Of course, most of the foreign workers in Bangladesh are from India. They run hair-cutting salons, small businesses of all sorts, jewellery shops, small-scale trading, smuggling and Hundi (the most lucrative business). Most of them come to Bangladesh just by crossing the border, and return home now and then the same way. The other day, there was a news item in Bangladeshi newspapers stating that "5 lakh Indians work illegally in Bangladesh" and "Dhaka is to raise the issue at a home secretary-level meeting in New Delhi" sometime soon, as if the Indian government had sent those people with special permission to work/serve in Bangladesh and Bangladesh must deal with the matter with the Indian authorities face to face. It is unfortunate that our government officials and bureaucrats often say things that do not make any sense.

In Bangladesh, there are millions of people without jobs, and they really lack a breathing space. These foreigners come illegally to take-up jobs and the other meagre facilities that are available, and which Bangladeshi people badly need for their own survival and for increasing their wellbeing. Actually, small businesses and private sector jobs are the backbone of any economy, and it is in these sectors that the largest numbers of people are employed in every country. The invasion of Bangladesh by Indian workers not only means job loss for Bangladeshi people, but also some sort of economic back-tracking and stagnation too.

The most detrimental effect of this situation is that some wealth is siphoned out of the country by these foreign citizens, and the Bangladesh economy does not get the impetus which it would have if foreigners would have spent their earnings here. Tax evasion is another serious problem. One can, however, point out that many Bangladeshi also work in India, and that India faces the same disadvantages that Bangladesh is complaining about. But there is a difference. Illegal Bangladeshi workers in India are mostly domestic helpers and workers in agricultural fields and, in very few cases, helping hands in the shops and offices of small Indian private business houses. India very badly needs all these people, legal or illegal, from Bangladesh and Nepal due to her booming economy.

Illegal workers from Bangladesh or Nepal are a much needed impetus for the Indian economy, whereas such workers from India in Bangladesh are a burden on Bangladesh's economy. No Indian domestic helper or agricultural labourer comes to Bangladesh for work. Now the question is, why are we raising this issue at a home secretary level meeting in India instead of taking "proper step" to discourage foreigners coming to Bangladesh for work, legally or illegally? This "proper step" is very simple, and one need not seek Scotland Yard's help to find it, and to take action to stop it.

I have, for the last 4/5 years, been writing in the public media suggesting issuance of identity card for every citizen in Bangladesh. An identity card is an important tool for recognising an individual, local or foreign. Bangladesh could avoid many of her problems if she introduced a national identity card for each and every citizen. Issuing identity cards to the whole population may be difficult, time consuming, and costly (NOT really, considering the benefit it could bring) for the poor and inefficient Bangladesh administration; but an identity card for each and every employee, from factory worker to prime minister, should not be that difficult to organize.

The cost could be borne by the employers in many cases, and the government need not spend a Taka. But the process must be watched carefully and monitored properly. Along with the obligatory identity card for employees, each and every organization, big or small, must be registered with the government's Patent and Registration department. Even a vegetable seller must have an identity card indicating his trade and a trade licence number, and it must be registered with the Patent and Registration department.

The identity card could help to find out the exact number of people employed, and where they live and where they come from. Carrying this identity card should be obligatory so that any suspicious person can be challenged, and one can find out who the person is and where he/she is living and working. Using this identity card for renting flats or rooms should also be obligatory, and it must always be recorded in a register by the landlord. A list of the people, with photographs, should be kept hanging on the wall at each and every working place, whether it is an office, factory or barber shop, for national security people to check anytime they like. Every employee or self-employed person, including even a rickshaw-puller, must be registered and must have an identity card. And finally, every working person must be registered with the tax department, and if and when that working person is a foreign national, he/she must be registered even with the police.

Most importantly, every foreign worker must have a work and residence permit, obtained from the Bangladesh embassy in his/her own country and before he/she comes and starts working in Bangladesh. Working without work and residence permit should be considered a criminal offence and punishable by law. That is how many developed Western countries manage and control illegal foreign workers. This action may appear draconian, but should not Bangladesh introduce it for the greater interest of the nation?