New Delhi: Fleeing the military persecution in East Pakistan, in 1971, over four million refugees started crossing the border to enter India. According to the UNHCR ‘The State of the World Refugees-2000’ report, over 100,000 refugees were entering India on a daily basis. Indian official reports put the daily arrivals at about 10,000-50,000 refugees. FL Pijnacker Hordijk, a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in India, observed and documented this humanitarian crisis. On March 29, 1971, he sent a message to the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva stating the humanitarian crisis which was unfolding in the region.
On 29 March 1971, FL Pijnacker Hordijk, who was UNHCR representative in India, warned about an impending refugee crisis in India. According to his memo, in one month nearly a million refugees had entered India illegally. This exodus of Himalayan proportion had created an extraordinary situation for the government of India. The Indira Gandhi-led government had made it very clear that there were no circumstances under which it would allow the refugees to settle. Many camps were set up in the border states of West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam.
In an interview with the BBC in 1971, India Gandhi had clearly stated that the country was facing a huge problem due to a sudden influx of refugees.
Political parties and leaders who are against the Modi government have connected the NRC issue with the attack on minorities. This is simply a ploy to divert the narrative. Mamata Banerjee was against Bangladeshi immigrants in 2005 when she was the leader of the Opposition and had even accused the ruling CPI-M of providing patronage to the illegals. However, on Assam NRC issue the Chief Minister warned of a “civil war and bloodbath”.
Perhaps it’s time for the Opposition to deconstruct what Indira Gandhi said in 1971. Her stand on cross-border refugees was very clear irrespective of any religion, her son and future Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi signed Assam Accord in 1985 but Congress president Rahul Gandhi is wary of taking a strong stand on Assam NRC because in Indian politics vote bank is all that really matters.
