Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s latest speech on the topic of ‘infiltration, demographic change and democracy’ is not only bringing a new twist in the political discourse, but its strategic and geopolitical dimensions are also extremely important. Amit Shah made it clear in his speech that infiltration is not a political issue, but a serious threat to national security and democracy. He presented this threat as not just a question of border security but the responsibility of both the state and the Centre, indicating the need for cooperation and coordination in India’s border policy.
Amit Shah specifically said that some political parties see infiltrators as vote banks and that is why illegal immigrants get protection in some states. This allegation not only targets the opposition but also points to the possibility of illegal interference in India’s democratic process. The figures cited by him, such as the decadal growth rate of Muslim population in Assam by 29.6 per cent and a surge of up to 70 per cent in the border districts of West Bengal, are serious warnings about infiltration and demographic change. These figures play a decisive role in political discussion as well as in the formulation of national security policy.
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Apart from this, from a geopolitical point of view, Amit Shah raised the question as to why there is no infiltration on the borders of Gujarat and Rajasthan, while it is increasing on the eastern borders. This directly highlights the complexities of border management and India’s security strategy with neighboring countries—particularly Bangladesh and Pakistan. The speech mentioned the decline of tribal communities of Jharkhand and described infiltration as not just an economic or political issue but also a factor affecting the social structure.
Amit Shah clarified the difference between refugees and infiltrators. He says refugees come from religious persecution, while infiltrators enter illegally for economic or other reasons. This classification is necessary not only for policy making but also to clarify India’s position at the international level. This sends the message that it is the joint responsibility of the Central and State Governments to protect the Constitution and democratic values of the country.
Another important aspect of this speech is the need to stop the inclusion of illegal immigrants in the voter list. Shah described this as a challenge to India’s electoral democracy and stressed that only citizens should have the right to vote. This decisive step will add transparency to the electoral processes and national security.
Overall, Amit Shah’s speech is not just a political statement but presents a mixed analysis of national security, democratic structure and geopolitical strategy. This makes it clear that the issue of infiltration is not just limited to border security but also has a wider impact on the population, society and democratic institutions. It is necessary to understand this from a strategic point of view and take it seriously in political discussion.
Amit Shah’s detailed address
However, as far as Amit Shah’s detailed speech is concerned, let us tell you that the Union Home Minister, while supporting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of the voter list, said on Friday that the inclusion of infiltrators in the voter list corrupts the spirit of the Constitution and the right to vote should be available only to the citizens of the country. Delivering a lecture on ‘Infiltration, Demographic Change and Democracy’ in memory of Narendra Mohan, former editor-in-chief of newspaper ‘Dainik Jagran’, the Home Minister said that the Center will follow the policy of ‘detect, remove and deport’ to deal with infiltrators. Amit Shah said that infiltration and Election Commission’s exercise SIR should not be seen from a political perspective. He emphasized that this is a national issue.
He asked, “I want to ask all the citizens of the country who should decide who will become the Prime Minister of the country or who will become the Chief Minister?” Should anyone other than the citizens of the country have the right to decide this?” The Home Minister said that Congress has gone into ”denial mode” on the issue of SIR. He said that this process had also happened during the opposition party government. He said, “The opposition is adopting a policy of protest because their vote banks are getting dispersed… It is the constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission to remove the irregularities in the voter list. If you have any problem, you can go to court.” Shah said that a time will come when even the opposition will not be spared. He said the opposition says it is the responsibility of the Center to stop infiltration as the Border Security Force (BSF) is under its control, but there are some areas on the border where fencing cannot be done due to geographical location.
The Home Minister said, “The Center alone cannot stop infiltration. State governments give protection to such infiltrators because some parties see them as vote bank.” He said that free and fair elections cannot be held unless the voter list is as per the definition of voter, i.e. being an Indian citizen and having attained the prescribed age. Highlighting the difference between an infiltrator and a refugee, Shah said that a refugee comes to India to save his religion, while an infiltrator crosses the border illegally not because of religious persecution but for economic and other reasons. He said, “Who are the infiltrators?” People who have not faced religious persecution and who 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 hospice.”
Shah reminded that the Indian government led by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had promised the Hindus of Pakistan that they would be accepted into the country once tensions subsided after Partition. He said this promise was part of the Nehru-Liaquat pact. Shah said, “The division of this country in the name of religion was a big mistake… By cutting off the arms of Mother India, you made the British conspiracy successful.” He said that successive governments kept forgetting this promise and only after the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, this promise was fulfilled through the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Citing post-independence census data, Shah pointed out that in 1951 the population of Hindus was 84 per cent and Muslims 9.8 per cent, while in 1971 Hindus were 82 per cent and Muslims 11 per cent, in 1991 Hindus were 81 per cent and Muslims 12.21 per cent, while in 2011 Hindus were 79 per cent and Muslims 14.2 per cent. The Home Minister said, “According to the 2011 census, the growth rate of Muslims was 24.6 percent while that of Hindus was 16.8 percent. This was not due to fertility rate, but due to infiltration.” He also conferred ‘Jagran Sahitya Srijan Samman’ in the memory of the former editor-in-chief of Dainik Jagran. This award is given for an original work in any of the various genres of Hindi literature.