"Why should the same country have different Acts for same kind of offenders?"

The Assam Accord which brought to an end the movement against foreigners, launched by the All-Assam Students' Union (AASU), is more than 13 years old. But it has failed to solve the infiltration problem. In fact, the problem has spread to several other states of the country.
In Assam, even as the accord had provided for detection and deportation of the Bangladeshi migrants, so far only a little over 9,000 persons have been identified as such, while those deported is hardly 1,400. The AASU and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) have been crying hoarse on the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983, saying this piece of law has not helped detection but has provided protection instead to the millions of infiltrators.

The BJP, which had promised to scrap the IMDT Act, applicable only to Assam, has remained silent after being elected to power. A recent report by Assam Governor Lt. Gen (Retd) S.K. Sinha, sent to the President on November 8, said the Bangladeshis would demand merger of Assam withtheir country, and that Bangladesh would severe the Northeast from India. SAMUDRA GUPTA KASHYAP spoke to Sinha. Excerpts:

After the contents of your report were published, some quarters have complained that you are politically motivated.

I do not belong to any political party. I have never had any association with any party. I have no political ambitions, I have studied the problem objectively and found that one angle has been totally ignored so far, and to me that is the most important angle. It is national security. And perhaps, the feeling elsewhere in the country was, or has been, that this is a local or a regional problem of Assam.

How strong is Bangladesh's attempt to capture Assam?

I have clearly stated in my report how the people from erstwhile East Pakistan, and even before when Pakistan was created, have been thinking in terms of grouping Assam with Pakistan. And even after Pakistan came into being, the desire to amalgamate Assam with it has been alwayspresent. Even today in Dhaka, intellectuals are writing about lebensraum or living space and Assam is the living space of their dream.

And how do you think Bangladesh will severe the Northeast from the rest of the country?

Look at the map, migration is still going on, and the districts of Bhubri and Goalpara in lower Assam have a large number of migrants. At one stage of time they will want to merge with Bangladesh and it will become a greater Bangladesh. This will lead to the land link between the Northeastern region and the rest of India getting snapped. When that happens, what are the strategic and economic consequences for the whole nation?

You have been accused of trying to flare up the communal situation which will lead to harassment of the minorities.

This is an ill-conceived allegation. Why should minorities be harassed? I have talked only about infiltrators. There should not be any confusion regarding minorities and infiltrators. These two are two differentcategories.

Moreover, if someone is thinking that the minorities will be harassed if the IMDT Act is repealed, why don't they look at West Bengal. There are about five million Bangladeshis in West Bengal, and there is no IMDT Act there. Is anybody being harassed there? Moreover, why should the same country have two different Acts for the same kind of offenders? This is absurd. Moreover, we have seen the result of the IMDT Act in Assam. We have spent several crores of rupees in implementing this Act and maintaining the IMDT Tribunals, but we have been able to detect just about 9,000 Bangladeshis. So what purpose does this Act serve?

But the signatories to the Assam Accord had not demanded repeal of this Act?

Yes. They simply asked for amendment of the Act. First of all they (the signatories to the Accord, the AASU and its allies) should have asked for scrapping the IMDT Act. That is a big lacunae of the Accord.

So what do you suggest for tackling the problem ofinfiltration?

Simple. We can use the Foreigners Act. But since the number (of infiltrators) is so large, let there be a survey. Ground survey teams, each under a magistrate assisted by the Border Organisation, should extensively tour the areas allotted to them, to identify the illegal migrants. To ensure maximum objectivity and freedom from local pressures, political or otherwise, magistrates from outside Assam should be deputed for this task. The survey should be completed in a fixed time-frame. And then individuals identified as illegal migrants should be allowed the right to appeal before the Foreigners Tribunal.

But is it possible to throw out such a large number of people?

No. It is not possible. It is not practicable to deport one crore people from India. So make them stateless citizens. Don't give them the right to vote. I have already said in my report that the Assamese people may resent the decision not to deport the migrants. But in the present circumstances there is no otheralternative. They should get reconciled to it.

What do you suggest about the border?

I have suggested completion of the fencing on war footing. The Border Security Force deployment should be increased, and the BSF should not be pulled off for counter-insurgency operations.

You talked about political parties encouraging infiltration.

Yes. Political parties have been helping infiltration. I do not want to name any particular party, but I am convinced that they are doing this, for strengthening their vote banks. I don't blame them. This is how our democracy is functioning. In Bihar, they use the caste card. Here they are using the migrants as vote banks.

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