THE killing of at least 11 Bangladeshi nationals in January-April by the Indian Border Security Force shows the sheer disregard of the Indian border forces for numerous pledges, bilateral agreements and international laws. According to the rights group Ain o Salish Kendra, five were killed in April alone, three in March, one in February, and two in January. In 2024, at least 30 Bangladeshis were killed by the BSF. Since the ouster of the authoritarian Awami League government in August 2024, border killing appears to have increased, with at least 24 Bangladeshis killed since then. In February, at a director general-level conference between Border Guard Bangladesh and India鈥檚 Border Security Force, Indian authorities once again pledged to bring border killings down to zero. However, the pledge was broken within days by the BSF, which killed at least eight Bangladeshi nationals in the following two months. In several instances, India鈥檚 border force reportedly crossed into Bangladeshi territory and abducted farmers working on their land. In the most recent such incident, on May 2, the BSF picked up two Bangladeshis from the Patgram border in Lalmonirhat. Earlier that day, the BSF picked up two Bangladeshi farmers from the Biral border in Dinajpur. In response, local Bangladeshis detained two Indian nationals.
On April 16, a Bangladeshi national cutting grass on Bangladeshi land near the border was detained by a BSF patrol team that had crossed into Bangladesh. The BSF took him across the border, shot him in the eyes, and later admitted him to a hospital, where he died in the evening. Such incidents contradict the BSF鈥檚 claim that it uses force only against 鈥榮mugglers and criminals鈥� 鈥� a claim that is problematic in itself. Cross-border smuggling occurs along the border and involves people from both sides. There are agreements and international laws in place for dealing with smugglers, and none of these laws allow any force to adopt a shoot-to-kill policy. This policy has made the Bangladesh鈥揑ndia border the deadliest in the region 鈥� the BSF killed over 1,300 Bangladeshis between 2000 and 2023, according to the rights organisation Odhikar. Moreover, while BSF border killings have remained a prickly issue between the two countries, the recent attempts by Indian border guards to erect fences at several locations on the zero line 鈥� in violation of bilateral agreements 鈥� reflect India鈥檚 unneighbourly and provocative attitude.
The Indian guards鈥� disregard for international border control protocols is a major obstacle to fostering good relations between Bangladesh and India. The Indian authorities must, therefore, deliver on their pledges and honour bilateral agreements and laws regarding border management. Dhaka must raise its concerns in international and bilateral forums to pressure New Delhi into abiding by these agreements and laws.