Over one-third of Assam’s population are immigrants: Former BSF DG Mooshahary

Guwahati, Nov 3: More than one-third of the population of Assam are immigrants, but it is difficult to assess how many of them came after 1971, according to the Border Security Force’s (BSF) former Director General Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary.

Talking to The Assam Tribune, Mooshahary said that as pushing back Bangladeshi nationals is a difficult proposition, the government should go for electoral reforms and there should be proper screening for inclusion of names in the electoral rolls. He said that mechanically including names in the electoral rolls should be stopped.

Mooshahary said that the strength of the BSF has been increased considerably over the years and the rate of infiltration has reduced. But some people in small numbers are still sneaking into India. After they enter India, it is difficult to identify illegal migrants and the entire government machinery should be activated to detect illegal migrants staying in Assam.

The former top BSF official said that majority of Bangladeshi nationals who come to India with valid documents for treatment and other reasons do not return.

During his tenure as the BSF director general, a study was carried out and it was found that around 50 per cent of Bangladeshi nationals who came with valid documents did not return. This happens mostly in West Bengal.

He said that no serious effort was made by the government to detect them and now their children also must have been born in India and it will be impossible to detect them.

Mooshahary pointed out that many African countries face shortage of manpower in the fields and some people from different states of India have taken land in lease in those countries for cultivation. The government can identify the foreigners living illegally in India and send them to those African countries to work in the fields.

The former BSF DG said that migration into Assam started way back during the Mughal times and intensified during the British rule. After Independence, some half-hearted attempts were made to push back the migrants but those were not successful.

Though the Assam Accord was signed in 1985 following a six-year-long movement, pushing back Bangladeshi nationals has always remained a major problem. “When the ongoing census is over, we will get some kind of idea of the number of illegal migrants staying in Assam,” he added.