ASSAM: PLIGHT OF DETAINEES WHO ADMIT TO BE FOREIGNERS

 A life of indefinite uncertainty

The report of activist Harsh Mander provides information which portrays the quivering fate of the detainees who have already completed their term of punishment

The report states that the detention centres predominantly consist of individuals who have been declared as foreigners by the Foreigners Tribunal, most of whom maintain that they are Indian citizens. Apart from them, there are other individuals who have not gone through the Foreigners Tribunal but accept that they are foreigners. Their predicament is that they do not, and never have, contested their nationality. The Mission found ‘actual foreigners’ who are in detention for as long as nine years, from countries Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan. Their repatriation has not been possible for long years despite their jail term ending long back, because of bureaucratic tangles and delays between India and their respective countries. We learn from news reports that after our visit, they have gone on hunger strike demanding their return to their countries.

The Mission found a total of 62 convicted foreign nationals detained in the Goalpara detention centre. Out of these 54 are from Bangladesh. All the 54 Bangladeshi national including 4 four Hindus have completed their term of punishment and all of them are willing to go back to their country. Unlike the declared ‘foreigners’ who are resident in Assam, these detainees have no visitors. For years, they have had no contact or information about their family members back in Bangladesh. Most of their families do not even know that they are detained in Indian detention centre. One of the detainees showed a Bangladeshi phone number which he memorized 5 years back and now written on a piece of torn paper and keeping the hope alive that someday he will get the opportunity to call the number and inform his whereabouts to his family members.

In the women’s detention centre also there were many individuals who claimed to be foreigners as well. To take just one example, a Muslim woman from Myanmar said she married an Assamese Muslim man and had a child from him. Both mother and child were detained. Since then, for a while her husband would come to visit her, but his visits have also stopped. She has no contact with her family in Myanmar, and is completely desperate about her future.

The Mission observed that unlike other states where civil liberties organization like PUCL has been working with the jail authorities and concerned ministries to release the foreigners who have completed their jail term in Indian jail, there is no such organization working in Assam.

Thus the government both at the Centre and state instead of playing a mum role should take steps to mitigate the problem.