Illegal immigration in India
Encyclopedia
In terms of the relevant India
n law, any person residing in the country without an official permission is an illegal immigrant
. Those who are explicitly granted refugee status do not fall under this category. See refugees in India
.
No reliable numbers on illegal immigrants are currently available. Extrapolating the census data gives a figure of 2 million. Although figures as high as 20 million are also reported in the media. 1971's liberation war
and continued political and economic turmoil in Bangladesh in the following decades forced some Bangladeshis to seek refuge in India. Most of them migrated to the border states, particularly West Bengal and Assam. This issue became more visible after the 1991 census when patterns of abnormally high growth rate of Muslims were observed in the border states Assam and West Bengal. In 1991 census Muslim population growth rates in these states were found to be much higher than the growth rates of the local Hindu population even after adjusting for the usual higher growth rate of Muslims observed throughout the country. See the following tables for detail.
India faces infiltration
of Kashmir
i terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir. There are estimated 50,000-100,000 Burmese Chin
immigrants residing in India
, mostly in the Indian state of Mizoram
and a small number is found in Delhi
.
, agitation
against immigrants started as early as 1979, led by All Assam Students Union
. Their demand was to put a stop on the influx of immigrants and deportation of those who have already settled. It gradually took violent form and ethnic violence started between Assamese and Bengalis, mostly Muslim. It eventually led to the infamous Nellie massacre
in 1983 due to a controversy over the 1983 election. In 1985 Indian Government
signed the Assam accord
with the leaders of the agitation to stop the issue. As per the accord India started building a fence along the Assam-Bangladesh border which is now almost complete. However Assam also has a large number of genuine Indian Muslim Bengalis. It is difficult to distinguish between illegal Bangaldeshis and local Bengali
speakers. In some cases genuine Indian citizens have been discriminated Allegations exist that nationalist
parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party
as well as the Indian National Congress
have discriminated against Bengali-speaking Muslims.
On the other hand in some places reports of Bangladeshis being able to secure Indian ration and voter identity cards have come out.
After 1991 census the changing demographic patterns in border districts became more visible. It created anxiety and tension in India throughout the nineties. Both conservatives as well as moderates expressed concern on this issue. The first BJP government came into power in 1998 and subsequently ordered the construction of the Indo-Bangladesh barrier to stop migrants and illegal trade along the border. It was planned to enhance the already existing barrier in Assam and to encircle West Bengal
, Tripura
and Mizoram
as well.
The other Indian state affected by this problem, West Bengal
, remained mostly calm during this period. However Indian newspapers reported that "the state government has reports that illegal Bangladeshi migrants have trickled into parts of rural Bengal, including Nandigram
, over the years, and settled down as sharecroppers with the help of local Left leaders. Though a majority of these immigrants became tillers, they lacked documents to prove the ownership of land".
The Government of Bangladesh has denied India's claims on illegal immigration. Scholars have also reflected that under the guise of anti-Bangladeshi immigrant movement it is actually an anti-Muslim agenda pointed towards Bangladeshi Muslims by false propaganda and widely exaggerated claims on immigrant population.
After 2001 census the anxiety somewhat reduced when the growth rates were found to have returned to near normal level, particularly in West Bengal, thus negating the fear that there was an unabated influx of migrants. Although some concern remains. In 2005, a Supreme Court bench ruled Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act (IMDT) as unconstitutional while, with reference to the Sinha Report, maintaining that the impact of the "aggression" represented by large-scale illegal migrants from Bangladesh had made the life of the people of Assam "wholly insecure and the panic generated thereby had created fear psychosis" and other north-eastern States. In August 2008, the Delhi
High Court dismissed a petition by a Bangladeshi national against her deportation. The High Court ruled that the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants "pose a danger to India's internal security".
the porous border along West Bengal into India. They mainly engage in smuggling goods and livestock
from India into Bangladesh to avoid high tariff imposed on some Indian goods by Bangladesh government. Bangladeshi women and girls are also trafficked to India and via India to Middle East for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation.
The Centre for Women and Children Studies estimated in 1998 that 27,000 Bangladeshis have been forced into prostitution in India. Ahmedabad Crime Branch (ACB) has investigated a prostitution racket run by a Bangladeshi couple living in Ahmedabad. It believed over 500 women had been coerced into prostitution by illegal Bangladeshi agents in Gujarat.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n law, any person residing in the country without an official permission is an illegal immigrant
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
. Those who are explicitly granted refugee status do not fall under this category. See refugees in India
Refugees in India
India has seen large influx of refugee populations throughout history.-Refugees from Greater Iran:According to Zoroastrian legend , a few centuries after the conquest of the Sassanid state and the subsequent collapse of Zoroastrianism as a state-sponsored religion, at least one group of...
.
Origin of immigrants
Bangladeshis form the largest group of migrants in India. As per 2001 census there are 3,084,826 people in India who came from BangladeshBangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
No reliable numbers on illegal immigrants are currently available. Extrapolating the census data gives a figure of 2 million. Although figures as high as 20 million are also reported in the media. 1971's liberation war
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
and continued political and economic turmoil in Bangladesh in the following decades forced some Bangladeshis to seek refuge in India. Most of them migrated to the border states, particularly West Bengal and Assam. This issue became more visible after the 1991 census when patterns of abnormally high growth rate of Muslims were observed in the border states Assam and West Bengal. In 1991 census Muslim population growth rates in these states were found to be much higher than the growth rates of the local Hindu population even after adjusting for the usual higher growth rate of Muslims observed throughout the country. See the following tables for detail.
| Period | % Growth during 1971-1991 | % Growth during 1991-2001 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groups | Hindus | Muslims | Difference | Hindus | Muslims | Difference |
| Assam | 41.89 | 77.42 | 35.53 | 14.95 | 29.3 | 14.35 |
| All India | 53.25 | 73.04 | 19.79 | 20 | 29.3 | 9.3 |
| Period | % Growth during 1981-1991 | % Growth during 1991-2001 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groups | Hindus | Muslims | Difference | Hindus | Muslims | Difference |
| West Bengal | 21.05 | 36.67 | 15.62 | 14.26 | 26.1 | 11.84 |
| All India | 22.8 | 32.9 | 10.1 | 20 | 29.3 | 9.3 |
India faces infiltration
Illegal entry
Illegal entry is the act of foreign nationals arriving in or crossing the borders into a country in violation of its immigration law.Migrants from nations that do not have automatic visa agreements, or who would not otherwise qualify for a visa, often cross the borders illegally in some areas like...
of Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
i terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir. There are estimated 50,000-100,000 Burmese Chin
Chin people
The Chin , known as the Kuki in Assam, are one of the ethnic groups in Burma. The Chins are found mainly in western part of Burma and numbered circa 1.5 million. They also live in nearby Indian states of Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur and Assam. Owing to Mizo influence and Baptist missionaries'...
immigrants residing in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, mostly in the Indian state of Mizoram
Mizoram
Mizoram is one of the Seven Sister States in North Eastern India, sharing borders with the states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur and with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Burma. Mizoram became the 23rd state of India on 20 February 1987. Its capital is Aizawl. Mizoram is located in the...
and a small number is found in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
.
Political concerns
In AssamAssam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, agitation
Assam Agitation
The Assam Agitation was a popular movement against undocumented migrants in Assam between 1979 and 1985. It is regarded as one of the most vibrant democratic mass movements of independent India...
against immigrants started as early as 1979, led by All Assam Students Union
All Assam Students Union
All Assam Students Union is a five-tier students' union in Assam, India.All Assam Students Union or AASU is a students' organization in Assam, India. It is best known for leading the six-year Assam Movement against alleged illegal immigrants from Bangladesh...
. Their demand was to put a stop on the influx of immigrants and deportation of those who have already settled. It gradually took violent form and ethnic violence started between Assamese and Bengalis, mostly Muslim. It eventually led to the infamous Nellie massacre
Nellie massacre
The Nellie massacre took place in Assam during a six-hour period in the morning of 18 February 1983. The massacre claimed the lives of 2,191 people from 14 villages—Alisingha, Khulapathar, Basundhari, Bugduba Beel, Bugduba Habi, Borjola, Butuni, Indurmari, Mati Parbat, Muladhari, Mati...
in 1983 due to a controversy over the 1983 election. In 1985 Indian Government
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
signed the Assam accord
Assam Accord
The Assam Accord was a Memorandum of Settlement signed between representatives of the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Agitation in New Delhi on 15 August 1985...
with the leaders of the agitation to stop the issue. As per the accord India started building a fence along the Assam-Bangladesh border which is now almost complete. However Assam also has a large number of genuine Indian Muslim Bengalis. It is difficult to distinguish between illegal Bangaldeshis and local Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
speakers. In some cases genuine Indian citizens have been discriminated Allegations exist that nationalist
Hindu nationalism
Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expressions of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of historical India...
parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
as well as the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
have discriminated against Bengali-speaking Muslims.
On the other hand in some places reports of Bangladeshis being able to secure Indian ration and voter identity cards have come out.
After 1991 census the changing demographic patterns in border districts became more visible. It created anxiety and tension in India throughout the nineties. Both conservatives as well as moderates expressed concern on this issue. The first BJP government came into power in 1998 and subsequently ordered the construction of the Indo-Bangladesh barrier to stop migrants and illegal trade along the border. It was planned to enhance the already existing barrier in Assam and to encircle West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, Tripura
Tripura
Tripura is a state in North-East India, with an area of . It is the third smallest state of India, according to area. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are...
and Mizoram
Mizoram
Mizoram is one of the Seven Sister States in North Eastern India, sharing borders with the states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur and with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Burma. Mizoram became the 23rd state of India on 20 February 1987. Its capital is Aizawl. Mizoram is located in the...
as well.
The other Indian state affected by this problem, West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, remained mostly calm during this period. However Indian newspapers reported that "the state government has reports that illegal Bangladeshi migrants have trickled into parts of rural Bengal, including Nandigram
Nandigram
Nandigram is a rural area with two commuunity development blocks in Haldia subdivision of Purba Medinipur district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located about 70 km south-west of Kolkata, on the south bank of the Haldi River, opposite the industrial city of Haldia...
, over the years, and settled down as sharecroppers with the help of local Left leaders. Though a majority of these immigrants became tillers, they lacked documents to prove the ownership of land".
The Government of Bangladesh has denied India's claims on illegal immigration. Scholars have also reflected that under the guise of anti-Bangladeshi immigrant movement it is actually an anti-Muslim agenda pointed towards Bangladeshi Muslims by false propaganda and widely exaggerated claims on immigrant population.
After 2001 census the anxiety somewhat reduced when the growth rates were found to have returned to near normal level, particularly in West Bengal, thus negating the fear that there was an unabated influx of migrants. Although some concern remains. In 2005, a Supreme Court bench ruled Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act (IMDT) as unconstitutional while, with reference to the Sinha Report, maintaining that the impact of the "aggression" represented by large-scale illegal migrants from Bangladesh had made the life of the people of Assam "wholly insecure and the panic generated thereby had created fear psychosis" and other north-eastern States. In August 2008, the Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
High Court dismissed a petition by a Bangladeshi national against her deportation. The High Court ruled that the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants "pose a danger to India's internal security".
Social concerns
Apart from immigrants a large numbers smugglers regularly crossIllegal entry
Illegal entry is the act of foreign nationals arriving in or crossing the borders into a country in violation of its immigration law.Migrants from nations that do not have automatic visa agreements, or who would not otherwise qualify for a visa, often cross the borders illegally in some areas like...
the porous border along West Bengal into India. They mainly engage in smuggling goods and livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
from India into Bangladesh to avoid high tariff imposed on some Indian goods by Bangladesh government. Bangladeshi women and girls are also trafficked to India and via India to Middle East for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation.
The Centre for Women and Children Studies estimated in 1998 that 27,000 Bangladeshis have been forced into prostitution in India. Ahmedabad Crime Branch (ACB) has investigated a prostitution racket run by a Bangladeshi couple living in Ahmedabad. It believed over 500 women had been coerced into prostitution by illegal Bangladeshi agents in Gujarat.
External links
- Bangladeshis in Assam flee anti-migrant drive, International Herald TribuneInternational Herald TribuneThe International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
, 20 May 2005.