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Illegal Bangla migrants changing N-E demography

The demographic change happening in the north-eastern states is posing a major threat to the country's internal security, an annual report of the Union home ministry says.

The report attributes the change to the unabated influx of Bangladeshi migrants.

"Internal security itself has many dimensions with terrorism and militancy in Jammu and Kashmir on the one hand to separatist insurgency and the threat from demographic changes in the North-East on the other." Indigenous peoples are slowly becoming minorities in their own lands, the report says.

Lt Gen (retd) S K Sinha, Governor of Assam, had in his recent report on the vexed infiltration issue blamed political parties for the problem.

But his report came in for severe criticism by the Congress and other political parties for opening a chapter that might lead to unnecessary harassment of genuine Indians.

The home ministry report said the Centre had been according priority to the modernisation of the police forces in the North-East.

Special training, modern arms, better mobility, upgraded communication, improved intelligence and housing facilities for the police are essential, it said

In the last two financial years, the funds released to modernise police forces in the seven states of the region added up to Rs475.7 million.

UNI

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