End discriminatory practices against different languages in India
In recent times, Bengali-speaking migrant workers in India have faced a surge of discrimination, involving wrongful detentions, forced repatriations, and social harassment. This discrimination, which contravenes fundamental constitutional rights, has sparked serious government and judicial responses.
The arrangement of states in India, based on language, has been a successful step towards promoting unity in diversity. However, this unity has been threatened by the recent incidents targeting Bengali-speaking migrant workers, affecting both Muslims and Hindus.
In Odisha, the BJP government arrested hundreds of these workers, many with valid identity proofs, on charges of being undocumented migrants or foreigners. Similar detentions occurred in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Delhi, where residents in a migrant labor settlement in Vasant Kunj have often been targeted for evictions, electricity and water supply cuts, and routine harassment by police.
These actions contravene constitutional rights guaranteed under Articles 19(1)(d), 19(1)(e), and 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution, which ensure freedom of movement, the right to reside anywhere in India, and the right to practice any profession or trade. The discrimination amounts to ethnic and linguistic profiling, aggravated by strained India-Bangladesh relations.
Government responses have been uneven. While West Bengal's authorities have condemned these actions and sought legal rescue for detained workers, state governments like Odisha and Maharashtra have deployed police crackdowns, often justified on procedural grounds but criticized as targeting Bengali migrants unfairly.
The West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, is leading a language movement against the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking workers outside their home state. Human rights organizations have condemned the expulsions as arbitrary and unlawful, demanding an end to ethnic discrimination and adherence to citizenship protections.
The ongoing campaigns against Bengali-speaking workers are raising concerns about racial profiling and the need for immediate attention from the nation. The Union government must realise that using language as a tool for profiling citizens is undemocratic, unacceptable, and dangerous.
In Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's political stance has been controversial, with him stating that writing Bengali as one's mother tongue in the upcoming census would help quantify the number of "foreigners" in Assam. This stance has been criticised for fuelling discrimination against Bengali-speaking citizens.
The shock defeat of the BJP in the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat last year is seen as a sign of the party losing its hold on indigenous voters ahead of the Assembly election next year. It is crucial for the Union government and the party which runs it to put an end to this spate of incidents against Bengali-speaking migrant workers.
References:
- The Hindu, "Bengali-speaking migrant workers detained in Chhattisgarh," Link
- The Indian Express, "Maharashtra expels Bengali Muslims to Bangladesh without proper verification," Link
- The Wire, "Bengali-speaking migrant workers face widespread discrimination in India," Link
- The Quint, "Bengali-speaking migrant workers targeted in Odisha: A human rights crisis," Link
The ongoing wave of discrimination against Bengali-speaking migrant workers, as seen in policy-and-legislation, such as the detentions in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Delhi, is a matter of general-news and crime-and-justice, as it contravenes fundamental constitutional rights guaranteed under the Indian Constitution. This discriminatory treatment, characterized by ethnic and linguistic profiling, necessitates a shift in politics towards upholding unity in diversity and protecting citizens' rights.
Moreover, the Union government, in light of the ongoing campaigns, must acknowledge that using language as a tool for profiling citizens is an undemocratic practice and take immediate action to prevent further incidents of racial profiling against Bengali-speaking migrant workers.
