BJP cites TISS study to claim 'illegal migration' is reshaping Mumbai – but scholars say it's flawed

On November 12, in the midst of the heated campaign for the Maharashtra assembly election, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Malviya that “illegal immigration from Bangladesh and Myanmar is changing and reshaping Mumbai’s political and socio-economic landscape”. As evidence of this, he provided the link to a news story about a study about immigration in the state capital by the reputed Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

Three days earlier, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya invoked the TISS study to underscore Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s latest slogan, “Ek hai toh safe hai”, if we are one, we are safe – which many interpreted as calling for Hindus to band together while voting. Somaiya argued that the study showed that the BJP’s concerns about immigration and changing demographics were well founded.

However, experts have said that the study is opaque and vague, even as they questioned both its methodology and findings.

The study, titled “Illegal immigrants to Mumbai: analysing socio-economic and political consequences” is by TISS pro vice chancellor Shankar Das, who is also the dean of the School of Health Systems Studies, and Souvik Mondal, an assistant professor in the same school. It had been presented at a seminar in the institute on November 5.

A 74-slide presentation that...