By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 29: The Hynniewtrep Integrated Territorial Organisation (HITO) on Monday urged Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to take the lead in seeking the extension of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime to the entire Northeast, citing growing security and demographic concerns in the wake of recent remarks made by Bangladesh’s interim head.
In a letter addressed to Sarma, who is also the chairman of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), HITO president Donkupar Dkhar expressed deep concern over comments made by Bangladesh’s interim head and Chief Adviser, Muhammad Yunus, during a visit to China about two months ago.
Yunus had reportedly described Bangladesh as the “only guardian of the ocean” for the seven landlocked northeastern states of India and often referred to India’s strategically sensitive Siliguri Corridor, popularly known as the “Chicken Neck”.
Dkhar stated that such remarks were misleading, objectionable, and inimical to India’s sovereignty and national interest. He said the organisation agreed with the Assam Chief Minister’s “firm and timely reaction” to the comments, noting that they had resonated strongly with people across the Northeast.
The HITO president further pointed out that while Bangladesh has drawn attention to India’s Siliguri Corridor, it has two narrow and more vulnerable “chicken necks”, making such statements provocative and strategically imprudent.
Highlighting the prevailing political instability in Bangladesh and the frequent arrest and detection of illegal Bangladeshi nationals in several northeastern states, HITO said the remarks assumed greater significance and raised serious security, demographic and socio-political concerns for the region.
In this context, the organisation urged Sarma, in his capacity as the NEDA chairman, to demand the extension of the ILP under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, to the entire Northeast.
The ILP is currently applicable in four states—Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland. The document is needed in Sikkim in the form of a Protected Area Permit in certain areas.
The HITO said that given the present circumstances, it has become imperative to extend the ILP regime uniformly to Meghalaya and Assam as well, and to strengthen its framework across the region to protect the indigenous people, their land, identity, and cultural heritage.
While acknowledging that the ILP is not a complete solution to infiltration and illegal immigration, the organisation said it could serve as an important regulatory mechanism to partially control, monitor, and check the movement of foreigners in the Northeast illegally.
The HITO expressed hope that the collective call from the region would be taken forward by the state government and the ruling party at the Centre in the larger interest of national security, demographic balance and the constitutional rights of indigenous communities. The organisation also sought an opportunity to meet the Assam Chief Minister to further elaborate on its concerns.
