Infiltration of Illegal Immigrants and Electoral Politics in Assam
| Author | Sangit Kumar Ragi |
| Published date | 01 July 2016 |
| Date | 01 July 2016 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0019556120160316 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
INFILTRATION OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND
ELECTORAL POLITICS IN ASSAM
SAN
GIT KUMAR RAGI
Infiltration
from
Bangladesh has been a
major
issue
of
controversy and ethnic conflicts in the state
of
Assam. Though
a section
of
intelligentsia has been contesting the premise,
government
reports
from
time to time
and
studies
have
confirmed the massive illegal migration
of
population from
across the international border
in
Assam.
The
settlement
of
these migrants in different parts
of
the State which largely
have been concentrated along the border areas has changed
the ethno-religious landscape
of
the region. The native
and
indigenous Assamese have a sense
of
fear that the rising swamp
of
migrants would not only dissolve the socio-culture identity
of
the ethnic Assamese
in
their own soil but would reduce their
political preponderance in the State in times
to
come. Since the
last four decades they have been demanding the sending back
of
illegal immigrants and deregistering their names from electoral
rolls. On the other hand, migrants now with their names on
the electoral rolls have emerged as a numerically significant
block to decide the electoral outcomes in several assembly
and
parliamentary constituencies. While in the beginning
they stayed as backbone
of
the electoral strength
of
the Indian
National Congress, gradually they have started flexing their
political muscle
in
the system. A large chunk
of
their population
gravitated towards the All India United Democratic Front
(AIUDF) led by Badrudin Ajmal which aims to polarise them
to their side on religious lines. The article, besides dealing with
the issues and debates pertaining
to
infiltration, seeks
to
analyse
how
it
has transformed the electoral politics
of
the State
in
the
last
few
decades. Election results have been taken into account
to underscore the changing electoral dynamics in the State.
THOUGH
THE victories
of
political parties in elections are never an
outcome
of
a singular factor, the recent victory
of
the BJP-led coalition
in
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