Amid Assam eviction drives, neighbouring states on guard against influx of ‘illegal immigrants'

Indian Express

2 days ago

With thousands in Assam displaced during the state government's recent spate of evictions, and with more planned, the Northeastern state's neighbours are on tenterhooks.
Days after the Nagaland government referred to displaced people as 'illegal immigrants' and ordered 'heightened vigilance' on its border with Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur have now issued similar directions to check their influx. The Nagaland government's move was triggered by an upcoming eviction drive in Uriamghat of Assam's Golaghat district, which borders the state.
'In view of the ongoing eviction drive against the illegal immigrants undertaken by the government of Assam and to prevent possible influx of the displaced individuals to the state as consequence, all Deputy Commissioners are hereby directed to keep vigilance and take necessary measures to ensure the potential influx is kept in check, and law and order is maintained,' read the order issued by the National People's Party (NPP)-led Meghalaya government on Wednesday.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Thursday met all District Collectors and senior officials, including the DGP and Chief Secretary, to 'strengthen vigilance and security' along the Assam border, to ensure there is no 'infiltration' into the state.
'There are certain vulnerable districts, especially bordering Assam and closer to areas where the eviction drives are going on. Hence, special attention is being given in those districts … We have been informed that no incident has taken place in any of these districts. All the district administrations, police, Village Defence Parties (VDPs), village-level committees, traditional heads and NGOs are being kept in the loop to ensure information regarding movement or individuals is communicated to us and appropriate action is taken,' Sangma said after the meeting.
On Wednesday, Manipur, which is currently under President's Rule, issued a similar order, but without explicitly mentioning the eviction drives in Assam. In the order, the Manipur administration directed all District Collectors and Superintendents of Police to ensure vigil at inter-state and inter-district boundaries to 'prevent anyone from crossing into the state's boundaries illegally'.
Over the past two months, more than 3,300 families, mostly Muslims of Bengali origin, have been evicted from forest, grazing and government revenue lands in Assam.
While the political narrative around the eviction drives is seen as polarising, with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claiming they were being undertaken to mainly stem 'demographic invasion by people of one religion', the crackdowns are against encroachment and not against 'illegal immigrants' as the orders by the Manipur and Meghalaya dispensations suggest.
Nagaland Deputy CM Y Patton said the state would deploy additional forces in all areas bordering Assam, while the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Niuland district, which borders Assam, claimed to have sent back evicted illegal immigrants who were intercepted in '200 vehicles on Tuesday'.
The state has an Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime that mandates that citizens who do not belong to Nagaland must procure an official travel document issued by the state government to visit or stay.
In another bordering district, Mon, the Konyak Students Union has stepped in. 'We are cooperating with the district administration and deploying 100 volunteers from each village to maintain a round-the-clock vigil. We are checking for documentation such as Aadhaar card and ILP for every vehicle entering from Assam,' KSU president Temwang Anagh told The Indian Express.