GUWAHATI: Northeastern states have stepped up vigil along the inter-state borders in a bid to curb entry of “illegal migrants” in the wake of the release of the National Register of Citizens in Assam last Saturday.
A number of students associations are taking the lead in states such as Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram in particular to ensure that “NRC-discarded” people do not enter their states fearing harassment in Assam.
“We had in fact met our state home minister recently, demanding an Assam NRC-like exercise in Mizoram keeping in mind the threat posed from illegal influx. As it is, we have a small population and apprehend that such infiltration will adversely affect our tradition and culture,” senior Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) leader, Ricky L. Colney told The Shillong Times from Aizawl on Tuesday.
The demand for an NRC-like document by MZP, is the apex students’ body of Mizoram, is in line with that of the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU).
The KSU had reiterated its demand of carrying out an NRC-like exercise in Meghalaya for segregating the genuine indigenous communities of the state in order to ensure their survival.
“On Monday, we had even carried out an programme in higher secondary and high schools of Mizoram, where we appealed to the students to take a pledge not to marry non-Mizos. This is an annual initiative we had taken since 2015 with the objective of ensuring that the tribal identity and culture of Mizoram is protected and not assimilated with non-tribals,” Colney said.
As it is, Mizoram police has stepped up vigil and strengthened security at the seven inter-state border check gates.
“We have requested the government to secure the border check-gates and ensure that NRC-discarded people or any other infiltrators do not sneak in,” he said.
Last year, the Young Mizo Association had demanded enactment of a law to take back the scheduled tribe statues from any Mizo woman who marries a non-tribal.
The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), meanwhile, has requested the Nagaland government to exercise a strong political will and to immediately act upon the implementation of the ILP (inner line permit) regime in Dimapur district.
Perturbed by the exclusion of 19-odd lakh people from the NRC in Assam, the NSF has demanded enforcement of stringent checking of ILPs at all the check gates and impose strong punitive measures on ILP defaulters.
In a statement, the NSF said that it has appealed to all the federating units and all right-thinking Naga citizens to remain more vigilant against the influx of non-locals and illegal immigrants which is “expected to sharply increase in the coming days.”