Organization: Penn State University
Date: Thursday, 9 Apr 1992 12:35:08 EDT
From: Deepak Srivastava <DXS23@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Re: Politics of Infiltration: Rebuttal

>
>Dinesh Agrawal posts the following article:
>
>Source: SUNDAY WEEKLY   22-28 March, 1992
>Author: Mr. SWAPAN DASGUPTA
>
>        POLITICS OF INFILTRATION: Lebanonisation of eastern India should be
>                                  averted at all costs
>

An interesting article on the dynamics of illegal immigration
across Indo-Bangladesh border. However, the question one needs
to ask is that what is so special in the described scenereo of
illigal immigration which does not occur at so many other places
in the world. Just consider a couple of examples. One is the well
known and documented illegal immigration across Maxico/USA border
and the second is not so well known refugee influx across Mynamar
(formerly Burma)/Bangladesh border. In each of these cases we see
illegal immigration from a not so well off country to the well off
country in search of better living conditions and may be better
freedom to excercise certain basic rights which are not available in
the country of origin. About 100,000 muslim refugees from Maynamar
to Bangladesh is an exactly right example to quote in this case.
Because, afterall, if some people are leaving Bangladesh for better
pastures some people are entering it, as well, in search of better
pastures!

The dynamics of illegal immigration all over the world is same. Across
Maxico/USA borders local touts, agents, churches and politicians arran-
ge for the illegal immigration to take place and for the immigrants
to get jobs, living quarters and Green Cards for staying permanently.
Indian situation is same but Green Cards are replaced by Ration Cards.
The bulk of the article by Swapan Dasgupta deals with details of how
the whole operation is run and managed by a collusion of local autho-
rities, politicians of all hue, and those irresistible entrepreneures
who can make business in any situation and any where in the world. So
now come back to my original question: what is so special about this
case ?

Well, if you search throughout you may find few scattered sentences,
here and there, claiming as if there is a grand and covert design in
all of this. Few examples: quote

>     The extent to which illegal immigration has affected the demographic
>pattern of border districts is reflected in the 1991 census which,

>THE DANGER IS COMPOUNDED BY EVIDENCE THAT
>ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALIST GROUPS ARE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THIS CLANDESTINE BID TO
>SUBVERT THE VERY IDENTITY OF EASTERN INDIA.

unquote.

Now what is this evidence, the article is talking about, that islamic
fundamentalists are involved in some clandestine bid to subvert the
identity of eastern india ? I tried hard, but I did not see any evidence
in the remainder of the article. Instead, what I find is again some more
details about the dynamics of illegal immigration occuring across Bangla-
desh/India border which I claim is similar to what occur at so many land
based borders around the world.

This brings us to a very interesting point. If the illegal immigration
is too much, across a land based border, will it change the demographic
pattern in border districts? Yes, it will. And this has been complained
about in the article also. But is it unique in border districts of India ?
No. The demographic pattern in the border area (on US side) is definitely
dominated by hispanics. Is it by some grand design of hispanics, in south
american countries, that they are running towards the 'el norte'? This you
decide. But some local politicians are exploiting the situation for their
advantage and some are crying hoarce over it. On the national level, then,
there are politicians like Pat Buchanan and David Duke who are trying to
exploit the issue by raising a bogey of xenophobia. Now do you see a bogey
of xenophobia in Swapan Dasgupta's article ? May be, or may be not. That
depends upon whether you want to treat it as a law and order problem which
can be cured by either completely sealing the border or opening it so that
a free movement of trade and labor across the border is allowed. Increased
cross border exchanges will allow people on two sides not only to freely
interact with each other but will also initiate right conditions for south
asea to solidify as a free trading block. Is this is asking for too much?
May be. Because, then, where will BJP brand of anti-muslim politics go ?


regards..              Deepak


>
>
>     THE TIME HAS COME FOR INDIANS TO PONDER OVER THE CONSEQUENCES OF
>EXCESSIVE
>GENEROSITY TOWARDS THOSE WHO DID NOT REMAIN CONTENT WITH THIER NORTH-EASTERN
>PAKISTAN OF 1947. ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION FROM BANGLADESH IS NOT A HUMANITARIAN
>PROBLEM, IT IS A POLITICAL QUESTION AFFECTING OUR EXISTENCE AS A NATION. THE
>BORDERS OF INDIA HAVE BEEN SHRINKING UNINTERRUPTEDLY FOR CENTURIES; IT IS TIME
>TO HOLD ON TO WHATEVER HAS BEEN SALVAGED.
>