One would urge those who live near, or in the capital of India, to go near Pragati Maidan. Drive across the smelly, evil-looking Jamuna, corrupted and diseased by the muck and filth of millions of people and thousands of industries, large and small, along its banks. A smooth, Japanese-built bridge takes vehicles from the city centre.

Look at the river. A scene straight out of Assam and Bangladesh plays for us: giant fishing nets, placed on bamboo poles, rest easily here, raised or lowered by pressure from a leg. This is an enduring sight in Bangladesh as well as in Bengal. So is it of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries in Assam. But which Assamese fisherman would come so far to cast his net, on the Jamuna? The Assamese are perhaps the least socially mobile of all major communities of South Asia.

Chapter Fourteen

Seeking Partnership, Renouncing Confrontation

The Bangladesh Foreign Minister, Abdus Samad Azad, once told a workshop on refugee and migratory movements that people who are ‘determined to leave their countries for other places, for whatever reasons, will go to incredible lengths to achieve their objective.’1

Azad clarified his country’s position on such migrations:

‘The plight of undocumented migrants is a very real one and can neither be ignored nor be glossed over. It has to be addressed. We fully respect the sovereignty of all states to decide on their own immigration laws and procedures. There are certain aspects, however, that need to be highlighted in respect of undocumented migrants. Firstly, they are, by definition, daring, hardy and hardworking. Secondly by the very fact of their being undocumented or irregular in status, they cannot be a burden on the country of their destination and subsist at the expense of the taxpayer. They live in perpetual fear of discovery but also work for a living, often for long hours and at reduced wages. In other words they are often subject to exploitation. Such people still manage to send remittances to their home country, which in turn have important effects.

‘An international regime to manage migration or aimed at an orderly movement of peoples could possibly be an agenda of the future or even today. Bodies like the Commission on Global Governance and the Trilateral Commission have also evinced interest in an international framework to manage migration pressures more effectively. A buzz-word today is globalization and if this is to mean liberalization in the movements of goods, services and capital across national frontiers, then the question of movement of labour could also be a part of the international agenda.’

In May 2000, Sadako Ogata, the then United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), made a landmark statement in New Delhi. The UNHCR chief spoke of the need to recognize the problem of what she defined as ‘mixed migrations across national borders’2 as one of the ‘greatest challenges confronting all of us—including India.’