The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the government’s resolve to secure the eastern border of the country.
“We are at a loss to understand why 67 years after independence the eastern border is left porous. We have been reliably informed that the entire western border with Pakistan, 3300 km long, is not only properly fenced, but properly manned as well, and is not porous at any point,” a Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Rohinton F. Nariman said in a 70-page judgment.
Expressing concern at the large influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh, Justice Nariman noted that the “porous border,” with not even a proper fencing, risks the lives of citizens of the border States, including Assam.
The judgment came on a batch of petitions filed by NGOs Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha, Assam Public Works and All-Assam Ahom Association, contending that large influx of people from Bangladesh led to periodic clashes.
The petitions challenged the validity of Section 6(3) & (4) of the Citizenship Act, accommodating migrants from East Pakistan between January, 1966 and March 24, 1971 as deemed citizens of the country. The petitions wanted such periodic violence to be treated as instances of external aggression.
“The Union will take all effective steps to complete the fencing [double coiled wire fencing] in such parts of the Indo-Bangla border [including Assam] where presently the fencing is yet to be completed,” the court ordered.
“The vigil along the riverine boundary will be effectively maintained by continuous patrolling. Such part of the international border which has been perceived to be inhospitable on account of the difficult terrain will be patrolled and monitored at vulnerable points that could provide means of illegal entry.”
It directed the building of motorable roads alongside the international border and installation of floodlights to prevent incidents ranging from incursion to cross-border trafficking.
PTI reports:
The court quoted a report of 1998 by the then Assam Lt. Gen. S.K. Sinha to the President on the “grave threat posed by the large scale influx of people from Bangladesh to Assam.”
“The dangerous consequences, both for the people of Assam and more for the nation as a whole, need to be empathetically stressed. No misconceived and mistaken notions of secularism should be allowed to come in the way of doing so. The spectre looms large of the indigenous people of Assam being reduced to a minority in their home State. Their cultural survival will be in jeopardy, their political control will be weakened and their employment opportunities will be undermined.”
