* ‘Seal border, don’t allow numbers to rise’
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Sept 26: The Centre has asked number of States including Jammu and Kashmir, which were prone to influx of Rohingyas to intensify surveillance on their borders with other States to check entry of illegal immigrants following reports that large number of Rohingyas have deserted Myanmar and were trying to enter into India through North Eastern States, bordering Myanmar, apart from Assam and West Bengal after reaching Bangladesh.
An advisory issued by the Government of India has asked Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Rajasthan and some other States to maintain strict vigil on their boundaries with other States as Rohingyas have more concentration on these States once they reach New Delhi after intruding into the country from porous border of Myanmar with North Eastern States as well as the States, which share boundaries with Bangladesh.
Sources told the Excelsior that the Centre has asked the States like Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Manipur to seal borders with Myanmar while Assam and West Bengal have been asked to plug entry points with Bangladesh to check influx of Rohingyas, who have fled in large number from some areas of Myanmar and were trying to enter India either through Bangladesh or from North Eastern States.
“It has been pointed out that Rohingyas could concentrate for settling along New Delhi-Haryana border, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir where already number of Rohingyas have settled illegally over the past few years after entering into India from Myanmar,’’ sources said, adding that these States have been asked to maintain strict surveillance and prevent fresh influx of Rohingyas.
It may be mentioned here that number of Rohingyas in Jammu and Samba districts has gone up from 5700 to 6300 over past few months notwithstanding massive protests here seeking their immediate deportation to Myanmar.
Sources said the Centre, which had recently stated before the Supreme Court that Rohingyas have links with terrorist outfits like Islamic State and Lashkar-e-Toiba and were part of organized gang engaged in illegal infiltration, didn’t want increase in number of Rohingyas, which has been pegged at 40,000 across the country.
“The Government of India wants to deport Rohingyas back to Myanmar. It was in talks with the Myanmar Government as well on the issue. So it didn’t want number of Rohingyas to go up further at any cost,’’ sources said, adding that it was taking all possible steps on its own by directing security forces guarding borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh to ensure that the illegal immigrants didn’t manage to infiltrate.
At the same time, sources said, the Centre also wants the State to cooperate with it by ensuring that even if Rohingyas managed to breach borders, they didn’t manage to settle here like the previous ones.
In its affidavit before the Supreme Court, the Centre had linked Rohingyas with Pakistan based terror organizations and similar groups operating in other countries and stated that the illegal influx of Rohingyas, in significant numbers, had started since 2012-13. 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,’’ the Centre Government said.
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.
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