What are the consequences of Statelessness for an individual? The short-term consequences of statelessness are similar to being an illegal alien. Except that illegal aliens can return to the country of their citizenship but the stateless can’t.

The consequences often start with a lack of recognition of the education, training, skills or professional achievements. From there it degenerates in to unemployment or massive underemployment, lack of economic opportunities and exploitation (by state, employers and private citizens), absence of any political rights, inability and unwillingness of the stateless to seek justice, general poverty follows with unavailability of medical care and education for the stateless and their off-spring, lack of security of person and protection of property from other citizens and the state. Inability to travel or the ability to improve one’s condition in life are just some of the consequences of statelessness. These have been proven in numerous academic studies. Statelessness is depriving these individuals from uplifting themselves and their countries.

Majority of Biharis in Bangladesh are effectively stateless, but statelessness alone can not explain the suffering of the Biharis during all of 1971 or since the independence of Bangladesh. The anger against them was so deep rooted and widespread that it can only be described as visceral in nature. Even now more than a quarter of a century later the existence of Biharis is just barely tolerated and they suffer from all kinds of prejudices.

The treatment of non-bengalis at the hands of Mukti Bahini, and Awami League during March-April 1971 was by every measure illegal, immoral and genocidal. Eye-witness accounts of survivors have been well documented in the book titled Blood and Tears by Qutubuddin Aziz, published in 1974. (Read excerpts of Blood and Tears).

Now turning to the stateless in Pakistan. Pakistan’s actions in respect of this population were nothing short of immoral and illegal in the extreme. Had Pakistan taken a principled position on this issue by now this population could have rehabilitated itself and integrated in to the mainstream. Remember that this population has committed no crime in either country yet thousands who managed to reach their spiritual homeland Pakistan from 1971 to date on their own, without the approval of the Government of Pakistan are being denied education, employment, medical care and other basic civic services. Even those who came to Pakistan legally are not allowed to bring their families. Children torn away from their fathers and mothers, wives separated from their husbands. Family unification is an important feature of every policy dealing with migration of people in every country.

The new computerized identity cards and passports are being denied to them which makes it nearly impossible to find decent employment, and restricts their mobility. It is estimated that there are at least 100,000 such individuals in Pakistan. These persons have families, wives, children and wish nothing more than to re-build their otherwise wretched lives. They ask nothing of their government except to be allowed the permission to live in their own country with dignity that every human being deserves.

If this class of individuals grows the problems of Bangladesh and Pakistan will compound. Restoration of justice is essential not only for the victims but also for the good of Bangladesh and Pakistan.