A dissection of rising hostility against Bengali migrants across India

In recent months, a disturbing pattern has emerged across several Indian states: Bengali-speaking individuals — particularly Muslims — are increasingly being labelled as "illegal Bangladeshis." 

From Odisha to Delhi, Gujarat to Maharashtra, hundreds of Bengali-speaking workers have been rounded up, interrogated, and detained under suspicion of being undocumented immigrants. 

Yet many of those caught in the dragnet are not foreigners — they are Indian citizens from West Bengal, working in other states as part of the country's vast and often invisible labour economy.

Thus, what began as scattered suspicion has evolved into what many now describe as a systematic campaign, unfolding beneath the pretext of national security but surfacing in ways that threaten the rights of Indian citizens themselves.

The situation escalated significantly following the launch of "Operation Sindhoor" in May this year, with reports indicating that over 2,000 individuals have since been forcibly pushed across the Bangladesh border without due legal process.

In Odisha's Jharsuguda district, 447 workers — mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims — were detained. Although 403 were later released after producing valid Indian identification, 44 remain in custody. 

In Delhi, a single raid yielded 83 detainees, including 33 minors. Similar operations have unfolded in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan as well, states where the ruling BJP has tightened its grip on both governance and political discourse.

Civil rights organisations and regional voices have raised growing concerns in this regard.

"India is a state where we practice unity in diversity. That is the soul of India. But unfortunately, incidents of Bengali migrant workers being harassed by the police in BJP-ruled states have surfaced. We strongly oppose such actions," said Siddhabrata Das, Working General Secretary of Jatiyo Bangla Sammelan, a Kolkata-based socio-political and cultural organisation. 

Meanwhile, civil rights defender Kirity Roy, founder and Secretary of Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), a Kolkata-based human rights organisation, believes these acts are not only unlawful but also constitute a blatant violation of the Indian Constitution, the country's criminal justice system, and international human rights treaties to which India is a signatory. 

"Disturbingly, these operations appear to disproportionately target Muslim communities and are being conducted under the joint command of senior police and BSF officials. 

"The timing of these actions — coinciding with the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, and the Indian government's declaration of a 'war' against Pakistan — raises serious concerns about collective punishment and communal profiling under the guise of national security," Kirity said in a statement shared with TBS. 

His concerns are also echoed by other political analysts.

"The drive to identify and deport undocumented Bangladeshi migrants has severely impacted India's Bengali-speaking Muslim population, especially the natives of West Bengal who are working as migrant workers in states ruled by the BJP," said Snigdhendu Bhattacharya, veteran journalist and political analyst.

India's central government, however, defends these actions as a matter of national security and economic competition. Narendra Modi government sees illegal migration of Muslims from Bangladesh as a threat to national security and job security of India's native population.

This aligns with the Modi administration's stated concerns over protecting borders and opportunities for Indian citizens. But critics argue that this framing ignores the lived reality of intra-national migration and undermines the economic contributions of low-wage Bengali labourers in India's expanding service and industrial sectors.

But context in this regard is very important. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India has long used the narrative of illegal Bangladeshi immigration as a political tool to stoke anti-Muslim sentiment and consolidate Hindu votes, especially in states bordering Bangladesh. 

Despite a lack of concrete evidence, top BJP leaders — such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah — have consistently portrayed Bangladeshi Muslims as demographic threats and security risks to deflect attention from the party's underperformance on socio-economic fronts.

"Due to the historical Islamic and colonial past, Hindu masses can easily be mobilised against the Muslims or any non-Hindus. BJP manipulates these underlying resentful emotions among Hindus to win the election. Bangladeshi illegal immigrants' narrative shall be seen in this context," Dr Amit Singh, a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Social Studies (CES) in the University of Coimbra, previously told TBS.

Meanwhile, Bhattacharya points out that "the rather indiscriminate detention of hundreds of Bengali migrant workers from West Bengal — predominantly Muslims but includes some Hindus as well — in the states of Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Odisha, has triggered political controversies and humanitarian concerns." 

Indeed, reports have emerged of workers being detained despite possessing valid Aadhaar cards, ration cards, or voter IDs, raising questions about the legality and ethics of the detentions.

Many of those detained were breadwinners who had migrated thousands of kilometres from their home districts in search of low-paying, back-breaking work, only to be treated as criminals.

In several reported cases, families were separated; minors were held in shelter homes; and detainees were denied access to lawyers or interpreters. The trauma is particularly acute for women and children, who are often left without financial or social support.

Others within such communities who have not yet faced a similar situation are also living with the constant fear of arrest, deportation, or separation from their children. Some have stopped going to work. Others avoid hospitals or public offices, fearing they will be flagged. This state of precarity isn't just undignified—it's inhumane.

This evolving standoff is further complicated by India's incomplete efforts at implementing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). 

Although both have seen delays and legal challenges, especially outside Assam, the broader sentiment they fuel — of a national purge against 'illegals' — continues to expedite administrative actions across India.

The West Bengal government, however, has taken note. On 15 July, CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim led a Left Front rally in Kolkata, protesting what he called rampant and arbitrary detentions. The following day, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of Trinamool Congress (TMC) led her own rally, braving heavy rain to denounce the targeting of Bengali migrants. 

Banerjee accused the BJP-led central government of weaponising citizenship laws to undermine West Bengal's political autonomy and erode the cultural identity of Bengalis. The state's ruling party alleges that the migrant crackdown is a form of voter suppression aimed at marginalising minority communities ahead of the upcoming elections. 

"As of now, it appears that political controversies around citizenship and illegal migration will continue to influence, if not dominate, the political discourse until Assam and West Bengal assembly elections due next year," Bhattacharya opined. 

"The BJP's opponents would accuse Modi's party of being anti-Bengali, while the BJP would blame its opponents for playing with India's national security and job market by impeding the anti-infiltrator drive." 

Thus, this political tug-of-war is polarising the electorate and sharpening identity-based divisions.

The courts, too, are being drawn into the fray. Several habeas corpus petitions have been filed on behalf of detainees. The Calcutta High Court has issued notices to the Centre, asking for clarification on the legal grounds for such detentions. 

"Some of the victims of such harassment have approached the court, and how the judiciary acts would also impact how the controversy shapes," Bhattacharya opined. The legal response will be pivotal in determining whether the crackdown continues—or is tempered by constitutional checks.

Still, if the crackdown continues, its consequences will reverberate far beyond the Bengali migrant community. A nation that targets its own citizens in the name of security and criminalises the very languages and labour that sustain it may gain votes in the short term, but it loses moral legitimacy in the long run. The cost is not only political, but human. 

And it is one thing that India, as a constitutional democracy, can ill afford.