• Source:JND
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Jagran Sahitya Srijan Samman: Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Friday highlighted the demographic changes in the country since independence and said that the rising Muslim population in the country is due to the "infiltration from Pakistan and Bangladesh." The home minister also backed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in different states, saying that voting rights in India "should only be available to citizens."

Speaking at the Jagran Sahitya Srijan Samman, organised by Dainik Jagran in the memory of its former Editor-In-Chief Narendra Mohan Gupta, Shah said that the PM Modi-led Central government will follow the policy of "detect, delete and deport" while dealing with infiltrators. He said that infiltration is a national issue and should not be viewed from a political angle.

"All the Hindu population that decreased in Pakistan and Bangladesh, many of them took refuge in India. And the Muslim population that increased in India wasn't due to fertility; it was because many Muslims infiltrated into the country," Shah said.

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Accusing Congress of dividing the country on the basis of religion, Shah said that Congress leaders did not fulfil their promise to minorities under the Nehru-Liaquat Pact. "Dividing this country in the name of religion was a huge mistake; by doing so, you cut off the arms of Bharat Mata and made the British conspiracy successful," said Shah.

"Pandit Nehru had promised citizenship to refugees but later reneged on that promise," the home minister alleged, adding, "When Modi Ji’s government came to power with a full majority, we granted them citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act."

Citing census data, Shah stated, "The Muslim population has increased by 24.6 per cent, whereas the Hindu population has decreased by 4.5 per cent in India. I am telling you this because it hasn't happened because of the fertility rate. It has happened because of infiltration."

"In 1951, Hindus were 84 per cent and Muslims 9.8 per cent of the population. By 1971, Hindus made up 82 per cent and Muslims 11 per cent. In 1991, Hindus accounted for 81 per cent and Muslims 12.21 per cent. In 2011, Hindus were 79 per cent and Muslims 14.2 per cent," he added.

Underlining the difference between an infiltrator and a refugee, Shah said the latter comes to India to save his/her religion, while an infiltrator crosses over the border illegally, not because of religious persecution but because of economic and other reasons.

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"Who are infiltrators? Those who have not faced religious persecution and want to come to India illegally for economic or other reasons are infiltrators. If anyone in the world who wants to come here is allowed to do so, our country will become a dharamshala," he said.