Demographic change in some border States
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Sept 18: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs today hardened its stand on Rohingya nationals saying the Government has credible inputs that they have links with terrorist groups and hawala channel operators while some of them were in-league with Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Describing Rohingyas, who were also putting up in Jammu and Samba districts of the State, as “serious security threat”, an affidavit filed by the MHA Joint Secretary (Foreigners) Mukesh Mittal in the Supreme Court today on behalf of the Home Ministry described Rohingyas as part of “bigger sinister designs” under which they were infiltrating into India illegally through agents and touts.
The affidavit, a copy of which is in possession of the Excelsior, said: “some of the Rohingyas with militant background are found to be very active in Jammu, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mewat and have been identified as having a very serious and potential threat to internal and national security of India”.
Click here to see detailed affidavit filed by MHA
The 16-page affidavit added: “it has been found by the Central Government that many Rohingyas figured in suspected sinister designs of ISI (a Pakistan’s spy agency which has been responsible for spreading terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country) and ISIS (an international terrorist outfit which was causing blasts in various countries) and other sinister groups, who want to achieve their ulterior motives in India including that of flaring up communal and sectarian violence in sensitive areas of the country”.
Charging Rohingyas with mobilizing funds through hawala channels and procuring fake and fabricated Indian identity documents for other Rohingyas and also indulging in human trafficking, the Home Ministry’s affidavit said it has been observed by the Central Government that some Rohingyas are indulging in illegal and anti-national activities and were using their illegal network for illegal entry of others in India.
“Many of them have managed to acquire fake and fraudulently obtained Indian identity documents like PAN and voter cards,” it said.
Linking Rohingyas with Pakistan based terror organizations and similar groups operating in other countries, the MHA affidavit submitted that illegal influx of Rohingyas, in significant numbers, had started since 2012-13 and the Central Government has contemporaneous from security agencies inputs and other authentic material indicating linkages of some of the unauthorized Rohingya immigrants and terror groups.
“With serious security concern already in existence, more disturbing part is that there is an organized influx of illegal immigrants from Myanmar through agents and touts facilitating illegal immigrant Rohingyas into India via Benapole-Haridaspur and Hilli (West Bengal), Sonamora (Tripura), Kolkata and Guwahati,” the affidavit said and stressed that situation is seriously harming national security of the country.
Putting number of illegal Rohingya immigrants in the country as approximately 40,000, the MHA affidavit in the Supreme Court submitted that continuance of Rohingyas’ illegal immigration into Indian and their continued stay in the country, apart from being absolutely illegal, is found to be having serious national security ramifications and threats.
“It is submitted that due to an already existing large influx of illegal immigrants from the neighbouring countries, the demographic profile of some of the bordering States has already undergone a serious change which is causing far-reaching complications in various contexts and taking its toll, which had direct detrimental effect on fundamental and basic human rights of country’s own citizens,” the affidavit said.
Asserting that India is already saddled with a very serious problem of illegal migrants and is attempting to address situation in larger interest of nation, the MHA affidavit said: “we are keeping national resources of the country, requirements of India’s own population, national security concerns of the country and several other facts in consideration, which are based upon objective facts derived from empirical date, which are in knowledge and contemporaneous record of the Centre”.
The affidavit said so far as India is concerned, national security considerations rank highest on country’s list of priorities given its geographical influence in the region and its vulnerability to cross border infiltrations due to porous nature of its borders, which our country shares with many nations.
“India has open and porous borders with Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar etc and had an easily navigable sea route with Pakistan as well as Sri Lanka making it vulnerable to a continuous threat of an influx of illegal immigration and resultant problems arising there from,” the affidavit said.
It added: “India is a country with large population, surplus labour force and has it complex social, cultural and economical infrastructure. Providing facilities and privileges to illegal immigrants out of the existing national resources, apart from direct threat to national security, would also have direct adverse impact upon Indian citizens as it would deprive the Indian citizens of their legitimate share in employment sector, subsidized housing, medical and educational facilities and would thereby culminate in hostility towards immigrants resulting into an enviable social tension and law and order problems. The fundamental rights of Indian citizens would, therefore, be seriously violated”.
The MHA’s affidavit said the fundamental right to reside and settle in any part of the country is available to citizens only and illegal refugees cannot invoke the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to enforce the right.
“As evident from the Constitutional guarantee flowing from Article 19 of the Constitution, the right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India as well as right to move freely throughout the territory of India is available only to the citizens of India… No illegal immigrant can pray for a writ of this Court which directly or indirectly confer the fundamental rights in general…,” the affidavit said.
The Government said it may file in sealed cover the details of the security threats and inputs gathered by the various security agencies in this matter.
The Centre said that since India is not a signatory to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951, the obligations concerned to non-refoulement is not applicable.
“That the provisions of Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1967 cannot be relied upon by the petitioner since India is not a signatory of either of them. It is respectfully submitted that the obligation concerning the prohibition of return/non-refoulement is a codified provision under the provisions of 1951 Convention referred to above.
“It is submitted that this obligation is binding only in respect of the States which are parties to the Convention. Since India is not a party to the said Convention, or the said Protocol, the obligations contained therein are not applicable to India,” it said.
PTI adds from New Delhi:
Earlier during the day, a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra considered the statement of ASG Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, that the reply would be filed later today and fixed the PIL challenging the deportation of Rohingyas for hearing on October 3.
The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, did not issue notice to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which is already seized of the matter and had on August 18 issued notice to the Centre.
The plea, filed by two Rohingya immigrants, Mohammad Salimullah and Mohammad Shaqir, who are registered refugees under the United Nations High Commission of Refugees (UNHCR), claimed they had taken refuge in India after escaping from Myanmar due to widespread discrimination, violence and bloodshed against the community there.
The violent attacks allegedly by Myanmarese armymen have led to an exodus of Rohingya tribals from the western Rakhine State in that country to India and Bangladesh. Many of those who had fled to India after the earlier spate of violence, were settled in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan.
The plea said that India has ratified and is a signatory to various conventions that recognise the Principle of “Non- Refoulement’, which prohibits deportation of refugees to a country where they may face threat to their lives.
The Government has recently raised “serious concern” over reports of renewed violence and attacks in Myanmar and extended its “strong” support to the Myanmarese Government at this “challenging moment”.
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