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Influx of Bangladeshis into Assam |
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Claims by political parties that continuing illegal migration of Bangladeshis to Assam, most of whom are believed to be Muslims, have now got solid evidence. Statistics presented in the Justice Rajinder Sachar committee report, which was tabled in Parliament last week, lend credence to this theory.
Assam has experienced the highest decadal rate of growth in the Muslim population between the 1991 and 2001 census figures, according to the Sachar committee report.
While there is neither clinching evidence nor a reference to illegal migration in the Sachar report, Assam - with six districts having high Muslim concentration - is shown as taking the biggest leap in the decadal growth rate of Muslims. From a 28.4 per cent growth rate in the 1991 census, the figure jumped to 30.9 per cent in 2001. In contrast, Delhi’s Muslim population was growing at the rate of 9.4 per cent in 1991. But the rate rose to 11.7 per cent over the next decade.
Even in states like West Bengal, where Muslims constitute more than a fourth of the total population, the growth rate has risen from 23.6 per cent to 25.2 per cent, an increase of 1.6 per cent. In case of Assam, however, the spurt in the rate is a whopping 2.5 per cent.
The theory of illegal migration also finds corroboration when growth rates of Muslims and people of other religions are compared. Whereas the decadal rate of growth between the two censuses was 18.9 per cent, the Muslim population grew at 29.3 per cent. Here, too, the difference in the increase in these rates is much higher in Assam. For instance, in Gujarat, the difference between decadal growth rates of the aggregate population and of Muslims is 4.6 per cent and in Bihar it is 6.9 per cent.
Inner-line permit stays
The Union Government is unlikely to approve relaxation of regulations for foreign and domestic tourists in the strife-torn North East. This has put a question mark on Tourism Minister Ambika Soni’s plan to promote travel in the region.
The Home Ministry is unlikely to relax the restricted area permit and the inner-line permit norms in a hurry, sources said.
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