West Bengal authorities say thousands of undocumented Bangladeshis have been expelled since the BJP took power in the border state, as the government expands detention centres and intensifies its crackdown on illegal migration.
West Bengal authorities say thousands of undocumented Bangladeshis have been expelled since the BJP took power in the border state, as the government expands detention centres and intensifies its crackdown on illegal migration.
FILE: Suvendu Adhikari, a BJP leader, is congratulated by Modi after taking oath as the West Bengal chief minister in Kolkata, India, May 9 2026. / Reuters India has deported nearly 5,000 Bangladeshi citizens since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist party swept to power in the eastern state of West Bengal last month, according to official statistics.
Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party won a sweeping victory in elections in the eastern border state of more than 100 million people, promising to "detect, delete and deport" illegal migrants. India shares a long and porous border with Muslim-majority Bangladesh, where migration has historically been driven by economic hardship and longstanding family links.
On taking power, the new West Bengal government ordered the establishment of detention centres for undocumented Bangladeshis and Rohingya refugees, a mainly Muslim people who fled persecution in Myanmar. TRT World - Post-election violence rocks India's West Bengal as chief minister contests BJP win State Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, speaking in the capital Kolkata on Sunday, said nearly 5,000 Bangladeshi citizens had been deported across the border.
"We have started the work of deporting Bangladeshi infiltrators who do not fall under the purview of the Citizenship Amendment Act," Adhikari said, saying the government had "established holding centres in all districts of the state" in May. Armenia PM heads for win as ruling party leads parliamentary vote"Another 836 people are currently in the holding centres... we are making arrangements to deport the 836 soon," Adhikari said.
The deportation campaign comes against a backdrop of longstanding political tensions over immigration in the border state. Critics say the BJP's rhetoric and policies have added to the unease and marginalisation of India's more than 200 million Muslims, accusing the party of conflating religious identity with illegal migration.
TRT World - Bangladesh accuses India of multiple attempts to force people into its territory Relations between India and Muslim-majority Bangladesh soured after a 2024 revolution in Dhaka ended the autocratic rule of then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, an ally of New Delhi, who fled to India. A new government in Dhaka was elected in February, and relations have since slowly improved. Bangladesh and Indian border force chiefs are due to meet in New Delhi on Monday.
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