Modi government’s decision to extend Inner Line Permit to Manipur is regressive, inward-looking and counterproductive. The claim that it will protect indigenous communities after the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is hollow. It will only insulate another northeastern state, and run counter to the goal of opening up and mainstreaming the region.
India must hear out Bangladesh on citizenship bill. BJP politics shouldn’t damage diplomacy
With Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and the political rhetoric around illegal immigrants, Modi government has managed to upset India’s only reliable ally in South Asia right now — Bangladesh. Its foreign minister Abdul Momen’s comments against triggering citizens’ anxieties and minority persecution must be heard. BJP’s domestic politics should not damage diplomacy.
I am always struck by how differently we are dealing with Kashmir and the north east. Articles 370 and 371 both address the special features / needs of these regions whose integration with “ India “ is in some ways not “ complete “. What is sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander. If restrictions on purchase of property, permanent residence have held back Kashmir’s economic development, that applies with equal force to the north east. The people of both regions should be sensitised to the very real advantages that will result from integrating with a subcontinental economy, allowed to choose their pace. The provisions of the Constitution provide assurance that there will be no compulsion or high handedness. We are sowing some toxic weeds in the north east, they will yield a bitter harvest.
Both countries know illegal immigration is no longer a live issue. Ek daur thaa, Woh guzar gaya. Nor has India shown any stomach for identifying and repatriating the large number of Bangladeshis who may have entered after 1971. A fait accompli. The cliche is that we must prevent further illegal immigration through better border controls. The reality is that Bangladesh’s success story is achieving that object. The Assam NRC perhaps could not have been avoided, although CJI Ranjan Gogoi need not have pushed the process so hard. However, a national NRC, where the only reds under the beds are Bangladeshis is an exercise in extreme cynicism. Bangladesh is a proud, self respecting country. It hurts them. As does the suggestion that Hindus are not safe in Bangladesh, the doors of their original / natural homeland should be opened to them. EAM is the best person to sensitise the government on these issues.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister has cancelled his visit to India.