But the fact of the matter is that no politician has ever been caught for pushing foreigners into this country. The names of the former President, the late Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, and of Moinul Huq Chowdhury, a former Cabinet Minister under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, came up time and again. It should be noted here that Chowdhury had been an extremely active Muslim League youth leader until independence, demanding the creation of Pakistan. He had even wanted Assam to join that ill-fated country. He failed in his efforts and, when the Muslim League shut shop in India, he went over to the Congress where he became an influential leader from the Bengali-dominated district of Cachar, bordering East Pakistan.

But the game of ‘settlement for vote’ continues to be played. In the 1989 general elections, a Congress leader from Cachar sought re-election as a Member of Parliament from Tripura. He had been a minister in successive Congress party governments: Indira Gandhi’s and her son and successor, Rajiv’s. Later, he was a part of P.V. Narasimha Rao’s council of ministers. The politician’s clout came from his family wealth in Assam where they owned large properties, including a cinema hall. He was also known for his tough, abrasive methods. One day, he called a senior official from the Border Security Force (BSF) with a request. The BSF man held the rank of an Inspector General of Police (IGP). At the time, tension was mounting in Tripura and there were public expressions of concern that the vote would be rigged. The police was on alert as political parties traded charges against each other. The IGP listened in stunned silence to an extraordinary demand.

‘He [the politician] wanted the BSF to look the other way and allow 50,000 Bangladeshis to come into the constituency, vote and return.’1 The officer in Tripura checked with his bosses in Delhi. The answer was clear and categorical: under no circumstance were the Bangladeshis to be allowed to enter. The decision was conveyed to the politician who did not appear to be surprised.

In this case, an upright officer stood his ground and won. But there are many cases of such blatant intervention by politicians. Even without their support, there is the law of basic economics—that products which people wish to sell (whether it is a manufactured good, or fish and vegetables, or their skills, or their labour) will find their own levels.

Bangladeshis walk into Tripura every day to work as rickshaw-pullers or daily laborers; there are petty smugglers and traders too who come and conduct business during the day and go home by nightfall.