NE in grave danger from illegal foreigners: Mahasangha
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, September 25 2015 : Coalition for Indigenous Rights Campaign (CIRCA), Manipur, Assam Meitei Apunba Lup (AMAL) and Assam Sanmilitan Mahasangha (ASM), a confederation of indigenous people of Assam on Friday held a joint press conference in Imphal.

ASM working president Matiur Rahman said that the whole of Northeast is now facing grave danger of massive infiltration by illegal foreigners.

The Supreme Court of India in its verdict in 2005 declared that the illegal foreigners' problem is a "silent aggression".

According to Article 355 of the Constitution, it is the duty of the Central Government to save the State from silent aggression.

Despite Mahasangha's repeated request, the Centre has not done anything in this regard, Rahman lamented.

NE in grave danger from illegal foreigners: Mahasangha

Mahasangha had filed a PIL in the apex court in December 2012 and there have been 25 hearings since then.

The two-judge division bench of Justice Rohinton Nariman and Justice Ranjan Gogoi referred the case to a Constitution Bench on December 17, 2014 in a verdict.

However, the Constitution bench is yet be constitutes.

It is a secret understanding between judiciary and executive, Mahasangha alleged.

Mahasangha urged that the base year of foreigners' identification should be 1951.According to the Constitution of India, there are two dates�July 19, 1948 without application and January 19, 1949 by application� to be made proper authority for grating citizenship by a foreigner in India.

The first census of India was conducted in 1951, so the base year for foreigners' identification must be 1951, Mahasangha reiterated.

Now, the Central Government fixed 1971 as the base year in Assam.

The ongoing NRC update has allowed 1971 as the base year in Assam.

So, after Assam, in other States of the Northeast, 1971 may be imposed as base year for identification of foreigners, said ASM.

Now, the Modi Government is planning to issue citizenship to illegal Hindu minorities of Pakistan and Bangladesh who entered Assam and other Northeast Sates on or before December 31, 2014.Mahasangha is ready to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.

To protect Manipur from the silent aggression of foreigners, all the indigenous organizations should unite, Mahasangha said, adding if all the Northeast State fight unitedly, nothing is impossible.

Among others, the three organizations decided to fight against the aggression together under one common umbrella and to resolve all issues through a collective and unified effort in the line of UNDRIP, 2007 in the month of November next.