On either side of the border, India and Bangladesh forces took pot shot positions at the poor immigrants. The crisis persisted for nearly a week and the immigrants remained huddled in the open sky on the grassy stretch known as the “Zero line.” Home Ministry and Foreign ministry persuaded their Bangladeshi counterpart to deescalate the crisis.

It was not after tough talking at the highest level that the illegal migrants were taken back by Bangladesh. The only visible signs left behind by them were pots, dolls and clothing suggesting that a hasty retreat was made under the cover of dense fog. The potentially explosive situation was eventually defused what Defence Minister George Fernandes described as having ‘gone out of control’.

India reinforced its eastern border with Bangladesh and security along the border was stepped up. However, close on the heels, another infiltration bid of about 250 Bangladeshis was foiled by the BSF, in the Nadia district of West Bengal. Quite in succession, another batch of 15 Bangladeshis was stopped while trying entering India from Southern Dinajpur district of Bangladesh.

A fourth incident happened in a span of ten days, when 6 persons, including a woman and three children spent seven nights on the “zero line”, before Bangladesh took them back. Tensions between the two countries flared up over the issue of illegal migrants. Indian alleged that Bangladesh Rifles were trying to push their nationals illegally into India through the porous 4,000 kilo-meter border. New Delhi announced that it would deport all the Bangladeshis alleged to be 20 million living illegally in India.

Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani taking a tough stand on the issue said that the enormity of the issue remains the same and India would not tolerate any illegal immigration from Bangladesh. He announced that all the illegal Bangladeshi staying in India would be deported.

Advani explained to the Parliament, that talks had been going on with the previous regime of Bangladesh for five six years and there was some informal agreement on the proposal to issue ID cards cum work permits to all such persons who were criss-crossing the international borders regularly. However, with the new government in Dhaka, the talks have come to a halt because it summarily denies the existence of any Bangladeshis residing illegally in India. Advani said the government’s decision to deport them was made in view of the country’s internal security threat perceptions.

In a damaged control exercise, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Manzur Morshed Khan visited New Delhi in the last week of February. Morshed Khan said there were international norms and rules to deal with the problem of illegal migrants. He added that there could be some misunderstanding between the two neighbours, but minor irritants should not become a stumbling block in promoting bilateral ties.

The foreign minister linked the illegal migration issue with solving the vexing water problem with his country and said Bangladesh is looking forward to cooperation by India in resolving various issues. Morshed Khan said the responsibility of stopping illegal migration from Bangladesh lay with India and urged New Delhi to resolve all contentious issues between the two countries in a sprit of accommodation and mutual trust.

The only gain that the Bangladeshi foreign minister made by his visit to India was making India to agree to hold a meeting between the foreign secretaries some time in April 2003 to make some sincere effort to solve the issue.

It may be recalled that India and Bangladesh signed an agreement in August 2002 for creating a Joint Working Group (JWG) to solve the problem of illegal immigrant. Thr JWG was to meet twice every year and monitor border management, surveillance and sharing of intelligence to check illegal activities. Both sides also discussed sharing actionable intelligence between the security agencies to check illegal immigration. The two sides agreed to take "visible steps" to ensure that commitments on better border security management were reflected on the ground.

However, the issue flared again in February 2003, throwing overboard the agreements made some few months ago. With Indian deputy Prime Minister virtually adamant about the deportation of the Bangladeshi nationals from India, and the Bangladesh foreign minister contesting his claim the issue has become volatile.

In India what we have seen is that the Bangladeshi immigration issue has become an election plank to whip up national and communal hysteria. The opposition accuses the left front government in West Bengal being soft towards Bangladeshi immigrants. The BJP, at the national level, exploit Hindu sentiments alleging that the Bangladeshi immigrants would change the demographic profile of India.

In the cacophony of electoral politics, the real issue has lost sight. Media reports suggest that once an illegal migration attempt is foiled, a serious concern is raised by India which is pacified by Bangladesh by diplomacy and political manoeuvrings. The usual lull follows the storm.

The problem is not as simple as that of a border management. The crux of the matter is people who are crossing the borders illegally are driven by economic necessity, some are migrating due to “lebensraum”; others may like to flee avoiding religious persecution.

What is required is a deeper understanding of the problem and to make a calibrated approach towards its solution on a permanent basis. Unfortunately, India and Bangladesh by indulging in posturing and counter posturing are escalating border tensions and no way making any serious attempt to solve the problem of illegal Bangladeshi immigration to India.