Atrocities of BSF/How BGB responds

[Mainerik]

The outcome of subservient foreign policy of Bangladesh's current regime.

@Bagheera0084 @Krishna with Flute Do you understand Bengali?

 

[Suresh Naresh]

@Bagheera0084 @Krishna with Flute Do you understand Bengali?

Nope.

 

[Bilal9]

@Bagheera0084 @Krishna with Flute Do you understand Bengali?

This is Barrister Asaduzzaman Fuaad.

He is holding the Kneel down subservient Bangladesh foreign policy as responsible for BSF-initiated border killings at the India Bangladesh border. He posits that a stronger foreign policy position pursued with India would be constructive in halting BSF crime and misdeeds.

 

[Saif]

Why India’s border ‘push-ins’ are unwarranted

If India’s objective were to combat illegal infiltration, there would have been no need to blindfold and torture these individuals, including women and children, and abandon them in uninhabited terrain along the border. India and Bangladesh have several protocols in place for border management...

en.prothomalo.com

Why India’s border ‘push-ins’ are unwarranted
If India’s objective were to combat illegal infiltration, there would have been no need to blindfold and torture these individuals, including women and children, and abandon them in uninhabited terrain along the border.

Kallol Mustafa
Published: 14 May 2025, 12: 54

The BSF had placed 78 individuals on a ship and abandoned them at Mandarbaria, a remote char in the Sundarbans. These individuals were later rescued by the Coast Guard. Prothom Alo

India’s approach to border management has long been marked by aggression, with frequent reports of the country’s Border Security Force (BSF) resorting to shooting, torturing, or killing Bangladeshi nationals along the border. In recent weeks, this aggressive stance has taken a disturbing turn: a significant number of people have been forcibly pushed into Bangladesh from India.

According to reports published in Prothom Alo, from 4 to 7 May, 167 people were pushed across the border into Bangladesh through five different districts. These included 73 through Khagrachhari, 46 through Kurigram, 23 through Sylhet, 15 through Moulvibazar, and 10 through Chuadanga. Then, on 9 May, the BSF offloaded another 78 individuals in Mandarbaria Char, a remote island in the Sundarbans region of Shyamnagar upazila.

Many of them were severely ill after being deprived of food for days; some bore visible signs of physical abuse, while one had a fractured arm. According to the victims, they were blindfolded, subjected to brutal treatment, and airlifted from Gujarat to Bangladesh.

The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has confirmed that those pushed into the country include nationals of three countries - Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar.

Among them are long-term Bangladeshi migrants who had lived in India for 20–25 years, often with families, and had obtained Indian Aadhaar cards and other official documents. The Indian authorities reportedly confiscated those documents and forcibly separated individuals from their families before pushing them into Bangladesh.

These push-ins are unlikely to be isolated or accidental. Rather, they suggest a calculated effort by India to exert pressure on Bangladesh's interim administration. This pressure is being exerted in parallel with negative propaganda about Bangladesh in Indian media subservient to the ruling BJP.

There are also Rohingya refugees in the group - some previously registered in camps in Bangladesh, others recognised as refugees in India with valid UNHCR identity cards issued there.

International law and bilateral agreements clearly stipulate that if a foreign national is found to have entered a country illegally, due process must be followed for repatriation. The actions taken by India - bypassing all diplomatic protocols and forcibly pushing people into Bangladesh - are not only illegal but also constitute a gross violation of human rights and international norms.

Bangladesh responded by issuing a diplomatic note of protest to India on 9 May. However, the situation remains tense, with reports indicating that more groups of people are being assembled along the border for further push-ins.

This sudden escalation is not without precedent. In the early 2000s, during the first BJP-led NDA government, push-ins were a common practice. That trend largely subsided following political changes in both countries.

But now, in the wake of Bangladesh’s political transition following the 5 August mass uprising—which led to the fall of the India-aligned Awami League government—India appears to be increasingly putting pressure on Bangladesh.

These push-ins are unlikely to be isolated or accidental. Rather, they suggest a calculated effort by India to exert pressure on Bangladesh's interim administration. This pressure is being exerted in parallel with negative propaganda about Bangladesh in Indian media subservient to the ruling BJP.

Importantly, Bangladesh has not retaliated by suspending India’s access to transit routes or port facilities, despite these being critical to India’s connectivity in the region. Yet, in a unilateral move, India revoked Bangladesh’s transshipment privileges for third-country exports via Indian territory—without any prior notice.

By forcibly expelling Bengali-speaking people and Rohingyas who have resided in its territory for an extended period, India is violating all relevant international laws, norms, and conventions.

Despite protests from Bangladesh, the continued killing of Bangladeshi citizens by BSF and the recent push-ins appear to be part of a broader policy of intimidation and pressure.

If India’s objective were to combat illegal infiltration, there would have been no need to blindfold and torture these individuals, including women and children, and abandon them in uninhabited terrain along the border. India and Bangladesh have several protocols in place for border management. Two key agreements are the Joint India-Bangladesh Guidelines for Border Authorities of the Two Countries (1975) and the India-Bangladesh Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP) of 2011.

Under these protocols, all types of border issues, including human trafficking, can be resolved through dialogue. For instance, under the CBMP, nodal officers have been appointed by both the Indian BSF and the Bangladesh BGB to address issues such as illegal infiltration and human trafficking. Their responsibilities include initiating peaceful resolutions to border-related disputes and informing higher authorities when necessary. It is evident that unilaterally pushing large numbers of people into Bangladesh constitutes a violation of the CBMP.

Such forced expulsion is also illegal under international law and customary practice. Article 13 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) states that a person lawfully present in a country shall not be expelled without due process of law.

While this provision formally applies to legal residents, Article 12(4) affirms that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter their own country. According to the UN Human Rights Committee, this right extends even to those lacking legal documentation but who have long resided in a country. As both India and Bangladesh are signatories to the ICCPR, India is clearly violating the agreement by expelling Bengali-speaking individuals who have lived in India for many years.

Furthermore, Article 22 of the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families prohibits the expulsion of any migrant worker or their family members without due legal process. It explicitly forbids mass expulsions, requiring that each case be assessed individually before any decision is made.

Similarly, Article 4 of Protocol no. 4 to the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 22(9) of the American Convention on Human Rights, Article 12(5) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and Article 26(1) of the Arab Charter on Human Rights all prohibit the mass expulsion of foreign nationals without due process. (Expulsions of Aliens in International Human Rights Law, OHCHR Discussion Paper, Geneva, 2006)

By forcibly expelling Bengali-speaking people and Rohingyas who have resided in its territory for an extended period, India is violating all relevant international laws, norms, and conventions.

Bangladesh should firmly protest these incidents through diplomatic channels and demand the repatriation of illegally pushed Indian nationals and registered Rohingya refugees through lawful procedures. At the same time, border surveillance must be enhanced to prevent such push-ins from recurring. If these illegal push-ins continue, Bangladesh should consider taking the issue to the United Nations.

* Kallol Mustafa, Writer and Researcher

** This article, originally published Prothom Alo Bangla edition, has been rewritten in English by Farjana Liakat​

 

[Saif]

India must stop border push-ins

India’s action violates international laws, bilateral agreements

www.thedailystar.net

India must stop border push-ins
India’s action violates international laws, bilateral agreements

VISUAL: STAR

India's unilateral push-in of around 300 individuals through various border areas of Bangladesh since May 7 is condemnable, as it violates diplomatic norms and established border management rules. Worryingly, it appears that the push-ins may continue. The BGB chief, in a recent briefing, said they learned about another 200 to 300 individuals who had been gathered on the other side of the Khagrachhari border, and that India's Border Security Force (BSF) is trying to push them into Bangladesh. Under the circumstances, the government has rightly demanded an immediate halt to these unilateral exercises by sending a protest letter to Delhi.

According to media reports, between May 7 and May 9, around 300 individuals were pushed in through areas such as Panchhari, Jamini Para, and Khedachhara in Khagrachhari; parts of Moulvibazar; the Roumari char regions of Kurigram; and Mandarbaria island in the Sundarbans. Among them were at least 39 people from the Rohingya community—some had previously been registered in Bangladesh's Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMN) camps but later crossed into India, while at least five were found holding UNHCR refugee cards issued from India. Three Indian nationals were also found among the pushed-in people. The rest are Bangladeshis who had migrated to India in the last 20–25 years; many have families and children who possess Indian nationality documents. While the BGB has taken steps to send the Bangladeshi nationals to their respective home districts through local administrations, the wider impact of such random push-ins cannot be overlooked.

It is expected that any return of such individuals would be carried out through proper channels, in line with established norms and regulations. But the way India is pushing people through remote, hard-to-patrol border points into Bangladesh violates 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. India's actions on its eastern border also set a bad precedent for its relations with neighbouring countries, especially in light of the recent conflict on its western border. And with its ties with Bangladesh already strained since the 2024 July uprising, such unilateral push-ins may only worsen the situation. Most importantly, these actions threaten our border security, which is totally unacceptable.

We urge the government to strongly raise these issues with the Indian authorities, question why Rohingya people were sent to Bangladesh instead of Myanmar, and, most importantly, why proper procedures were not followed in India's actions. If necessary, the government must involve the international community to put an end to such actions.​