Notes from North-East: Indigenous Cultures, Demographic Invasion
Another hurried post….essentially a summary of conversations over the last three days (in no particular order). Sorry for the lack of formatting etc.
Aggressive Christian evangelism is a “live” issue across north-east. There have been incidents involving conversions either via direct inducement/ allurement or indirect/ soft persuasion aided by unspoken promises of rewards. I heard of at least two cases of deception and/or fraudulent tactics being used to influence impressionable minds.
Infiltration from across the border continues unabated. I sensed a certain degree of fatalism whenever conversation veered on this topic. This is seriously worrying. The scale of people crossing over the border illegally is now estimated to be in thousands – per day. Almost everyone I spoke to mentioned that it will be next to impossible to identify and deport the vast majority of people who have crossed over. Most of them are well entrenched in the “system” with their names on electoral rolls and/or ration cards.
In Guwahati, I was told most low-level unskilled jobs are being taken up by Bangladeshis. They are also “moving up” to other professions – particularly carpentry and construction. The Assamese feel if things continue at this pace, they will become a minority in their own land. As expected, everyone blames the politicians.
Land encroachment by these illegal migrants is particularly rampant in the border districts and hard-to-reach villages. I was told that even Satra land is not spared; I am awaiting a report that details how up to 7000 bighas of Satra land has apparently been encroached upon in the last few years – almost 80% by illegal migrants. The new generation of migrants crossing over is more brazen and aggressive than before. It is widely believed that everyone is on the “take” – especially in the border regions. Sadly I did not have enough time to visit any of the border areas.
The character of communities where the migrants are settling down is changing slowly but surely…The sounds of “Nam Prasanga” are being replaced by the Azaan(Adhan) and local customs and festivities are being overshadowed by religious processions/ congregations that sometimes take the character of display of strength.
But all may not be lost…There are certain organisations doing tremendous work – especially in far flung rural communities and remote villages. I met the state-wide coordinator of one such organisation: “Kalyan Ashram”. The scope of their work is extensive and probably deserves a separate blog post in itself. Their main focus is to work with the “Janjatis” to help them preserve their indigenous culture, traditions and heritage. There are worries that this is being forgotten…especially as there is almost no tradition of recording events or important aspects of traditional culture.
Most well-read people are aware of – and worried about – the threat from China. Most of the concerns are centred around plans to build a dam across Brahmaputra and the Chinese troops across the border in Arunachal Pradesh. Few people trust the Chinese.
Continued below…
Image courtesy: AssamTourism.org
Insurgency is on the wane (in Assam) but the incendiary ingredients are all still in place – unemployment (and under-employment), lack of infrastructure, deep-rooted corruption and a continuing loss of faith in institutions of the state. Taking up arms can appear to be a very attractive “career option” in such circumstances. You may find this difficult to believe though if you move around in Guwahati. Hoardings of a beaming CM with a list of “achievements” in his nine years as Chief Minister are prominent on major roads (Madam Chairperson of UPA is conspicuous by her absence).
Some of the more “established” insurgent groups are known to be extremely well-organised. Potential recruits are formally “interviewed”, medically examined and sworn to a code of conduct. Being part of such a group is often considered a matter of pride in some communities. I wonder why does the local police force not evoke this sense of pride? Turf wars and “new kids on the block” are frequent triggers for violence. It was mentioned that political parties are also indirectly involved in many instances.
I was told that at least part of the reason for wide-spread unemployment is the absence of a strong work-ethic amongst certain communities in the region. This is mostly based on anecdotal evidence..and I am not sure it is true. I would be very keen to hear readers’ views on this – especially those who are from north-east or have lived/worked there.
Signing off for now. More later.
Related Posts:
Notes from North-East: A worm’s eye view
Notes from North-East: Conversion at gun point?
Kamakhya, Brahmaputra and A Monsoon Outreach
Assam, the land Islam never managed to conquer is now being molested by sickular politicians and their cronies. Eventually neo-Christians and neo-Indians (the migrants most of whom has the M word associated with them) would fight between themselves after
1. burning some temples,
2. breaking some Buddha statues,
3. accusing pyro-maniac Hindus for the destruction (it already happened if one remembers about Godhra train burning)
and 4. finally driving them out of their land.
When Bangladeshi Hindus in East Pakistan or Sikhs in West Panjab got prosecuted, they had a place to run to: west Bengal or east Panjab. Where would these people run to if you consider the sympathies they get from and representation they have among the rest of the India, particularly power centres like Delhi?
Worrying news. A brief excerpt from Maoists linked to NE militants: Pillai:
“We have evidence that the Maoists have come to the northeast and tried to establish links with the insurgent groups in the region,” (Home Secretary) Pillai said.
Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM), has admitted that the Maoists had approached him. Intelligence sources said that powerful Naga separatist group helped the Maoists in arms-smuggling through Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The Maoists also established links with the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the Manipur-based People’s Liberation Army militant outfit.
Following is given on a Christian Missionary website. The guy himself is a part-time missionary who come to convert tribals whenever he has spare time on his hands-
“I took that picture of Dalit children breaking rocks myself. They are not allowed to go to school because of their caste.
Is there a Hindu scripture that says all people are equal?”
This is in the true spirit of Christian Missionaries who only focus on the ills of the Hindu Religion and then take it as an excuse to impose their missionary activities on poor tribals.
The link of this post is as follows-
http://www.coffeehousetheology.com/equality-technology/comment-page-1/#comment-733
Shantanu, and other readers of this blog, will you care to give a suitable reply at the link given above? I think everybody should give a comment.
@GyanP:
Here is my response to post.
http://www.coffeehousetheology.com/equality-technology/comment-page-3/#comment-3834
Jai Bharat!
Thanks for alerting Gyan. I will have a look at the link as well as Sandeep’s response. Thanks Sandeep.
An extract from Official duplicity & vested interests – Laws have done little to check influx of illegal migrants in Assam:
After a long legal fight, the Supreme Court on July 12, 2005, ultimately declared provisions of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983, and the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Rules, 1984, to be ultra vires the Constitution of India and struck these down. The respondents were directed to constitute sufficient number of Tribunals under the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964, to effectively deal with cases of foreigners who have illegally come from Bangladesh or illegally residing in India.
The Supreme Court verdict was widely welcomed in Assam. Certain sections that have long nursed the mistaken ideas that IM(DT) was a protective mechanism for religious and linguistic minorities of Assam demurred after the judgment. Petitions and counter-petitions were filed in the Supreme Court. However, the court declined to detract from its verdict. Therefore, there remained a single law in the country to deal with foreigners, that is the Foreigners Act, 1946.
Now the government was obliged to act on them while dealing with foreigners in terms of clause 5.8 of the Assam Accord. The verdict inter alia noted: (1) The IM(DT) Act has been so enacted and rules there under have been so made that innumerable and insurmountable difficulties are created in the matter of identification and deportation of illegal migrants. Though inquiries were initiated into 310,759 cases under the IM(DT) Act, only 10,015 people were declared illegal and migrants and finally only 1,481 illegal migrants were physically expelled upto April 30, 2000. (2) This was less than half per cent of the cases initiated. In West Bengal, where the Foreigners Act is applicable, 489,046 persons were actually deported between 1983 and November 1998 and even this result was termed as unsatisfactory in the counter affidavit filed by the Union of India. (3) Thus, there cannot be a slightest doubt that the application of the IM(DT) Act and the rules made thereunder in Assam has created the biggest hurdle and is the main impediment or barrier in identification and deportation of illegal migrants.
But woe betides the people of Assam even after repeal of the IM(DT) Act. Official duplicity and vote bank politics saw to it that the deportation process is reduced to a farce. Almost 25 years after the Accord, on August 5, Justice B.K. Sharma of Gauhati High Court reportedly observed while dealing with a writ petition filed by a deported Bangladeshi national that the entire machinery, including the Foreigners’ Tribunals, is a mere mockery and no useful purpose has been served. How long will the people of Assam have to face the sword of Damocles in the shape of illegal migrants from Bangladesh?
Following the renewal of the Assam Accord at the Prime Minister’s level with the participation of Assam’s chief ministers and AASU representatives (May 5, 2005), the NRC should have been updated by September 2007. This was not done. After another tripartite agreement, pilot projects for NRC updating hopefully began recently at Barpeta and Chaygaon revenue circles. Violence marred the process at Barpeta because of communalising the situation by vested interests, possibly in cahoots with sections of the administration. Assam’s cabinet sub-committee cannot override the agreed modalities of the tripartite meetings. The NRC update ought to be completed throughout the state well ahead of the 2011 elections.
Legitimate and justified ethnic assertiveness assumed unprecedented proportions following the failure of the Centre to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord. There is an emergent need to fulfil Clause 6 of the Accord as also Clause 7 in terms of implementation of L.C. Jain committee’s report on economic development…
Worrying extracts from Silent invasion of India by Kanchan Gupta:
Practitioners of cynical politics and preachers of tolerance have convinced us illegal immigration from Bangladesh is a myth. It’s a grim reality.
Those who stand to gain from the votes of India’s bogus citizens as well as those who believe that there is nothing sacred about nationality, leave alone the nation, have successfully struck the issue of illegal immigration from Bangladesh off the agenda of public discourse….Nothing else explains why illegal immigration from Bangladesh finds no mention in either political debate or policy deliberation. Any effort, no matter how feeble, to raise the issue is met not only with fierce resistance but slander and worse.
Yet, the indisputable fact is that Assam and the other States in India’s North-East, as also West Bengal and Bihar, continue to face a relentless tide of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. This ‘silent invasion’ by millions of people over the years has been encouraged by the Congress and the CPI(M), apart from their ‘natural’ allies, who swear by virtuous secularism and high falutin constitutionalism only to violate it in practice. ..
After the Assam Accord of 1985, the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act — popularly known as the IMDT Act — was passed with the explicit purpose of detecting and deporting Bangladeshis from Assam. However, the IMDT Act failed to serve its stated purpose due to several inherent flaws, among them placing the burden of proving a person’s nationality on the state instead of the individual. In 2005, the Supreme Court struck down the IMDT Act as unconstitutional, while observing, “There can be no manner of doubt that the State of Assam is facing external aggression and internal disturbance on account of large-scale illegal migration of Bangladeshi nationals and it becomes the duty of the Union of India to take all measures for protection of the State of Assam because it poses a threat to the integrity and security of the North-Eastern region.”
The Supreme Court directed the Government to deal with all cases of illegal immigration in accordance with the Foreigners Act as well as the procedure prescribed by the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order of 1964. And what did the UPA Government do? A year later, in 2006, it slyly amended the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order of 1964 so that the Foreigners Act would not apply to Assam. In other words, illegal immigrants would remain undetected and undeported. Not to be deterred by this sleight of hand by the Congress-led regime in New Delhi in collusion with the party’s Government in Dispur, the Supreme Court ruled in December 2006 that “the amendment by the 2006 order has been issued just as a cover-up for non-implementation of the earlier direction of this court… We have to lament once again that there is a lack of will in the matter of ensuring that illegal immigrants are sent out of the country”. The Supreme Court quashed the 2006 order and once again directed the Union Government and the Government of Assam to “forthwith implement” its 2005 direction to detect and deport illegal immigrants under the Foreigners Act.
…
The demographic change caused by illegal immigration is irrefutable. Census reports between 1971 and 2001 reflect significant imbalance in the growth of Hindu and Muslim populations in Assam and West Bengal compared to the national average. This abnormal trend confirms that illegal immigration is both unrestricted and unabated.
…In 1991 there were 1.18 crore voters in Assam. By 2001, this had increased to 1.44 crore voters; in 2010, the State had 1.79 crore voters. An increase of 61 lakh voters in two decades is by no means accounted for by natural growth of the State’s population.
…
The social impact of this silent invasion is two-fold. First, there is subterranean rage against illegal immigrants and the demographic change caused by them which, in turn, often leads to conflict and violence. The rioting at Deganga in West Bengal on the eve of Durga Puja last year illustrates this trend. Second, both majority and minority communities develop a siege mentality which feeds on fear and insecurity. This is least desirable. Linked to this is the economic aspect of illegal immigration. Local wages, especially in the unskilled sector, are being undercut; farmland is being encroached upon; and urban slums are coming up at an alarming rate. In many ways, Bangladesh is turning into India’s Mexico. Tragically, the Government chooses to ignore the reality; the media pretends the reality does not exist. Such are the wages of ‘tolerance’.
Thanks for activities & report of Indigenouis people of North-East Bharat.If possible,we should use word JANJATI instead of Tribal.
Very good point Pankaj. I shall indeed do so..(Pl also see the full article by Gail Omvedt on Dams, Development etc (excerpts here: http://satyameva-jayate.org/2011/07/18/open-letter/ ) which has a mention of this terminology..
Thanks for spotting and alerting.
Placing this here for the record..Excerpts from How to Fix Illegal Bangladeshi Migration by Nitin Pai, Oct 12, 2010 (emphasis added):
…Demographic change in the erstwhile Assam province in the first half of the twentieth century was at the heart of the Muslim League’s demand, in the 1940s, that the territory be given to Pakistan. So those who argue that large-scale immigration from Bangladesh is one of the biggest long-term threats to India’s national security are right.
…Forget Congress leaders in Assam: South Delhi housewives and rural Tamil landlords are unlikely to get too excited about taking action against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
In fact, the blunt, impractical and half-heartedly implemented measures we have used to address the problem have only worsened it. Attempts to force them to go back have created an illicit political protection racket that has undermined national security. Fencing is in progress, but it is impossible to erect an impenetrable barrier along the entire India-Bangladesh border.
…Amid all this, tens of thousands of illegal immigrants make their way into India each year.
We need a new approach. India should consider establishing a system of work permits to allow Bangladeshis to work in India, legally.
It is practically impossible to fight demographic pressure, not least given the geography of India’s North East. It is, however, possible to ensure that the flow of immigrants does not concentrate in Assam or other states adjoining Bangladesh. The real political problem is not so much the inflow, but the accumulation of illegal immigrants in one state. If work permits are subject to state-wise quotas, then it is possible to distribute the flow across Indian states. This will allow migrant workers to work in states that need them, and prevent them from crowding in certain states.
Work permits with state-wise quotas can thus address Assam’s genuine and longstanding concerns — the state can cap the number of Bangladeshi migrants it will accept. India’s national security concerns become more manageable by bringing the migration out into the open. Obviously, Bangladesh stands to benefit too, not least the immigrant who need not live a often fearful life in the twilight zone.
The time for work permits has come. You might be surprised to know that as many as 85 million Bangladeshis have biometric National ID Cards (NIDs) which were issued ahead of the 2008 elections. These cards are now required for opening bank accounts, applying for passports and accessing public services. Indian work permits could therefore be issued to valid Bangladeshi NID holders with a greater degree of confidence.
…
That’s half the solution. The other half involves the ability to positively identity an Indian citizen. This is where Aadhaar, the Indian UID, launched last month, becomes necessary.
…
We have the building blocks of what it takes to address a hundred-year-old problem. Now work permits are not the perfect solution. …Even so, it will still be a great deal better than the current situation of relentless, unmonitored, unchecked, unmanaged and irreversible flows of migrants into India.
From Politics foils conviction of illegal migrants: court bt PTI, 24/01/12
…”It is unfortunate that while genuine citizens of this country continue to suffer in abject poverty, it is petty vote-bank politics which prevents a firm, resolute and intense government action against the three crore Bangladeshi nationals illegally staying in our country, enjoying all the benefits which otherwise are the entitlements of citizens, thereby compelling the court to step in,” Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau said.
…
The court said convict Fazlu, involved in various other criminal cases in Delhi, was maintaining a family in Bangladesh but has taken advantage of the “porous border” to frequently come to India.
“I may observe that convict Fazlu is a foreigner being a Bangladeshi…is maintaining a family in Bangladesh but in an attempt to create his rights in India, is also maintaining a family consisting of two wives (whose citizenship he has withheld from the court) and seven children in India.
“Further, as per information from Investigating Officer Fazlu, taking advantage of the porous border, frequently crosses over and while in India has involved himself in a number of criminal cases,” it said while directing the authorities to deport Fazlu to Bangladesh after completion of his jail term.
My response to a comment on this blog post where the author raised the point about using the word “Infiltration”:
Comment by followuidai:
“Infiltration” in my understanding presumes specific strategy and intent among migrants: in my own state of California similar languages were used a century ago to make presumptions about and in many cases to attack migrants from India.
My response:
Re. “Infiltration”, would a change in label/nomenclature make this problem any less grave – or reduce its scale and profound impact?
The consequence of such unrestricted and unchecked movement of people is not merely a shift in population (and population density). The impact is deep and far-reaching and beyond the most obvious (econmical and political).
The nature of migration and the socio-cultural background of the migrants is changing the nature of communities where the migrants are settling down – for the worse.
I am saying this based on first-hand information and personal observations.
I do not have the necessary background and knowledge to comment on what happened in California but it is widely known that migrants to USA actually adapted themselves to the culture and traditions of local communities instead of imposing their own values and customs.
Secondly, the scale of this uncontrolled movement has no comparison with what happened in California.
Finally, whether there is a specific strategy or not, these groups are being leveraged for political gains in the most blatant manner. See e.g. http://satyameva-jayate.org/2010/05/11/illegal-settlers-vote-banks/
I would welcome further discussion on this over at my blog, perhaps at this post: http://satyameva-jayate.org/2010/06/03/indigenuous-cultures-demographic-invasion/ where I am reproducing this brief exchange.
Thank you.
GyanP,
There’s something you need to understand about the mentality of (some) Westerners.
In the past, Western societies would discriminate against anyone who wasn’t a white Christian male. Slavery was practiced in the United States until the Civil War outlawed it in 1865. Women didn’t have the right to vote until the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920. African Americans continued to face discrimination until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
Today, many Westerners have become more liberal and accepting of people of other backgrounds. However, there is a segment of Western society that doesn’t like it when their history is criticized, and they seek to cover up their past by pointing to “human rights violations” in other societies.
Go to any website that caters specifically to white people (like Stormfront) and you will find people pointing to caste discrimination in India, discrimination against Ainu people in Japan, slavery in African societies before the arrival of Europeans, etc.
Share your thoughts below.
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