NEW DELHI: Airing concerns over infiltration and illegal immigration and their impact on national security and demographic character of border areas, PM Narendra Modi Friday announced the setting up of a ‘high-powered demographic mission’ to address these challenges.Elaborating on the decades-old problem of illegal immigration from across the international border, Modi said it is part of an orchestrated campaign to alter the nation’s demography. “Illegal immigrants are snatching the livelihoods of young citizens. They are targeting our mothers and sisters and capturing lands of innocent tribals. This will not be tolerated,” he said.”When there is a demographic change in border areas, it threatens national security. It compromises national integrity, sovereignty and progress and creates social tension. No country hands over its territory to illegal immigrants. It is our duty towards our forefathers, whose sacrifices brought us Independence, not to tolerate such acts,” Modi said. He went on to announce the mission to address illegal immigration in a planned manner and within a time frame.Modi, during his Independence Day speech, also hailed the successful counter-operations against Left-wing extremists (LWE), saying tribal youths are now no longer misguided into picking up the gun. Stating that the number of districts under LWE influence is down to 20 from 125, the PM described the reclaiming of large tracts of tribal land from Maoists and saving of tribal youths from losing their lives to violent extremism, as a fitting tribute to tribal icon Birsa Munda on his 150th birth anniversary.The first-ever govt initiative to address illegal immigration, which has over the decades seen alleged Bangladeshi settlers alter the demography of border areas in Assam, West Bengal and even Bihar and Jharkhand, with an exponential rise in Muslims as share of the population, comes even as opposition parties are up in arms against the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls, which requires electors registered after 2003 to submit proof of citizenship. The exercise has seen the exclusion of 65 lakh electors from the draft roll, including around 1.2 lakh who could not be traced. EC suspects these may be illegal immigrants.Dealing with illegal immigrants is a complex matter as the powers to detect and deport foreigners are delegated to states, and political and votebank considerations often keep those governed by opposition parties from taking any action. The demography mission may suggest ways to get around these challenges.On the Naxal front, Modi said there was a time when Bastar was identified with Naxalism, guns and bombs. “Today the same Bastar is seeing its youth participate with enthusiasm in the Bastar Olympics. The areas once known as ‘Red Corridor’ are now becoming ‘green corridors’ of development. Areas once marked by ‘Red’ terror on India’s map now have the tricolour of the Constitution, law and development flying high,” he said.
