I AM QUOTING HERE THE FOREWORD OF THE ABOVENAMED BOOK WHICH WAS
WRITTEN BY DR.SIBADAS NANDI, M A, Ph D, EX PRINCIPAL OF ORIENTAL
COLLEGE, KOHIMA, NAGALAND. HE WRTES: IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, IT IS
SAID, THAT THERE ARE NO PERMANENT FRIENDS, NO PERMANENT ENEMIES BUT
ONLY PERMANENT INTERESTS. WHENEVER A COUNTRY NEGOTIATES AN
INTERNATIONAL TREATY, THE OVERWHELMING CONSIDERATION THAT SHOULD GUIDE
HER IN DOING SO IS TO KEEP HER SHORT AND LONG TERM INTERESTS IN VIEW.
COMING TO INDO NEPAL FRIENDSHIP TREATY,1950 ; IDEALISM RARHER THAN
NATIONAL INTERESTGUIDED INDIAN GOVERNMENT TO CONCLUDE IT.THE TREATY
ENVISAGES NATIONALS OF BOTH INDIA AND NEPAL RECIPROCAL ECONOMIC AND
RESIDENTIAL RIGHTS IN EACH OTHERS COUNTRY. THE INTERNATIONAL BORDER
BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES REMAINS OPEN. THE RESULT HAS BEEN CONTINUOUS
MIGRATION OF NEPALI NATIONALS TO INDIA. THE MIGRANTS IN MANY AREAS OF
NORTH BENGAL HAVE ALREADY OUTNUMBERED THE LOCAL POPULATION LEADING TO
ETHNIC TENSIONS AND SOMETIMES VIOLENCE. INESCAPABLY THERE EMERGES A
PATTERN IN THE DIRECTION OF MIGRATION. A CURSORY GLANCE AT THE MAP OF
NORTH BENGAL, NEPAL, BHUTAN, SIKKIM SHOULD FORCEFULLY SUGGEST THIS.
THE INITIAL TARGET WAS THE PRESENT STATE OF SIKKIM. MASSIVE MIGRATION
OF NEPALI NATIONALS HAD SWAMPED THE AUTOCHTHONS PRIOR TO ITS MERGER
WITH INDIA.. THEN AROSE THE QUESTION OF CITIZENSHIP, NEPALI NATIONALS
IN LARGE NUMBER VOTED IN FAVOUR OF MERGER AND DEMANDED CITIZENSHIP
AFTERWARDS. THEY CONTENDED THAT IF THOSE WHO VOTED FOR MERGER ITSELF
WOULD BECOME ILLEGAL. THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA WAS THUS BLACKMAILED
INTO ACCEPTING EIGHTY THOUSAND OF THEM AS CITIZENS. THIS WAS ON THE
FACE OF ONLY ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND SIKKIM SUBJECTS RECORDED AT THAT
TIME. THE STATE WAS THUS 'CONQURED'. THE NEXT TARGET WAS THE KINGDOM
OF BHUTAN . BY AN IDENTICAL METHOD THE MIGRANTS POURED IN LARGE
NUMBERS INTO THE KINGDOM. SOON THEY ADOPTED THE METHOD TESTED IN
SIKKIM SUCCESSFULLY. BACKED BY NUMBERS THEY DEMANDED DEMOCRACY BE
USHERED IN AND THE INSTITUTION OF KINGSHIP BE ABOLISHED. THESE WERE
CATCHY SLOGANS. THE KINGDOM ACTED SWIFTLY. ABOUT SIX LAKHS OF THEM
WERE DEPORTED. THEY ENTERED INDIA POSING AS NEPALI NATIONALS TAKING
ADVANTAGE OF THE TREATY. HOWEVER, INDIA DID NOT HAVE A SIMILAR TREATY
WITH BHUTAN AND THE IMMIGRANTS NEEDED TO BE REGISTERD AS SUCH. THIS
DID NOT HAPPEN DUE TO LACKADASICAL ATTITUDE OF THE GOVERNMENTS BOTH
THE STATE AND AT THE CENTRE. HAVING FAILED IN THEIR ENDEAVOUR IN
BHUTAN THE IMMIGRANTS TARGETED DARJEELING DISTRICT OF WEST BENGAL AND
THE CHICKEN NECK JOINING THE NORTH EAST TO THE REST OF THE COUNTRY. BY
THEN THE DISTRICT HAD FAR EXCEEDED ITS CAPACITY TO ABSORB MORE
MIGRANTS. THE MIGRANTS EROM BHUTAN TOOK SHELTER IN THE ADJOINING
PLAINS OF NORTH BENGAL BECOMING IN THE PROCESS MAJORITY IN MANY
ADMINISTRATIVE BLOCKS. A MORE MILITANTS GROUP TOOK OVER THE LEADERSHIP
OF THE IMMIGRANTS CHALLENGING THE LAWFULLY ESTABLISHED GOVERNMENT OF
THE STATE. THEY STOPPED PAYING ELECTRIC AND TELEPHONE BILLS, CHANGED
VEHICLE NUMBERS AND EVEN DECLARED THE DISTRICT MAGISTRATE AND
GOVERNMENT MINISTERS PERSONA NON GRATA IN THE HILLS. THE GOVERNMENT
MAINTAINED SILENCE. BIPARTITE OR TIPARTITE MEETINGS WERE HELD WITH THE
LEADERS OF THE IMMIGRANTS TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO THE SO CALLED
GORKHALAND ISSUE WITHOUT BOTHERING TO REFLECT UPON THE REAL STATUS OF
IMMIGRANTS ACCORDING TO THE TREATY OR THE CONSTITUTION OF THE COUNTRY.
NEVER ONCE DURING THE TALKSTHE ISSUE OF CITIZENSHIP STATUS OF THE
MIGRANTS WAS RAISED BY EITHER THE STATEOR CENTRAL REPRESENTATIVES. THE
ELECTION COMMISSION TOO MAINTAINED SILENCE. THE POLITICAL PARTIES SAW
THE OPPOTUNITY IN USING THE IMMIGRANTS AS VOTE BANKS AS SUCH WERE NOT
INTERESTED IN RAISING THE ISSUE. THE MEDIA, BOTH ELETRONIC AND PRINT,
WHO DEVOTE A LOT OF TIMEAND SPACE ON NON ISSUES LIKE SCANDALS REMAINED
OBLIVIOUS TO THE FRAUD ON OUR CONSTITUTION. IN THE MEANTIME THE
IMMIGRANTS ENROLLED THEMSELVES IN THE ELECTORAL ROLLS OF THE
CONSTITUENCIES AND REAPED THE BENEFITS OF CITIZENSHIP AND ACQIRED
LEGITIMACY. HAD THE BHUTAN EXPERIMENT BEEN SUCCESSFUL, A CONTINUOUS
LAND MASS STRETCHING FROM HIMACHAL PRADESH TO ARUNACHAL PRADESH WOULD
HAVE CREATED A NEPALI DOMINATED AREA COVERING THE ENTIRE NORTHERN
BORDER OF THE COUNTRY. SET AGAINST THIS BACK DROP THE AMBITION OF
CHINA OVER ARUNACHAL PRADESH CAN NOT BE SEEN AS ISOLATED PHENOMENON.
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