It may be futile to reiterate the features of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and what will qualify a person to be a ‘precious citizen’ of India given the limelight it has attracted. In fact, one wakes up to see the daily paper flooded with headlines about the same. A huge hue and cry over the contentious Bill witnessed consequently. In a gist the Bill can be explained as a deliberate attempt on the part of the government to legitimize/validate the citizenship of immigrants from the three Muslim dominated countries, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, belonging to six religious communities namely, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Parsis, and Sikhs. A serious matter of concern at hand is the impending implications the Bill if passed as an Act, can have on the indigenous tribal citizens of Nagaland in particular, not to negate the larger implication it will have on its neighboring states, those already struggling with the menace of immigration. A paradoxical approach to this end has been adopted by the central Government through this Bill. Interestingly, while the North Eastern region has been requesting the center to identify and deport the immigrants as was done by Assam through the National Register of Citizens (NRC), this Bill will legalize their citizenship in India. Wrong course of action at the wrong time.
The Bill was very recently termed as a “communally motivated humanitarianism” by those protesting on the streets of Delhi and rightly so. It is understandable why the concerned citizens of some of the North Eastern states, had to collectively come to the streets and raise their legitimate concerns based on their impending fears that will affect the present generation and more adversely the future generations. For Nagaland, if Assam fall victim to this Bill, a domino effect on the state in all certainty will be witnessed since the former shares a large portion of state boundary with Assam and a large number of unestimated immigrants popularly called as Illegal Bangladeshi Immigrants (IBIs) by the Nagas are settled there.
The rhetoric of political blame game: Let us be reminded that the Bill, although it was passed only recently in January 2019 in the Lok Sabha, it was first proposed in the lower house in July 2016. Neiphiu Rio, the present Chief Minister and a member of Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), earlier before his breakup with Nagaland Peoples’ Front (NPF) was the lone Lok Sabha member from Nagaland when the Bill was first proposed in the house. Logically, the present event that has unfolded before us was predestined at a time when NPF was then an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). There is no need for shifting political blame game at this juncture because both the NPF and NDPP are hand in glove for whatever has manifested, led by their political masters at the center. The current political debate at home is just a ‘political gimmick’ to withdraw our attention. Hence what is the need of the hour, if not a panacea is a collective political will to stand up to the government at the centre, despite of their diverse political affirmations and firmly oppose the implementation of the Bill rather than requesting the same to review and reconsider it- the latter does not even qualify as an option in fact.
The present scenario among the North Eastern state governments is that Manipur, Mizoram, and Meghalaya have passed or proposed assembly resolutions in opposition to the Bill. Sikkim, Tripura, and Assam supported the Bill, while Arunachal Pradesh has only timidly urged the center to review the Bill as Nagaland did. Such half-hearted efforts largely imply the willingness of the political leaders to sacrifice the concerns of the citizens of the state whom they represent sidelining the very essence of democracy which stands for representation of the voter’s voice. Grand political puppetry at play one must say.
Growing immigrants in Dimapur: a neglected reality?: A look at the census of Dimapur district in Nagaland (identified as the state’s commercial hub) reveals that since 2001 (1.67 lakhs then), the population growth of the district has soared up to 127.29% (3.79 lakhs) in 2011 and the population density has increased from 180 in 2001 to 409 in 2011. This shows how the population pressure is heavily mounting on the district to the disadvantage of the state. We may argue that there has been a steady inter-state migration over the last decade but that alone does not satisfy the question of such rampant growth. A look at the religious composition of Dimapur reveals that Christians (61.84%), Hindu (28.75%) and Muslim (8.24%) respectively are the major religious groups. For a state where Christians makes up 88% among the religious group according to 2011 census, an analysis of Dimapur’s case could only imply rampant growth of outsiders.
These IBIs are lured by the positive employment prospects since Nagas are unwilling to take up menial jobs and are always on the lookout for employment prospects that has bigger returns. A harsh reality that has compounded the unemployment rate in the state. Hence, the IBIs readily accept the opportunity of earning easy money by taking up the job of construction workers, porters/coolies, cobblers, sweepers and even caretakers of large agricultural fields owned by the Nagas. In this way, the small scale labor market of the district is largely run through the convenience of these workers further encouraging more to come to this ‘promised land’- a land of economic opportunities as they may be imagining.
With the addition of the IBIs to the state, the geographical space of the state has been/will be altered and this will result in larger demographic changes in the long run. Since the bulk of the IBIs is largely engaged in menial jobs, the concept of ‘more members means more money’ works well for them. So it is not surprising for them to have large family members since most of the parents do not have to spend money on educating their children. As a result, they add on to the growing population pressure and will continue to do so. Well, more population implies increased pressure on the state government’s purse since they have to accommodate the wellbeing of the new citizens of India.
Legitimizing the citizenship of these IBIs would imply giving access to many of the rights and duties that any citizen enjoys (although Article 371(A) may be used as a constitutional backing to deny them land rights at most). So, for instance, access to participation in the democratic process of the state which many of them already do after acquiring legal documents through whatever means they found it convenient, they became valid voters of the state. Yes, for the moment they are not a significant vote bank but will be, if they continue to thrive in the state, meaning they can determine the politics processes especially for Dimapur in the long run. These apprehensions are not a result of an inward-looking and conservative approach rather it’s about the encroachment of political rights of the indigenous people of the land and their medium of political conduct.
Conflicts are bound to arise if not now, later. Changing demographic composition will result in a conflict of interest among the Nagas and the IBIs (deemed citizens of India as per the provisions of the Bill). If we remember, in 2017 a Naga family was attacked by a group of IBIs following which there was a call for checking further infiltration of these IBIs, but the movement died down. And I may be wrong in using only one incident as a foundation for my argument but I feel that it matters. Lack of political will and inefficient state machinery only adds to the woes of the state’s fear and apprehensions about the repercussion of the changing dynamics of the state because of the IBIs and problems will further multiply if unfortunately, the contentious Bill at stake comes into play.
The center may not know the ground reality of the North East state or they are merely being ‘knowledgeably ignorant’ of the persistent woes of the region that only the center knows. But for the moment, it looks as though they are trying to consolidate their vote bank politics and pursue a greater conspiracy of making India a ‘Hindu Rashtra’, a shroud political objective propagated by V. D. Savarkar at the very cost of sacrificing the identity of the indigenous people in the North East. As much as there has been a constant fear of growing minority oppressions across the country, for the center to introduce such Bill signifies their ruthlessness and their assertion to forcefully assimilate North East region within their sphere of influence, at the cost of murdering the spirit of the cultural diversity and secular fabric India.
Inner Line Permit (ILP): So do we need to introduce Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Dimapur which requires an outsider to take permit from the Government to visit a protected/restricted tribal area in Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh. Yes, as a short term remedy, implementation of ILP can help Dimapur but its implementation will be futile if it is not followed up with adequate measures to check the influx of IBIs. One could ask how much have the implementation of ILP in Nagaland helped in averting the illegal outsiders from visiting/settling in the other districts of Nagaland? The porous boundary with its neighboring state Assam acts as easy access for the IBIs. And Dimapur sharing its largest boundary with Assam becomes more prone to the problem of immigration. The blessing of having a train station in Dimapur has been embraced as a lucky thing for the IBIs which serves an easy entry point too. The materialization of Government’s ambitious plan to extend the railway lines till Zubza, which is 16 kilometers away from Kohima, for me, spells further challenges given the context in which we are situated. It is important that the state enforce stricter rules and regulations and add more watchful eyes.
The validation of the IBIs presence through the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 can only spell more misery for the state in terms of economic, political and social implications. Provisions promised under Article 371(A) are not a remedy as underscored by NDPP recently. The problem of IBIs and their access to Indian citizenship goes beyond this constitutional safeguard. The problem of immigration is a larger reality that cannot be checked by this constitutional article alone; it calls for reinforced vigilant efforts at identifying the root of the problem and then find adequate measures at curbing the same. Instead, why not try employing NRC for the outsiders as Assam did. Although it may take time and extra effort on the part of the state machinery, anything that benefits the state will be worth undertaking. In this way, a rough registry of nontribal residents in Nagaland can also be concluded, which will help in computing data later on.
But alas! This we all know, but we need to remind ourselves once again that we are living under the shadow of a callous political force, willing to override the sanctity of our constitutional text in favor of their political gain. And the allied state actors are expected to play to their tunes. And why not, we live under the mercy of their generous state funds and aids. The impending fears of the tribal people from this region are constantly negated. Sadly! What is scary about the current development is that the educated leaders are acting as silent observers, in spite of foreseeing the larger ramifications ahead. For the moment, a nimbus of apprehension is here to stay till the Bill is collectively defeated.
Chibenthung Yanthan,
Research Scholar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi