food for thought

Illegal foreigners have infiltrated Assam in large numbers for decades, displacing indigenous people and triggering agitations, saddling the State with intractable problems. Political parties have encouraged this veritable invasion because they need their votes to rule, turning the country into a soft state where immigration rules and citizenship laws are flouted at every turn. This forms a part of the larger problem — absence of the rule of law in India. It takes a toll on humanitarian values as well, and often it is ‘The Others’, those considered as foreigners, who are at the receiving end. The treatment of suspected foreigners in detention centers is under consideration of the Supreme Court. Some disturbing questions are emerging about how these people wind up in detention centers and what befalls them there. Was due process followed in serving them notice, ensuring they understood the legal implications properly and got fair representation in Foreigner Tribunals? And even if there was sufficient ground to suspect their credentials as citizens, under what conditions are they serving their time in detention centers? First things first, the Central government has argued in Supreme Court that no time limit can be fixed on their stay, because verifying nationality is a sovereign function. But if this means a suspected foreigner is kept confined indefinitely, can he or she be separated from family, made to languish under inhuman conditions and left with no prospect for a meaningful life? No civilized society can contemplate such denial to any individual, least of all one like India — an enlightened civilization and a modern nation founded on noble ideals. At best, foreigners in detention centers are out of sight and therefore out of mind, and at worst, they are objects of hatred. But we need to spare some thought about them, housed in barracks within jails, not allowed to meet even spouses or offspring, not eligible for work wage or parole even on occasions like death in the family. Overall, these detainees are mostly treated as convicts but denied the rights prisoners are entitled to. Obviously, the laws and regulations concerned need to be fine-tuned to prevent such injustice, but successive governments have shown no application of mind over it. It is high time for the government to draw up a plan to deal properly with detainees. The apex court has now served a timely reminder — that our constitution confers personal freedom and dignity to every individual. Not addressing this injustice brutalizes all, citizens and foreigners alike.