Since May 2025, authorities in several BJP-ruled states have rounded up Bengali-speaking Muslims—including Indian citizens—and pushed many across the border into Bangladesh without proper legal process. Victims and lawyers describe arbitrary detentions, confiscated documents, physical coercion, and people being forced to cross at night. Bangladesh has protested the “push-ins”, insisting it will accept only verified Bangladeshi nationals through formal repatriation channels.
What’s Happening
- Scale of expulsions: Border Guard Bangladesh reported 1,500+ men, women, and children pushed over the frontier between 7 May and 15 June, among them roughly 100 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.
- States involved: Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, and Rajasthan have conducted sweeps of poor migrant neighbourhoods, often targeting Bengali-speaking Muslims.
- Coercion claims: Detainees say Border Security Force (BSF) personnel threatened, beat, or intimidated them into crossing. Some who later proved Indian citizenship were readmitted.
- Trigger context: The crackdown followed a deadly April attack on Hindu tourists in Jammu & Kashmir, after which local police in several states allegedly harassed Muslims, seized phones and IDs, and refused to acknowledge citizenship claims.
Voices from the Ground
- Khairul Islam (51), Assam: says his hands were tied and he was forced across with others; he returned after two weeks.
- Elderly and vulnerable: a 67-year-old woman with mobility and eyesight issues was allegedly pushed over at 3 a.m. and later called family from a Bangladeshi village.
- Ex parte rulings: families discovered new tribunal orders issued in absentia overturning earlier favourable decisions—after their relatives had already vanished into detention.
Legal Concerns
- Due process gaps: Many expulsions reportedly proceeded without proper verification, legal representation, or appeal avenues—contrary to India’s obligations under the ICCPR and the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
- Non-refoulement risks: Reports include Rohingya refugees forced toward Myanmar by sea—raising grave concerns under the non-refoulement principle.
- Assam’s precedent: Long-criticised Foreigners’ Tribunals and the 2019 NRC process already left ~1.9 million people in limbo; fresh “pushbacks” intensify the statelessness risk.
Pattern Across States
- Maharashtra (Mumbai): workers from West Bengal said police tore up IDs, flew detainees to Tripura, and beat those insisting they were Indian. Several returned only after West Bengal authorities intervened.
- Gujarat (Ahmedabad): media documented 10,000+ demolitions (homes, shops, mosques) in zones labelled as housing “illegal Bangladeshis”—despite a Supreme Court ruling (Nov 2024) requiring safeguards before evictions. UN experts condemned the actions; thousands were detained and paraded publicly.
- Odisha (Jharsuguda): 444 migrant men rounded up; dozens held in district “holding centres.”
- Rajasthan: 1,000+ detained across 17 districts; 148 expelled. Activists report arbitrary targeting of migrants and tribal communities.
What Bangladesh and the UN Are Saying
- Bangladesh’s position: “Push-ins” are unacceptable; Dhaka will accept only those verified as Bangladeshi through proper channels.
- UN concerns: Rights experts criticised forced evictions and returns, stressing that “national security” cannot justify collective punishment or evading due process.
What Should Happen (Rights-Centred Recommendations)
- Immediate halt to pushbacks and collective expulsions.
- Case-by-case verification with legal aid, access to files, and the right to appeal.
- No refoulement: absolute bar on returning anyone—especially Rohingya—to places where they face persecution or serious harm.
- Accountability: investigate excessive force, document destruction, and ex parte adjudications; discipline or prosecute abusers.
- Humane treatment: guarantee food, shelter, medical care for detainees; address needs of women, children, elderly, and people with disabilities.
- Transparency: publish disaggregated data on detentions, expulsions, and readmissions; engage Bangladesh through formal repatriation protocols only.
Why This Matters to a Muslim Audience
These expulsions disproportionately hit Bengali-speaking Muslims—many of them Indian by law—and stigmatise entire communities under the label of “infiltrators.” Beyond borders, it feeds a regional climate where refugees (notably Rohingya) become political targets instead of being afforded basic protections. Standing for due process, equal citizenship, and humane treatment is essential to an Islamic ethic of justice and human dignity.
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