The illegal entry of Bangladeshi nationals dates back to the period before its liberation, when the Punjabi dominated Pakistani martial-law government in erstwhile East-Pakistan began suppression of the Bengalis causing a refugee problem which convinced Mrs. Indira Gandhi to take military action resulting in the third Indo-Pak war of December 1971 and also the creation of a new nation. But the problem of illegal entry only increased manifold since then.

It does need to be mentioned that, basically and initially, these intrusions were caused by a line penned most thoughtlessly, or may be, even callously, by Radcliffe, to partition India before the British left. That line caused a human problem which could have been resolved after the liberation of Bangladesh. Pakistan, since 1947, has religiously (pun intended) maintained a single-point agenda of India-baiting/bashing/war-mongering, with no priority whatsoever, for striving towards development of a newly-born nation. Meanwhile, in Pakistan and its eastern part—severed from it since 1971—populations proliferated and with the former, so did all kinds of weaponry, not to mention, the spread of terrorism by twisting interpretations of religion out of shape. So, while suppression of a section of its people failed earlier, ‘weaning’ them away from their rich cultural roots towards fundamentalism and intolerance became an agenda since the early 1970s which with the BNP’s return to power is in full swing. An important part of this game-plan, in place since 1991, was to establish a substantial foothold of the ISI in India’s North-Eastern region with the help of ULFA (and through ULFA, other insurgent groups of the region) with the aim of initiating a number of processes to destabilise it.

The human element of the problem is that with the burgeoning population and unemployment in Bangladesh, labour opportunities available in India attract many a Bangladeshi to cross over to work and return with the earnings. However, ever since Pakistan mended its distant fences with Bangladesh, it has tried to use the migrant Bangladeshi worker for its own nefarious designs against India.

Distinguished columnist, author and an authority on Bangladesh affairs, Hiranmay Karlekar, during a discussion with this writer explained, "it is not just a question of infiltration but it is being used as a cover for sending in agents with the specific aim of preparing an extensive infrastructure in all of the East and North-East India for terrorist activities which include perpetuation of ghastly attacks like the one on the American Centre at Kolkata on January 22, 2002. Also, we should not forget that Syed Abu Nasir who was caught in June 1999 in Delhi, a Bangladeshi who had come with a group to blow up the U. S. Embassy in the capital as well as one more U. S. Consulate in the country. That is why Bangladesh is opposed to India’s efforts to prevent infiltration." He further elaborated that Pakistan plans to take advantage of the
U. S. A.’s preoccupation with Iraq by orchestrating a joint action in which it pushes in a fresh wave of terrorists across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir this summer after the snow melts, while Bangladesh steps up infiltration of migrants all along India’s borders with it. He also mentioned about a list of 88 insurgents, including Sanjit Dev Barman of the ATTF and Paresh Barua and Anup Chetia of the ULFA, presently in Bangladesh, which was conveyed to Dhaka during the last meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Working Group. According to highly placed sources in the Ministry of External Affairs, Dhaka has been quite intransigent on the issue of illegal migrants entering or staying in India, or for that matter, the entry or presence of Al Qaeda leaders and cadres who, incidentally, met India’s North-East insurgent group leaders. While India’s diplomatic relations with Pakistan have touched an all-time low, with Bangladesh they have deteriorated considerably in the recent past.