The Jharkhand High Court has instructed the State Government to make an action plan to address Bangladeshi infiltrators’ issue and submit a status report within two weeks.
During a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) hearing on Wednesday, the division bench of Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Arun Kumar Rai directed the state government to have all Deputy Commissioners in the Santhal Pargana region formulate a strategy to identify and repatriate Bangladeshi infiltrators through mutual coordination.
The High Court has mandated the state government to provide a status report within two weeks via an affidavit.
Previously, in April, the High Court inquired whether the Central Government could take direct action under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) against Bangladeshi infiltrators in five districts of Santhal Pargana.
Daniel Danish, who filed the PIL, claimed that Bangladeshi intruders are entering Jharkhand through border areas such as Jamtara, Pakur, Godda, Sahibganj, among others, which is negatively impacting the local population.
He also mentioned a significant number of madrasas being established in these districts and the formation of marital relations with local tribal people. Danish demanded that the Home Ministry of the Government of India submit a report detailing how these infiltrators are entering Jharkhand and the resulting demographic changes.
The issue of Bangladeshi infiltration in the Santhal Pargana area has been a long-standing political topic. Many senior BJP leaders have consistently raised this concern, alleging that the demography in several districts of Santhal is being altered due to this infiltration. This issue has frequently been discussed in the Assembly. However, the government contends that since no district of Jharkhand borders Bangladesh, preventing infiltration is the responsibility of the central government.
On June 30, during the Hul Diwas event, State BJP president Babulal Marandi expressed alarm over the declining tribal population. He pointed out that the tribal population in Jharkhand decreased from 44.69% in 1951 to 28.11% in 2011. In contrast, the Muslim population increased from 9.44% to 22.73% during the same period, while the population of other communities rose from 43% to 49%.
