By Dr. Gyan Pathak
Creating a bad neighbourhood is unwise, especially through totally avoidable unrestrained speeches. However, the leaders from the ruling establishment in India have been in the habit of making unrestrained speeches aimed at winning domestic elections that hurt our neighbouring countries unnecessarily worsening already strained relationships at a time when India is in urgent need of creating good neighbourhood for resolving long standing issues with them.
Dhaka is hurt afresh which provoked the interim government of Bangladesh to hand over a protest note on Monday, September 23 to the Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Dhaka which labelled India’s Union Minister of Home Amit Shah’s speech made in Jharkhand on September 18 as “highly deplorable”. Dhaka conveyed its “serious reservation, deep sense of hurt and extreme displeasure” and also called the remarks “slanderous and unacceptable”.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the interim government of Bangladesh has emphasized in its note that such remarks, coming from responsible positions, against nationals of a neighbouring country undermine the spirit of mutual respect and understanding between two friendly countries. Dhaka has also called upon the government of India to advise political leaders to refrain from making “objectionable and unacceptable” remarks about Bangladeshis.
Jharkhand is going to have Vidhan Sabha elections by the end of this year in November-December. Bangladesh has nothing to do with these elections. However, the issue of Rohingya Muslim infiltrators from Myanmar, and Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators in the state has been there for quite some time. BJP and its leaders have been trying to make this a top election issue for consolidating Hindu votes in favour of the party by terrorizing them in the name of Rohingyas and Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators and Muslim terror modules in particular. Hindu religious passions are being aroused to establish Hindu political dominance over all other minorities including Muslims and Christians in the state for quite some time.
Union Minister of Home Amit Shah has just added another dimension to the issue. He claimed during his speech that the tribal population in Santhal Pargana division had decreased from 44 per cent to just 28 per cent due to infiltration. Earlier, the RSS-BJP have been campaigning against the Christian missionaries for their alleged conversion of the tribal communities in the state.
While delivering his speech at a rally in Bokaro, Amit Shah said, “There is no place for infiltrators in the state. They are marrying out daughters, grabbing land and destroying rich tribal culture and heritage … we will drive each one of them out … Let the lotus bloom here.”
Amit Shah also accused the JMM-lead coalition government in the state of encouraging rampant illegal infiltration for its “vote bank politics” and cautioned if not checked, such immigrants would become a majority in the state in the next 25-30 years.
“Tell me if this land belongs to tribals or Rohingya and Bangladesh infiltrators. No one can save Jharkhand, neither the JMM nor the Congress. It is only Prime Minister Narendra Modi who can save it,” said Amit Shah in the rally. It has also been reported in the media that he said BJP “will hand every Bangladeshi infiltrator upside down to give them a lesion” if people elect the party to power in Jharkhand.
In the last one decade of PM Narendra Modi’s rule, we have had many election rally speeches in India by BJP’s top leaders that have hurt neighbouring countries– including Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and China. As for Pakistan is concerned, we can see the open promotion of jingoism against that country, especially during elections in India. This can be seen even in the Jammu & Kashmir elections currently under process. Most of the time public comments of BJP leaders from the ruling establishments are simple provocation and humiliation for the neighbouring countries which should have been avoided for creating a better environment for resolving the long-standing issues.
BJP has been ruling India for the last ten years. Security on the boarders of the country is therefore Modi government’s responsibility. No state government is responsible for lapses on the boarders. If illegal infiltration is still going on, it is the fault or incapability of their government.
As for Jharkhand is concerned, the state has no international boundary. How then the JMM-led state government is responsible for infiltration from Bangladesh? How the government is encouraging rampant illegal infiltration?
It should be noted that the Centre has recently admitted in the Jharkhand High Court that the decrease in number of tribals in Santhal Parganas from 44 per cent to 28 per cent rapidly decreased in the last decade. Jharkhand was ruled by BJP during 2015-2019, and JMM-led government is ruling for only five years. How then BJP is not responsible for illegal infiltration in the state and only JMM-led government is responsible?
Centre had submitted in the High Court that growing presence of illegal Bangladeshi migrants in Santhal Pargana area of the tribal state was alarming. However, this can’t be justification for unrestrained speeches that hurt neighbouring countries. Other more appropriate ways should be adopted to win domestic elections. Can’t BJP leaders win elections without hurting neighbouring countries through their irresponsible and provocative public speeches? (IPA Service)
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