A train to nowhere

The Maharashtra government's abortive attempts to quot;deportquot; 167 persons believed to be illegal migrants should provide ample exp...

The Maharashtra government8217;s abortive attempts to quot;deportquot; 167 persons believed to be illegal migrants should provide ample experience on how not to conduct such drives. What began as an exercise to ensure that only legitimate citizens remain in the state ended as a gross violation of human rights, with one batch of 50 persons, which included women, arriving in Kharagpur from Mumbai in shackles, and another batch of 34 being released by a sympathetic crowd at Uluberai in Howrah district. The incidents provoked the West Bengal government to take the matter to court on the grounds that the supposed Bangladeshis were actually legitimate residents of the state.

There are at least three serious errors that the Maharashtra authorities committed in executing Operation Eviction. First, the whole operation was handled by the police who were, from all evidence, not equipped with a relevant court order. They were, therefore, clearly exceeding their brief since the authorisation of deportation does not figure as partof normal policing duties. Second, they also had very little evidence to support their contention that the deportees were Bangladeshis. In fact, some of them are reported to have ration cards and other documents proving their Indian citizenship. Finally, the Maharashtra government had evidently not thought it fit to consult their West Bengal counterpart before despatching its police on the adventure of escorting the deportees to the Haridaspur border.

Not only do such liberties with established procedures and courtesies create an impression that the administrators in this country are not particularly burdened by notions of human rights, they also strain the federal character of the polity by unnecessarily raising the levels of hostility between states.

Certainly this country, burdened as it is with a huge population of its own, cannot be expected to play host to the numerous men and women from neighbouring regions attempting to escape destitution. But, at the same time, it must follow and be seen tofollow the law while dealing with the problem of illegal migration. This is where a viable identity card regime can prove invaluable.

In fact, Home Minister L.K. Advani8217;s first move on being sworn in was to reiterate his commitment to providing every citizen of this country with such a card. He recently indicated that an outline of a viable identity card scheme has been evolved under which a card is to be issued to people over the age of 14. What8217;s more, a separate identity card that would function as a work permit for nationals from neighbouring countries has also been envisaged under this scheme.

Issuing such cards to an estimated 615 million people is an elaborate and expensive procedure. But there seems no other way out in a situation where economic and ecological distress could force more and more people in places like Nepal and Bangladesh to seek their fortune in this country. Deportation is no solution, as Advani himself has pointed out. Besides being terribly messy, it is often not even effective.The deportee invariably finds his way back, no matter how many trips the police may make to the border.