Amid India's 'Infiltrator' Pushbacks, Bangladesh Deploys Armed Village Volunteers Along Border
New Delhi: The Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) has placed a series of armed village defence volunteers at more than a dozen spots across the international border in West Bengal and Tripura, amid an ongoing crackdown by the BJP governments on undocumented individuals suspected as illegal immigrants, Border Security Force (BSF) personnel on the ground were reported as saying by Hindustan Times.
According to the daily, over the last week, BSF personnel have at multiple locations in Bengal and Tripura reported sightings of Bangladeshi villagers assisting BGB personnel on their side of the border, while keeping an eye on the fencing work that has started in nine different districts of Bengal.
The sightings were primarily reported in Chapainawabganj, Thakurgaon and Dinajpur in Bangladesh – all of which share a border with Bengal.
BSF officials also told HT that at more than a dozen locations across Bangladesh’s above-mentioned districts, the Bangladesh home ministry has deployed personnel from Bangladesh Ansar and the Village Defence Party – the country’s paramilitary force – to help stop people fleeing back to Bangladesh.
“Local villagers in both West Bengal and Tripura along with BSF personnel on ground have spotted armed villagers who are doubling up as volunteers for the BGB. The villagers on our side of the border were told by the Bangladesh citizens across the border that training was held by the BGB before they were deployed,” a BSF officer, who asked not to be named, told the daily.
“This is due to the crackdown on infiltrators, which has also led to hundreds of Bangladeshi citizens voluntarily trying to flee back to Bangladesh. The BGB has trained villagers to guard the border round-the-clock in different shifts and ensure that even their citizens do not enter their country back illegally,” they added.
On June 7, West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari had said that his new government has already sent back nearly 4,800 “illegal immigrants”, and another 836 were held at temporary detention centres. Adhikari has also allotted land to the BSF for border fencing across a nearly 100-kilometre stretch.
India shares a 4,096.70-km border with Bangladesh, of which West Bengal shares the longest at 2216.7 km. Both countries have security checkposts on their side of the border.
While the BGB’S training and arming of villagers is not against the rules, the aggressive posturing shows their concern over the situation along the Indo-Bangladesh border in light of increased push-ins of what the Modi government has termed as “infiltrators” in recent years.
The matter has been a major election campaign point in the assembly elections of West Bengal and Assam. Meanwhile, the Union government has also set up a committee to investigate the demographics.
However, several Indian citizens have also been sent to Bangladesh or detained under suspicion of being Bangladeshi. The case of Awal Sheikh and Sunali Khatun are among such cases.
In a recent article for The Wire, Asif Farukh writes that these cases must be read in the context of the “Detect, Delete, Deport” policy, or the 3D policy, which is now shaping the politics of migration. “Preventing illegal immigration is both the right and the responsibility of the state. However, if the implementation of a “Detect, Delete and Deport” policy is carried out without proper investigation, evidence, an opportunity to be heard, and due legal process, it may run contrary to the Constitution and the rule of law. While national security is important, protecting the rights of innocent citizens is equally essential,” he says.
According to Bangladeshi authorities, attempts to push people across the frontier have increased markedly in recent months. BSF and BGB personnel at the border have been caught in standoffs at different places over the repatriation of “infiltrators”.
The two forces also held flag meetings at the company commander level in many places to resolve the issue of the BGB refusing to accept infiltrators.
However, speaking at a government press briefing, Bangladesh’s Information and Broadcasting Adviser, Zahed Ur Rahman spoke about the push-in dispute but rejected the notion that the Indian government was deliberately seeking confrontation.
“I do not believe that the Indian government is doing this to create tensions with Bangladesh,” he said, instead pointing toward the West Bengal election campaign, noting that the recent incidents appeared to be “a manifestation” of promises made to voters.
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