THE recent directive of the Calcutta High Court declaring the forcible deportation of people into Bangladesh as ‘illegal’ has lent judicial confirmation of what Dhaka has for long asserted. India’s border management practices increasingly violate the international law, bilateral agreements and the norms of neighbourly relations. The court also ordered India’s home ministry to repatriate six Indians, including a pregnant woman, in four weeks. The six were pushed into Bangladesh in August. Since May this year, Indian authorities have forced nearly 2,400 people into Bangladesh, including Rohingyas, many registered with the UNHCR in India and Indian citizens. On September 24 alone, 19 individuals were pushed through the Chanshikari border in Chapainawabganj. The justification appears disturbingly flimsy: suspicion of lacking valid papers or simply speaking Bangla. This raises fundamental questions. If even Indians can be summarily cast across the border, what does it say about India’s commitment to due process? And if Rohingyas under international protection are forcibly expelled, does it not constitute a clear breach of India’s international obligations? Beyond the immediate rights violations, such actions strike at the core of bilateral trust, undermining assurances both the sides have often repeated that all irregular migration issues will be addressed through established channels.
Bangladesh, for its part, has repeatedly offered a principled approach. If any Bangladeshis are proved to be illegally in India, Dhaka is prepared to take them back through proper legal procedures. Yet, India appears unwilling to follow this framework, choosing, instead, to engage in coercive tactics that further strain relations. These unlawful actions are mounting additional pressure on the already tense bilateral ties, which have been under stress due to persistent issues, notably the continued killings of Bangladeshis along the border. While Indian authorities routinely profess a commitment to honouring international laws and bilateral agreements, including a ‘no lethal weapon’ policy in the border, Indian border forces have routinely disregarded the principles and have pursued a shoot-to-kill policy. Moreover, recent attempts by Indian forces at erecting fences on no man’s land have further compounded the disregard for agreements. All this amounts to violations that demand urgent redress. The Calcutta High Court’s order offers a rare opening: an Indian judicial institution recognising the illegality of its government’s actions. It is now incumbent on both Dhaka and New Delhi to seize this moment with honesty, legality and neighbourly goodwill, before the border becomes not merely a line of division, but a wound too deep to heal.
Dhaka must, therefore, voice its concerns in regional platforms, the United Nations, and rights forums to hold India accountable. New Delhi, in turn, needs to follow laws and agreements and abandon its unneighbourly actions and policies. At the same time, the voice of conscience in both Bangladesh and India — political parties, rights groups, civil society — must resist the normalisation of such unlawful practices.
