Migration is as old as human civilization. Population movements have always played a vital role in the structural transformation of societies and economies. However, unlike in the past when migration involved establishment of new habitations in fertile and virgin lands, migration today is characterised by movement of populations to other countries with people and cultures of their own. It therefore raises issues regarding loyalty, identity, development and security. This paper deals with migration into India from adjoining neighbours and its impact on security and other issues of national interest. Being the most developed of all South Asian countries, India has been the most sought after destination by immigrants from neighbouring countries. Migrant Bangladeshis are concentrated in West Bengal and Assam. India and Nepal share a 1900 km border that runs along Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim. Migration between Nepal and India has been easy due to an open, porous border and strong familial links. Geographical contiguity, socio-cultural affinity, the kinship factor and historical reasons have left the Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Nepal borders vulnerable to migration. Although we do not have the exact number of immigrants either from Bangladesh or Nepal, it is a fact that both Bangladeshi and Nepali migrants have sizeable presences in India. Unlike migration elsewhere, say to Europe or the United States, ethnic commonalities of Indians with Bangladeshi and Nepali migrants imbue migration with an ethnic dimension, both as concerns “push” and “pull” factors. Not surprisingly, the same ethnic dimension impinges on the migrant’s choice of whether to co-opt an Indian identity or retain that of their country of origin; as also on associated issues, such as, social linkages, security, foreign policy and economic development of the adopted homeland. Bangladeshi migrants to India consist of Muslim migrants and Hindu refugees, both categories having different sets of reasons to migrate. But the overriding consideration in both the cases is ethnic commonalties with Indian Bengalis. Although Bangladeshis have their national identity within the nation-state framework, they identify themselves as Bengalis and share a common ethno-cultural ethos and heritage with Bengalis across the border. However, the basis of a separate nation-state for many Bangladeshis is that they are Muslims and their culture, language and religion is different from that of the Bengali Hindus of West Bengal. The unfolding and enforcement of Bangladeshi nationalism, promoted by the Bangladeshi National Party, had its effects on Bangladeshi migrants to India, in the sense that they carried with them their new-found national identity. It has been difficult, particularly for Bangladeshi Muslims, therefore, to merge into the Indian mainstream.
The dynamics of Nepali migration to India is different from that of Bengali migration. The socio-cultural continuity between the two countries makes the Nepali entity very much a part of the Indian ethos and psyche. In the Indian context, Nepalis are not perceived as “alien”. They have become just like other Indian nationals within the broad framework of the Indian federation. It can therefore be argued that the Nepali identity already exists as a sub-stratum of the Indian identity. However, problems arise when Nepalis in India try to assert their Nepali identity in exclusive terms vis-à-vis mainstream India. The Gorkha National Liberation Front [GNLF] in Darjeeling illustrates this tendency, even though it claims to protect the interests and rights of Indian Gorkhas only. Given the ethnic and cultural similarities between India on one hand and Bangladesh and Nepal on the other, the “ethnic-cultural space” of each intrudes into the geographical-territorial space of the others. It is natural that ethno-cultural contiguity and continuity give opportunities and scope to immigrants to India to relate to their respective country of “origin”. For the Indian state, the security implications of large-scale migration from both Bangladesh and Nepal are varied but inter-related, given the complex nature of migration and the multiple identities that migrants profess. They cover demographic changes, growth of radicalism, particularly Islamic fundamentalism, regionalism, and, more importantly, involvement and even encroachment of foreign powers on the country’s “sovereign space”. All these threats to territorial integrity, core values or socio-political practices of the Indian state interact, sometimes reinforcing each other. The history of migrations from Bangladesh and Nepal to India makes it apparent that their pattern, nature and direction have been different. This could be because of their historical backgrounds, geographical variants, ethno-religious affinities, bilateral arrangements and political systems. Problems arise when the migration is illegal and poses multi-layered threats to the Indian state. Commonsense dictates that firstly, India’s borders with Bangladesh and Nepal must be regulated; and secondly, that resident migrants need to be strategically dealt with to reduce, if not eliminate, the level of “threats” they pose. Based on these two premises, some broad policy recommendations may be made, keeping in mind the age-old relationship between the three countries and, more importantly, the very nature and construct of our geography.
