[Reader-list] TEHELKA on Bangladesh, Our Sorrow

[Naeem Mohaiemen]

>From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 5, Issue 47, Dated Nov 29, 2008
Bangladesh, Our Sorrow?

What did the Assam blasts point to? Let's at least ask the right questions

WALTER FERNANDES
Pros and Cons

Illustration: ANAND NAOREM

THE BOMB blasts that shook Assam on October 30 reopened the debate on
the immigration issue. Intelligence agencies that could not foresee
such a well-organised attack jumped to the conclusion, within hours,
that it was planned in Bangladesh, and immigrants were involved.
Later, they changed it to say that a Bodo outfit had joined Muslim
groups. We were asked to believe that these two groups, who were
killing each other on the North Bank of the Brahmaputra just four
weeks earlier, had come together for this operation.

These accusations have revived the demand for the expulsion of
Bangladeshi immigrants. That immigration is a serious issue is beyond
doubt, but it cannot be identified with Bangladeshi Muslims alone. A
comparison between the 1971 and 2001 census shows an excess of 40 lakh
persons over the natural growth rate in Assam alone. Around 17 lakh of
these are Bengali-speaking Muslims, presumably of Bangladeshi origin.
The remaining 23 lakh are predominantly Hindi-speaking Hindus, and a
few Nepalis.

However, the debate is limited to Bangladeshi Muslims in the
Northeast. The remaining communities are ignored. For example, Hindu
Bangladeshi immigration reduced the tribal population of Tripura from
58 percent in 1951 to 31 percent in 2001, but they are considered to
be Indians.

It is forgotten that the major issue is land and not religion. The
immigrants encroach on tribal and non-tribal common land that sustain
these communities. Most immigrants were landless agricultural
labourers. Most land in Assam and parts of the Northeast is
community-owned. But colonial land laws that continue to be in force
recognise only individual ownership, and consider community-owned land
to be state property. That makes it possible for migrants to take over
such land.

That is what happened in Tripura and Assam. In Tripura, Bangladeshi
Hindus encroached over 60 percent of tribal land. The tribal
insurgency there began as a way of defending the land. Most other
conflicts in the Northeast centre around land. The ethnic groups of
the region fight for control of the little land that is left. Besides,
most immigrants who were agricultural labourers in their region of
origin know cultivation techniques. They prosper by growing three
crops on the land that they occupy. The original owners of that land
are unable to do this. They resent the fact that outsiders thrive on
the land alienated from them. Conflict follows from this.

Expelling immigrants is not the solution. Nor is a border fence. The
border cannot be fenced because 40 percent of it is riverine. Nor can
a fence prevent corruption. Persons of Bangladeshi origin indicate
that they have to pay the BSF and BDR at least Rs 400 every time they
enter or leave India.

Immigration cannot be treated in isolation or given a communal colour.
Immigration from present-day Bangladesh began in the 19th century.
Thus, Bangladesh's economy is well-integrated with that of the
Northeast. That is why twothirds of the trade here is illegal, because
it is a continuation of the traditional exchange of goods. Both such
exchange and immigration, considered illegal by the state, are
intrinsic to the integrated economy of the region. That, too,
continues because of corruption among the protectors of the border.

Ways have, therefore, to be found of dealing with these. One must
treat immigration as an economic issue. Corruption must end. Also,
legalise trade considered to be illegal. Work permits and identity
cards for immigrants are other possibilities. The land issue cannot be
ignored, but must not be communalised either. Moreover, the law must
be applied equally to all immigrants, whatever their origin or
religion.

(Fernandes is Director, North East Social Research Centre, Guwahati)
>From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 5, Issue 47, Dated Nov 29, 2008