Assam's infiltration crisis grew as state ignored centre's offer on border fencing in 1965

Centre proposed border fencing & ID cards way back in 1965

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: If the Assam Government had not given the Centre the cold shoulder on the issue of checking infiltration into the State from across the border (East Pakistan) way back in 1965, the twin problem of infiltration and demography in Assam would not have escalated to what it is now.

Facts speak for themselves. Even before the formation of Bangladesh, the Government of India did ask the Assam Government in 1965 to fence the State’s border with Pakistan (East) and prepare a register of border dwellers of the State, besides issuing them identity cards. Such proposals were meant to avoid harassments to genuine citizens of India from being harassed while detecting infiltrators. However, on both the issues, the State government gave the Centre the cold shoulder, leading the latter to drop both the proposals on consultation with the State government in 1966.

When the Centre asked the Assam Government to clear the forest cover on its border with Pakistan (East) for erection of barbed wire fencing in 1965, the State government expressed the difficulty involved in doing that expeditiously because accomplishing the task would have required shifting of around 25,000 border-dwelling families. Ultimately, the project had to be abandoned for various reasons, including shortage of barbed wire, a report of the State government’s Home department on the infiltration issue said.

The twin problem of foreigners and demography in the State now would have been different had the State government shown interest in the Centre’s proposals and fenced the then India-East Pakistan border along the Assam sector, and also issued identity cards to the border dwellers of the State.

A statement made on the floor of the State Assembly by the then Chief Minister Golap Borbora on March 2, 1979 also threw enough light on the cut-off date – March 25, 1971 – as mentioned in the Assam Accord. The statement made by the former Chief Minister makes it crystal clear that the cut-off – March 25, 1971 – was determined well ahead of the signing of the Assam Accord between the AASU (All Assam Students’ Union) and the Central government in 1985. The English rendering of what the then Chief Minister Golap Borbora said on infiltration into Assam from East Pakistan on the floor of the State Assembly goes “…we’re worried of infiltration. We cannot always give maati and bheti to the infiltrators in the State. The Government of India has instructed us to treat all who entered Assam after March 25, 1971 as infiltrators. For their deportation through a legal process we’ll seek suggestions from the Ministry of Home Affairs. I’ve talked to Supreme Court of India’s officials on the issue.”

On March 22, 1961 the MHA told Assam in a message on infiltration, “This is posing a serious problem in Assam. The matter has been carefully considered by the Government of India and they have no objection to the issue of deportation orders… against the persons who are without valid documents and regarding whose Pakistani nationality there is no doubt.”

Also Read: ‘Anti-cut’ fencing on Pakistan, Bangladesh borders

Also Watch: Protesters, who walked all the way from Tinsukia-Guwahati to protest against CAA 2019, Detained!