAM – NELI & Kokrajhar. People either side of IB with then East Pak moved haphazardly during 1947 without areas ear-marked by the governments of either side where to settle them. Surprisingly inflow into Indian territories now well-known Bodo Land was much more than people vacated Bodoland to move into then East Pakistan. AMSU started stir against such occupants for a decade in early eighties.

Because of agitation a popular democratically elected Government (AGP) was formed with promise to the people of Assam to drive all such immigrants out. Immigrants settlers multiplied over decades in homosapien way and by bringing in of more settlers and tension between them and original Assamese (tribal & valley both) started showing up and suddenly flared into merciless massacre of 100 outsiders in one go in Neli. It happened in 1974, Govt. of India paid little attention at that time taking it as local communal discord between two communities and granted it a temporary passage, proof of legal settlers.

Later Assam Accord (with then PM Rajiv Ratan Gandhi) was struck, situation pacified but its clauses on dealing with immigrants remained unimplemented. Such vanguards of agitation who formed Govt as AGP realized that problem would melt away, without realizing that it will re-emerge in Kokhrajhar (Bodoland area) as it happened today with over 100 persons again dead and yet no clue how to sort out the problem permanently.

Tripura - Indigenous tribals were reduced to ghastly a minority status by a seemingly commonly shared demography with negligible differences of being a Hindu Banglee or a Muslim Banglee due shared ethnic affinities with earlier loose moves and not so conspicuous ethnic differences of settlements became easier. But lands of tribals only were taken by illegal settlers over the indigenous & legal inhabitant i.e., Tripurees. Porous IB and common language made the task of immigrants easier for mixing. Major ethnicity i.e., Bangalees are of E Pakistan who gained and got fully politically empowered irrespective of Hindu or Muslim origin.

Indian Constitutional provisions paved way for lost lands & forests of tribals to be ensured enough though much belated. So after four decades, 2 lakhs tribals have been rehabilitated in their own lost lands & almost 1 lakh have been benefited under IAY schemes & things are improving, at this speed in near future their power & authority will rebuild as identification of original lands belonging to tribals cannot be lost in the din. But Bodoland or lower Assam is posing a different problem hence 3 lakhs plus landed into refugee camps.

Nagaland - One is surprised on one side, under ILP no outsider can settle or own a piece of land or enter into Nagaland sounds spiritually reverberate through, but on the other side, Dimapur is posing a different picture. When you see surging humanity of different complexion altogether dominating business, trade and labour force.

It is an open secret those people are providing labour to Nagas, but no policy appears to be in place to issue works permits to them or review their stay after or at fixed intervals. Just blaming Govt of India will not do.

Keep your lembarsaum clear of wild growth if you want specy you planted grow well. Take pride in labour. Naga landlords have got so big houses & farms they need 20-30 workers to tend it at one time.

Manipur, there are as many students organizations and social orgs as one can think of. There is All Manipur Students Union and MSF but factually their influence may be in valley only. There is All Tribal Students Union though on ground area of influence may be in a particular tribal belt, steer gearing the affairs. IKPF is waiting ILP to be imposed, RAP and PAP less ILP is already operative in Manipur as per Govt of India MHA authority 2008.

If all Students organizations, Kuki Tribal's Organizations and other civil organizations including State Govt. act together how, infiltration can take place?, having sufficient number of IRB Bns in hand to deploy them. Probably, there are multiple reasons for this helpless situation. To my mind, may be;

One. Porous borders with NC Hills (Assam), Mizoram internally and Myanmar internationally.

Two. No police outpost exists at vulnerable points, for example on Tapaimukh, axis, River line motor boats are plying in Barak to Fulerthal – Silchar -Karimganj without any checks. A select group of influentials and the UGs are controlling river line business with no taxes to the Govt. resultantly

Three. EAC post is supposed to be with police personnel at Tipaimukh. It is nonfunctional. Behiang with Mizoram border if trade post to be opened, Delha (Sajik Tampak), Somtal Salient, Khengjoi Range merging with Myanmar plains, Kongan Thana (old Maharaja Times Police Station) and quite a bit of length of IB facing Tangkul belt passing through Choro etc. are without any check posts where police is required.

There are three Sub-Divisions, Khamjong-Phungyar-Kasom Khullen within a radius of 30 kms in South Ukhrul district, leaving entire other areas just like that. Even as a custom, except Moreh, Jiribam, almost all other Sub-Divisions are functioning from district HQ. In short we as a State are not Security conscious at all, otherwise how illegals can find space and place inside our capital HQ as recently detected by state police.

Four National Unique Register ordered by UIDAI (Planning Commission) since Jan 2009 be referred to if it has been prepared as per instructions from Govt. of India. One wonders what its position is today. In absence of that inflated figures will keep on getting quoted by various writers and scribes. The updated register can reveal easily number of illegal occupants.

In fine end, our administration, weak links in security chain needs to be set right. Let the Police, CID function from points from where they are supposed to function. Bangladesh weekly haats which were never seen inside Nagaland can now be visited at Zakhama too. Let the students study, do not use them in taking out processions, strengthen the hands of the administration as whistle blowers who - so - ever finds hears about the illegal immigrants entered in the state. They have to stay somewhere so the family/ person providing shelter but hiding the fact be dealt with strong hand.

Can ILP alone do us good? See example of Nagaland. If Government and administration function with national interest in mind, ILP is not required at all. Rather ILP can create /impediments as is seen from fake SMS messages how much damage it can cause to legal NE persons inside other Indian territories like Bangalore, Chennai, Chandigarh unnecessarily, if we compartmentalize our living abodes in isolation.

Legal Indian citizens have to stay anywhere they feel like but within constitutional constraints i.e. need basis first and foremost is working out of equal laws for hills & valleys in entire NE. Since each and every tribe/community is conscious of protecting their lands, forests & lembarsaums NESO can play an important role in this with state units of students.

I dare to ask do we expect our young students to ignore studies and do police job to locate the illegal intruders. It is police job. Education must be left as FREEZONE. No bandhs or procession by the students, if we really wish to see our Manipur a strong and vibrant state.