India, Oct. 10 -- The Government of India has issued a release:
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah delivered the 'Narendra Mohan Memorial Lecture' on 'Infiltration, Demographic Change and Democracy' in New Delhi today and attended the Jagran Sahitya Srijan Awards ceremony as the chief guest. Several dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah stated that the country conducted censuses in 1951, 1971, 1991, and 2011, and that asking for religion has been a tradition from the very beginning. He added that his party had not even been formed when this decision was made in 1951. Had the country not been divided, perhaps there would have been no need to conduct a census based on religion. However, since the country was divided on the basis of religion, the leaders of the then-ruling party deemed it appropriate to ask for religion in the 1951 census. Shri Shah stated that in the 1951 census, the Hindu population was 84 percent, while the Muslim population was 9.8 percent. In 1971, the Hindu population increased to 82 percent and the Muslim population to 11 percent. In 1991, the Hindu population increased to 81 percent and the Muslim population to 12.2 percent. In 2011, the Hindu population decreased to 79 percent and the Muslim population to 14.2 percent. Thus, a significant decline in the Hindu population has been observed.
Shri Amit Shah stated that the Muslim population has grown at a rate of 24.6 percent, while the Hindu population has declined by 4.5 percent. He stated that this decline is not due to fertility rates, but rather due to infiltration. When India was divided, Pakistan was formed on both sides based on religion, which later split into Bangladesh and Pakistan. He said that this huge change in population occurred due to infiltration from both sides.
The Union Home Minister said that we should also pay attention to the situation in our neighboring countries, Pakistan and Bangladesh. He noted that in 1951, the Hindu population in Pakistan was 13 percent, while other minorities comprised 1.2 percent. Now, the Hindu population in Pakistan has declined to just 1.73 percent. He added that in Bangladesh, the Hindu population was 22 percent in 1951, but has now fallen to 7.9 percent. Mr. Shah said that in Afghanistan, there were 220,000 Hindus and Sikhs at that time, but today they have dwindled to just 150. The Home Minister said that the decline in the Hindu population in these countries was not due to conversion; many of them have taken refuge in India. On the other hand, the increase in the Muslim population is not due to fertility rates, but due to the infiltration of large numbers of Muslim brothers into India.
Shri Amit Shah said that when India was divided, it was decided that all religions would be free to practice in both countries. He said that this freedom remained in India; Articles 19 and 20 of the Constitution protected all. Meanwhile, Pakistan and Bangladesh declared themselves Islamic nations and made Islam their state religion. Many times, various atrocities and persecution took place there, forcing Hindus to flee and seek refuge in India. He said that immediately after independence, all Indian leaders promised that since there were major riots in the country, they should not come now. But they would be accepted later if they wished to return. Shri Shah said that this promise was part of the Nehru-Liaqat Pact, signed by the Prime Minister of the country. When these people came to India, they were accepted as refugees, but were not granted citizenship. Shri Shah said that four generations have passed, yet they still have not received citizenship. The Home Minister said that when our party got absolute majority, we implemented the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and they were granted citizenship.
The Union Home Minister stated that the CAA is not a program to take away anyone's citizenship, but rather to grant citizenship. No provision in this Act seeks to take away the citizenship of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, or anyone else. He stated that its sole purpose is to grant citizenship to refugees. Mr. Shah stated that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's government has attempted to correct the historical mistakes that occurred between 1951 and 2014. He said that those who were living here legally or illegally as refugees were granted long-term visas. They were given a certificate, and later, a law was enacted to grant them citizenship.
Shri Amit Shah said that Modi ji has, in a way, atoned for the wrongs done to Indians between 1951 and 2019. Shri Shah said that for generations, refugees were unable to buy houses in their own names, were denied government jobs, were denied government rations, and were denied treatment in government hospitals. The Home Minister questioned what was the crime of these 25-30 million people? Wasn't partition done without consulting them? The decision to partition on the basis of religion was made by the then-ruling party, not the country's Parliament, yet this decision resulted in persecution for four generations. He said that when the CAA was introduced, attempts were made to discredit it. Yet, despite so much opposition, the CAA exists today, and all refugees have the right to citizenship in this country.
Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah said that refugees and infiltrators should not be considered the same category. Refugees are those who come to India seeking refuge to protect their religion, a right guaranteed by our Constitution. He added that those who have not faced religious persecution and who seek to enter the country illegally for economic or other reasons are infiltrators. Shri Shah stated that not only Hindus but also Buddhists, Sikhs, and Christians came to India to protect their religion. Therefore, we have made provisions in the CAA to grant citizenship to all such people. The Home Minister said that if everyone in the world were allowed to come here, this country would become a dharamshala (house of worship) and our country would not be able to function properly. He said that not everyone can be given the freedom to come here, and in the context of Partition, those who suffered injustice in Pakistan and Bangladesh are welcome here. The Union Home Minister said that Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Christians from Pakistan and Bangladesh have as much right to the soil of this country as I do.
Shri Amit Shah said that the Indian Constitution is very clear that every person in this country has the right to worship their God according to their religion, and no one should interfere in this. He said that those who choose to live in this country, whether Muslim or of any other religion, their citizenship is not questioned and they face no problems. However, if people infiltrate, entering through various illegal means, they will definitely be labeled as infiltrators. Shri Shah said that if a person of any religion from Pakistan or Bangladesh applies legally with a passport and visa, the government will verify their documents (credentials) and grant them citizenship, but if people enter illegally, India's borders cannot be open (porous).
Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah stated that according to the 2011 census, the decadal growth rate of the Muslim population in Assam was 29.6 percent, which is impossible without infiltration. He added that in many districts of West Bengal, this growth rate exceeded 40 percent. In border districts, this growth rate reached 70 percent. The Home Minister also stated that infiltration is the reason for the significant decline in the tribal population in Jharkhand. Shri Shah stated that the central government alone cannot stop the complex problem of infiltration. He stated that the central government has the responsibility and has taken several steps, such as fencing the border, but in geographical areas where fencing is impossible, local state governments encourage infiltration.
Referring to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Mr. Amit Shah stated that it is not a political issue, but a national one. He questioned how infiltration can be stopped if someone enters the country illegally and the district administration cannot identify them. Gujarat and Rajasthan also share borders, so why doesn't infiltration occur there? He said that anyone who doesn't understand the difference between a refugee and an infiltrator is deceiving their own conscience. Some political parties see infiltrators not as a threat to the country , but as a vote bank. Mr. Shah stated that the SIR is not being conducted for the first time, but has been taking place since 1951. Conducting the SIR is the Election Commission's responsibility. He stated that the Election Commission is responsible for conducting free and fair elections as enshrined in the Constitution, and this can only be achieved if the voter list is prepared in accordance with the definition of a voter. Mr. Shah stated that when infiltrators are included in the voter list, they become stakeholders in the country's political decision-making process. When the basis of voting is not the interest of the nation, then democracy can never succeed.
The Union Home Minister stated that our country was not created with a geopolitical nature; we are a geocultural nation. To understand its soul, we must rise above the confines of state boundaries. Mr. Shah stated that dividing the country on the basis of religion was a grave mistake by the then-ruling party. He said that the British conspiracy succeeded by cutting off two arms of Mother India. Religion and nationality should have been kept separate, a lack of which has led to all these disputes.
Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah said that our party has accepted the three principles of Detect, Delete, and Deport since the 1950s. He said that the government will identify infiltrators, make every effort to ensure their names are removed from the voter list, and subsequently deport them to their country. Shri Shah said that only those who are citizens of this country should have the right to vote.
Shri Amit Shah stated that a large number of infiltrators cannot ensure the security of any country. They are affecting both politics and law and order in border areas. He added that infiltrators are usurping the rights of India's poor laborers in urban areas. Shri Shah stated that on August 15th, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi announced the formation of a high-powered mission to study demographic change from the ramparts of the Red Fort. He stated that this Demographic Change Mission will scientifically assess the demographic changes caused by infiltrators. It will also study the impact on religious and social life, analyze the possible causes of demographic changes, study abnormal settlement patterns and their long-term impacts on society, and analyze the burden on border management, and submit a report to the Government of India.
Disclaimer: The original story of this translated version is available on Press Information Bureau.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
