This is not just an issue that erupted out of nowhere; this is an issue we all the people os Assam had been facing since quiet a long time. So it is high time we start thinking about this matter seriously. There has been a significant growth in the population of illegal immigrants in the last few years.
—The Scary Truth of Immigrants Influx in Assam by Manita Gurung
Recently, India has been getting an influx of immigrants coming from Bangladesh because of their rocky political and economic standings and the constant challenges of trying to find and job and supporting their own family. Assam, one of the closely located areas to Bangladesh is a rural area and not always considered part of India, until now, as they have been receiving increased amounts of attention because of the increased amount of immigrants residing there. Because of this current immigration problem Assam has become more dangerous for reasons such as kidnapping, race and ethnic issues, gun violence, and the rapid takeovers of immigrants compared to natives, says Sanjib Baruah in her book India Against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality. The people of Assam have continuously puzzled by the lack of assistance that the Government had once promised from the impacts of the increasing number of illegal immigrants.
Almost 30 years ago, the Government of India created the Assam Accord because of the many years previously of violence between the citizens of India living in Assam and the large population of people migrating to Assam from Bangladesh. The Assam Accord stated that all immigrants that moved into Assam between 1951 to 1961 would be granted citizenship, including the right to vote, those who immigrated between 1961 to 1971 would be given citizenship, but for ten years would not be allowed to vote, and those immigrating into Assam after 1971 would be deported. Those who were sent to be deported, were brought to concentration camps on the border of India and Bangladesh, however those people have yet to be deported back into Bangladesh.
In the article, Manita Gurung stated that the main problem of Assam is the lack of involvement of the Government of India with regards to the illegal immigration problem, in addition to the lack of implementation of the Assam Accord. Some of her arguments include that there are almost 40,000 immigrants who have illegal come into India and only 2,447 immigrants have been deported. Another problem is the rapid increase of immigrants from Bangladesh and the inability of India’s Government to control this is decreasing. Additionally, she states the role of the Government is to create a better community, society, and country for its people, who is not currently happening, which is why Gurung wants people to stand up for themselves and for the people of Assam.
The Voice of Assam website, is an article based site that produces articles about the life and culture of all people in Assam, with an overall unbiased opinion. This specific article is created by Manita Gurung, who wants people to stand up and speak up to the Government in India and enforce the laws they once created in order to better the lives of citizens of Assam and to enforce the Assam Accord.
–Rachel New