Immigrant Song

 

 

“To what purpose are borders? Merely to divide. Like other distinctions of caste, creed and religion. In today’s times, it doesn’t matter who you are or what you do. Only your religion does. I am a Muslim. To many, that makes me a terrorist, and my family is looked at with suspicion. When my father came to India 30 years ago, do you think he came to be a terrorist? He came because he wanted to earn a decent living. It was India which created Bangladesh. Politicians did it to serve their own purpose, but who suffered? The common man of course. Even today Bangladesh suffers from endemic poverty, starvation and lack of employment. The situation in India is comparatively much better. This is what attracts folks from Bangladesh to India.

We Bangladeshis feel a kinship towards Indians. We shares cultures and regional language. Believe me, it’s not a big deal for us to cross the border. In fact most Bangladeshi immigrants won’t even know it’s a crime. Take my father’s example; he came to Delhi in search of better prospects in 1972, a time of utter chaos in Bangladesh. For the next 15 years he sold knick-knacks by the roadside, suffered long hours and brutal heat just to give us a better future. We now have a small shop and a house, it’s quite adequate. My father never went back; actually even his heart lies in India now. As for me, I was born and raised here, grew up eating prasad from the nearby temple and can count an equal number of Muslim and Hindu friends. We feel very much a part of this country, only to be shaken up to reality in the wake of terrorist incidents. Police question and harasses us in a knee jerk reaction, so we try to hide our Bangladeshi origins.

Such harassment is disillusioning. I grew up celebrating Eid and Diwali with equal fervor. On 15th August and 26th January, I was always the one waving the Tricolour with joyful pride. I have also been to the Red Fort with my father to watch the Republic day celebrations. But having been witness to the harassments accorded to my father so many times, my mother wanted to go back to Bangladesh. And it was my father himself who convinced her to stay back saying he wanted to breathe his last in this country.

One thing which makes me sad is that people around have a general opinion that all Bangladeshis are criminals. We are often portrayed in the media as a bunch of outlaws who’ve come here solely to create havoc. This is not true. I agree that there might be some shady characters amongst us too, but it’s true for any community. That we’ve come from Bangladesh is true. Beyond that, painting us all with the same crime-tainted brush is unfair. India for us is a land of dreams, dreams that would have died if we weren’t here. BRASS TACKS

It is estimated that there are about 20 million illegal Bangladeshi immigrants staying in India. Six million of them in Assam alone, leading to tension and fear among the local population who are worried about the changing demographics.