By ARUN PRATAP SINGH
DEHRADUN, 17 Nov: A very relevant topic of demographic implications of border migration was held on the second and the concluding day of the Valley of Words Arts and Literature Festival in Dehradun on Sunday. Noted cardiologist Kuldeep Dutta was the moderator while retired Justice SN Srivastava, former Chief Secretary NS Napalchyal, retired IPS officer who served with ITBP Ranjit Bhatia, Padmavir Singh and social activist Anoop Nautiyal were the panelists. Opening the session, Dutta remarked that migration has happened throughout history for various reasons which include economic, linguistic, circumstantial or political reasons but it now appears that there is a plan or design behind large scale migration to Uttarakhand from other states.
Anoop Nautiyal shared that based on the voters’ lists used for 2022 Assembly elections in Uttarakhand, the state had witnessed 30 per cent increase in the number of voters as compared to 2014. He pointed out that Assembly elections in Uttarakhand are held along with Assembly elections in four other states, namely Uttar Pradesh (UP), Punjab, Manipur and Goa but no other state has witnessed such a sharp rise in the number of voters. In UP, the numbers of voters witnessed a rise of 21 per cent, Punjab witnessed rise of 19 per cent, Manipur witnessed a rise in number of voters by 14 per cent while Goa witnessed only 13 per cent rise. This unusual increase in Uttarakhand is a matter of concern and this had evoked a direction from Election Commission of India to the State Election Commission to investigate the matter.
Nautiyal also pointed out that in Uttarakhand, the sharpest rise was witnessed in the plains as compared to the hills. He also shared that as far as Assembly constituencies are concerned, Dharampur constituency in Dehradun district witnessed an usually and alarming increase of 72 per cent in the number of voters while Rudrapur witnessed an increase of 62 per cent in number nof voters while Doiwala in Dehradun witnessed a sharp increase of 52 per cent in number of voters. He also lamented that while Central agencies have been expressing serious concern over this demographic change but the state government is not doing anything in particular to arrest this rapid change in demography.
Former Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand, NS Napalchyal asserted that migration due to circumstantial factors like wars, floods, cyclones, displacement or persecution like that faced by the Hindus in Jammu & Kashmir is a natural occurance but added that to believe that migration is happening only in districts located in the plains, in Uttarakhand may not be entirely true. He said that he hails from Dharchula in district Pithoragarh and he can say that he has witnessed unusual migration in the border areas of the state. He also felt that in remote areas, more motor garages have opened than required when seen in context of number of vehicles present there, more barbers shops have been established than required. This, he felt gives rise to suspicion that such a largescale migration even in the hills could be by design and well planned and targeted.
Napalchyal also pointed out to the Migration Commission claims that there has been reverse migration to the hills, particularly after the Corona pandemic but it needs to pointed out that outsiders settling in border areas like Dharchula can’t be considered as reverse migration. It is rather a matter of serious concern related to culture, language and demography. He also cited an example where a number of Bangladeshis of a particular community and Rohingyas had settled and it was detected that they had managed to get a telephone connections and were noticed to have made unusually high number of calls to the Gulf countries.
Kuldeep Dutta said that over 7,000 fruit sellers in Dehradun have been identified to be Bangladeshis.
Justice SN Srivastava, reminded that just three hundred years ago, Afghanistan was a Hindu majority state but had now turned into a Taliban ruled country. He also cited division of Bengal into East and West Bengals because of religious factors and reminded that Sir Syed Ahmed has been demanding Pakistan much before the Independence. He also reminded that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh manage to secure Aadhaar and ration cards and then right to vote. He quoted Constitutional provisions under Article 19 which allows any Indian to settle anywhere in the country but such migration is happening under a planned conspiracy, then the state has the right to put reasonable restrictions and emphasised that such provisions should be used more by the people and the government to arrest unusual migration.
Retired IPS Officer Ranjit Bhatia, said that targeted and planned migration in particular by a particular community is a not a matter of concern but a burning issue. He said that in a democracy, numbers play the crucial role in gaining power and it should be a matter of great concern in case such systemic demographic alteration is being brought about with this ulterior motive of gaining power. This can bring about internal and external security instabilities. Bhatia also claimed that it should be matter of great satisfaction for the country that in UP, the current government has managed to act against sharply rising number of Madrasas.
Padmavir Singh shared that while in Kashmir, there are few Rohingyas, in Jammu, under a systemic plan, over 60,000 Rohingyas are estimated to have settled and majority of them have also managed to secure Aadhaar and ration cards and also SIM cards and even passports. As per the agencies, many of them have been found to have connections with many Pakistan based Islamic radical organisations.
