India’s deport “illegal” Muslims into Bangladesh

SALEEM SAMAD

India is increasing diplomatic pressure on Bangladesh after the Pakistan-India conflict following the Pahalgam massacre of Hindu tourists.

It could not be ascertained whether the Pahalgam issue of unprovoked deportation has any connection with India’s Muslims targeted for speaking Bangla.

Incidentally, the Bangla language is widely spoken by 268 million people in the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, and parts of Assam. Bangla is the official state language of Bangladesh.

Indian government, showing no diplomatic niceties, has continued to push out so-called illegal Bangladeshi migrants living in India for decades. They were targeted for two crimes. They are Muslims and they speak Bangla.

Pushed by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) through several porous borders with barbed-wire fences without any intimation to Bangladesh authorities or the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) in the last couple of weeks.

Nearly 1,053 individuals have been forced into Bangladesh since 7 May, and those pushed in were allegedly tortured and physically abused in India, according to a statement from Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB).

During the journey, they faced physical abuse, religious tropes, and were denied food and water, which was learnt from the victims.

Bangladesh pointed its fingers towards the Indian BSF for border abuse. India did not clarify the unprovoked push-in, nor did Delhi bother to inform the Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Indian border guards had pushed out several Indian nationals who are Muslims in the bordering Indian states of West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura. Many of the victims pushed into Bangladesh were living in various places in India.

They have been targeted because they have Muslim names and speak Bangla, thus they are potential targets of being “illegal” migrants.

The Indian authorities did not hesitate to coerce Indian nationals to admit they were from Bangladesh. Also, admit that they have families and relatives in this country.

This cruel issue came to the limelight after a lawyer filed a petition in the Assam state capital, Guwahati’s High Court, that two brothers, Abu Bokkor Siddique and Akbar Ali, were forcibly pushed into Bangladesh by BSF along with 14 others.

The lawyer said they were detained on 25 May and refused to provide the location where the brothers were detained. He argued that they were born in Assam, and everybody in their locality knew them as school teachers.

He sought an order by the High Court to locate the whereabouts of the missing brothers.

An Indian human rights organization, Citizens for Justice and Peace, accused law enforcement agencies of randomly detaining people with Muslim names and who speak Bangla from places in Assam State.

The Assam High Court asked the State government to inform the court of the whereabouts of the two brothers.

It would be an embarrassment for BSF to rescue the brothers from Bangladesh when they will have to admit that they were mistakenly deported and want them to be returned to the Indian authorities.

However, BSF never admitted that they had unofficially deported hundreds of “Bangladesh nationals” detained from various States of India.

“BGB remains on high alert and has intensified surveillance and patrols in sensitive border areas. However, during recent engagements, the neighboring authorities denied any such push-ins—denials that contradict facts and constitute both a violation of human rights and glaring falsehoods,” the senior official of BGB said.

A Bangladeshi woman alleged that BSF tied empty plastic bottles to her and her three daughters to keep them afloat, then pushed them into the Feni river along the Tripura border in the dark of night, in a chilling account of abuse at the border, as reported in the Daily Star, an independent daily.

Selina Begum, 41, said she and her three daughters floated in the water all night before being rescued by locals in Khagrachhari on 22 May.

“My children had no idea what was happening. We floated all night. None of us knows how to swim,” she lamented.

The family members said they were working as laborers in Haryana when Indian authorities detained them.

After holding them overnight, the authorities drove them to the border, robbed them of their money and phones, and then pushed them into the river.

What happened to this family is not an isolated case. Several Bangladeshi nationals have alleged that Indian authorities tortured the deportees before pushing them across the border.

A 45-year-old woman said she had been living in India for 10 years. On 10 May, she and her husband were detained and taken to a Delhi police station along with 46 others.

“They kept us in custody for the next three days without food or water. Then they drove us to the border and pushed us across the fence around 3:00 am,” said the sobbing woman.

Maj Gen Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, director general of BGB, told The Daily Star that despite repeated protests conveyed through flag meetings and diplomatic channels, incidents of push-ins by BSF and other Indian agencies have regrettably continued.

Siddiqui noted that many of those pushed back were Bangladeshi nationals who had lived in India for years. Some of their children were born in India and held Indian documents, which were forcibly taken from them, he said.

“We have consistently stressed that such unilateral actions violate established repatriation procedures and bilateral norms. BGB continues to urge transparent, verifiable processes to address these cases in line with international standards,” he added.

Amid such illegal deportations, the BGB has ramped up patrols and heightened vigilance along the borders.

Amid troubled news on 7 May, five United Nations Refugee Agency – UNHCR (India) registered Rohingya Muslim refugees (who fled genocide in Myanmar) were also pushed in through the border after being forcibly relocated.

The five Rohingyas registered with UNHCR in India were detained by a BGB on 7 May near the border in northern Bangladesh. The border guards recovered from them UNHCR registration cards issued by the refugee agency’s New Delhi office.

The members of a Rohingya family said they fled Myanmar two years ago and had been living in a camp in Assam. Rohingya are Muslims, but they do not speak Bangla.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry has called on India to immediately stop the recent influx of people across the border, warning that such actions pose risks to security and undermine mutual understanding.

In a letter sent on 8 May, the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised concern over people being pushed into the country and urged New Delhi to adhere to established repatriation mechanisms, citing people with knowledge of proceedings.

The foreign ministry’s letter cautioned that such actions could jeopardize security and incite negative public sentiment.

The deportation violates existing bilateral frameworks, including the 1975 India-Bangladesh joint guidelines for border authorities, the 2011 Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP), and decisions made during director general-level talks between the BGB and BSF, according to a foreign ministry official.

The letter reiterated that Bangladesh would only accept individuals confirmed as Bangladeshi citizens and repatriated through official channels. Any deviation from this would harm mutual understanding between the two countries.

It also argued that any Rohingya individuals found within Indian territory should be returned to Myanmar, their country of origin, not to Bangladesh.

“For the sake of peace and stability along the Bangladesh–India border, such push-ins are unacceptable and should be avoided,” the letter said.

Dhaka further called for enhanced coordination between the Bangladesh and Indian border forces to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

India has not responded to the letter of concern to Bangladesh about the forcible deportation of Bangla-speaking Muslims.

First published in the Stratheia Policy Journal, Islamabad, Pakistan on 31 May 2025

Saleem Samad is an award-winning independent journalist based in Bangladesh. A media rights defender with Reporters Without Borders (@RSF_inter). Recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com; Twitter (X): @saleemsamad

Bangladesh and India give enclave residents a state after 70 years

Land swap ends this midnight

Mamata visit usher hope of strengthening Indo-Bangladesh relations

SALEEM SAMAD

All set for Mamata Banerjee’s visit to Bangladesh, which usher hopes of taking the India-Bangladesh relations at new height, when her party is sailing through troubled waters.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata is arriving on an official visit to Dhaka during the observance of Ekushey February and opening of the International Mother Language Institute building at Kakrail on Basha Dibash (February 21).

Banerjee’s visit has acquired major significance especially against the backdrop of her resistance to sign the treaties back in 2011, when then Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh had to back off at the last minute due to her position.

Though her government has softened its stand against the LBA, not much progress has been made in the water sharing agreement, which has become a major point of conflict between the two neighbouring countries.

The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader would be welcomed with open arms, but the Foreign Office was uncomfortable after media reports of arrival of controversial legislator Ahmed Hassan Imran.

A top Foreign Office official confirmed that the government has received the final and full list of entourage of Mamata Banerjee’s visit to Dhaka on February 19. The list does not have Imran’s name.

Diplomats in Bangladesh have been saying that it would not be right if Imran visited their country. The government have expressed reservations about Imran coming to Bangladesh, says the official.

Imran is a TMC lawmaker who was appointed to the Rajya Sabha. His appointment last year had created uproar as it came just after Indian security agencies dossier had flagged him for being sympathetic of the dreaded Jamaat-e-Islami and also blamed to destabilise the Awami League government.

During her visit to the Bangladesh capital, Mamata is expected to meet President Mohammad Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and discuss key treaties like the Teesta water sharing agreement and the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) between the two neighbouring countries.

During his lasts visit to Kolkata Bangladesh Finance Minister A.M. Abdul Muhith had hoped that Banerjee would visit the country soon.

However, Dhaka and New Delhi are both anxious for a positive response during her visit, during which both the countries hope to solve the difference in the two treaties that have soured their relationship in the recent past.

Meanwhile, Mamata seem in trouble and she remarked on Monday that her party is strong and united, amidst reports of TMC general secretary Mukul Roy forming a new political outfit.

Later Mukul Roy was left in the cold by Banerjee in an organisational shake-up that took place.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's party lawmaker has dared her to punish him for writing to the central government directly about corruption in his constituency.

The legislator has been in the spotlight for alleging that "extortionists in the Trinamool are not allowing good people to work."

On the other hand, Mamata’s Bangladesh visit has caught the ire of controversial writer Taslima Nasreen, who has alleged that she was shielding Muslim radicals in her state.

Saleem Samad, is an Ashoka Fellow for journalism and an award winning investigative reporter. He has worked as news reporter for Time magazine and presently is news correspondent for The Daily Observer, Paris based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and regular contributor for prestigious international magazine India Today.

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India-Bangladesh Land-Swap Deal Hit Roadblock

Photo: India-Bangladesh border check post

IBU SANJEEB GARG

One again, the Indian government has hit a roadblock in its attempt to introduce to parliament legislation that would enable a land swap deal with Bangladesh to take place. That is a shame, for the bill—the India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement—has implications not only for foreign relations but also for larger questions of human rights, the right to livelihood and even the larger contours of what constitutes foreign policy in India today.

The bill in question called for India to exchange 111 of its enclaves in Bangladesh in return for 51 Bangladesh enclaves in India. Under the agreement India would give up claims for just over 17,000 acres of land which will be transferred to Bangladesh. In turn Bangladesh would cede around 7,000 acres, which would then join Indian territory.

The deal would not only end a historical thorn in the bilateral side, it would also open a new era in the relationship. India often suffers a “perception problem” in the eyes of its neighbors, which often view India with suspicion because of its size, economy and military might. That in turn encourages them to turn to China. The land swap deal would go a long way to improving India’s local image.

A healthy relationship with Bangladesh would have other economic benefits. India could seek from Bangladesh as a goodwill gesture transit rights to its northeast, bringing development to a struggling region. A deal could also revive the moribund South Asia Growth Quadrangle (SAGQ), comprising India’s north east, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. And a deal would give a pre-election boost to a Bangladesh government that has generally been favorable to India.

A land swap agreement would also give citizenship rights to close to 52,000 people: 37,000 on the Bangladesh side and close to 15,000 on the Indian side. These stateless people, often victimized, would finally get rights and privileges as citizens, to the benefit of India’s human rights record.

This deal could particularly benefit the North East and Assam. Resolving the land issues would enable borders in these areas to be secured. India would be able to talk officially about the issue of migrating Bangladeshis, a thorny problem for Assam for nearly three decades that will only grow with climate change.

Despites these benefits, the legislation has faced numerous hurdles, particularly accusations that India is selling off land to Bangladesh. Not unexpectedly, ground zero for the opposition has been the northeastern state of Assam. Any policy initiated by New Delhi towards Bangladesh needs to take the sensibilities of Assam into account. In addition to the historical immigration issue, there is Assam’s proximity to Bangladesh and the region’s own troubled history with India’s neighbor, extending back to the 1970s.

So the protests and marches against the alleged sell-out of Assam are not surprising, nor are they completely groundless. There is a genuine feeling in Northeast India that the central government often takes it for granted. Hence, there is a need to engage the people of Assam on a more direct level to talk about the benefits of the swap and any possible ramifications. Assam has a vibrant civil society, which should be engaged on this issue. In short, it is time for some public diplomacy.

On a broader level, this is an opportunity for India to adopt a new model for the 21st century, one that recognizes the changing nature of diplomacy. As their self-identity grows, India’s states and its people want a greater say in how India frames its relations with its neighbors. The land swap deal is an opportunity for India to adopt a new foreign policy discourse that engages the states and the public, while giving the Northeast a chance to participate in the rewriting of its own history.

First published in The Diplomat, September 3, 2013

Ibu Sanjeeb Garg has recently completed the civil service examination and is slated to join the Indian Railway Traffic Service