THE proposed move of the Border Security Force (BSF) to relocate as many as 360 zero-line villages along the Bangladesh border to safer areas points to a critical shift in the overall security calculus of the country. Villagers themselves have pushed for such a relocation since those villages get almost totally cut off from any emergency services particularly during nights and that the common people have to be at the mercy of Bangladesh. The BSF has also favoured the relocation since it would help in better management of the border that is being fenced with a sense of urgency. Despite the fact that the Government always knew of the seriousness of the issue, any move such as relocation of the zero-line villages with about 70,000 people was never thought of. However, with a complete overhaul of the security thought-process, the zero-line villages would not be relocated to safer spots deeper into the Indian territory -- leaving the border in complete control of the BSF with no civilian interference or cross-border criminal activity. In fact, some strategic thinkers had proposed such moves quite some time ago, though their suggestions were ignored for a variety of (right or wrong) reasons.

 

Now, with the West Bengal Government agreeing to hand over required land for border-fencing, the idea of a sounder border management has gained appropriate currency . It is a matter of satisfaction that the thought has its own positive, proactive and action-oriented dynamism. Decades ago, experts had insisted that the India-Bangladesh border needed a stricter vigil from Indian side and a finer management protocol. The Governments of India and Bangladesh also engaged each other in serious discussions on border-rationalisation and realignment so that complicated geographical features where security arrangements generally were weak could be handled more methodically. Some of those efforts bore positive fruits, too. Yet, the border remained a politically porous line, thanks to the vested interests on the Indian side (promoting trans-border movement of illegal migrants). With the post-election change of Government in West Bengal, the entire issue got infused with patriotic positivism.

 

The transfer of required land for border-fencing to the BSF or the move to relocate zero-line villages and heavier deployment of Armed Forces along he border as well as in the Siliguri Corridor are the most visible outcomes of the political change that the State has witnessed. In the times to come, more positive and definitive moves are expected to spruce up border security and stop illegal trans-border migration. A complete stoppage of that illegal activity may not be possible, but the torrent from Bangladesh to India that was witnessed until now would get reduced to a manageable trickle. This is in the best national security interest as well as in best demographic interest of the country. Many political vested interests were using the illegal migrants as their vote-bank for years. Each year, thus, with the blessings of political bosses, literally thousands of Bangladeshi migrants were slipping into India through the highly porous border -- and eventually changing the demography and affecting electoral outcomes.

 

That was a dangerous situation -- which fortunately got corrected through the Special Intenstive Revision of the electoral rolls. As a result of that strict management of the SIR, the country -- of course including West Bengal -- will see a cleansing of the demography to a great extent, thus altering the colouration of the political process at least to some extent. It is obvious that cumulatively, all these actions have been making a positive change in the security and socio-political scenario of the country. The Government’s cumulative action along the India-Bangladesh border also points to the no-nonsense approach of the Government in recent times. This is a critical shift in the Government’s security policies on a nation-first basis. This will help the country in the long run.