SHILLONG: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) has objected to granting citizenship to migrants taking refuge in India without considering all the aspects, including the demographic structure of the northeastern states.
In a statement issued here on Tuesday in response to the recent appeal by the Meghalaya High Court to the Prime Minister to grant instantaneous citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsees, Christians and Buddhists from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, union general secretary Donald Thabah said, “Though the KSU is not against any humanitarian venture by the country yet it feels that prior to the implementation of any international humanitarian act, the humanitarian perspective of the microscopic indigenous communities of North East India should also be taken into account.”
“… the Union completely disagrees (to granting citizenship) without taking into account all the aspects including the demographic structure of the northeastern states of India,” the statement read.
KSU has also reiterated its stiff opposition to the proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which seeks to grant citizenship to migrants of certain religious groups from the three countries.
Thabah said there are approximately 14 million Hindus in Bangladesh and in Meghalaya there are more than a million ethnic Khasis which are currently facing the wrath of unabated influx from migrants belonging to other communities.
In Shillong, the indigenous Khasi population constitutes not more that 50 percent compared to the past statistics.
Therefore if such a bill is passed or if immediate citizenship is issued to the said migrants then the indigenous communities of North East are bound to be wiped out or depopulated by these migrants, the union observed.
According to Thabah, if 3 million Bangladeshi Hindus are granted Indian citizenship, then 1 million Khasis will be reduced to minority which in turn will lead to discrimination against tribals, their customs and political, economical and social rights which will result in their extinction and forced assimilation into the dominant communities.
“The KSU, therefore, appeals to all sections of the society to oppose and reject the draconian Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which seeks to erase the diverse and unique communities of NE India,” he added.
Again, Thabah said the signing of the Indo-Nepal Friendship Treaty 1950 had a detrimental impact on the indigenous Khasi populace in Meghalaya including the border areas although Nepal and Meghalaya do not share a common border.
He added that if the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is passed then Meghalaya will be severely affected owing to its long and porous border with Bangladesh.
TUR opposition: The Thma U Rangli Juki (TUR) also said it disagreed with the recent judgment. “The judgment sought to characterise India as a ‘Hindu country’ and outlined a very narrow religious and ethnographic centric view of Indian history which goes against the fundamental, secular and federal character of the Indian Republic,” it said. It urged the state government to appeal against this flawed and ‘controversial’ judgment by Justice SR Sen to restore citizens’ faith in “secular Indian democracy”.
