Unrest in Bangladesh accelerates influx of Muslims into India: Sarma
Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma here on Wednesday said that the ongoing unrest in neighbouring Bangladesh has increased the influx of Muslims into India, through the borders in Assam and other northeastern states.
Informing that all the infiltrators intercepted so far are Muslims, Mr Sarma told reporters nearly 50 such Muslim migrants have been either arrested or pushed back from Assam since the unrest started.
He said that as it was feared by many in Assam, Hindus are not coming following the ongoing unrest.
Pointing out that they have deployed additional police personnel in railway stations and other places in Karimganj to detect such illegal migrants, Mr Sarma said, “Most of those arrested or pushed back had been working in textile industries and fled as the industries halted operations. Most were heading to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu for work in textile industries. I will write a letter to Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin soon with a request to check antecedents of those who recently joined the textile industries in his state.”
He also informed that three such migrants were pushed back from Karimganj in South Assam at around 5 am on Wednesday.
Asserting that the BSF has also intensified drive and vigil against such influx in Tripura and Meghalaya, Mr Sarma announced that his government would soon release a white paper highlighting the demographic changes that took place due to illegal migration of Muslims into Assam from neighbouring Bangladesh. “Out of the 28,000 polling booths, demographic changes have taken place in 19,000,” he claimed.
Mr Sarma also announced that the state government has successfully intervened to facilitate the release of Aadhaar cards for 9.35 lakh residents whose applications had been stalled for over four years.
“The UIDAI had blocked the issuance of Aadhaar cards for these individuals when they provided their biometric data between February 2019 and August 2019,” said Mr Sarma. He explained that despite extensive efforts, the state was unable to establish a clear link between the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Aadhaar, leading to the impasse.
However, on July 29, 2024, the Assam government formally requested the central government to resolve the matter and allow the issuance of Aadhaar cards. Following his appeal, the Centre instructed the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on August 27, 2024, to proceed with the Aadhaar issuance for these individuals.
