A Partisan Law Again?

It took the people of Asom 22 long years to get rid of a discriminatory black law called the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act by appealing to the Supreme Court. And in these 22 years, the East Pakistan/Bangladesh lobby in the State almost completed its game-plan of reducing the indigenous people of Asom to a minority. Mercifully, what Parliament failed to do by way of repealing a bad law, the Supreme Court was able to do in response to a writ petition. The apex court not only struck down the IM(DT) Act, but also issued strictures against the Government of Asom for trying to fiddle with the Foreigners Act of 1946 to make it different for the State of Asom alone. The Supreme Court even fined the State government. But some people will never learn. There are now reports of a fresh move to bring in another immigration law that is designed to keep the ‘minorities’ in good humour. This is largely because the popularity of Badruddin Ajmal’s AUDF has made the Congress jittery. However, it is important for the Congress in Asom to keep three things in mind. First, the Centre — especially Union Home Minister P Chidambaram — seems to be fully aware of the danger of letting Bangladesh have a free run of Asom and the Northeast. It is not going to be quite as easy for the Asom government to hoodwink the Centre any more. Secondly, the word ‘minorities’ now applies to the indigenous population of the State and not to the East Pakistani/Bangladeshi immigrants. The new ‘minorities’ are about to ask for their special privileges since the Congress leaders have been responsible for turning majority into minority in the State. Thirdly, the people of Asom will not wait 22 years for justice any more. The Sentinel