Longrangty Longchar
Dimapur | June 10
The issue of illegal migrants has been raised by various individuals and organisations for quite a long time; and today the state Commissioner and Secretary of Tourism, Art and Culture, Khekiye K Sema, in front of hundreds of Muslims, boldly said that the issue of illegal Bangladeshi infiltration into the state is a ‘short fused time bomb’ which might turn into a dangerous situation.
Speaking as the chief guest at a function organized by the Muslim Council of Dimapur, to felicitate successful HSLC and HSSLC students, Khekiye K Sema, in a very powerful speech, said that he has been raising the illegal migrants issue in different forums in the state, and added that he is not afraid whether his words hurt the sentiments of the Muslims or others.
He said illegal migrants entering the state under the citizenship of Assamese and others states and settling down in the state might compel the legitimate Muslim residents of the state to answer questions regarding their year of arrival into the state etc.
Speaking against inter-marriages between the migrants and the locals and predicting a civil war-like situation in the state out of it, Khekiye said that the inter-marriages between the Bangladeshi migrants and the locals especially the Sumi community will create troubles as a time will come when the locals will try to identify the migrants and try to evict them. Thus it will lead to conflict of Sumis against Sumis; between those married to Bangladeshis and have Bangladeshis as their-in-laws and those who are not related to the illegal migrants through marriage. He said that he has been speaking about this with the Sumi leaders and Sumi elders from a long time back.
In this regard, Khekiye strongly urged the Muslim Council of Dimapur, who are the legitimate residents of the state, to safeguard their identity and let it not be diluted by the illegal migrants otherwise they would be compelled to a lot of ‘questioning’ by the Nagas in the future, which he said he would feel ‘quite sad’.
“Protect your identity as regular and bonafide citizens” Khekiye strongly urged the Muslim Council.
He also cited an instance of the illegal migrant problem in states like Tripura and Assam and said that these are historical realities which will also happen in Nagaland as the number of illegal migrants is increasing in the state.
None of the MCD leaders when asked for their reaction about the speech of the Nagaland Secretary of Tourism, Art and Culture declined to comment on it. In fact some top influential Muslim leaders in the city requested the media not to write about the chief guest’s speech, knowingly or unknowingly infringing on the freedom of the Press.
Khekiye K Sema when asked how seriously he meant his words at the function, during lunch, simply said, “Why the hell should I have told it if I did not mean it seriously.”
It may be mentioned that the issue of illegal migrants, which have created serious problems in neighboring states like Tripura and Assam in the past, has caught the attention of many Naga organisations especially the students’ bodies and also concerned citizens in the state. The latest one to take up the anti migrant issue is the Ao Students Conference (AKM), which has embarked on a mission ‘Survival 2007’ against the illegal migrants. Very recently, a concerned citizen in Mokokchung even said that proper and analytical study indicates presence of Al-Qaeda activist in the district. However, this might be the first time that a top state official has openly and boldly spoken about the illegal migrants and its impending dangers in the state in front of Muslims gatherings.
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