Opinion Brooking no borders

The editorial in the latest issue of the Organiser,titled “Cattle smuggling and infiltration,” says: “The nation is paying a heavy price for the indifference of the Centre towards ongoing illegal infiltration from Bangladesh. Investigations have revealed that the number of illegal Bangladeshis in India is more than a 100 million and they have become a serious threat to the country’s national security. With political patronage in getting fake identity and ration cards they have created corridors of influence across the country. In states like Assam and West Bengal,parts of Orissa,Bihar and Uttar Pradesh they have come to dictate the political destinies of parties like CPM,Congress,Samajwadi Party and RJD. Now comes another equally disturbing expose that these people are involved in trafficking women and cattle across the border. The recent revelation by the Border Security Force (BSF) that 1.3 lakh cattle are smuggled across Bangla border every year has not come as a surprise. Smuggling livestock,food items,arms and various other commodities from India has become a thriving business on the Indo-Bangla border. But human trafficking and cattle smuggling are more sensitive and they point to the utter failure of the country’s internal security system”.

It adds: “The BJP has been telling the Union government to plug all loopholes in the anti-terror mechanisms. A major component in this is to effectively check infiltration from Bangladesh,since the Union government had admitted that infiltration from across the eastern borders was a threat to the nation.  Union Home Minister P Chidambaram after taking charge,in the wake of the November 2008 Mumbai terror attack found Bangladeshi infiltrators a threat to the nation,causing demographic changes. The vote bank consideration never allowed the UPA to consider infiltration a serious problem. If Chidambaram was really serious the government should take immediate steps to deport all illegal immigrants. Any dereliction or delay will prove catastrophic for the country.”

The militant tangle

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In an article titled “Pak Army,Jihadi,Taliban Nexus,” Balbir Punj writes: “The Pakistani army has all along been abetting the militancy in Kashmir hoping to use the jihadis to deliver ‘a thousand cuts to bleed India’ as the army could no longer hope to defeat the Indian security forces. Under Musharraf this policy intensified and as India was battling the jihadi militancy in J&K,Pakistani army was well settled in Kabul with the Taliban regime helping it to enhance its strategic depth in return for protection with Pakistani army strength. The perfect co-ordination with which the jihadis from Pakistan and the Taliban regime in Kabul worked together to hijack Indian plane and enforce their demand on India is still fresh in our minds. It revealed how the Pakistan army,the Taliban and local jihadis in Pakistan were working in tandem.”

He adds: “The Obama regime is suspicious of President Zardari’s pretensions and the Pakistani army’s claims…The Obama regime and India have a common interest in strengthening the present regime in Afghanistan…It is a promising new situation for India… But it goes without saying India will have to fight its own battle against terrorism. The war against terrorism cannot be outsourced and won.”

Compiled by Suman K Jha