Tackle illegal immigration through consensus: Advani
1 Aug 2012 1:54 AM GMT
Senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party L K Advani on Tuesday said that large-scale immigration from Bangladesh is the reason for the clashes that took place in lower Assam. The BJP leader said a national consensus should be called to tackle the problem of illegal immigrants and conflicts over land rights.
'The government must try to create a national consensus on four issues. Political parties should also be part of the consensus. And, in the coming session of Parliament, it will be my party's endeavour to bring around Parliament to these four points,' said Advani in Guwahati.
The BJP leader said that the problem of Assam should be treated as an Indian vs. foreigner issue, and not as a Hindu vs. Muslim issue, the other point made by him was that an an updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) should be prepared and non-citizens of Assam should be deleted from the voters' list.
The third point put forth by Advani was that the government should uphold non-violability of tribal belts and blocks in Bodo areas for protection of land rights of indigenous people. Lastly, the leader said that we should save Assam to save India’s unity and integrity in the North East.
Blaming the government's inaction in dealing with the problem of infiltrators, Advani said that this has resulted in indigenous communities feeling threatened. 'Today's situation has arisen firstly because of criminal delay in dealing with the situation when symptoms were already there,' said Advani.
The BJP leader said indigenous Assamese people have about been squeezed out and they are being deprived of rightful ownership of land by illegal immigrants.
'Indigenous communities are losing control of their land while illegal Bangladeshi immigrants have embarked on a large scale land grab policy,' said Advani.
PEACE HANGS BY A THREAD IN RIOT-HIT ASSAM
The recent ethnic flare-up in Assam that killed 58 and displaced hundreds of thousands of people not only shook the governments in both the state and the centre but revived the debate on why peace is so fragile in the northeastern state that is home to complex multi-ethnic, religious and linguistic groups.
The fresh violence incidentally came days after Home Minister P Chidambaram said at a press conference in Chandigarh that the northeast has been 'more peaceful' than 'the most peaceful' year 2011. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who visited the state over the weekend, described the riots as a 'blot on the nation'.
The conflict that ripped through parts of Assam last week was triggered by the murder of four men of the Bodo community in a Muslim-dominated area of Kokrajhar district. The killings generated repeated cycles of violence that led to more deaths and forced more than 250,000 people, including women and children, in Bodo-dominated areas to live in refugee camps, again bringing on the edge the sensitive border state that was otherwise headed towards peace.
What is causing the state of beautiful landscapes and tea gardens to sit on a tinderbox?
'Politics of manipulation,' said Ajai Sahni, an author and expert on counter-terrorism.
Sahni, the executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi, blamed politicians for not working out 'permanent and inclusive' solutions to Assam's problems, including the issues related to Bodos, the largest tribal group in the state's plains. 'Political parties don't want clarity on the issues in Assam. You solve one issue and leave the other hanging. You make settlement for one group and leave others unresolved,' Sahni said, referring to the influx of illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh.
Illegal immigration is one of the burning issues confronting Assam.
The Bodos feel threatened that they are being robbed of their land and identity by wave after wave of Muslim immigrants coming in from Bangladesh.
As per the law, immigrants who crossed over from Bangladesh into India after 1971 are liable to be detected and deported. But there is no reliable data on the number of such people.
'The government must try to create a national consensus on four issues. Political parties should also be part of the consensus. And, in the coming session of Parliament, it will be my party's endeavour to bring around Parliament to these four points,' said Advani in Guwahati.
The BJP leader said that the problem of Assam should be treated as an Indian vs. foreigner issue, and not as a Hindu vs. Muslim issue, the other point made by him was that an an updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) should be prepared and non-citizens of Assam should be deleted from the voters' list.
The third point put forth by Advani was that the government should uphold non-violability of tribal belts and blocks in Bodo areas for protection of land rights of indigenous people. Lastly, the leader said that we should save Assam to save India’s unity and integrity in the North East.
Blaming the government's inaction in dealing with the problem of infiltrators, Advani said that this has resulted in indigenous communities feeling threatened. 'Today's situation has arisen firstly because of criminal delay in dealing with the situation when symptoms were already there,' said Advani.
The BJP leader said indigenous Assamese people have about been squeezed out and they are being deprived of rightful ownership of land by illegal immigrants.
'Indigenous communities are losing control of their land while illegal Bangladeshi immigrants have embarked on a large scale land grab policy,' said Advani.
PEACE HANGS BY A THREAD IN RIOT-HIT ASSAM
The recent ethnic flare-up in Assam that killed 58 and displaced hundreds of thousands of people not only shook the governments in both the state and the centre but revived the debate on why peace is so fragile in the northeastern state that is home to complex multi-ethnic, religious and linguistic groups.
The fresh violence incidentally came days after Home Minister P Chidambaram said at a press conference in Chandigarh that the northeast has been 'more peaceful' than 'the most peaceful' year 2011. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who visited the state over the weekend, described the riots as a 'blot on the nation'.
The conflict that ripped through parts of Assam last week was triggered by the murder of four men of the Bodo community in a Muslim-dominated area of Kokrajhar district. The killings generated repeated cycles of violence that led to more deaths and forced more than 250,000 people, including women and children, in Bodo-dominated areas to live in refugee camps, again bringing on the edge the sensitive border state that was otherwise headed towards peace.
What is causing the state of beautiful landscapes and tea gardens to sit on a tinderbox?
'Politics of manipulation,' said Ajai Sahni, an author and expert on counter-terrorism.
Sahni, the executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi, blamed politicians for not working out 'permanent and inclusive' solutions to Assam's problems, including the issues related to Bodos, the largest tribal group in the state's plains. 'Political parties don't want clarity on the issues in Assam. You solve one issue and leave the other hanging. You make settlement for one group and leave others unresolved,' Sahni said, referring to the influx of illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh.
Illegal immigration is one of the burning issues confronting Assam.
The Bodos feel threatened that they are being robbed of their land and identity by wave after wave of Muslim immigrants coming in from Bangladesh.
As per the law, immigrants who crossed over from Bangladesh into India after 1971 are liable to be detected and deported. But there is no reliable data on the number of such people.
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