CAA-NRC Protest / What is the connection with Assam crisis and CAA, why did Nehru get NRC done?

CAA-NRC Protest: The Central Government has issued a notification regarding CAA, on which various kinds of speculations are being made in the political circles. But to know why the Indian government needed CAA, it is very important to know the Assam crisis, because without knowing the Assam crisis, CAA and NRC cannot be talked about. If the crisis of migrants coming to the country from Assam and Bangladesh had been resolved at the right time, there would have been no need for this today.

The Assam crisis begins in 1826, today's Assam and Manipur were the territory of Burma (Myanmar) before 1826. In 1826, the First Anglo-Burmese War takes place and the East India Company fights the rulers of Burma. When the East India Company won this war, it took Assam, Manipur and some other areas from Burma. Both Ahom and Cachar kingdoms were included in it. The population here was very less and the natural resources were abundant, so the British started calling laborers from Bengal for the cultivation of tea and oil here.

Laborers from Bengal continued to come to Assam since 1826 and in 1931, the situation here became so dire that the Chief Commissioner of the census conducted at that time had to write in his comment that in the last 100 years, the East India Company had destroyed the entire culture of Assam. It has been destroyed and its geographical balance has completely deteriorated. Along with this, the original inhabitants of Assam are on the verge of becoming a minority here, while the Muslim community of Bengal has become so large here that the Assamese element in the culture of Assam is decreasing. He also warned that Assam is sitting on a heap of gunpowder and the situation here is going to worsen in the coming times.

Act of 1950 and Nehru-Liaquat Pact

After this the British left the country in 1947, but India was divided into two parts. Before independence, Bengal was also divided into West Bengal and Bangladesh. Although not many people migrated after the partition of Bangladesh at that time, but by 1950-1951, the situation started worsening and Nehru ji also started worrying about it. Nehru ji made a law in 1950, whose name was Immigration Explanation from Assam Act 1950. It was said that those who are coming to Assam from outside, should be sent to Bangladesh. However, there was a clause in it that if a person is a minority there and has come to India due to persecution, then this law will not be applicable on him. Nehru-Liaquat agreement was also signed in the same year, under which if the minorities of both the countries want to go to each other's country, then they will be allowed to do so.

Why did Nehru have to bring NRC in 1951?

Nehru had understood that the way people continue to migrate from Bangladesh, things will get worse in the future and it will become difficult to find out who is an original citizen of Assam and who is not, that is why he started NRC in 1951. Got it done. He believed that all the people who have come here from 1826 to 1951 are right, but now the time has come to know who are the citizens living here today. Without telling anyone, during the 1951 census, he completed this process in 20 days to find out which citizens currently living in Assam were residents of India. Got this done as a reference in future.

After partition, Pakistan was given two parts, West and East. Bengali language was spoken in East Pakistan, but Punjabi, Sindhi, Bluchi and Pashtuni were spoken in West Pakistan. It was strange that West Pakistan announced to make Urdu the national language of the entire country. People of East Pakistan will also have to learn Urdu and opposition to Urdu started here regarding this. On 21 February 1952, 7-8 people died in police atrocities and since then the people here started celebrating 21 February as Bengali Language Day. This movement progressed and became the reason for the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.

After the Bengali language movement that started in 1952, migration from Bangladesh to India continued due to atrocities on people. In 1951, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit said in the UN that due to the atrocities of the rulers of West Pakistan in East Pakistan, about 22.5 lakh Hindus had migrated to India in five years. By 1964, the situation had worsened and at that time Nehru ji also died, after which Lal Bahadur Shastri was made the Prime Minister of the country.

Shastri ji made Foreigners Rules 1964

Lal Bahadur Shastri also saw this problem and in September 1964 he talked about updating the NRC. He also agreed to provide National Identity Card to the citizens of India. Apart from this, the Foreigners Act 1946 (this Act gives the right to arrest a citizen living in India illegally and prosecute him, along with this, if the Government of India suspects any person of being a foreigner, then he will be given a notice, in which In 1964, under which he has to prove that he is a citizen of India, rules were made and it was decided that Foreigners Tribunal would be formed, in which the hearing of foreign people would be held and by taking prompt action, those people would be expelled from India. .

After this, there was a war between India and Pakistan in 1965 and migration to India started on a large scale in East Pakistan. After India's victory in 1966, Shastri ji went to Tashkent to reach a compromise with Pakistan, where he died and after which Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister of India. However, some people including Morarji Desai and others were against Indira, due to which Congress broke up in 1969. Elections were held once again in 1971 and Indira again became the Prime Minister of the country.

Situation worsened in East Pakistan

Elections were held in Pakistan in 1970 and out of the total 313 seats, no single party got majority in West Pakistan and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's PPP got 81 seats, while in East Pakistan, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's party Awami League got the majority on the issue of Bengali language. Got 167 seats, which was a clear majority. For the first time in Pakistan, such a situation occurred that the people of East Pakistan would rule the country. The people of West Pakistan could not tolerate this and Yahya Khan and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto met Sheikh Mujibur Rahman several times, both of them did not want that power should not be handed over to East Pakistan and the session of Parliament was not called. After this, on March 7, 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman announced to make East Pakistan a separate country after not handing over the power.

Angered by this, West Pakistan started Operation Search Light on 25 March 1971, the aim of which was to completely end the Bengali language movement and the talk of independence from East Pakistan. During this period, approximately 30 lakh people in West Pakistan were killed by the Pakistan Army and on 26 March 1971, East Pakistan declared independence. Although their victory in the war was on 16 December 1971, they still celebrate their Constitution Day on 26 March.

1 crore people came to India from Bangladesh

At the same time, elections were held in India from March 1 to 10 and Indira Gandhi emerged as the biggest leader. As soon as he became PM, he faced the biggest crisis of East Pakistan. Indira talked to the USSR and took assurance of supporting India in case of war and also talked to the army. The army asked for time till winter for the war. After this, on 16 December 1971, Pakistan's army surrendered before India and East Pakistan had now become Bangladesh, but by the time of Operation Search Light, the number of migrants coming to India from Bangladesh had increased to about 1 crore. However, after the war ended, about 90 lakh people went back within a year.

After winning the war, Indira Gandhi went to Dhaka in 1972 and met Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and made an agreement, in which it was said that Bangladesh would take back the people who had come to India from Bangladesh after March 25, 1971. Since then, the Indian government has been talking about sending back the people coming from Bangladesh after March 25, 1971. Indira Gandhi was in power at the Center from 1972 to 1976-77, but not much happened on this issue. There was an emergency in the country from 1975 to the beginning of 1977, but after the emergency was withdrawn in 1977, the Janata Party defeated Indira Gandhi and formed the government at the centre.