Matti Bakor War, PhD, JNU
Mebanialam Tang, M.A, JNU
Preeti Syiemlieh, M.Phil, JNU
The passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act has rekindled old tensions and anxieties regarding the issue of illegal immigrants. Amidst this, it is applaudable that our peoples’ long struggle for ILP (Inner Line Permit) in our state has been acknowledged now that the state legislative assembly has passed a resolution for implementing ILP, which is now awaiting the Centre’s approval. We are happy that another measure is being pushed in order to safeguard the interests of the indigenous people, although the timing of this move can be looked at with skepticism. Moreover, it is also important to examine few concerns –
How has ILP fared in some states?
ILP has been implemented in four states so far – Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and recently Manipur. The first three states, despite having ILP since their inception, are still suffering from illegal immigrant issues. For instance, in Mizoram, just between the months of Jan-May 2019, 1,893 people were arrested for not having valid ILP as stated by Mizoram Home Minister Pu Lalchamliana. He further quoted that there are 21,757 non-tribals having valid inner ILP, out of which 135 people hold two-year ILP validity. Now this is an alarming number of non-indigenous people entering a state even through legal means.
In Nagaland, as per a study by Dr M. Amarjit Singh (National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore), he states that Nagaland has recorded the highest rate of population growth in the entire country in the last two decades (1981-2001). He also found that this sharp rise in population can be attributed to illegal immigration. He highlighted that the Inner-line permit has not been effective since it has been severely misused by the local administration taking small bribes for allowing non-locals to travel, mostly through the Dimapur-Kohima-Imphal section of national highway no. 39.
Will the Sixth Schedule and the proposed ILP be enough to protect Meghalaya from future influx and repercussions of the CAA?
The Sixth Schedule offers no provision for checking influx of illegal immigrants. Moreover, not the entire state falls under the Sixth Schedule. There are areas which are excluded which fall mostly in and around Shillong city such as European Ward. Here, non-indigenous people are allowed to purchase property, including land, provided a competent authority allows the transfer. Parts of these excluded areas are already over-populated, reducing them to slums.
Looking at the history of ILP in other states, this same system could allow heavy influx of non-indigenous people creating similar problems like we are already facing now with the illegal immigrants. It should also be noted that ILP is just an official travel document which requires documents like PAN Card, Driving License, Voter ID, etc which we know can be easily obtained through illegal means. Moreover, for ILP to be effective, it would firstly require proper implementation, strict checking mechanism for detection of infiltrators and defaulters of the permit.
When we look at existing facts and figures, there is a genuine fear that these mechanisms might not protect us from future influx and repercussions of implementation of CAA in the country. It cannot be stressed enough that Meghalaya shares a border with both Assam and Bangladesh spanning 884.9 km and 443 km respectively which are highly porous and, in certain cases, highly populated. Many areas that needed to be fenced off to prevent illegal entry are left unattended and it is through such vulnerable points of entry that enables foreigners and smugglers to enter Meghalaya easily and in an undetectable manner. To cite an example, the Mahendraganj-Mankachar road in the Garo Hills passes through the no-mans land entering the border fencing. This means that the gates can be opened freely and anyone from the neighbouring country of Bangladesh can enter without restriction. Furthermore, as per research done by Joyeeta Bhattacharjee (Senior Fellow with ORF’s Neighbourhood Regional Studies Initiative), the Integrated Check Posts (ICP) along these borders allows entry of people on basis of simple photograph-based paper permits, which can be forged and tampered with. The personnel at the ICP gate are usually ill-equipped to verify the authenticity of these documents, creating security concerns for the local people.
Hence the implementation of an Act such as the CAA further adds incentive for people to enter the state either through legal or illegal procedures and establish themselves as legal citizens, which will turn out to be detrimental to the indigenous population as in the case of Tripura where the indigenous people have been reduced to a minority. Moreover, parts of our neighbouring state of Assam which does not come under the Sixth Schedule and does not have ILP provisions will be directly affected by CAA. This makes our state vulnerable to influx from Assam as well. Hence looking at the foreseeable picture, there is an urgent need to continue the fight for the repealing of CAA. At the same time, there is a need to demand that the Government formulate solid provisions for the ILP and its proper implementation and to bring about stringent border protection laws along with proper infrastructural measures to counter illegal immigration.