Driving Bangalis out of India's Assam

The spectre of yet another deluge of so-called Bangali refugees looms large in the face of Bangladesh, much on the lines of the Rohingya crisis. The only hope lies in the warm and close ties that India shares with the Bangladesh government. This has not been so with Myanmar.

There is ample reason for Bangladesh to be anxious about the fact that the names of 13.9 million people have been dropped from the initial draft list of citizens in India’s state of Assam. We hope the Indian government displays a due sense of responsibility in dealing with the possible impact and outcome of the matter. Bangladesh has to take up all-out diplomatic efforts, but those within India who have sincere commitment to relations with the neighbour, must step forward to take due measures.

We are concerned about the steps being taken by the Assam government. The ruling BJP’s Assam unit general secretary and spokesperson Rupom Goswami has said that BJP has nothing to do with this. It is the Supreme Court that is dealing with the matter of citizenship. We hope this strategic stance of the BJP does not cast a shadow on the Bangladesh-India relations.

We expect India to take into highest consideration the apprehensions of the Bangladesh people who have had to bear the brunt of the Rohingya crisis. We want to know how the Indian government will rehabilitate those who have been dropped from the citizens’ list. It may be a domestic matter for India, but when the BJP leaders go on harping about ‘illegal Bangladeshis’, the matter is no longer domestic.

We look towards India’s leadership for a farsighted and astute decision. The general secretary of Assam Nagorik Mancha (Citizen’s Platform) Sadhon Purakasthya has said that 70 per cent of the Bangalis have been dropped from the initial list. Congress leaders in Assam have duly questioned the authenticity of this draft list. They are shocked that even the names of two Congress party members of Assam’s Vidhan Sabha and others noted leaders and legislators have been dropped from the list.

The issue is not a legal one, but solely political.

So Dhaka looks towards Delhi for its political goodwill and intentions.