Migration from East Bengal altered Assam's demography since 1890s: Mehta Commission
Justice Mehta Commission report highlights the long history of migration from erstwhiile East Bengal to Assam, revealing its impact on the state
Lack of education and poverty were some of the factors leading to population growth.
Guwahati, Nov 27: Migration of people from erstwhile East Bengal (now Bangladesh) is not new, and it started way back in the 1890s and gained momentum from 1900. This fact came to light in the report of the Justice Mehta Commission of Enquiry into the incidents of violence in 1983.
The report said that the Census Commissioner wrote in 1011 that migration can change the future of Assam forever. This can destroy the language and culture of Assam. In 1931, the then Census Commissioner CS Mullan wrote that the migrants from the Mymansing district, who were land grabbers, could change the future of Assam.
The Census Commissioner of 1951 admitted that he had seen a huge number of people coming to Assam by train from East Bengal. He went on to say that around 10 per cent of such migrants were Hindus and the rest were Muslims. He also termed the migrants as land-hungry people.
After the Independence of the country, the population pattern of Assam kept on changing, and the rate of population increase was higher than the rest of the country.
During the period from 1951 to 1061 and from 1961 to 1971, the growth of the population of Assam was abnormally high. During the period from 1951 to 1961, the population growth in India was only 21.26 per cent, while it was 35 per cent in Assam. Similarly, during the period from 1961 to 1971, the population growth rate in India was 24.6 per cent, but it was 34.75 per cent in Assam. This proved that migration from East Pakistan was going on unabated.
That is why the Illegal Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) 1950 Act was enact-ed. The objectives for bringing the Act were because a serious situation arose due to migration, which not only resulted in the development of a law and order situation but also had an impact on the economy of the State.
In 1965, the Union Home Ministry introduced scheme named the Prevention of Infiltration from Pakistan, which was later renamed the Prevention of Infiltration of Foreigners scheme. At that time, the Home Ministry said that in the last 12 years, at least 2.50 lakh infiltrators entered Assam. The report further said that though the people from then East Pakistan came to Assam seeking livelihood, their allegiance lay with Pakistan. During the Chinese aggression of 1962, some such infiltrators adopted an anti-India stand, and that is why it is necessary to detect and deport them, the Home Ministry report said.