Siliguri town acts as gateway to Guwahati, Gangtok and Kishengunj and also shares the border with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. Important highways, railways tracks, vital installations such as the airfields of Bagdogra and Hashimara and oil pipelines are located here. Increase in Muslim population in Siliguri and adjoining areas has grown at an astonishing 150% in the past seven years. There are villages in and around Siliguri which have curious population mix and often act as heaven for ISI operatives. The villages have some 2,000 Pashto and Baloch settlers from Afghanistan along with 6,000 Iraninas. The increased activity of the ISI has endangered the security of the Siliguri corridor. ISI attempted sabotage in 1999 following a bomb blast at New Jalpaiguri Station.

Four of them are most active. Meetings have taken place between Jamaat-e-Islami and West Bengal based radical Muslim organizations and it is believed that ISI is behind them. There has been a growth of unauthorized, illegal madrassas all over West Bengal particularly along the Bangladesh border. They are also using Kolkota and Agartala as bases being close to the border and people from both sides speak the same language. There are also groups which are directly involved in subversive activities such as HUJI.

Growing population pressure in Bangladesh acts as a push factor whereas growing Indian economy, relatively less pressure on land and weak state resistance act as pull factor. Islamic fundamentalist extremist groups are growing in Bangladesh and they are able to expand their activities in West Bengal as well. Some of such organistaions are Jamait-e-Islami-e-Hind, Jamait-Ahle-Hadis, Students Islamic Organization (SIO), Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Tabligh-e-Jamat. Four of them are most active

ULFA which arose as a protest against Bangladeshis lost credibility only when its leaders took shelter in Bangladesh after the Bhutanese operation against the group in December 2003. Arrest of Bangladeshi national S. M. Alam in January 2008 by Assam Police revealed ISI’s plan to turn northeast into a volatile region. The migrants have also spread into other places like Dimapur and Kohima. The illegal migrants are not involved into terrorism in a big way, but involved in gun running, fake currency rackets and drug running.

Though attempts have been made in India to prevent illegal migration, they have been relatively weak. The author stated that the socio-political movement started by the Assamese people in 1979 to evict illegal Bangladeshis ended in Assam Accord in 1985. In April, 2005 a youth organization, Chiring Chapori Yuva Mancha began a campaign against the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. Illegal Bangladeshi Migrants are also threat to language and culture of Assam

Stating that that they are around 10-20 million illegal Bangladeshi migrants in India, Dr. Anand Kumar emphasized the need to understand the security aspects of illegal migration. The 9/11 Commission report points out that practically no communication existed between the security system and the immigration department. Unchecked and unregulated migration flows together with high fertility rates could create an explosive situation. While urbanization is prompting migration towards industrialized nations, the author pointed to lax immigration control which allowed terrorism to grow thus weakening the internal security. He pointed out that the main problem inherent with illegal migration was the lack of cooperation of Bangladesh on the issue. He pointed out that sending migrants to other countries is the undeclared objective of the foreign policy of Bangladesh.

The IMDT Act should be repealed and replaced by a new legislation which should provide for detection for illegal migrants in a just, fair and expeditious manner, with due judicial sanctity accorded to the process. Those identified as illegal migrants should be allowed to stay in the country as Stateless citizens with no voting right nor the right to acquire immovable property. Survey teams working under Magistrates on deputation from other States assisted by policemen of Border Organisation, should identify illegal migrants in a fixed time frame of short duration. Those identified as foreigners by these teams should be given the right of appeal to tribunals set up under Foreigners Act.

Hindu illegal migrants who have infiltrated after 24 March 1971 should not be given refugee status. They should be treated as illegal migrants. While maximum effort must be made to stem the ingress of illegal migrants, those who have already infiltrated after 24 March 1971 to date, may not be deported.

As far as possible, we should assist in the process of economic development in Bangladesh. Socio-economic programmes designed to improve the lot of women should be given priority due to its multiple beneficiary spin offs - improving the family's income, women's education curbing population growth and educated women becoming a bulwark against the spread of Islamic fundamentalism.

Multi-purpose photo identity cards should be provided to all our nationals. Districts bordering Bangladesh should be accorded higher priority. Effective arrangements should be made for registration of births and deaths. The National Register of Citizens should be updated and computerised. A separate register of Stateless citizens should also be maintained. Vacant Chars in the river should be handed over to the Forest Department and trees planted on them.