The problem relating to the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants is an often spoken about subject. While many may try and pass off the issue as a humanitarian one, the fact remains that the illegal immigrants from Bangladesh only pose a massive security risk for India.
While there are several documented crimes committed by such persons, the recent one involving the stabbing of actor Saif Ali Khan is an example of the threat these elements pose.
One reason why the problem remains unresolved is because of the cheap labour they offer. Both legal and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are not just restricted to West Bengal and the north-eastern states any more. They are present in the length and breath of the country as people readily hire them due to the cheap labour they offer. The fact that they have made their way into Kerala, a trade union dominated state itself suggest how desperate people are for cheap labour.
These persons are ready to work in any industry and today they are part of plantations, both tea and coffee. They are also found working as jewellery artisans, domestic helps among others.
How it begins
The illegal Bangladeshi immigrants make their entry into Bharat through regions such as Chapali Nawabganj, Malda, Dineshpur, Murshidabad and 24 Paraganas. Once in the country, they pay their tout anything in the range of Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000 to obtain fake Aadhaar Cards. Once they have an identification card on them, then it is difficult to stop them from travelling to any part of the country.
The network of the touts in the country is huge and it is a big racket that is largely prevalent in West Bengal and the northeastern states. These touts have their agents in every nook and corner of the country. For example an agent in Kerala would get in touch with the tout in West Bengal depending the manpower he would need. Based on the requirement these illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are sent.
Dodging deportation
The deportation demands are plenty and it is being made for several years now. However these people have exploited the law to their advantage as a result of which they continue to stay on in the country.
In fact these persons are happier when a case is registered against them. First and foremost they secure bail quite easily as the courts do not find it out to be an offence of a very grave nature. Furthermore granting them bail is also a way of reducing the stress on the prison system.
All these work as perfect loopholes for the illegal immigrants. They are aware that once a case goes to court, they cannot be deported unless and until the case is decided. It is a well known fact how long these cases take before a conclusion is reached. The average time that a court would take to decide on a case relating to deportation is around 5 to 6 years.
Even if these persons are deported, it is still alright for them. They go back to Bangladesh and remain there for a month before coming back to India. They are able to do this since they re-enter with a new identity and an Aadhaar Card is provided to them after they pay the tout the money.
Voting rights
While the problem of illegal immigrants is immense, the bigger worry is that may today even have voting rights. Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis had pointed out recently that these illegal immigrants have secured voting rights. While terming this phenomenon as vote jihad, he had also said that many had even applied for birth certificates.
He had said during the Maharashtra elections that this community was urged to vote em-masse against the BJP.
Fadnavis has however promised to tackle this problem which has been plaguing his state for long. He said that a detention centre would be built in the state to hold these persons as they cannot be put in jails directly.
It may be recalled that last year the Maharashtra ATS had arrested one person by the name Mohammad Idris Shaikh in Mumbai. He was living in the city illegally since 1994. During the investigation, the ATS officers recovered a rate chart from him. This had the details of the amount that the touts were charging the illegal Bangladeshis in lieu of documents such as Aadhaar and Voter’s Id.
