Displaced or Deported: The Human Cost Of Immigrant Crackdown

Amid a surge in crackdown on undocumented migrants, thousands labelled as 바카라�illegal Bangladeshi immigrants바카라� are being detained and deported 바카라� raising questions about evidence, due process, and human rights. Since Operation Sindoor, the Indian authorities have pushed back over 2500 alleged immigrants to the other side of the border.

Advocate Manik Gupta, who represents refugees at various forums claims the issue to be a 바카라�bogeyman바카라� (a mythical creature used to frighten children into good behaviour). 바카라�I do not think there is a problem of infiltration of Bangladeshis in Delhi. And the people who are being called Bangladeshis are Indian citizens,바카라� says Manik.  

He mentions one of her clients who was detained under this pretext. 바카라�We pushed back for an interim stay on the deportation in the Supreme Court, which was eventually granted,바카라� he said.  

Identification, Detention and Deportation

Acting on the Centre바카라�s directive, several states have intensified the process of identification, detention and deportation of the undocumented migrants. This three step process is claimed to be devoid of systematic safeguards deeming the migrants incapable of accessing statutory protection. 바카라�Any civilized country will never accept this kind of action that is being taken by the Indian government. Just detaining people and pushing them across the border. The Delhi police have been really uncooperative as well. They have been really inhuman with instances of custodial torture and violence. Small children who cannot be kept in police stations were detained till 12 at night. Women were assaulted and misbehaved with. There is absolutely no human right of a person who has been declared a foreign citizen in India,바카라� says Manik.

Multiple cases have surfaced recently, where migrants were allegedly pushed into Bangladesh upon suspicion and speculation over their nationality. Seven West Bengal residents working in Maharashtra were allegedly pushed into Bangladesh by the Border Security Force (BSF) earlier this week and later returned to the country. Their crime? They lacked the necessary documents proving them to be an Indian citizen.

바카라�Its been more than a month since I wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah, that Bengali-speaking migrants are being targeted in different parts of the country despite possessing valid identification documents, I have received no response to that,바카라� says Samirul Islam, Chairman of the West Bengal Migrant Workers Welfare Board. 

바카라�More such cases are taking place everyday. Recently, seven migrants who were brought back from Bangladesh after being arrested by Mumbai Police and deported by the BSF. After getting information about their arrest, we coordinated with Mumbai Police and asked for their release. Despite the request, they were deported without any information being given to us. Neither the West Bengal Migrant Workers Welfare Board was informed, nor was any verification process conducted at their local residential address, they were forcefully deported. This is a conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party against Bengal and Bengali People. What바카라�s happening is absolutely unconstitutional and migrant workers are being deported just because they speak Bengali. We are trying to figure out and verify how many more such cases might have occurred," he added.

Amid these deportations, migrant workers are instilled with a profound fear of sudden displacement. 바카라�I have been travelling since I was born. I do not even know if I ever had any documents or if they were misplaced. I am over 40 years old now. Should I have cared about getting documents or putting food in my family바카라�s mouth?,바카라� says a migrant worker in Delhi who requested to stay anonymous citing safety concerns. 

바카라�I know people who have been picked up for not having valid documents even if they were Indian citizens. I am just praying that it does not happen to me,바카라� he added.  

Advocate Gupta asserts that these migrants are extremely poor and marginalized. 바카라�Often, their documents are all destroyed in natural disasters. So, this is a big reason why there is not enough legal aid given to them. If you are a migrant and you have been travelling for work with your parents throughout your life, that is also a big reason why documents are not stored or maintained,바카라� he says.  

The Influx of Bangladeshis to India

The influx of Bangladeshi immigrants to India dates back to the partition of the unified-Pakistan in 1971. Post partition, millions of refugees from East Pakistan moved to India with many crossing the border into states like Assam and West Bengal. This influx has been an issue of contention for decades, especially in Assam. 

바카라�It is a huge issue in Assam. It has been a focal point of regional politics since the 70s and 80s,바카라� says an advocate representing these cases in Assam.

바카라�The Foreigners Tribunal here is in a really dire condition. There are many such cases that we are doing in which people have been declared as foreigners without their knowledge.바카라� he added. 

According to reports, the Bangladesh authorities have refused to verify the nationality of the undocumented migrants. 바카라�The Bangladeshi government has denied this because most of them are Indian citizens. There are cases of people being pushed and then brought back. Several of them have been placed into the non-mans land or put in detention camps. Most of their families have no information of their whereabouts,바카라� he says. 

The Solution 

바카라�Everything has to happen through a due process. Things cannot happen with so much opaqueness and arbitrariness. There is no hearing, there is no chance, there is no order, and there is direct action. This entire thing of pushback is completely illegal. How are you deciding who is a Bangladeshi and who is an Indian citizen? Let's say I speak Bangla, and I am a Muslim, will you say that I'm a Bangladeshi? How are you identifying?바카라� says Manik. 

He further adds that the only possible solution is when the courts of this country intervene and come in protection of the people who are marginalized. 

바카라�This is a gross violation of human rights. It will be a dark spot in Indian history, that people were just thrown away like objects,바카라� he said.