Illegal migration from Bangladesh into West Bengal and Assam has for a long time been a problem without a solution. Reports suggesting that Indian intelligence agencies are beginning to take cognisance of the problem and are trying to gather exact data about the infiltration are thus welcome. Apart from the illegality of the process, which makes a complete mockery of the borders between India and Bangladesh, there are other equally serious dimensions to the problem. One such is the impact this kind of illegal migration has on the natural demography of a given area. In West Bengal, for example, each of the districts that have a border with Bangladesh saw significant increases in the percentage of Muslim population between the 1991 census and the one in 2001. It is, of course, difficult to estimate what proportion of this increase was the result of an illegal movement of population from Bangladesh. But there is enough ground to put forward the reasonable hypothesis that the rise is at least partially related to the process of illegal migration. The survey that the intelligence agencies are proposing to carry out could throw light on the matter. It is important, of course, that the concerned agencies do not tinker with the data to prove one or the other of the pet hobby horses.

It is important to remember that attention is now being focussed on the problem under discussion because of a particular context that has global implications. The problem has acquired an urgency because of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism across the world. There is the fear that Islamic militants may be using these border districts, which have a high Muslim population, as a safe haven or as a safe transit point. Illegal movement of population from Bangladesh into West Bengal through the soft border between the two countries is by no means a recent phenomenon. At times when Islamic terrorism had not taken on the demonic dimensions it has taken on today, powers that be in West Bengal not only turned a blind eye to the process, but also helped the illegal migrants settle down with the relevant documents. Such settlers served as secure vote banks. In the present context such a game has become extremely dangerous. The government of West Bengal, under Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, has tacitly admitted the extent of the danger involved. The problem needs to be addressed with the full cooperation of the state with the Centre.