GOOD MOMENT

 

I NDIA has recorded a good moment rather silently, that is without any political fuss, when as many as 186 Hindu refugees from Pakistan cast their vote in the Delhi legislative elections. They had been living in India for years after they managed to escape from atrocities in Pakistan and took shelter in India -- though without any official status. And then has come this moment when the Citizenship (Amendment) Act -- CAA -- granted them the right to cast vote, by way of which they completed the transition from refugees to citizens of India. By any standard, thus, this is one good moment that deserves to be celebrated. In fact, this should have happened a long ago. But then, the existing law of the land did not approve of it.

 

Therefore came the CAA that unfortunately met with so much of politically-driven but totally misunderstood opposition from some Muslim segments of the Indian population. But the Government persisted, through thick and thin, and CAA got introduced and is now being implemented. This is welcome for the larger national interest. Of course, this good moment will have to be carried further to get woven into the national culture in due time. And as this process goes on, a parallel process of identifying people living illegally in India will also have to be carried on -- so that intruders will get identified and packed out. And for that to happen successfully, the Government will have to work in a focused manner to implement the idea of National Register of Citizens (NRC) -- which will isolate people living in India illegally after having sneaked into the country through porous borders. Illegal immigrants have no right to be in the country for whatever reason.

 

There is yet another angle to this good moment -- of the United States sending back the first batch of 104 Indians living illegally in that country. When US President Mr. Donald Trump declared that his administration would throw out illegal immigrants, India made it clear that it would cooperate with the US on this count. As part of that process, the US has sent back first batch of illegal immigrants to India. This is no mean a development. For, it gives out a clear message to every illegal immigrants holed up in India for years most probably under some political patronage or deliberate official blind eye. All such people need to be identified as early as possible and sent back to the countries of their origin. When India undertakes this process in full measure, it will only follow a global movement by different national governments to identify and deport illegal immigrants .governments to identify and deport illegal immigrants. India has suffered from this problem for decades on end.

 

Countless lakhs of illegal immigrants have been living in India and enjoying all benefits of legitimate Indian citizens even when they have no legal standing on any kind. Governors of many border States have been writing the Central Governments reports after reports highlighting the problem of lakhs of illegal immigrants. But for reasons never explained, the Centre did not act tough and fast to identify illegal immigrants and deport them -- which was unfortunate by any definition. However, with the implementation of CAA -- and later completion of work for the NRC -- India now appears to have begun the journey in the right direction to take action against illegal immigrants, and accommodate refugees from neighbouring countries under the CAA. Of course, the entire process may take a lot of time, but suffice it is to know that things are moving in the right direction. India has been waiting for such a moment to come -- and is happy that it has finally arrived. Fortunately, there is no political noise on the issue and everything is being done efficiently without any fuss. A hope, thus, has emerged that illegal immigrants will get thrown out in due time.