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[🇧🇩] Terrorist BSF is pushing Indian Nationals into Bangladesh

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[🇧🇩] Terrorist BSF is pushing Indian Nationals into Bangladesh
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BSF pushes in 14 with Tk 200, water bottle and food packet
Correspondent Kurigram
Published: 27 May 2025, 22: 52

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The situation escalated in the area between the BGB and BSF centering the push-ins along the Baraibari border in Roumari upazila of Kurigram Prothom Alo

The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) has pushed 14 individuals into Bangladesh through the Baraibari border in Roumari upazila of Kurigram.

They were pushed into Bangladesh through the ‘no man's land’ near border pillar number 1067 early morning Tuesday. There are nine men and five women among them.

The people who were forced into Bangladesh said they were residents of Assam state in India. The BSF handed each of them Tk 200, a bottle of water, and a packet of food before forcefully pushing them into Bangladesh.

One of the victims is Khairul Islam. He said, “My family has land and houses in Mikirbhita of Assam. I am a primary school teacher. My parents are original residents of Assam. My mother and elder brothers are serving as ward members there.”

Khairul further said, “I was picked up on 23 May. Later, I was sent to the Matiya detention camp in Goalpara in India. I was pushed into Bangladesh before Fazr prayer. Before taking us to the border, the BSF members gave us Tk 200, a water bottle and a packet of food each. If anyone refused to come, they were beaten.”

Speaking to the locals it has been learnt that the situation escalated in the area between the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Border Security Force (BSF) centering the push-ins. Later, the BSF fired four rounds of bullets as the locals and BGB members took stance along the border to prevent push in.

Later, the BGB took initiative to arrange a flag meeting. But the BSF denied it. Rather, they try to intimidate the locals with drones and heavy weapons aimed at the locals in the Bangladesh territory.

Although the BGB admitted to the escalation, they denied any incident of BSF members opening fire.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, 35 BGB battalion captain (CO) Hasanur Rahman said the scheduled flag meeting didn’t take place. The 14 detainees have been taken to the Boraibari camp. The administration will first verify their nationality and then take legal actions accordingly.

Former lawmaker from the Kurigram-4 constituency Ruhul Amin told Prothom Alo, “BSF forcefully pushed in 14 citizens into Bangladesh. The members of BSF fired rubber bullets as we, the locals, and BGB men tried to stop them. Apart from that, they used drones to intimidate us. We also noticed some heavy vehicles along the Indian border. I don’t know why the BGB is not admitting that. The people who were pushed in have been taken to the Boraibari BGB camp.​
 

India’s push-ins spark security, sovereignty concerns in Bangladesh
Dhaka urges Delhi to follow due process
Sadiqur Rahman 27 May, 2025, 23:51

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Border Security Force female personnel patrol along the borderline fence at the India-Bangladesh border in Golakganj, Dhubri district in India’s Assam State on Monday. | AFP photo

Political leaders and security experts have expressed concerns over the current surge in incidents of people being pushed into Bangladesh territory by the Indian border force without following formal procedures.

They have strongly condemned theaction, calling it a violation of international norms and a threat to Bangladesh’s sovereignty.

To them, the push-ins are a pressure tactic by India amid the political transition in Bangladesh following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina regime on August 5, 2024.

Retired Major General ANM Muniruzzaman, president of the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies, said that push-ins carried out without adhering to international and legal protocols were unacceptable.

‘India has been arbitrarily pushing people into Bangladesh without any bilateral agreement, and this cannot be tolerated,’ he told New Age on Tuesday.New age fashion

Since May 7, more than 800 individuals, including Indian nationals and Rohingyas, have reportedly been pushed into Bangladesh by the Border Security Force of India.

Home affairs adviser retired Lieutenant General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said on Tuesday in Rajshahi that the interim government had protested against these incidents of push-ins from the Indian side as they were not following the due process.

‘But those who are Bangladeshi are our own people. We have told India to send people through proper channels – just as we return foreigners according to legal procedures. But they are not doing that,’ he said while talking to journalists at the Rajshahi Prison Training Center,

Bangladesh Nationalist Party standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy said that push-ins needed to follow official procedures, yet India has been informally sending people across the border by force.

‘This kind of behaviour is inappropriate when dealing with a sovereign nation,’ he said, adding that individuals are being sent without confirming their citizenship.

‘It feels like a pressure tactic to me, like provoking a fight by stepping on someone’s foot. I suspect India is waiting for a retaliatory response from our border security forces,’ Gayeshwar added.

Communist Party of Bangladesh general secretary Ruhin Hossain Prince urged the interim government to intensify diplomatic dialogue with India to resolve the issue immediately.

‘If these [pushed-in] individuals are truly Bangladeshi citizens living illegally in India, there should be diplomatic discussions regarding their repatriation, in line with international guidelines. But if they are not illegal migrants and are being forcibly sent to Bangladesh, such actions are indeed problematic,’ Prince said.

Sarwar Tusher, joint convener of the National Citizen Party, said that the ouster of Sheikh Hasina government and the Awami League on August 5 also challenged India’s long-standing policy of treating Bangladesh as a de facto colony.

‘By pushing people into Bangladesh, India is creating a direct security threat. This is clearly a provocative act and a violation of international law,’ he said, demanding that India halt such activities and respect Bangladesh’s sovereignty.

Ashraf Ali Akon, presidium member of the Islami Andolan Bangladesh termed India an ‘unfriendly’ neighbour of Bangladesh. ‘The current push-ins are parts of a conspiracy against Bangladesh,’ he said.

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal–JSD general secretary Shahid Uddin Mahmod Shapon said that India had taken a series of steps since August 5, which had strained its bilateral relationship with Bangladesh.

Citing that these actions are unfriendly and breaching diplomatic norms, he said, ‘Since August 5, Bangladesh has been trying to establish its sovereign authority while India appears to have perceived this as a challenge. But we believe our patriotic armed forces and citizens are capable of resisting India’s hostile actions.’

Touhidul Islam, an associate professor of peace and conflict studies at Dhaka University suggested that any issues involving bilateral relationships should be addressed pragmatically by neighbouring states, as they share borders.

‘Otherwise, such issues could lead to new security dynamics. I would suggest managing the push-in issue through diplomatic means,’ he said.

Security expert Muniruzzaman emphasised that if Indian authorities identified Bangladeshis staying illegally on their soil, they must verify their identities and formally notify Bangladesh. To him, only after completing proper legal procedures should repatriation occur. Otherwise, not.

‘What if some of those being pushed in pose threats to our national security and interests? We are seriously concerned about that,’ he warned.​
 

BGB foils BSF's push-in bid

OUR CORRESPONDENT
Published :
May 29, 2025 09:33
Updated :
May 29, 2025 09:33

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Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has foiled an attempt to push in 13 Indian nationals through the border at Chawratari village of Durgapur Union under Aditmari upazila of Lalmonirhat district early Wednesday morning.

According to sources, among the 13 people, six were women and one an

infant. The incident took place near the Main Pillar No. 924 and the sub-pillar 9(S) of Durgapur union.

Being informed, locals and BGB personnel rushed to the spot and foiled the attempt of push-in by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF). These 13 people were brought from Assam. They were later left stranded at the zero line of Durgapur border near the Main Pillar No. 924.

When contacted, Lt Colonel Mehedi Imam, commanding officer (CO) of 15 BGB Battalion, Lalmonirhat, said, "We have told BSF that they are not BD citizens as they have no valid papers of BD. It's very inhumane trying to push in people at dead of night."

There is an infant among the 13 people including women.

They said they were from Assam and they had residences there. They have valid voter ID cards and other valid papers also.

Their papers were snatched by the BSF.

BGB told BSF to show their valid paper against their claim of BD citizenship, he added.​
 

Bangladesh to send fresh letter to India over ongoing push-ins: Foreign Adviser

Published :
Jun 03, 2025 20:11
Updated :
Jun 03, 2025 23:42

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Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Tuesday said Bangladesh will send a fresh 'substantive' letter to India, reminding them of set mechanisms to deal with the push-ins, noting that push-ins are still happening.

"We will give them a fresh letter (diplomatic note) today or tomorrow. We give them a substantive letter," he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while responding to a question.

Asked whether the letter would be in a soft language or a kind of protest note, Adviser Hossain said it depends on how it is viewed, reports UNB.

He said Bangladesh is in touch with India on the issues of push-ins with regular exchanges.

Adviser Hossain said communication with New Delhi continues, and Dhaka is trying to ensure that nothing happens beyond the set mechanisms, mentioning that the Indian side has given Bangladesh a list and Dhaka has taken some of them after verification.

Bangladesh's position is that it will examine each case separately and will receive only if there is proof that they are Bangladeshi citizens. "We see it (push-in) is happening. It is not possible to face physically," he said.

Hossain said there is a mechanism on consular issues, and using the mechanism, Dhaka is trying to bring it under the set rules.

Asked about updates on deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's extradition, the Adviser said there has been no feedback yet.

Seeking an accelerated verification process, India has said they have a large number of Bangladeshi nationals - over 2000 - who are required to be deported after verification.

Regarding Hasina's extradition request, the Adviser also said they had not given the second letter yet, but if required, it will be done. Real estate listings

On border killings, he said Dhaka's strong protest continues through diplomatic channels.

The Adviser said the Consular Dialogue between the two countries can take place as there are issues (like push-ins).

Asked about the next national election, Hossain said the election issue comes up when they hold routine meetings at home and abroad.

"We mention the government's position that the election will be held between December this year to June next year," he said.

"We have asked the Bangladeshi side to verify their nationality. We have a pending list of 2360.....upwards of 2360 cases of people who are required to be deported," said official Spokesperson at the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, recently.

During a regular briefing in New Delhi, he also said many of them have completed their jail sentences.

"And in many cases, the nationality verification is required to be done. It is pending since 2020. So, almost five years have passed," said the MEA Spokesperson.

The Indian side urged the Bangladeshi side they expedite the verification process so that people who are required to be deported can be sent back to Bangladesh.Real estate listings

"They must expedite this process," Spokesperson Jaiswal said.

The MEA spokesperson said the people who are staying in India illegally or the foreigners who are staying in India illegally, whether they happen to be Bangladeshi nationals or any other nationality, will be dealt with as per law.​
 

India pushes 1,272 people, including Indians, Rohingya, into Bangladesh in 27 days
AFP Dhaka
Published: 05 Jun 2025, 16: 18

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The situation escalated in the area between the BGB and BSF centering the push-ins along the Baraibari border in Roumari upazila of Kurigram Prothom Alo file photo

Bangladesh said Wednesday that neighbouring India has pushed more than 1,270 people across its border in the past month, mainly Bangladeshis, but also Indian citizens and Rohingya refugees.

Bangladesh, largely encircled by land by India, has seen relations with New Delhi turn icy since a mass uprising toppled Dhaka's previous government last year.

"Between 7 May and 3 June, Indian authorities pushed in 1,272 individuals, including a few Indian citizens and Rohingya, through 19 bordering districts", Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) officials said.

"Only yesterday, they pushed 50 individuals."

India's Hindu nationalist government has often described undocumented immigrants as "Muslim infiltrators", accusing them of posing a security threat.

India has not commented on the recent returns across their shared border.

Bangladeshi Jahidul Molla, 21, said he was among those sent back, saying he had been living in India's western state of Gujarat since he was 14.

"They picked us up from home and put us on a plane," Molla told AFP, adding that after two weeks in a camp, he was then taken onboard a ship, along with more than 50 others, almost all men.

"For the next three days, they kept beating us, and we were starving", reporting that they were then dropped overboard in the mangrove swamps of the Sundarbans, which straddle the border between the nations.

"They dropped us... the coast guard rescued us and handed us over to the police".

AFP could not independently verify his account.

India shares a long and porous border with neighbouring Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

The mostly Muslim Rohingya have been persecuted in Myanmar for decades, with many fleeing a 2017 military crackdown.

More than a million escaped to Bangladesh, but others fled to India.

The BGB official said "some of the Rohingya" were registered with the UN refugee agency in India.

Md Touhid Hossain, who heads the foreign ministry in the caretaker government, said Dhaka was "putting all our efforts" into resolving the issue through dialogue.

Indian media report that, since a four-day conflict with Pakistan last month, authorities have pushed back more than 2,000 alleged illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

In February, Amit Shah, India's interior minister said "the issue of illegal intruders is also related to national security, and it should be dealt with strictly", adding that "they should be identified and deported".​
 

BGB tightens border patrols in Brahmanbaria to curb smuggling, drug trafficking, push-ins
UNB Brahmanbaria
Published: 06 Jun 2025, 18: 32

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BGB strengthens border patrols as push-ins by India continues UNB file photo

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has intensified patrols along various points of the border in Brahmanbaria to prevent the illegal entry of sacrificial animals from India ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, curb post-Eid smuggling of raw hides and combat drug trafficking and other cross-border crimes.

The move also aims to thwart push-in attempts by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF), according to Lt Col Jabbar Ahmed, commanding officer of the 25 BGB Battalion.

On Friday afternoon during his visit to the border area in Anarpur under Fakirmora BOP in Akhaura upazila to inspect the security arrangements, he said, “Instructions have been issued for BGB to remain on high alert to prevent the smuggling of sacrificial animal hides after Eid, combat drug and goods smuggling, and resist any push-in attempts by the BSF.”

He added that surveillance and patrols have been significantly increased in the border areas as part of these efforts.

Thanks to the heightened vigilance of both BGB personnel and local residents, no push-in incidents have been reported in this sector so far, he noted.

“In the past month alone, the 25 BGB Battalion has seized drugs and smuggled goods worth over Tk 9 crore and 36 lakh,” the BGB official added, stressing that anti-smuggling drives will continue.​
 

India’s push-in move a ‘deliberate’ provocation, says Rizvi

UNB
Published :
Jun 11, 2025 22:54
Updated :
Jun 11, 2025 22:54

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Senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has likened the recent surge in cross-border push-ins to stepping on someone’s foot to start a fight -- a “deliberate provocation” by India.

He linked the wave of forced repatriations to what he described as “growing hostility” from the neighbouring country, possibly fuelled by resentment over the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government.

He questioned the motive behind the alleged actions. “Why this sudden turn? Is it because Hasina is no longer in power that they’ve become more aggressive?”

Speaking at the BNP’s Naya Paltan office on Wednesday afternoon, the senior joint secretary general claimed that push-ins were now occurring almost daily across different border points including Thakurgaon, Moulvibazar, Kurigram and Satkhira -- with groups of 20 to 50 people being sent across at a time.

Rizvi said: “It seems as if someone is deliberately trying to provoke a confrontation-- that’s the question now being asked across the country, even among the international community.

“Why this sudden spree of push-ins?”

Taking aim at the Assam chief minister, Rizvi said Bangladesh is being treated like a “dumping ground”.

“Their words and behaviour reek of arrogance,” he added.

“You’re a sovereign country. So are we,” the BNP leader said. “But if you continue provoking us by declaring your citizens as foreigners and sending them across the border, our response will not stop at protest -- there will be resistance.”

Rizvi also criticised the interim government over what he called a lack of urgency in tackling the rising spread of Covid-19 and dengue.Local events

District hospitals remain unequipped, he said, particularly in Barishal Division, where Covid patients from Patuakhali and Barguna are being shifted to Barishal Medical College Hospital for treatment.

“Patuakhali and Barguna are district towns. Why don’t they have adequate government facilities? After the devastating wave of Covid a few years ago that killed so many, the government should not have remained idle.”

On the latest Covid-19 cases uptick, Rizvi said: “This fresh wave doesn’t look like a good sign at all. The government and health ministry must act immediately.”

“We’ve seen no awareness campaign, no protective measures. The government must fulfil its duty to ensure public safety.”

He also flagged the spread of dengue as a serious concern, pointing to its growing intensity across Barishal Division.​
 

48 Rohingyas registered in India pushed into Bangladesh
Tanzil Rahaman 12 June, 2025, 00:14

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The Border Security Force of India has recently pushed at least 122 Rohingyas, including 48 registered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in India, into Bangladesh.

The Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner said that they could detect 117 Rohingyas, including 43 registered by the UNHCR in India, who were pushed into Bangladesh by the BSF, in different camps in Cox’s Bazar until May 25.

The Armed Police Battalion and the Office of the RRRC identified five more Rohingyas registered by the UNHCR in India at a camp in Teknaf on June 10.

The five were pushed into Bangladesh by the Indian authorities through the Tentulia border point in Panchagrah district on June 4, according to RRRC officials.

Pushing refugees registered in one country into another one is unlawful and a violation of the norms of International relations, academics said.

India began pushing people into Bangladesh on May 7 through different bordering points and it continued until June 10, according to the officials of Border Guard Bangladesh.

According to an RRRC letter sent to the disaster management and relief affairs secretary on May 27, the RRRC has recently detected 117 Rohingyas from India in 33 camps of Ukhia and Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar.

Of them, 43 are registered with UNHCR in India, 47 are registered with UNHCR in Bangladesh and 27 do not have any registration anywhere, it said.

‘We have identified that these 117 Rohingyas were pushed into Bangladesh by India recently. They, after the push-in incidents, took shelter in different camps in Ukhia and Teknaf. All of them were pushed by the Indian BSF,’ RRRC top official Mohammed Mizanur Rahman said on Wednesday.

Mizanur, however, said that the actual number of such Rohingyas might be higher than the data they collected as it was a compilation of the data collected until May 25.

Asked about checking Rohingya intrusion from India, RRRC chief Mizanur said that it was BGB’s task to check such intrusions.

Neither the BGB director general Major General Mohammad AshrafuzzamaSiddiqui nor its deputy director general for communications Colonel Mohammad Shariful Islam could be reached for comments despite several attempts over the phone. They also did not respond to text messages from New Age.New age fashion

Over 1.3 million Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh amid atrocities by the Myanmar military since 2017, according to government data.

In a letter to RRRC in April, the UNHCR pressed for ensuring accommodation of 1.13 lakh more Rohingyas who entered Bangladesh between November 2023 and April 27, 2025.

Dhaka University’s former international relations professor Imtiaz Ahmed said that pushing refugees registered in one country into another country instead of sending them to their homeland was unlawful.

‘According to my knowledge, Indian law does not allow such incidents. Human rights activists from India and Bangladesh should raise voices over push-ins,’ he said.

He also urged the government to conduct a survey of people pushed into Bangladesh from India for the sake of national security.

He stressed the need to engage experts in such a survey as the government seemed to have failed to manage the issue through diplomatic channels.

Dhaka University international relations professor ASM Ali Ashraf said that India, by pushing refugees into Bangladesh, was throwing the vulnerable community into more vulnerable conditions.

Asked whether India’s push-ins would create a security threat for Bangladesh, he said, ‘India is pushing Bangladeshis, Rohingyas and Indian nationals into our country. If they were trained to create instability in Bangladesh, it might be a further threat to our country.’

According to a report in the New York Times published online on May 17, the United Nations has called for an investigation into ‘credible reports’ that Indian authorities rounded up Rohingya refugees and expelled them.

A press release issued by the BGB on May 15 said that the BGB-22 Battalion detained five of a Rohingya family registered with UNHCR in India from the Natunhat Bazar area under Bhurungamari upazila in Kurigram on May 7.

The release said that the BSF pushed them into Bangladesh. The family that went to India from Myanmar two years ago used to live in the Matia Refugee camp in India’s Assam, it said.

The number of people pushed into Bangladesh by India since May 7 has reached 1,336 amid tight security measures taken by the BGB and the police along the border.

Bangladesh government has sent official letters to India over the push-in incidents.

The BGB also lodged verbal and written protests to their Indian counterpart BSF and held flag meetings over the issue.​
 

India keeps pushing people into Bangladesh
Staff Correspondent 13 June, 2025, 00:06

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Border Guard Bangladesh members stand by the individuals pushed into Bangladesh by the Indian Border Security Force in Sylhet on Wednesday. | Focus Bangla photo

India continued to push people into Bangladesh as the Border Security Force pushed 77 more people into Bangladesh through different border points in Sylhet, Sunamganj and Lalmonirhat districts on Thursday.

With the latest push-ins, the number of people pushed into Bangladesh by India since May 7 reached 1,413.

India began pushing people, including Rohingyas and Indian nationals, on May 7 when a war-like situation prevailed between India and Pakistan, raising concerns over human rights violations and potential strains on cross-border relations.

Of the fresh push-in incidents, 70 people were pushed into Bangladesh through different border points in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts and seven of a family were pushed through a border point in Lalmonirhat, according to the BGB.

New Age staff correspondent in Sylhet reported that 53 people were pushed into Bangladesh through three border points under Jaintapur and Companiganj upazilas in Sylhet district and 17 other people through a border point under Chhatak upazila in Sunamganj.New age fashion

BGB-48 Battalion commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Md Nazmul Haque said that 18 women, 30 children, and 22 men were pushed into Bangladesh through different border points under the battalion between 1:30am and 4:30am on Thursday.

He also said that the 70 individuals were detained immediately after they were pushed into Bangladesh by the BSF and they were handed over to the respective police stations at around noon.

‘Among the detainees, 43 are residents of Kurigram district and 27 of Lalmonirhat district. They went to India in different times in the past and were working in different parts of India, including Delhi,’ the BGB battalion commander said, referring to the detainees.

The police said that sending the detainees to their respective families was under process.

Bangladesh government has sent official letters to India over the push-in incidents, BGB-48 Battalion commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Md Nazmul said, adding that the BGB also lodged verbal and written protests to the BSF and held flag meetings over the issue.

New Age correspondent in Lalmonirhat reported that the BSF pushed seven people into Bangladesh through the Durgapur border under Aditmari upazila in the district.

BGB 15 battalion commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Mehehdi Imam said that the BGB detained the seven people early Thursday.

‘The detainees said that they are Bangladeshi and entered India with the help of brokers three years ago,’ he said.

They were handed over to the police and the police would take necessary action after verifying their identities, added the BGB official.

The BSF, meanwhile, attempted to push another 12 people through the Patgram and Hatibandha bordering points, BGB officials said.

According to Bangladesh authorities, Bangladesh has 4,156 kilometres of border with India, of which some 180 kilometres fall on different water bodies and 79 kilometres on the Sundarbans.​
 

Dhaka must talk push-in globally, Indians should also raise voice
16 June, 2025, 00:00

INDIA’S Border Security Force pushing people into Bangladesh not only furthers Delhi’s unneighbourly conduct but also appears a deliberate policy decision. This blatantly contravenes international laws, bilateral agreements and established border management norms. Since May 7, Indian guards have pushed at least 1,511 individuals into Bangladesh. While the majority of them had for long resided in India, a significant number of them of Rohingyas, many registered with the UNHCR in India, and even some Indians. In the latest spate on June 14, Indian guards pushed at least 54 people through five border points. Twelve Rohingyas were forced through a border point in Moulvibazar. With this, the Indian border guards have pushed at least 147 Rohingyas, mostly women and children who include 50 registered with the UNHCR in India, into Bangladesh. Sixteen more, including four Indians, were pushed in through two border points in Panchagarh, 23 through a point in Thakurgaon and 3 through a point in Lalmonirhat, as the Border Guard Bangladesh and the police say.

Bangladesh authorities have formally urged the Indian counterparts to stop push-in operations. They have further assured India that they are prepared to take back any Bangladeshis living illegally in India but only through proper legal channels and due procedures. Despite this, India appears to have ignored the overtures, showing no willingness to co-operate and continues with the push-in. This unlawful action places additional strain on already tense bilateral relations, which have been under pressure because of persistent issues, notably the continued killings of Bangladeshis along the frontiers. While Indian authorities routinely profess a commitment to honouring international laws and bilateral agreements, including the use of no-lethal weapons on the border, Indian guards have routinely violated the principles, instead following a shoot-to-kill policy. As a result, the Bangladesh-India border has become one of the deadliest in the region. According to rights group Odhikar, the Indian guards killed more than 1,300 Bangladeshis in 2000–2023. Compounding the issue, Indian border guards have recently made attempts to erect fences at several points on the no man’s land, which is a violation of bilateral agreements. The provocative acts, which occur intermittently, further erode the foundation of neighbourly relations.

Given that the actions constitute serious violations of the international law and diplomatic norms, Dhaka must take up the issue with both international and regional forums. Right-thinking citizens in India should also speak out against such aggressive and unlawful practice and call on their government to abandon such antagonistic policies.​
 

Is 'push-in' another manifestation of Delhi’s hostile policy?
Khawaza Main UddinDhaka
Published: 17 Jun 2025, 15: 27

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Indian border forces BSF wanted to push in 14 persons over the Roumari border at Kurigram. Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB) thwarted them. 17 May, Boraibari border Collected

No matter what history says, today’s India is forcing a section of its own population to enter into another country through land border illegally, due only to their religious belief and identity.

Muslim men and women from the neighbouring country are being pushed in to no other land than Bangladesh, where more than a million Rohingya Muslim people evicted from another neighbour, Myanmar, have been given shelter.Thus, India’s internal issue is turning into a cross-border dispute apart from the treatment of the Muslims as hostage in its domestic politics.

It cannot be believed that such a move by India’s central government of Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the crucial elections in states of West Bengal and Assam that have significant percentage of Muslim voters, is appreciated by democratic, progressive and conscientious people there?

In this phase, Delhi has taken the move to send some Indian Muslims to Bangladesh territory – it all is happening after the political changeover through the July 2024 revolution. There is no reason that the Bangladesh people will not understand that such a move conforms to Delhi’s hostile policy towards Dhaka.

New Delhi has first imposed visa restrictions for the Bangladesh people and at one stage cancelled the transshipment facility through India for Bangladesh businesses.

The Indian godi media (pro-ruling party propaganda) has also launched a campaign to spread rumours and cynicism terming as terrorist or militant activities a successful student-mass revolution that has overthrown a ruler who killed democracy. Earlier, Sheikh Hasina who fled Bangladesh in the face of popular demonstrations, was given shelter in nowhere but Delhi, without showing any sensitivity to the sentiment and emotion of the people of Bangladesh.

In such circumstances, is there any likelihood that the most critical bilateral issues such as sharing of waters of transboundary rivers, border killing, trade imbalance, and smuggling and drug trafficking will remain completely out of sight of Bangladesh?

There is no reason to believe either that the pundits outside of India and Bangladesh, or even the global citizens having a minimum level of common senses, would not be able to read mindset of the Delhiwalas and understand the objectives of their activities.

India now wants to say the people who were being pushed in are actually nationals of Bangladesh and even if many of them have been living in India for many years, they are legally not citizens of India. On making its own citizens stateless, foreign media including the BBC have run reports naming and quoting individual victims and confirmed that the Muslims who were pushed in to Bangladesh are in fact Indian nationals.

If a few of them are found to be Bangladeshi nationals travelling to India, they could have been deported lawfully with due respect. But. Dhaka has no legal obligation to accept the Indian citizens as Bangladeshis only because they are Muslims. Is Indian premier Narendra Modi’s friend Donald Trump welcoming illegal Indian immigrants to the US?

By using its minority population as pawn of chess in domestic and external policies, India as a state and civilization proves its bankruptcy and its leaders and policymakers are doing so, as part of a conscious policy decision.

The attitude of Delhi and a major section of the Indian media towards the Yunus government seemed to be attacking and demeaning when the rest of the world shows high level of respect to the Nobel Peace Price winner.

It seems that Delhi is nowhere near self-realisation about correctness of the action to push Bangladesh towards an unwanted situation, let alone making self-criticism. Rather, India’s standpoint, as well as tactics vis-à-vis Bangladesh such as maintaining hardly any communications with Professor Y8unus-led government at the state level, exposes certain anger, which has originated from the fall of a subservient ruler.

There is no logical ground for India’s anger against the Bangladesh people, instead of the possibility of the opposite. Sheikh Hasina with Delhi’s overt and covert patronisation for more than one and a half decades, had deprived the people of this country of their democratic and human rights; furthermore, the Indian authorities had made all attempts to glorify the one who was a fascist ruler.

One cannot ignore the fact that the aggrieved Bangladeshis had begun ‘boycott Indian goods’ movement immediately after the 2024 parliamentary polls Hasina won with Indian blessings, months before the demonstrations that ousted the iron lady. In such a context, Delhi’s anger against the Bangladesh people can be equated with that of an angry loser. Delhi should have rather had more anger against nuclear Pakistan and a more powerful China, the two neighbouring countries with which India had engangled into border clashes recently.

Showing flexibility to powerful countries and aggression to non-nuclear neighbour is the reflection of Chanakya Kautilya’s policy of Matsanaya according to which big fishes eat up small ones.

The rulers of Delhi have been obsessed with old policy of pre-Christ era, at a time when they should have extended olive branch to the people of Bangladesh so that there is a thaw in the deadlock in bilateral relations.

Japan, Germany and South Africa had sought apology to aggrieved parties for the misdeeds of their earlier rulers; they have not lost anything at all for their gesture.

New Delhi has no moral ground to justify the repressive acts of Hasina in the past one and a half decades. Indian authorities cannot deny that some Bangladeshi victims of enforced disappearance had been discovered in India.

The stories of enforced disappearance, mass murder and extra-judicial killing, and torture have been documented in the reports of the United Nations and human rights organisations. The world had seen what kind of national elections the Hasina regime had held in Bangladesh in 2014, 2018 and 2024.

As written in the book by former Indian president Pranab Mukherjee and reported during the Bangladesh tour of the then Indian external affairs secretary Sujatha Singh days before the 2014 elections, India’s naked interference into the domestic politics including electoral affairs of Bangladesh in favour of Hasina had hurt and humiliated political elements and conscious people in this country.

The moment Hasina’s repressive rule came to an end, India’s reaction to the political changeover in Dhaka was different from those of other countries of the civilized world. Later on, the attitude of Delhi and a major section of the Indian media towards the Yunus government seemed to be attacking and demeaning when the rest of the world shows high level of respect to the Nobel Peace Price winner ruler of Bangladesh.

Unfortunately, even during the Hasina rule – the honeymoon period of Delhi’s desired relations with Dhaka – India had not extended her support to Bangladesh – neither on the ground during the Rohingya influx into Cox’s Bazar, nor during the vote at the United Nations.

In that case, some people may draw conclusion that India does not consider Bangladesh as a friendly neighbour, unless it remains subservient to Delhi. And in accordance with Kautilya’s formula, if my enemy’s enemy is my friend, what does Iran’s status as the enemy of India’s close ally Israel stand or America’s as the enemy of Russia as a friend of India? Or, Turkey as friend of archenemy Pakistan or Bangladesh when it is a friend of China?

Both success and negative effects of ill move like human trafficking in the pursuit of foreign affairs policy are well known to India’s diplomatic and strategic analysts. That is also not unknown to the friendly countries, who are further aware of India’s relations with her South Asian neighbours.

By pushing her minority Muslim citizens in to Bangladesh, India not only sets before the global community the instance of minority repression, Delhi has also confirmed that the formation of Pakistan for the Muslim population in 1947 and Bangladesh later on – which was described by proponents of a greater post-colonial India – was justified.

When Bangladesh is heading for a truly free and fair elections, institutionalisation of democracy, completion of reforms to rebuild state institutions broken during the fascist rule, concluding the trial of the culprits of major crimes such as massacre, extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance, detention, repression, corruption, extortion, and money laundering and efforts are on to turn Bangladesh into a dignified country at the glonal stage, India has distanced herself from constructive engagement and dialogue with Bangladesh.

Despite certain pressure of public opinion and a pledge made by the interim administration to make public some of the presumably unequal treaties and agreements contrary to Bangladesh’s national interests, Dhaka has so far refrained from revealing them, perhaps to prevent further deterioration in bilateral relations.

Diplomacy demands reciprocity and it is not just any secret affair or something that is described as half-truth; if Delhi gives an idea in a loud and clear manner to Dhaka of what kind of relationship it wants to build and maintain in the coming days, the new era of bilateral relations may begin immediately.

* Khawaza Main Uddin is a journalist.​
 

12 Rohingyas among 62 more people pushed into Bangladesh by BSF
Staff Correspondent 24 June, 2025, 13:19

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Indian Border Security Force reportedly pushed 19 more people into Bangladesh through Sylhet border on early Tuesday. | UNB photo

The Border Security Force of India pushed at least 62 more people, including 12 Rohingyas, into Bangladesh through different border points in Sylhet, Sunamganj, Moulvibazar and Lalmonirhat districts between Monday morning and Tuesday morning.

With the latest push-ins, the number of people, including Rohingyas and Indian nationals, pushed into Bangladesh by the BSF since May 7 has reached 1,617.

With the 12 Rohingyas, the Indian BSF has so far pushed at least 159 Rohingyas, including 50 registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in India, into Bangladesh.

New Age staff correspondent in Sylhet reported that 19 people were pushed into Bangladesh through Jaintapur border in Sylhet district, 20 people through Chhatak border in Sunamganj, and 16 people, including 12 Rohingya refugees, through Borolekha border in Moulvibazar.

Border Guard Bangladesh 48 Battalion commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Md Nazmul Haque said that 39 people, including women and children, were pushed into Bangladesh through the Jaintapur and Chhatak borders on Tuesday.

He said that the BSF pushed 19 people into Bangladesh territory through Minatila border point under the Jaintapur upazila at about 6:30am.

‘Later in the morning, 20 more people were pushed into Bangladesh through Noyakot border point at Chhatak upazila,’ the BGB officer said.

‘Among them, 38 people hail from Kurigram district and the rest one from Pabna district,’ he said, adding that they entered India at different times for job and they had been working in separate parts of India for a long time.

On Monday, the BSF pushed 16 individuals, including 12 Rohingya refugees, through Barlekha border in Moulvibazar.

BGB 52 Battalion commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Ariful Haque Chowdhury told New Age that the BSF pushed 12 Rohingya refugees and 4 Bangladeshis through Kumarshail border point at Shahbajpur union of Barlekha upazila at about 9:00am on Monday.

He said that a patrol team detained them immediately after they were pushed into the Bangladesh territory and handed them over to the police.

Barlekha police station officer-in-charge Abul Kashem Sarker told New Age on Tuesday that preparations were underway to send the 12 Rohingyas to the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp.

New Age correspondent in Lalmonirhat reported that seven individuals, including children, were pushed into Bangladesh through Patgram border in the district on Tuesday morning.

Nabinagar BGB camp commander Rezaul Islam said that the seven people were handed over to the Patgram police station.

Further action would be taken after verifying their identity, he said, adding that the individuals said that they hailed from Khulna district.

They claimed that they had been living in India’s Delhi for the past 35 years.​
 

People of W Bengal being branded Bangladeshis
Says Mamata, blames BJP-ruled states of persecution

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee yesterday said Bangla-speaking people from the state were being branded as "Bangladeshis" in some BJP-ruled states.

She told reporters in Kolkata that she knew 300-400 Bangla-speaking migrant labourers were confined to a building in Rajasthan even after showing valid documents.

"Is it a crime to speak in Bangla -- the language of Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda among other luminaries? I think Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not aware of this development. I will draw his attention," she said.

Mamata claimed that apart from Rajasthan, such incidents also took place in BJP-ruled Delhi and Madhya Pradesh in the past.

She said West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant is taking up the issue with his counterpart in Rajasthan.

"As far as my knowledge goes, whoever arrived till 1971 is an Indian citizen," she added.

Mamata said 1.5 crore migrant workers from different states are employed in West Bengal.

"But we can never think of taking such steps which go against the spirit of pluralism of India. What if such steps are taken against migrants from other states here for speaking their mother tongue? Is talking in Bangla considered sacrilegious by BJP-ruled regimes?" she asked.

Mamata said around 22 lakh migrant workers from West Bengal are currently employed in other states.

"Will Tamil-speaking people be deported to Sri Lanka since they speak Tamil, or will, for that matter, Indians belonging to the Gorkha community be sent to Nepal for speaking in Nepali?

"I often urge people to stay back and work here, but many go outside the state in search of livelihood. Is it their crime to speak in Bangla? They carry all relevant citizenship documents," she said.

Mamata had flagged the same issue on the floor of the State Assembly last week, stating that Bangla-speaking migrants from West Bengal were deported from BJP-ruled states in Western India and pushed towards Bangladesh despite producing all citizenship proof.

"The dialect spoken by people in Bangladesh is different from the dialect spoken by Bangla-speaking Indian citizens in West Bengal. How can residents of our state be harassed in this way?" she asked.​
 

India accused of illegal deportations targeting Muslims
Bangladesh, largely encircled by land by India, has seen relations with New Delhi turn icy since a mass uprising in 2024 toppled Dhaka’s government, a former friend of India.

AFP New Delhi
Updated: 27 Jun 2025, 18: 25

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Border Security Force (BSF) women personnel patrol along the borderline fence at the India-Bangladesh border in Golakganj, Dhubri district in India’s Assam State on 26 May 2025 AFP

India has deported without trial to Bangladesh hundreds of people, officials from both sides said, drawing condemnation from activists and lawyers who call the recent expulsions illegal and based on ethnic profiling.

New Delhi says the people deported are undocumented migrants.

The Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long taken a hardline stance on immigration -- particularly those from neighbouring Muslim-majority Bangladesh -- with top officials referring to them as “termites” and “infiltrators”.

It has also sparked fear among India’s estimated 200 million Muslims, especially among speakers of Bengali, a widely spoken language in both eastern India and Bangladesh.

“Muslims, particularly from the eastern part of the country, are terrified,” said veteran Indian rights activist Harsh Mander.

“You have thrown millions into this existential fear.”

Bangladesh, largely encircled by land by India, has seen relations with New Delhi turn icy since a mass uprising in 2024 toppled Dhaka’s government, a former friend of India.

But India also ramped up operations against migrants after a wider security crackdown in the wake of an attack in the west -- the 22 April killing of 26 people, mainly Hindu tourists, in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Bangladesh has said India has pushed more than 1,600 people across its border since May. Indian media suggests the number could be as high as 2,500.

New Delhi blamed that attack on Pakistan, claims Islamabad rejected, with arguments culminating in a four-day conflict that left more than 70 dead.

Indian authorities launched an unprecedented countrywide security drive that has seen many thousands detained -- and many of them eventually pushed across the border to Bangladesh at gunpoint.

‘Do not dare’

Rahima Begum, from India’s eastern Assam state, said police detained her for several days in late May before taking her to the Bangladesh frontier.

She said she and her family had spent their life in India.

“I have lived all my life here -- my parents, my grandparents, they are all from here,” she said. “I don’t know why they would do this to me.”

Indian police took Begum, along with five other people, all Muslims, and forced them into swampland in the dark.

“They showed us a village in the distance and told us to crawl there,” she told AFP.

“They said: ‘Do not dare to stand and walk, or we will shoot you.’”

Bangladeshi locals who found the group then handed them to border police who “thrashed” them and ordered they return to India, Begum said.

“As we approached the border, there was firing from the other side,” said the 50-year-old.

I have lived all my life here -- my parents, my grandparents, they are all from here. I don’t know why they would do this to me.
Rahima Begum, from India’s eastern Assam state
“We thought: ‘This is the end. We are all going to die.’”

She survived, and, a week after she was first picked up, she was dropped back home in Assam with a warning to keep quiet.

‘Ideological hate campaign’

Rights activists and lawyers criticised India’s drive as “lawless”.

“You cannot deport people unless there is a country to accept them,” said New Delhi-based civil rights lawyer Sanjay Hegde.

Indian law does not allow for people to be deported without due process, he added.

Bangladesh has said India has pushed more than 1,600 people across its border since May.

Indian media suggests the number could be as high as 2,500.

The Bangladesh Border Guards said it has sent back 100 of those pushed across -- because they were Indian citizens.

People of Muslim identity who happen to be Bengali speaking are being targeted as part of an ideological hate campaign.
Harsh Mander, veteran Indian rights activist.

India has been accused of forcibly deporting Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, with navy ships dropping them off the coast of the war-torn nation.

Many of those targeted in the campaign are low-wage labourers in states governed by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), according to rights activists.

Indian authorities did not respond to questions about the number of people detained and deported.

But Assam state’s chief minister has said that more than 300 people have been deported to Bangladesh.

Separately, Gujarat’s police chief said more than 6,500 people have been rounded up in the western state, home to both Modi and interior minister Amit Shah.

Many of those were reported to be Bengali-speaking Indians and later released.

“People of Muslim identity who happen to be Bengali speaking are being targeted as part of an ideological hate campaign,” said Mander, the activist.

Nazimuddin Mondal, a 35-year-old mason, said he was picked up by police in the financial hub of Mumbai, flown on a military aircraft to the border state of Tripura and pushed into Bangladesh.

He managed to cross back, and is now back in India’s West Bengal state, where he said he was born.

“The Indian security forces beat us with batons when we insisted we were Indians,” said Mondal, adding he is now scared to even go out to seek work.

“I showed them my government-issued ID, but they just would not listen.”​
 

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