India's Home Minister Amit Shah Expresses Concern Over Demographic Changes in Border Areas

Kathmandu. India's Home Minister Amit Shah has taken special interest in the state of demographic changes happening in the border districts.

Presiding over a high-level meeting on demographic changes today, Minister Shah directed the concerned commission to conduct a scientific study of the changes in the population composition happening in the border areas. Such a directive from Home Minister Shah has come at a time when there is a border dispute between Nepal and India.

In the meeting, Minister Shah expressed concern that the demographic structure is becoming complex not only in the border areas but also in major metropolitan and industrial cities, Indian media reported. He has directed the commission officials to assess the actual situation of those areas and conduct a field visit.

The report to be prepared by the commission will be important for policy decisions and national security strategies to be taken in the coming days. The Indian government is viewing illegal migration and demographic imbalance in the border areas as linked to national security. Sources have indicated that further steps will be taken in the coming days based on the report that comes after the field study.

Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and Myanmar share borders with India. The longest border is with Bangladesh. India has an open border only with Nepal. Due to the open border with Nepal, infiltration is happening and Nepali people are settling and living in homes in India, it has been reported. In that sequence, India is getting the border areas studied.