Influx, CAA & North East
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: August 20, 2022 -

The controversial Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA in short is not a closed chapter yet at least in the North East region.

Amidst strong protests across the country, the CAA was passed in the Parliament in December 2019.

Soon after, the protest movement turned violent in the region and five persons were killed in police firing in the same month the controversial legislation was cleared.

The protest movement subsided and was brought to a halt only because of the Covid pandemic.

With the pandemic now waning in the country, the anti-CAA protest was resumed on August 17 under the banner of the highly influential North East Students' Organisation (NESO).

Then what is there is the CAA which evokes so much consternation and provokes massive protest movement?

Before making any attempt to answer this question, one must have a thorough understanding of the ethnography and changing demographic profiles of the North East region.

The basic objective of the CAA is rehabilitation of Hindu and non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Of course, India can accommodate tens of millions of immigrants but it will wreak havoc at the regional level, particularly in the North East region, the indigenous peoples of which are quite distinct from the rest of India in terms of history, identity, race, culture, religion, topography, language etc, etc.

But the total population of the entire North East region constitutes a small fraction of the total population of India.

If Hindu and non-Muslim immigrants from the particular three countries are allowed to settle in the country as intended by the NDA Government, there is a strong possibility of immigrant population overwhelming all the indigenous peoples of the North East.

Tripura, a small State in the North East has been already struck by the tragedy of incessant influx.

Bengali immigrants have far outnumbered the indigenous people of the State and the immigrants have taken control of the State's political power as well as economy.

It was this tragic transformation in Tripura which makes all the sister States of the region hypersensitive to any issue related to influx or resettlement of immigrants.

Now Assam, Manipur and Meghalaya too are reeling under suffocating pressure of abnormal population growth caused by immigration, both legal and illegal.

The Central Government must not ever commit the blunder of assuming that the threat perceptions of the North East people vis-a-vis incessant influx and immigration are imaginary or unfounded.

Bangladesh shares 4,096 Kms of border with the Indian States of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

It was reported in media that the trip to India from Bangladesh is one of the cheapest in the world.

As Bangladeshis are culturally similar to the Bengali people of India, they are able to pass off as Indian citizens and settle down in any part of India.

Already Bangladeshi immigrants have drastically altered the demographic profile of the Northeastern States, particularly Assam.

The migrant population will simply multiply if Hindu and non-Muslim people from the neighbouring country are allowed to settle in the country lawfully as Indian citizens.

These are some of the major consternations which have been fuelling and sustaining the anti-CAA protests.

If the Central Government is planning to counter-balance the Muslim migrants from Bangladesh and Pakistan with Hindu migrants, the future of the indigenous communities of the North East can be safely assumed sealed for good.

The Government of India must see that genuine India citizens of the North East are not wiped out by adopted citizens from Bangladesh.

Before implementing the CAA, the Government of India must either make arrangements to settle the Hindu and non-Muslim immigrants in other parts of the country where the immigrants would have little impact on the regional demographic profiles or keep the North East out of the purview of the Act.

At the same time, the CAA, by naming some particular religious groups who are entitled for citizenship while some others are conspicuously left out, challenges the principle of secularism enshrined in the constitution.