The Rohingya menace

With the arrest of eight Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar in a village in Hailakandi district in Barak Valley on Saturday, it is now confirmed that infiltration of Rohingya Muslims has already assumed alarming proportions in Assam. The Hailakandi Police must be applauded for having been able to track down and arrest the eight infiltrators following a secret tip-off. But what is most dangerous is that a section of Muslims have been providing these Myanmarese infiltrators shelter and protection in the state. In the instant case, the eight Rohingya Muslims – all hailing from Saheb Bazar village under Mondu Police Station, Boisidom district in Myanmar – were arrested by the police from the house of one Md Yusuf Ali Mazumdar, a resident of Mazarpur village under Algapur police station in Hailakandi district. While the harbourer Md Yusuf Ali Mazumdar is said to have been absconding, the police have arrested his brother, one Islamuddin Mazumdar. It is very important that the Hailakandi Police thoroughly investigate the case, and find out all details of the harbourer Md Yusuf Ali Mazumdar, including his antecedents, his activities, his actual nationality including whether he is himself an infiltrator from erstwhile East Pakistan or present-day Bangladesh, and most importantly, what his political affiliation is and who his political gurus are.

It is common sense that this person called Md Yusuf Ali Mazumdar has not dared to harbour the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar origin without having any strong political connection. Any of the parties having a soft corner for the illegal migrants of East Pakistan/Bangladeshi can be suspected to be behind this, and any or all such political parties must be secretly encouraging and facilitating the influx of these Muslims evicted from Myanmar to Assam. What has to be kept in mind is that this is not the first time a group of Rohingya Muslim infiltrators of Myanmar have been apprehended in Assam. While the first Rohingya Muslim infiltrator was detected in Assam in 2009, it was only a few days ago that fourteen Rohingya people, who had boarded a train in Badarpur after sneaking into India illegally, were arrested from a Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express in West Bengal. The Rajdhani Express had originated in Agartala, and these 14 infiltrators had boarded it in Badarpur in Assam. Interrogation revealed that these people, eight of whom were women, were travelling on tickets generated in the names of other people. Though the Government of Assam or any intelligence agency has not published any detailed report on the infiltration of Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar origin to Assam, there can be no denying the fact that Bangladesh, already overburdened with Rohingyas thrown out by Myanmar, has been trying its best to push some of these people in to India through the Northeaster region.

The large number of illegal migrants already residing in Assam, and their sympathisers and protectors must be providing them shelter and food apart from helping them with government documents obtained through fraudulent means. One cannot rule out the possibility of corrupt government officials supplying these Rohingya Muslims with documents in exchange of money. At least 100 Rohingya Muslims have been apprehended in Assam in the past few years. Like Bangladeshi infiltrators, it is also equally easy for them to mingle with the similar local population in Assam's border districts, a sizeable section of whom are also of migrant origin, to help, harbour and protect these Rohingya Muslims. A few months ago, a joint team of Assam Police and Assam Rifles had arrested one Alam Hussain Mazumder (45), a Rohingya Muslim from the house of one Ajijur Rahman Laskar of Bhagadar Betukandi village in Cachar district. This Rohingya was not only given shelter, but also married one of the several daughters of Ajijur Rahman Laskar, after sneaking into Assam several years ago. This man possessed various documents such as Pan Card, Aadhaar Card, bank passbook, Indian voter ID card etc, all of which were organised for him by Ajijur Rahman Laskar. It is time the BJP-led government of Sarbananda Sonowal take appropriate steps to check, detect and deport these Rohingya Muslims before all of them marry into families of migrant origin in different districts of Assam and further complicate the influx problem of Assam. The way large number of illegal migrants of East Pakistan and Bangladesh origin have enrolled their names in the NRC, it is not impossible that many of these Rohingya Muslims have also got their names enlisted in the NRC.