Bharat: Illegal immigration is taking place along South Salmara, Kedar, Binnachoorra, Jhaukutty, Balabhoot even at the present. Also smuggling. These areas are predominantly inhabited by Muslims. We, the Assamese people, are a timid lot and do not go for smuggling and all that. Only Muslims are involved in all this. The immigrants cross the borders and then move towards Delhi almost immediately. Those are big cities, they can hide there and there are more jobs. Since we have objected against illegal immigration, they do not like to come here anymore.

Romen: This is how it happens. First one person comes. He stays here for six months and then returns. Again he comes back with his wife. Next he brings his brother. Slowly they encourage their kith and kin to come. But they go to Guwahati, Dibrugarh and so on.

Bharat: No, they do towards Delhi; they do not stay in Assam nowadays.

Romen: Yes, a large number do go to Delhi but many stay back in Assam, too. But not a single person stays back in Satrasal. There are no jobs to be had, no chars.

Bharat: They enter mainly through the river border. There is no barbed wire fencing along the river border. The BSF has links with the dalals who organize largescale border crossings. The BSF even takes a share of the money.

Romen (who has since retired from service in 1989): I have worked at the border for thirteen years and I know about the dalals. There are dalals on both sides of the border. They escort the immigrant up to the bus stand at Agomoni. There is a man in Jhaukutty, about my age, lives near the Border Observation Post. Right next to his house lives a dalal who owns a small rice mill. He charges 100 rupees per head for border crossings. He also smuggles goods across the border and is hand-in-glove with the Bangladeshis.

Sushil: You go and tell him that you have no passport but you want to visit relatives on that side. Will you please help me? That is all. He will agree. This is his business. You have to give him only 100 rupees. He will take you across the border.

Bharat: The people of Guwahati have to share the blame. The immigrants go there, work there and get licenses from the municipal office there. Who gives them the license? It is our own Assamese people who do so. We are a greedy people. We sell ourselves cheap. If six Bangladeshis are caught today by the police and you offer the police 50,000 rupees to let them go, do you think they will refuse the offer? Never! I have seen many Bangladeshis in Guwahati. We used to know them. They used to come here and drink tea, eat food in our area before the AASU movement. Now they are in Guwahati, pulling rickshaws.