Only 3,000 illegal Bangladeshis expelled since 1985

GUWAHATI - Nearly 25 years after the historic Assam accord was signed, just under 3,000 illegal Bangladeshi migrants have been expelled, a figure that exposes the myth about the effectiveness of new legislation for detecting and deporting infiltrators.

The tardy pace of detection and deportation was earlier blamed on the controversial Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act (IMDT). The Supreme Court in July 2005 struck down the IMDT Act citing major flaws and replaced it with the Foreigners Act of 1946.

The IMDT Act was enacted to identify illegal Bangladeshis in 1985 during the height of All Assam Students Union’s (AASU) ‘Oust Bangladeshi’ movement.

“Some 300 illegal foreigners (Bangladeshi nationals) have been deported so far from Assam since the scrapping of the IMDT Act in 2005,” a state home department official said, requesting not to be named.

Assam witnessed a violent six-year anti-foreigners’ uprising from 1979, spearheaded by AASU that culminated in the historic Assam Accord signed on Aug 15, 1985.

The Assam Accord was a memorandum of settlement (MoS) signed between representatives of the Government of India and AASU leaders Aug 15, 1985.

The accord brought an end to the anti-foreigners uprising and paved the way for the leaders of the agitation to form a political party named the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) that came to power in 1985.

As per the terms of the Assam Accord, foreigners who came to Assam on or after March 25, 1971, shall continue to be detected and expelled in accordance with law.

According to official records, about 2,900 Bangladeshis have been deported since the accord was signed.

But there was political unrest in Assam with the AASU and other regional parties demanding the repealing of the IMDT Act saying the legislation was a hurdle in expelling infiltrators - a long legal battle followed and the Supreme Court replaced the act with the Foreigners Act in 2005.

“You could bring in as much legislation as you wish, but the fact remains the process of identifying and proving beyond doubt that someone is an illegal foreigner (migrant) is a tough task,” a senior police officer said.

The Foreigners Act of 1946 led to the setting up of 32 Foreigners Tribunals in Assam - four more such tribunals are being set up soon.

Already about 400,000 cases are pending before the tribunals for hearing - a statistic that has created ripples in the state.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi blames the central government for the huge number of cases piling up at the Tribunals.

“The staffing pattern approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs for these tribunals is inadequate. The paucity of posts has also resulted in slow progress in the disposal of cases,” the chief minister said in a letter to the prime minister.

“The State Government strongly requests the Government of India to adequately equip the Foreigners Tribunal so they can effectively function and dispose of the huge number of cases pending before the Foreigners Tribunal under the Foreigners Act,” the letter said.

AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya said: “The attitude of the central government and the state government in dealing with the problem of infiltration is simply pathetic. Most of the tribunals are non-functional as they don’t have the basic infrastructure and even skilled manpower.”