Of Rights, Citizenship, Immigrants
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: September 23 2015 -

The Supreme Court’s September 17 verdict directing the Centre and Arunachal Pradesh Government to confer citizenship rights on “eligible” Chakmas and Hajong people and to ensure measures for protecting their lives and liberty has indeed enraged the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU).

The AAPSU has vehemently opposed the Apex Court’s directive.

As an immediate reaction, AAPSU has now decided to register its dismay with a protest rally scheduled for September 28.

While describing the Supreme Court’s directive as “arbitrary” and aimed at “hurting” the sentiments of the indigenous people of Arunachal Pradesh, AAPSU has vowed to fight against the verdict.

It may be recalled that AAPSU had been spearheading the fight for resolving the vexed refugee issue over the years.

The level of disenchantment with the Apex Court’s directive can be gauged from the stand taken by the student union that political parties, leaders, organisations or individual who had supported the verdict would be deemed “anti-Arunachal”.

As of now what has to be judiciously noted is the AAPSU’s raison d’être. The union says that when fellow Indian citizens from other States are not even allowed to inherit property or settle in Arunachal, then how the government could allow “illegal immigrants” from another country to have citizenship rights in the State.

While asking the Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister to file a “review petition” challenging the Apex Court’s judgement, the AAPSU made it clear that Chakma and Hajong tribals had migrated from Bangladesh between 1964 and 1969.

It may be mentioned that the Supreme Court’s directive followed a petition filed by the Committee for Citizenship Rights of the Chakmas (CCRC) of Arunachal Pradesh.

Following this, the Apex Court has directed the Centre and the State Government to comply with the verdict within three months. The court said that the exercise for the grant of citizenship to Chakmas and Hajongs may be “completed at the earliest preferably within three months from today”.

The Supreme Court also observed that the Chakmas and Hajongs cannot be required to obtain any Inner Line Permit as they are settled in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.

However, the Apex Court also indirectly hinted that the decision was taken at the political level as the two tribal communities were displaced from Bangladesh and that they were allowed to be rehabilitated under the decision of the Government of India.

The verdict is significant as the Apex Court seems to have taken cognizance of the fact that New Delhi actually calls the shots on who all can be defined as citizens of the country following the political exigencies of the time.

It is now time to reflect on how similar situations elsewhere in the Northeast region could end up with similar verdict.