Incredible and inspirational stories of differently-abled Indians

India's understanding of a disabled-friendly environment seems to begin and end with wheelchairs ramps. And the attitude of most governments and private players regressive enough to embarrass us all. But there are some large-hearted individuals who are striving to make sure people with special needs can now go to school, have access to public toilets and even take road trips. This then is a story, not of gloom, but one of conquering the odds.

Neni Devi takes a deep breath as we ask her about her childhood in Satur, a nondescript village in Rajashthan. “I thought I was the only vikalanga (disabled) in the world. My brother and mother had to drop me to the government school where I studied. My memories are filled with disappointments - of classmates walking away to play leaving me alone in the classroom, holding my urge to use the toilet and waiting for someone to lift me if I fell,” says 26-year-old Devi, who came to Sucheta Kriplani Shiksha Niketan (SKSN), a boarding school (see box) for differently-abled children in Manaklao, on the outskirts of Jodhpur, nine years ago. Today she is a hostel warden at SKSN, a proud worker and not embarrassed about her condition any more.

As she begins work for the day, which involves looking after 100 girls, Devi remembers the first day she walked into SKSN as a student. “My life changed. I met people whose physical condition was worse than mine, and who understood my pain. In the village, I was helped me out of pity. But at the boarding school, they never came to our help when we fell or needed assistance of any kind. They encouraged us to help ourselves. I found my confidence here,” says Devi, who has studied geography, social studies and political science.

Janak Singh bowls during a friendly match in a village in Rajasthan for the IMAGE project. Photo courtesy/ Laureus Sport for Good Foundation

Twenty-year-old Janak Singh, too, saw a tough life in his village in Rajasthan. For him, the ignorance of friends and the poor standard of sanitation didn’t hurt as much as watching other children play cricket. “I was wheelchair-bound, but how did that take away my right to play? No one included me in their games,” says Singh, who passed Class XII this year, and is now a full-time employee at the charity organisation Indiability Foundation’s IMAGE programme, which has been using sport as a social vaccine to bridge the gap between the disabled and able-bodied communities in rural areas since 2005. Like Devi and Singh, there are many others who are paving their own way on many fronts in a country that has failed to provide a differently-abled environment, even though the United Nations says it is mandatory that all roads, transport facilities and public spaces be accessible to the physically challenged. 

Students aged between six and 25 are enrolled in Sucheta Kriplani Shiksha Niketan (SKSN) boarding school in Jodhpur. Photo Courtesy/ Sneh Gupta

Fighting for basic rights
Not surprisingly, the Indian government has done precious little to implement this UN mandate of 2009. Says Sneh Gupta, an activist with SKSN, “When you compare the amenities for disabled people in India and the West, there is a vast difference.” So a year ago, Gupta founded the Indiability Foundation, which works to change our attitude towards people with physical disabilities and empower them to live independent lives. By the end of 2013, she hopes to kick-start a project for 1,000 public toilets in a thousand villages. “While we were working to improve the sanitation system at SKSN, we never realised what problems children and women face in villages. Open loos in the middle of a field are usually the only choice for people in much of rural India. These areas are at least a kilometre away from the main village. “Imagine someone with bilateral paralysis doing that every day,” she says. Gupta’s project is currently trying to find the best design for a water-free waste solution. 

Neenu Kewlani with the book of their 84-day journey across India, Beyond Barriers. Pic/Madeeha Attari

Beyond barriers 
While foundations such as Gupta’s are working to improve infrastructure for the differently-abled, some others are trying to help in various other ways.In 2011, between September 28 and December 20, Neenu Kewlani, Arvind Prabhoo, Nishant Khade and Sunita Sancheti - four friends who met at a centre for the rehabilitation of differently-abled people - travelled across 28 states in India, covered a journey of 19,000 kilometres, in 84 days. Their aim was to highlight the lack of infrastucture for differently-abled people in India. They released a coffee table book called, Beyond Barriers: The Incredible India Tour that documents their journey. “We met at Dr Ketna Mehta’s Nina Foundation, a rehabilitation centre for people with spinal cord injuries,” says Kewlani, who moves around in a wheelchair and has been fighting the cause for disability for the past 13 years.

Ketna Mehta, founder of Nina Foundation, will organise a health camp for spinal cord injury patients in August

“As a child, public spaces were inaccessible and that had a huge impact on my life. I grew up in a flat on the fourth floor of a building in Mahim that had no elevator. I had to be carried up and down the stairs to go to school, and during all the surgeries I underwent. With age, it became more and more difficult,” says Kewlani, adding that in school, though the authorities were kind, the infrastructure was inaccessible. “The toilets were not disable-friendly, and I could not go to the laboratory, the library or the auditorium. My helper placed me on my bench in the morning and returned to pick me up in the evening. It broke my heart not to take part in activities and miss school trips,” she recalls.

Under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Government of India’s flagship programme for achievement of Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE), every individual, able or disabled, has the right to education. So, argues Kewlani, it is mandatory for government schools to make their schools accessible for students with disabilities. "But most of the time all we have is a ramp. What about the toilets? The classrooms? The auditoriums?” says Kewlani.

Of course there is a rulebook. The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has a manual on how to make a structure disable-friendly. It mentions that all ramps should have railings for people with crutches and senior citizens. The flooring should be non-slippery and there should be signages for the deaf and dumb to read and tactile markings as well. It is our right. We are educated professionals and the tax payers,”
Kewlani says.

Self help
Last year, Ketna Mehta launched a daylong check-up camp in Mumbai, conducted by doctors. “We hosted 25 spinal cord injury (SCI) patients from all over the country for a complete check-up. Each patient was taken through a round of tests including pathology, sonography, spine evaluation, physio and occupational therapy. We even had a urologist examine their bladder and bowel conditions, a major concern for SCI patients,” says Mehta, who will conduct a similar camp on August 15 this year. The patients were recommended exercises and daily activities. “Some patients had no support in their home states, and had never used crutches to walk,” she recalls.  The efforts of people like Gupta, Mehta and Manaklao may be like droplets in an ocean, but it’s a start. And if their work inspires, embarrasses and finally galvanises many others to take a step in the same direction, their lion-hearted efforts would have achieved desired results. 

A class apart
1991, Jodhpur: As family members stood outside the groom’s home, ready to go to the marriage venue, they spotted an old man dragging his body up the road. The groom’s father walked up to the man and asked him to go away. Dejected, the disabled man turned back and slowly disappeared round the corner. In the crowd, stood social worker Dr Narayan Singh Manaklao followed the old man. “I asked him why had he been shooed away. It turned out that the man was the groom’s uncle. Fearing that his condition would spoil the family’s name, his younger brother has asked him to go away,” narrates Manaklao, a Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awardee. It left Manaklao disturbed. “There was not much I could do for the old man, but I could change the destiny of children with physical disabilities,” says Manaklao, founded the Sucheta Kriplani Shiksha Niketan (SKSN), a hostel for disabled children. In the first year, 18 children were given boarding and lodging at the hostel. For studies, they were taken to a government school nearby. “But, the students were not treated well. Thus, I added a primary schooling facility in the hostel itself,” says Manaklao. Today, SKSN offers education till Class XII. And this year, it has also added commerce as an option as well.

In 2005, my friends Arvind and Nishant decided to go on an all-India road trip to highlight the rights of disabled people. During that time, I had fractured my knee and was confined to bed. To make myself useful, I asked Arvind whether he had any work I could take up.

That’s when he involved me in his trip and asked me to help him map the route. Though I had never worked with maps, Arvind offered to guide me, and I immersed myself in the country’s topography.

Sunita Sancheti on the way to Leh, Ladakh

Once, I happened to tell my friend Neenu Kewlani about it over a cup of coffee and she suggested with join the tour. While charting out the journey, we decided to visit the capitals of all 28 states.

The most impressive stop was at Tejpur University in Assam. It is 80 per cent disabled-friendly, including the auditorium and the rooms in men’s hostels! We put up at government guesthouses at all our stops. Unfortunately none of them were disabled-friendly.

We visited the government offices in the capitals of every state - Gandhinagar in Gujarat and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh for instance. Before we set off, we had written to all the state governments but received no reply. So, we just barged in to government offices and met ministers and bureaucrats with the help of local NGOs.

Our question to them was simple: When the central government has allocated funds for the disabled, why are they not being put to good use? Do you know that there are 17 universities in India that are accessible to disabled people, but the names have not been announced? How would one know?
The roads in Lucknow impressed us with their perfectly levelled pavements, ramps and railings in place.

In Veli Village, Trivandrum, we took a boat ride. The boats were not disabled-friendly, but we had a staff of 17 to help us. In Ladakh, we trekked to a height of 18,000 feet and touched the snow. It was a dream come true.  While we even dipped our feet in the sea at Pondicherry’s thanks to the ramp leading right till the water, we watched the sunrise in Kanyakumari. 

But the most adventurous incident took place in Majuli, Assam. To cross the Brahmaputra, one must take a boat that also transports your car. We crossed the river with our Innova on board. Owing to the size of the boat, the Innova was parked perpendicular to the length of the boat. While alighting, our driver panicked, and our car could have fallen into the river. They pulled Neenu and me to safety. We travelled to show the world that just because one is whee-chair bound, it doesn’t mean one cannot travel and see beautiful places.  

3 questions
Rajive Raturi
Director, Disability Rights Initiative of Human Rights Law Network (DRI-HRLN)

What is HRLN?
We are a group of lawyers and social activists that work out of 22 offices across the country to provide marginalised communities access to the justice system. Disability Rights is one of our initiatives started in 2003. According to the 1995 Act, disabled person have social and economic rights to employment, and right to education. We help people with disabilities gain knowledge about their rights and provide legal aid if there is a violation of their rights.

Has there been any progress for the disabled in India?
In the past three years, since the ratification of the UN Convention of rights of persons with disabilities, there has been much debate around the country on rights of persons with disabilities.  Grassroots DPOs, which are unregistered disabled persons organisations, have become alive in the country. Physically challenged people are coming together to help each other and spread awareness. They challenge discriminations at the spot itself and fight for entitlements of poor and rural disabled persons.

What initiatives is the Is the government taking?
India has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and is now obligated to bring all its laws and policies in harmony with the convention. The government initiated a law reform process in 2009 but is sitting with the draft of the revised disability law even today.

http://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/2013/jun/020613-incredible-stories-of-differently-abled-indians.htm

 

Shenanigans of Girish Karnad. Brutal facts of Islamic history in Bharat 
- Narain Kataria 

BRUTAL Facts of Islaamic history in Bhaarath. 

Shenanigans of Girish Karnad

Narain Kataria in New York Nov. 13, 2012


I was shocked at the vituperative tirade and disgustingly ignoble attacks in Mumbai the other day by Playwright Girish Karnad on learned Nobel Laureate V.S. Naipal for being anti-Muslim and tone deaf.


His assertion that the Islamic period of Indian history was rich and glorious period is based on false assumptions. It is devoid of factual data, motivated by a malicious design to obscure and falsify Indian history, mislead public opinion, and is just a preposterous nonsense.

In reality, the Islamic period of Indian History was a very dark and dismal period so far as the Hindus are concerned. It was a period of resistance, suffering and suffocation for Hindus. Islamic vandalism was so stark in its evil, so barbarian in its nature and so enormous in its magnitude that it demands eternal condemnation. Mr. V.S. Naipal has rendered a yeomen service to Hindu Samaj and deserves our kudos for telling the truth and enlightening us about the murder and mayhem perpetrated by uncivilized brutes on hapless Hindus.

For the information of readers and Mr. Girish Karnad, I give below some factual accounts of savagery and barbarism provided by Islamic/British chroniclers.

Babur was a beast. He used to derive sadistic pleasure by watching heads of slaughtered Hindus. "I ordered that a tower of Hindu heads be set up on the ground." (Babur Nama, translated into English by A.S. Beveridge, p. 370) 

Akbar was the slaughterer of Hindus. Jahangir, whose earlier name was Salim, wrote in his autobiography "Tarikh-i-Salim Shahi" that under Akbar and Jahangir "five to six hundred thousand (500,000 to 600,000) Hindus were killed." (Tarikh-i-Salim: Trans. By Price, pp. 225-6).

In relation to Akbar's conquest in Chittor (Rajputana), Abul Fazl recorded that "following Akbar's order, eight thousand Rajput warriors were first disarmed and then slain and along with them forty thousand peasants were also slain." (The Islamic treatment of PoW, Surah 8, Ayat 67, the Quran) (Akbarnama by Abul Fazl translated into English by H. Beveridge) 

Abbas Khan Sherwani in his chronicle Tarikh-i-Farishtah recorded: "The Hindoos were pursued and slain by (Muslim) allies with such success, that the river was dyed red with their blood. It is computed by the best authorities, that above one hundred thousand (100,000) infidels were slain during the action and in pursuit."

It is a well-known historical fact that during the Jahangir's rule in India, our fifth Guru Arjun Dev was made to sit on a hot iron plate. Hot sand was poured over his body. Our tenth Guru Gobind Singh`s two young sons were bricked alive by Islamists. Many Sikh saints were sawed alive. Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib was put into a cage and his head was chopped off because he refused to convert to Islam. 

In recent history, the Indian Muslims were responsible for the partition of our Motherland in 1947. Muslims forced Hindus to cede Sind, West Punjab, Balochistan, North West Frontier and East Pakistan. They gleefully warned Hindus: "Has ke Liya Hi Pakistan, Ladke Lenge Hindustan." After the creation of Pakistan, a reign of loot, murder, rape and terror was unleashed against Hindus and Sikhs. Muslims drove out 10 million Hindus from Pakistan. Thus, they reduced the Hindu population in Pakistan from 23% in 1947 to 1% now. In Bangladesh the, Hindu population was reduced from 35-40% in 1947 to 8-9% now.

After consolidating their position, the Muslims turned their eyes on Kashmir. They tortured Hindu to such an extent that more than 400,000 Hindus fled their homes and hearths there. Now, the Muslims want to get rid of Hindus living in Jammu also.

In 1971, more than 3 million people were killed in Bangladesh, out of which 80% were Hindus. More than 30 million Bangladeshi Muslims have already illegally infiltrated into India. Muslim population in Assam is increasing with leaps and bounds. The situation has reached alarming proportions, and soon a Kashmir-like situation could arise there too. 
Mr. Karnad seems to be a totally disingenuous and biased person. A feeling has crept in my mind that the guy is either suffering from cognitive disorder or from Stockholm syndrome – a tragic psychological phenomenon in which the hostages express empathy and have a positive feeling towards their captors.

In face of such a voluminous and irrefutable evidence about the Islamic brutalities, Mr. Karnad has an audacity to state that Islamic period of Indian history was rich and glorious. Before putting his foot in his mouth, Mr. Karnad should have acquainted himself with the true History of India. By his idiosyncratic behavior, he has lowered his stature, exposed his abysmal knowledge about history and made himself a laughing stock in the eyes of all learned people.

Narain Katraria

President

Indian American Intellectuals Forum

(718) 478-5735

Email: Katarian@aol.com

Blog: Narainkataria.blogspot.com

Illegal Bangladeshis PAN out in India to cement their Aadhar

Anup Sharma

14 June 2013

Guwahati

A recent operation by the Border Security Force (BSF) guarding the Indo-Bangladesh border has once again brought to the fore the fact that the porous border of the country, particularly in the eastern sector, poses a security threat to the entire nation.

Three Bangladeshi nationals, who had entered Indian Territory a long time ago, were nabbed by BSF officials while they were trying to return to Bangladesh to meet their family members.

What is more shocking and worrying is the fact that the BSF officials found some vital Indian documents like the all-important PAN card, Aadhar card, Ration card and even a Class 10 certificate, that had been fraudulently issued in their names, in their possession.

“While one Alauddin Mian (25) was intercepted and arrested from near the unfenced border out post (BOP) at Digaltari in Cooch Behar, West Bengal, two others, Alamin (24) and Mizanoor (18) were intercepted near the Kharija Haridas border in Cooch Behar,” a senior BSF official said, adding that all three hail from Kurigram area in Bangladesh.

“During interrogation Alauddin confessed that he had entered Indian Territory illegally from the unfenced area near Digaltari BOP in Cooch Behar six months ago. He went to Mehrauli in New Delhi where he worked as a carpenter. There he was successful in obtaining a PAN card, an Aadhar card, a Ration card signed by authorities in West Bengal and a school certificate from a school in Cooch Behar to prove his ‘Indian’ identity. 

“While most of these documents had his photographs and are in his name the Aadhar card has his photograph but was in some other person’s name,” the BSF official said.

According to the official, the other two infiltrators also confessed that they entered India through an unfenced area of Kharija Haridas in Cooch Behar to get some pending payment from cattle smugglers in India.

The two men admitted that not only were they involved in cattle smuggling in India, they were into other illegal trades in the country too.

“It is worrying how they manipulated the system and obtained vital documents like the PAN card, the Aadhar card and the Ration card.

There should be a thorough enquiry into this to find out the culprits who have been helping these people to get key Indian identity proofs,” said the official.

It may be mentioned here that the BSF, who had been guarding the Indo-Bangla border in Assam, had arrested several Bangladeshi nationals trying to either infiltrate or exfiltrate to their country after staying in India for an

extended period.

India shares a 4,096-km long border with Bangladesh, of which 2,216 kms falls in West Bengal and the rest is in North-Eastern States like Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura. 

Out of the 4,096 km-long border, 2,980 km is land while the rest of the 1,116 km is riverine border.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES PLEASE :
http://sify.com/news/the-silent-bangladeshi-invasion-of-assam-news-columns-kforQ3dhbhi.html?scategory=columns

The silent Bangladeshi invasion of Assam

Subir Ghosh

2010-05-14

A week ago, an unsettling incident occurred in Assam that went largely unnoticed in the Indian media. Over a thousand suspected illegal migrants crossed the Dhansiri river and, with impunity, took over parts of Orang National Park in Darrang district in the early hours of May 6. Nightmare 2012: Chinese Special Forces cut off Siliguri corridor They came from the innumerable chars(riverine islands) that dot the Brahmaputra river.  They did not come empty-handed - they brought along building materials and cattle.  They apparently had come to stay. For good. By the time forest guards spotted the invaders that afternoon, the migrants had already erected a hundred makeshift houses or more. The unnerved forest personnel called back for more hands and resources; they did not dare take on the illegal migrants who were armed with sharp weapons. The latter had not only come here to stay, but seemed inordinately determined to do so. The forest department, in turn, sought the Army's help.  Sometime in the evening, the eviction drive began.  As the dismantling of the houses got under way, the settlers predictably began attacking the forest personnel. This they did after lining up women and children in front of them. The Armymen present had to fire in the air to ward them off.  The expulsion operation went on for three gruelling hours, with the forest department having to even use elephants to chase away the recalcitrant encroachers. Finally, at the end of the day, the national park had been cleared.  Even in a state where the issue of illegal migrants has dominated the political landscape for the last 30 years or so, this came as exceptionally alarming.  Unprecedented, arguably, is the word.  Illegal migrants can tilt the electoral scales in close to half of the state's 126 Assembly constituencies.  If that is not enough, this was the first sign of Bangladeshi migrants asserting themselves – over land. The buzz in forest circles is that this was the first such try; they fear more intrepid and brazen attempts from these illegal migrants in the days to come.  The riverine islands and reserved forests of Assam have been falling bit by bit to Bangladeshis for years now. But all this while, the encroachment of the state's reserved forests and wildlife sanctuaries/national parks had been a silent and ghostly invasion.  That is why the incident of May 6 needs to be taken more seriously.  It is the first ominous indication of the illegal migrants from Bangladesh asserting themselves physically. They need more land, you see. Let's look prima facie just at the issue of reserved forests and protected areas in the state.  Settlers in the char areas on the Brahmaputra near the national parks, especially Kaziranga and Orang, are known to be involved in rhino poaching.Most of these people, not surprisingly, are Bangladeshi migrants.  'Zero tolerance to illegal immigrants' During a raid conducted by security personnel at a few villages on the fringe areas of Orang in March, weapons and traps used in poaching were recovered along with body parts of animals. All those arrested were suspected Bangladeshi nationals. But then, you can never prove that they are Bangladeshis. Protected areas in Assam, like elsewhere in the country, are in a precarious state. The problems they face are the same – that of rampant encroachment, illegal logging, stone mining, and burgeoning human settlements in contiguous areas, among others. Illegal migrants compound these already existing headaches. The state government has time and again made half-hearted attempts to jettison encroachers from forest areas; each time these had to be withdrawn after a few days of the launch.  The hue and cry raised by vested interests was too much for the government of the day to handle.  Most of these encroachers were projected as Muslims and not as Bangladeshis. In these days of political correctness, no political dispensation, least of all the Congress, wants to be seen as anti-minority.  Then there were those who talk of people and forest rights. For them too, these settlers were not foreigners. They never are. The result was inevitable. The encroachers, most of them illegal Bangladeshi migrants, stayed on.  How far-reaching the result was, is now there for us to see.  It is no more a question of people's rights over forest resources. It has degenerated into a sinister issue of illegal migrants asserting their "unfettered" right to take over Indian forests and sanctuaries.  Incidentally, Assam has the largest amount of forest land under encroachment – 485,674 hectares. Andhra Pradesh, which is much larger, comes next with 268,853 hectares. Statistics always denote something, unless you are as blind as a bat. What has been distressing is the scant coverage the May 6 incident received in the media. Do a search on Google News and you will get the tally.  No media coverage means no one knows about it. No one knows means that no one is scared of this disconcerting episode. That's what makes it so scary. As it is, according to official Indian records there are hardly any illegal migrants in Assam.  Bangladesh denies the existence of its nationals in the state, or even elsewhere in India.  Most political parties in the state – from the Congress to the Left parties – too don't believe there are any. Neither the regional Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) or the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been able to do anything about the issue when they were in power either in the state or at the Centre.  There are only two kinds of people in Assam. The first lot sees no evil, the second has no idea how to tackle this evil. Add to this unconfirmed reports that the takeover attempt of Orang was done at the behest of a Congress leader of the area. Even while they were being pushed out of the national park, the encroachers were heard issuing threats and making references to this Congress leader.  The All-Assam Students Union (AASU), that had led the Assam Agitation in the Eighties, has taken umbrage, and made its anger known after the incident. But that is all that it can probably do in today's Assam. The invidious invasion of Assam has been taking place for several decades and successive governments have failed to arrest this demographic onslaught.  One need not delve too much into history or figures that are not authentic to make one's point; even recent official figures will suffice.  India has 20 million illegal migrants Enumeration of electors in Assam by the Election Commission showed more than 30 per cent increase in 17 Assembly constituencies and more than 20 per cent increase in 40 constituencies between 1994 and 1997.  Whereas the all-India average growth in electors between 1994 and 1997 was 7 per cent, the growth in Assam for this period was as high as 16.4 per cent.  It may be empirical, but the evidence is tell-tale. The Assam Agitation, in hindsight, was successful only in the signing of an accord. The issue over which the movement was built, however, still rages on.  And now, a conniving Congress government in the state and an impotent Congress-led alliance at the Centre have allowed the problem of illegal migrants get out of hand. Yes, it is out of hand. If the May 6 assertiveness is no proof, what more can one possibly want? Assam, today, is probably in dire need of another agitation.  The one of the Eighties was by and large peaceful. The Nellie massacre may have been a brutal and gory exception; but then, it was not officially engineered by the AASU. The next agitation, if one happens, will surely be a more virulent, violent one. Subir Ghosh is a senior Delhi-based journalist. He blogs athttp://www.write2kill.in/

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RELATED HISTORY:


For starters, here is an ' Internal Note ' prepared for the Union Cabinet by the Union Home Ministry in Mar 1992. Entitled  " Problem of Infiltration from Bangladesh ", the note stated : " The illegal immigration from Bangladesh into the Eastern and N.Eastern States and several other states in the country has become a serious problem. Immigration into border states such as Assam and West Bengal was taking place prior to the formation of Bangladesh, but the magnitude of the problem has assumed serious dimensions as large scale infiltration has changed the demographic landscape of the borders and affected Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra etc."


Again. " According to figures available (in 1987) with the Government of West Bengal, the total number of Bangladeshi infiltrants in the State was around 4.4 million. In Assam, the estimated figure of infiltrants today is about 2-3 million. Tripura and Bihar are also seriously affected by infiltration from Bangladesh. The infiltrants are also spreading to newer areas like Manipur and Nagaland. "


Further. " The influx, in certain cases, has changed the demographic character as illustrated above. Its serious religious and cultural dimensions are being increasingly felt in the States of West Bengal, Tripura and Bihar. It is observed that more and more Muslims are settling down in the border areas. Accordingly, large stretches of the border in these States are becoming predominantly inhabited by Bangladeshi Muslims. The simmering communal tension in some of the border areas is one of the manifestations of the effects of large scale illegal migration of Bangladeshi nationals who have slowly displaced or dispossessesd the local population, particularly those belonging to the Hindu community, in these areas."


The report further goes on to make an estimate of this illegal migration. It stated : " The 1991 census data of both Bangladesh and India throw significant light on its magnitude. The total population of Bangladesh was estimated in 1991 at 104.76 million, the annual growth rate being 2.02% against 3.13% during the decade 1974-81. The total population for 1991 was earlier projected by the Bangladesh Government between 112 and 114 million. The UNDP projection was 116 million for 1990 and 117-118 million for 1991. The net shortfall, according to Bangladesh Government projection was between 7.24 and 9.24 million. Combined with other Census statistics, one can safely conclude that no less than 7 to 12 million people have infiltrated into India [from Bangladesh] between 1981 and 1991".


The Report then gives detailed district wise population growth rates and compares them with the average national growth rates in India and Bangladesh and stated :

" Phenomenal growth rates in the following urban conglomerates of West Bengal during the period 1981-91 reinforces the conclusion that massive infiltration from Bangladesh into these areas is underway".


And then the 'KAYO PUNCH'. " Demographic changes have produced sharply adverse Hindu-Muslim population in several border disticts in the States adjoining Bangladesh. The influx of illegal migrants who have settled in the border districts in West Bengal, N.E. States and Bihar have transformed these districts into overwhelmingly immigrant population districts. The change in the religious composition of population has created socio-economic and religious problems. In as many as 56 constituencies they have a major electoral voice. There has been a phenomenal increase in such crimes as bootlegging, drug peddling, prostitution and smuggling in the border disticts of West Bengal. The presence of a large population of illegal immigrants constitutes a serious threat to National Security. Intellectuals and press in Bangladesh have already launched a campaign for LEBENSRAUM for their excess population in Eastern and N.Eastern States of India".


That was the Union Home Ministry of the P.V. Narasimha Rao govt. 'Secular' hopefully? How does it differ from what Murali Manohar Joshi told the writer of the Article?!!


Thats not all. On 03 Jul 1992, the Report of the 'Seventh General Conference of the N.E. Co-Ordination Committee' of the Congress (I)stated, among others: " Bangladeshi journalists met Bangladeshi Muslim families residing in Delhi, took their pictures and wrote about their life style in a Dacca Daily. According to them, there are about 1.5 lakhs Bangladeshi Muslims in Delhi. According to other sources, the number will be more than 3.5 lakhs. Whatever be the number, they came from Bangladesh; further - In July 1990, the Bangladeshi Muslims residing in West Bengal formed an organization named  ' Bangladesh Mohajir Sangstha '. On 12 Feb 1991, the spokesman of the above organization told a press conference that there were 1 Lakh Bangladeshi nationals in West Bengal at that time and many more are spread over in Delhi, Bombay and Ahmedabad whose total number would exceed 5 Lakhs".


The Report then stated : " Let us also caution ourselves and the Nation on either side of the divide that the leaders have to rise to meet the challenge [of illegal migration from Bangladesh] or 'they will be waylaid by history and time'. WE BEG THE PRIME MINISTER TO GIVE HIS PERSONAL ATTENTION TO THIS AFFAIR THAT CALLS FOR ANSWERS TO INDIA'S EASTERN
QUESTIONS".


The full reports can be read in " A SECULAR AGENDA " - Arun Shourie (Harper Collins) (1993) - (pp-269 - 304)



The matter doesn't end there. It so happens that the then Governor of West Bengal, Mr. T.V Rajeshwar (Mar 1989 - Feb 1990), went public about this danger in the media. In a series of Articles in 1996, he had pointed to the long-standing design to create a ‘ GREATER ISLAMIC BANGLADESH '- by annexing Assam, the bordering districts of West Bengal, and parts of Bihar, and to the fact that through this illegal infiltration the design was well on the way to being realized.INDEED, HE STRESSED, THE WAY THIS INFLUX HAD ALREADY 
CONVERTED VAST, CONTIGUOUS TRACTS INTO MUSLIM, SPECIFICALLY BANGLADESHI MUSLIM DOMINATED AREAS, THE PROSPECT HAD ALREADY ARISEN THAT A THIRD ISLAMIC STATE MEY BE CARVED IN THE SUB-CONTINENT OUT OF INDIA.”


Rajeshwar recalled what the then Muslim League Premier of Bengal, Nazimuddin had told the Governor of the Province, R.G.Casey - Casey had set it out to the Viceroy,  Lord Wavell :

‘ Nazimuddin tells me that they calculated that the combined area would give them a majority of 58% of Muslims in place of 51% if only all Bengal and all Assam were to be included. He tells me that the Muslims bred faster than the Hindus and that 58% would reach 60% and more within a relatively few years. He went on to say that they believed that once this North Eastern Pakistan was established, there would be no one more keen about it than the Hindus within its borders and that he believed it possible that the Burdwan division might come into North Eastern Pakistan in due course.”


Rajeswar cited Kissinger’s dire warning- should that be ‘wish’? " The inevitable emergence of Bangladesh-which we postulated- presented India with fierce long-term problems. For Bangladesh was in effect East Bengal, separated only by religion FROM INDIA’S MOST FRACTIOUS AND MOST SEPARATIST STATE, WEST BENGAL. They share language, tradition, culture, and above all, A VOLATILE NATIONAL CHARACTER. Whether it turned nationalist or radical, Bangladesh would over time accentuate India’s centrifugal tendencies. It might set a precedent for the creation of other Moslem States, carved this time out of India. Once it was independent, its Moslem heritage might eventually lead to rapprochement with Pakistan.”


And Rajeswar drew attention to what had already come to pass:

‘ Muslims in India accounted for 9.9% (of India’s population) in 1951, 10.8% in 1971 and 11.3% in 1981, and presumably
about 12.1% in 1991. The present population ratio of Muslims is calculated to be 28% in Assam and 25% in West Bengal. In 1991 the Muslim population in the border districts of West Bengal accounted for 56% in South and North Parganas, 48% in Naida, 52% in Murshidabad, 54% in Malda and about 60% in Islampur sub-division of West Dinajpur. A study of the border belts of West Bengal yields some telling statistics: 20-40% villages in the border districts are said to be predominantly Muslim. There are indications that the concentration of minority community, including the Bangladesh immigrants, in the villages has resulted in the majority community moving to urban centers. Several towns in the border districts are now predominantly inhabited by the majority community but surrounded by villages mostly dominated by the minority community. Lin Piao’s theory of occupying the villages before overwhelming the cities comes to mind, though the context is different. 


Rajeshwar then went on to write : " Figures have been given showing the concentration of Muslim population in the districts of West Bengal bordering Bangladesh starting from 24 Parganas and going up to Islampur of West Dinajpur district and their population being well over 50% of the population. The Kishanganj district (of Bihar) which was part of Purnea district earlier, which is contiguous to the West Bengal area, also has a majority Muslim population. The total population of the districts of South and North 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, Nadia, Malda, and West Dinajpur adds up to 27,337,362. If we add the population of Kishanganj district of Bihar of 986,672, the total comes to 28,324,034. (All figures based on the 1991 census.) This mass of land with a population of nearly 2.8 crores has a Muslim majority. The total population of West Bengal in 1991 was 67.9 million and of these, 28.32 million are concentrated in the border districts, with about 16-17 million population of the minority community being concentrated in this area.This crucial tract of land in West Bengal and Bihar, lying along the Ganges/Hughly and West Bangladesh with a population of over 28 million, with Muslims constituting a ‘majority’, SHOULD GIVE CAUSE FOR ANXIETY FOR ANY THINKING INDIAN.”


From these figures he gave two warnings: FIRST. THERE IS A DISTINCT DANGER OF ANOTHER MUSLIM COUNTRY, SPEAKING PREDOMINANTLY BENGALI, EMERGING IN THE EASTERN PART OF INDIA IN THE FUTURE, AT A TIME WHEN INDIA MIGHT FIND HERSELF WEAKENED POLITICALLY AND MILITARILY. The second Part of the warning is relevant even if that continuous tract does not separate into a full-fledged country: ‘Let us look at the map of India- starting from the North 24 Parganas district, proceeding through Nadia, Murshidabad, Malda and West Dinajpur before entering the narrow neck of land lying through the Raiganj and Dalkola of Isalmpur sub-division before passing through the Kishanganj district of East Bihar to enter Siliguri. Proceed further and take a look at the North Bengal districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar before entering Assam, and its districts of Dhubri, Goalpara, Bonaigaon, Kokrajhar and Barpeta. A MORE SENSITIVE REGION IN ASIA IS DIFFICULT TO LOCATE- --.”


That was West Bengal Governor. And here is what the then Assam Governor, Lt.Gen. (retd) S.K. Sinha, former Vice Chief of Army Staff, reported to the President of India in his report of 08 Nov 1998 : “ Large scale illegal migration from East Pakistan/ Bangladesh over several decades has been altering the demographic complexion of this State. It poses a grave threat both to the identity of the Assamese people and to our national security. Successive governments at the center and in the State have not adequately met this challenge- -. I felt it is my bounden duty to the Nation and the State I have sworn to serve, to place before you this report on the dangers arising from the continuing silent demographic invasion.” 


Continuing, the General wrote : " The unabated influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh---,  threatens to reduce the Assamese to a minority in their own State, as happened in Tripura and Sikkim.The long-cherished design of Greater East Pakistan/ Bangladesh, making inroads into the strategic land-link of Assam with the rest of the country, can lead to severing the entire land mass of the North-East- - -- from the rest of the country. This will have disastrous economic and strategic consequences.”


And then, the dire warning : "  This silent and invidious demographic invasion of Assam may result in the loss of geostrategically vital districts of Lower Assam. The influx of these illegal migrants is turning these districts into a Muslim majority region. IT WILL THEN ONLY BE A MATTER OF TIME WHEN A DEMAND FOR THEIR MERGER WITH BANGLADESH MAY BE MADE. THE RAPID GROWTH OF ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM MAY PROVIDE THE DRIVING FORCE FOR THIS DEMAND. IN THIS CONTEXT IT IS PERTINENT THAT BANGLADESH HAS LONG DISCARDED SECULARISM AND HAS CHOSEN TO BECOME AN ISLAMIC STATE. LOSS OF LOWER ASSAM WILL SEVERE THE ENTIRE LAND MASSOF THE NORTH-EAST FROM THE REST OF INDIA- - -. “


As regards Assam,  Shourie wrote :  " In April 1992 Hiteshwar Saikia, then Chief Minister of Assam, said on the floor of the State Assembly that there were about 3 million illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in the State. The Muslim United Front leaders declared that he must withdraw his statement within 48 hours- or they would bring his government DOWN.  Saikia withdrew his statement !”  



In a conference of the DGPs in 2003, the Intelligence Bureau made a presentation on the illegal immigration from Bangladesh, on how that country WAS CONTINUING TO BE A HAVEN FOR TERRORISTS STRIKING AT INDIA, AND HOW THE TWO PHENOMENA TOGETHER CONSTITUTED A GRAVE DANGER TO OUR NATIONAL SECURITY. A note circulated to the media at the conference, which among other aspects, stated : “ The 4096 Kms long and porous Indo-Bangladesh border makes for easy crossing. THE PROBLEM OF CONTINUED UNABATED INFLUX OF LARGE SCALE ( OVER 15 MILLION) ILLEGAL BANGLADESH MIGRANTS INTO INDIA HAS ASSUMED SERIOUS SECURITY IMPLICATIONS. Illegal BD migrants, driven by economic forces, have settled in various States including West Bengal (79 lakhs), Assam (50 lakhs), Bihar (4.5 lakhs in the 
North-Eastern districts including Katihar, Sahebganj, Kishanganj and Purnia), Tripura (3.75 lakhs) and Delhi (3.7 lakhs). In Nagaland, the population of Muslims, mostly illegal migrants from Bangladesh, HAS MORE THAN TREBLED IN THE LAST DECADE- the figures rising from 20,000 in 1991 to 75,000. Similarly, in Mizoram also, there has been a growth in the numbers of illegal Bangladeshi migrants though firm estimates are not yet available.”


Continuing, the note stated : " “ The illegal BD migrants have significantly altered the demographic complexion particularly of the border districts of West Bengal and Assam. THEIR ABILITY TO OBTAIN RATION CARDS AS ALSO ENROLL THEMSELVES AS VOTERS NOT ONLY GIVES THEM A BACK-DOOR ENTRY INTO INDIAN CITIZENSHIP BUT ALSO PROVIDES THEM WITH POLITICAL CLOUT THAT FACILITATES SETTLEMENT OF MORE BANGLADESHI ILLEGALS IN OUR COUNTRY. IN ASSAM, THE ILLEGAL MIGRANTS ARE ABLE TO AFFECT STATE POLITICS IN A MAJOR WAY WITH THEIR HAVING 
ACQUIRED A CRITICAL SAY AROUND 50 TO 126 ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCIES. - - - -. The growth and
clout of radical Islamic forces in Bangladesh, the increasing activities of the ISI there and the susceptibilities of the BD Government to such forces predicates greater attention
to this front. A section of the Bangladesh opinion makers have already been talking of a Bangladeshi ‘ LEBENSRAUM’ in our North East. Besides a response at the political level, there is need for greater focus on the Indo-BD border and closer coordination between the Security Agencies, Border guarding forces and State Police forces for an effective response to the GROWING THREAT FROM BANGLADESH.”


The Governors Reports and the Note at the DGPs Conference can be read in greater detail from the book :
" Governance and the Sclerosis that has Set In " - Arun Shourie - (Rupa & Co) (2004) - (pp - 207-229).


If the foregoing was not enough of a 'dire warning' to the Nation, theTask Force on Border Management, set up by the then NDA Government and  headed by the former Union Home Secretary, Mr.Madhav Godbole, submitted its Report to the Government in Aug 2000. Here is what this Task Force stated about the state of affairs on our borders.


" The Task Force has noted with with concern the rapid spread of MADRASSAS and MOSQUES in the border areas on ALMOST ALL BORDERS. Most of these constructions have come up without any formal approval of the competent local authorities - - -. In several cases considerable foreign funds have become available to these institutions through non-banking institutions.
Efforts at Arabization of Muslims and their education are a matter of concern which should not be dismissed light-heartedly."


The Task Force then noted : " There has been mushrooming and visible growth of mosques and MADRASSAS all along our international borders. The intriguing thing is that these have come up where there is very small or no population of the minority community and that MADRASSAS and mosques have sprung up on both sides of the border as if in unison. These
institutions could be construed as Islamic infrastructure and have potential for intelligence encirclement of India. Concerted efforts are being made for the Arabization of the Indian Muslim tradition by promoting the Arabic or Salafi brand of Islam among Muslims living in the border
areas - - -."


And then the Indo-Bangladesh border. " On the Indo-Bangladesh border, growth of MADRASSAS and mosques is taking place along with a shift in demographic composition due to ILLEGALIMMIGRATION OF A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE FROM BANGLADESH INTO THE BORDER DISTRICTS OF INDIA.INCREASING CROWDING OUT OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL POPULATION AND THE SHIFT TOWARDS ISLAMIZATION CREATE POTENTIAL FOR FUTURE STRIFE. THIS IS LIKELY TO PUT PRESSUE ON THE STRATEGIC SILIGURI CORRIDOR."


And the hard figures. " Indo-Bangladesh border has seen the most rapid growth of MADRASSAS and mosques. On the Indian side, close to the border, there are now 905 mosques and 439 MADRASSAS. And, on the Bangladseh side, there are 960 mosques and 469 MADRASSAS".


Lastly, " Studies have indicated that in 18% of the Assembly constituencies in West Bengal and 32% Assembly constituencies in Assam, Bangladesh migrants can influence the poll outcome one way or the other. A study showed that about 96% Bangladeshi immigrant respondents took active part in electoral politics in Kishanganj district in Bihar - -. They have been able to IMPACT LAW MAKING AND RUNNING OF ADMINISTRATION INCLUDING POLICE
THROUGH THEIR LEGISLATORS. THEY ARE ALREADY LOOMING LARGE IN THE FRAGILE POLITY OF WEST
BENGAL, ASSAM and TRIPURA. ONE CAN EASILY SEE THE EMERGING CONTOURS OF FUTURE SUBVERSION
OF THE NORTHEAST - - ."


The details of the Reports submitted by the Task Forces on Internal Security ( N.N. Vohra) and Border Management (Madhav Godbole)can be read - once again - in Arun Shourie's " Will the Iron Fence Save a Tree Hollowed by Termites : Defence Imperitives Beyond the Military " (Rupa & Co) (2005) - (pp- 404 - 434)

If there’s no breaking news, break the news

Kanchan Gupta

09 June 2013

[There is a craving for sensational news. It's only natural that competing news channels and newspapers should pander to that craving, while covering the BJP's National Executive meet that concludes in Goa]

The extraordinary interest shown by media in the BJP’s two-day National Executive meeting that concludes in Goa today could have been termed as genuine professional commitment to disseminating news, had it not been for the fact that very little or nothing that was disseminated had anything to do with the truth. 

Beginning Friday morning, television channels and newspapers desperate to keep pace with ‘breaking news’ kept on indulging in kite-flying, attributing their own views and opinions, worth tuppence and no more, to ‘sources’. The fact is that these ‘sources’ do not exist in real life; they are as much a figment of imagination as what is attributed to them.

Here are some facts that would serve to highlight how the coverage of the BJP’s National Executive meeting was turned into a tamasha that bordered on theatre of the absurd. 

The National Executive was scheduled to meet on Saturday and Sunday, which it did. In keeping with past practice, office-bearers met on Friday to take stock of organisational issues and discuss the agenda for the meeting. In other words, Friday’s meeting was not a part of the National Executive’s proceedings, nor was it meant to discuss key policy issues, leave alone take any important decisions. That would have rendered the National Executive meeting meaningless.

Such boring details, however, are irrelevant to our mainstream mediapersons. They made out as if Friday was the first day of the National Executive meeting and floated various stories on the agenda of the office-bearers meeting, including whether Narendra Modi should be made head of the election campaign committee. This was never meant to be discussed on Friday, nor did it come up for any discussion. 

Facts, however, are not allowed to stand in the way of a juicy story and hence they were brushed aside as media ran amok, peddling colourful versions that may have served tograb eyeballs but have done nothing to enhance media’s hugely diminished, and rapidly vanishing, credibility.

The day began with wild speculation over LK Advani’s absence at Friday’s meeting. Once again, the media chose to speculate on his absence without bothering to check with his office or family as to why he had not travelled to Goa ahead of the National Executive meeting. Had reporters done their basic homework they would have known Advani was unwell and unable to travel. At his age, this should not have come as a surprise. But nobody did a fact check because that would have killed a story manufactured with great effort. 

This constant spinning of stories to keep the news cycle moving 24x7 may be a compulsion, given the dynamics of today’s information industry. Those dynamics are as much media’s creation as of readers of newspapers and viewers of news channels, not necessarily in that order. In fact, it could be argued, and not without basis, that there is a craving for sensational news, or news that is not dull and boring which the truth often is, and it is only natural that competing news channels and newspapers should try to pander to that craving.

It could equally be argued that the craving is the creation of media which, having made tamasha the staple of its fare for the day, can only turn news into a burlesque of half-truths and outright lies peppered with the profound punditry of know-all commentators, many of whom were known as ‘hand-out’ journalists in the organisations they worked for after securing jobs with more than a little help from political patrons. If the inside story of mainstream media were to be ever told, journalism in this country would stand denuded of respect and dignity.

But let that not detain us. 

What is of greater interest, if not import, is themonkey chatter of these commentators who make a great show of their earnestness on op-editorial pages of newspapers or during television debates where limitless ignorance is presented as profound wisdom.  

Witness the manner in which Narendra Modi is demonised as a politician who ‘polarises’ — since when has politics been devoid of polarisation? — and who won’t be able to attract allies. In the same breath, those who mocked at Atal Bihari Vajpayee through 1996 and 1998, praise him and seek to elevate LK Advani to a stature they have insisted on denying him all these years.

The dishonesty is truly stark and stunning. It’s moral dishonesty and it’s intellectual dishonesty. You can’t like Advani and dislike Modi, just as you can’t like Vajpayee and dislike the BJP. These are not identities that are independent of each other. Nor are they individuals who can be de-linked from the party and the ideology they represent. But who is to tell the commentariat so? Smug and secure in the conviction that they shall never be confronted by those who know better, they continue to play Bible-thumpers.

The consequences of mainstream media treading this path cannot be overemphasised. The phenomenal growth of social media in India is an indicator of the low esteem in which newspapers and news channels are held by an increasing number of people, most of them young, educated and well-informed. 

Admittedly this is an urban phenomenon, but it would not be inaccurate to suggest that the contempt for mainstream media is no less intense in rural areas. Even the most casual reading of what people have to say about media on Twitter would serve as an eye-opener for those who orchestrated the jaundiced coverage of the BJP’s National Executive meeting. But the proverbial writing on the wall tragically goes un-noticed.

That is bad news. 

The good news is that more and more people have begun to shun traditional or mainstream media. If the trend continues, the peddlers of misinformation and planters of disinformation shall one day find themselves kicked off the pedestals on which they have placed themselves.Along with them, mainstream media shall come crashing down — like Humpty Dumpty never to be put together again.

(The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi)