The issue of Rohingya and Bangladesh Muslim illegal immigrants in Jammu and Samba districts came to our knowledge only after the Chief Minister made the disclosure in the course of answer to a question raised in the Assembly recently. In her statement the Chief Minister had said their number was estimated at about 5700 souls located at two places, one in the peripheries of Jammu city and the other in Samba district close to the border with Pakistan. The subject was bound to raise objection from Jammu citizenry and civil society including nationalist political chapters because much mystery shrouded the entire matter. Why and how of this illegal immigration became the talk of the town. After all, neither Bangladesh nor Myanmar is contiguous to our State so that there could be the presumption of their clandestine infiltration.
Considering the legal, political and human aspects of illegal immigration the Union Home Minister directed the State for a detailed report. Obviously the State Government must have conducted official inquiry and scripted the report in the light of the same. The recent visit of the Home Secretary and his deliberations on the subject with the State Chief Secretary and the police chief is a clear indication that the Centre is seriously concerned about the issue and a solution has to be found to set at rest the demanding voices of Jammu citizenry. Addressing the case has become more pressing owing to the suspicions that there could be a bigger conspiracy behind the episode. The more disconcerting part of the case is the possibility of security threat in the presence of these illegal immigrants. Although it is reported that no link between the immigrants and terrorist outfits active in Kashmir have been found but the question of certain NGOs and non-state religious institutions especially the religious seminaries evincing interest in them makes things somewhat suspicious. Why did these Rohingya Muslims come all the way to J&K and not settle down at other places, why did they choose Jammu city and border town of Samba as their destination, why a number of FIRs had to be filed against them for doing illegal activities and above all why did the previous Government remained silent and tongue-tied on their entry into the State. How did they manage to not only get settlement but also ration cards, aadhaar cards, work permits and other facilities. How come the Rohingyas could manage fake state subject certificates and no authority of the state challenged and suspected the authenticity of the state subject cards. These are serious questions and all these lend strength to the suspicious that this is not only a conspiracy of changing demographic complexion of Jammu but also facilitating proliferation of terrorist activities in Jammu.
In his discussions with the administrative echelons of the State, the Home Secretary has come to the conclusion that legal and viable ways need to be explored for sending these illegal immigrants whose number is said to be more than 10,000 souls back to their respective countries. The question which the senior administrative authorities considered closely was what would be the reaction of the concerned states to the matter, will they accept their citizens if brought to their border and what are the international laws governing repatriation of illegal immigrants etc. Rightly the meeting held under the chairmanship of the Home Secretary has decided that a comprehensive status report be prepared about these illegal immigrants and the views of respective Governments of their native States be obtained about their repatriation. Evidently, the Government of India will examine all legal and human aspects of the issue and then only take an action that does not infringe international law and local practices. Whatever action the Government feels is right and legal will be taken and that is not the real issue. The real issue is that the people in the country should know how this illegal immigration by a sensitive group of people happened in a sensitive State and the Central Government remained uninformed while the State Government deliberately kept the issue hidden from the people and the Centre. It explains many things and people want to know.
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