The North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) has urged the Government of India not to grant asylum or rehabilitate immigrants from strife-torn Bangladesh in any of the northeastern states. NESO has also called on the Union government to ensure strict checks to prevent illegal entry from the neighboring country.
In separate letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, NESO highlighted the ongoing turmoil in Bangladesh, where a civil war-like situation is unfolding. They warned that this situation could have serious repercussions for India, especially in the North East Region, where four states share a common international boundary with Bangladesh. Tripura shares an 856-kilometer boundary with Bangladesh, Meghalaya a 443-kilometer boundary, Mizoram a 318-kilometer boundary, and Assam a 262-kilometer boundary.
“The ongoing crisis in Bangladesh will and may lead to an exodus of its nationals into our country, especially in the North East region. Past events indicate that whenever there is a civil war or a riot in Bangladesh, the North East region has always borne the brunt of mass illegal immigration from the country,” stated the letters signed by NESO Chairman Samuel Jyrwa and Secretary General Mutsikhoyo Yhobu.
NESO noted that during the 1947 partition, lakhs of Bengalis from East Pakistan illegally crossed the border and forcibly occupied lands in Assam and Tripura (then a Union Territory). Similarly, during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, lakhs of East Pakistanis migrated into Indian territory, including North East India, creating a demographic imbalance in Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya (then part of Assam). This unabated flow of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh (East Pakistan) has led to tension and stiff competition in the North East, NESO said.
“The North East region is home to a plethora of indigenous communities that are microscopic in numbers and live among their own communities in traditionally marked territories. The arrival of millions of illegal foreigners from other countries has led to a contestation of space, forced cultural assimilation, economic competition, and distrust between the indigenous populace and the foreigners,” NESO said. These illegal foreigners have settled on the lands of indigenous communities without consent, creating animosity between the two groups, NESO added.
The organization further stated that the illegal settlement of millions of foreigners has drastically altered the demographic structure in most regions of the seven North Eastern states. “Owing to the small populations of indigenous communities, the illegal foreigners have overwhelmed the minuscule indigenous populace overnight,” NESO claimed. They noted that land grabbing has become common and that the traditional way of life of the natives is being disregarded by migrant foreigners “whose ulterior motive is to forcibly carve out a new homeland in the region at the cost of the dignity of the indigenous populace.”
NESO pointed out that Tripura has experienced a dramatic rise in Bangladeshi populations since 1947, reducing the native tribal population to a mere 30% in their own homeland and state. “This has even led to the usurpation of political power by these immigrants, making the native tribals second-class citizens. The tribal citizens of Tripura face daily discrimination, violence, and marginalization,” NESO said.
NESO also highlighted that Assam has been dealing with a mass influx of illegal migrants, leading to a six-year-long Assam Movement that resulted in 860 deaths and the signing of the historic Assam Accord, which promised to deport illegal Bangladeshis from Assam. Similarly, NESO mentioned that Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh have seen mass movements in the past and continue to demand the immediate deportation of all foreigners from their states, as migrants have overwhelmed indigenous communities.
Such unabated immigration has led to insecurity, agitation, riots, and clashes between foreigners and indigenous people, NESO added.
NESO has called for the immediate intervention of the Prime Minister and Home Minister to ensure that no illegal immigrants enter the North East states from Bangladesh and that “not even a single Bangladeshi should be granted asylum or rehabilitation in the entire North East region.” They also stressed the need for the Government of India to ensure that the border between North East India and Bangladesh is thoroughly and strictly monitored to detect attempted illegal migration.
NESO is a coalition of eight students’ bodies representing the seven states of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura, and comprises the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), Garo Students’ Union (GSU), All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU), Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU), and Tripura Students’ Federation (TSF).