Human rights groups have accused the Indian government of forcibly deporting Indian Muslim citizens to Bangladesh without proper legal procedure, often at gunpoint, reported the Guardian. The reports have triggered concerns of systemic persecution amid rising Hindu nationalist policies.
Thousands of people—mostly Muslims—have been rounded up in various states under suspicion of being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Many were denied access to any tribunal or legal hearing before being pushed across the border. Bangladesh, in multiple cases, has returned deportees after verifying their Indian citizenship.
According to Odhikar, a Bangladesh-based human rights organisation, India’s actions violate both national and international law. “Mainly Muslims and low-income individuals are being expelled without consent or verification,” said senior researcher Taskin Fahmina.
One disturbing case is that of 62-year-old Hazera Khatun, a disabled Indian citizen from West Bengal. Despite possessing documents proving her Indian citizenship, she was rounded up by police on May 25 and forced into a van with 14 others. At the border, she said Indian Border Security Force (BSF) officers threatened them with guns and forced them into Bangladesh.
“They treated us like animals,” said Khatun, recounting that four gunshots from the Indian side compelled them to flee. Bangladeshi guards detained the group but soon returned them, citing proof of their Indian nationality. Khatun returned home, battered and emotionally shattered, after walking for days through forests and rivers.
The deportations have escalated in the wake of a militant attack in Kashmir in April that killed 26 people. Following the attack, the BJP government vowed to expel “outsiders,” launching Operation Sindhoor, targeting suspected foreign elements and conducting cross-border strikes.
The crackdown has been most aggressive in Assam, where Muslims continue to face long-standing discrimination. Human rights advocates warn that about 100 recently detained Muslims in Assam have gone missing. Assam’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that the state has adopted a new policy of automatic expulsion for “illegal foreigners,” intensifying efforts already underway since the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process in 2019.
Notably, non-Muslims—including Hindus and Sikhs—are exempt from such scrutiny, raising questions of religious bias.
In another case, 67-year-old Maleka Begum, also from Assam, was deported on May 27. Still stranded in Bangladesh, she is infirm and dependent on help from strangers. Her son, Imran Ali, says all her paperwork proves she is Indian. “We are helpless and terrified. How do we bring her back?” he asked.
Deportations have also taken place in Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan. In Gujarat, police initially detained over 6,500 alleged Bangladeshis, only to later confirm that most were Indian citizens. In Mumbai, four Muslims from West Bengal were deported, then sent back by Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s border agency has condemned these pushbacks. Maj Gen Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui of the Border Guard Bangladesh called India’s actions “inhumane and unlawful,” citing instances of women and children being forced into forests or rivers, and describing the conduct as a violation of international human rights principles.
Activists warn that India’s current deportation strategy is part of a broader trend of marginalising its 200 million Muslim citizens under the Bharatiya Janata Party’s rule.
