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4 min readNew DelhiJun 7, 2026 03:31 AM IST
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We have requested Bangladesh to verify the nationality of over 2,860 people whom we think are Bangladeshi nationals, and they are staying here in India. We are yet to get a response on this matter.”
AS THE bordering states of West Bengal and Assam intensify their crackdown on illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, the Indian government has requested the neighbouring country to verify the nationality of 2,860 people so that they can be sent back.
This assumes significance at a time when hundreds of Bangladeshi immigrants, who are reported to have entered India illegally, have flocked to the borders in the recent weeks, as reported by The Indian Express. This movement of people has been fuelled by the announcement of the newly elected BJP government in West Bengal, led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, that it will follow the “detect, delete and deport” policy; the government has so far detained about 400 undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants in its detention centres. This is also an outcome of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state, which has led to a panic among the immigrants in the border state.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We have requested Bangladesh to verify the nationality of over 2,860 people whom we think are Bangladeshi nationals, and they are staying here in India. We are yet to get a response on this matter.”
Addressing the weekly media briefing on Friday, the MEA spokesperson said: “All foreign nationals in India, if they are here illegally, including from Bangladesh… we have laws to deal with them, and they’ll be dealt with accordingly.”
“As far as deportation of these people is concerned, there is a bilateral mechanism in place… We refer these cases to the Bangladeshi side for them to verify the nationality of these people, and once it is verified, we take forward the deportation process.”
“We have several or many of these requests, which are still pending with the Bangladeshi side, and we hope and expect that they’ll be expedited as soon as possible so that the deportation of people who are illegally staying in India can be taken forward in a smooth and efficient manner,” Jaiswal said.
Explained
The Diplomatic Challenge
The diplomatic challenge for India is to navigate the issue of deporting illegal Bangladeshi nationals as the BJP has won the two bordering states of West Bengal and Assam on the poll plank of deporting illegal immigration from the neighbouring country. The Bangladesh border guards have not been taking the immigrants back since they too need to verify their nationality. Dhaka, meanwhile, has expressed concern over “push in attempts”, insisting that any return should be through formal, legal and diplomatic channels.
Officials said they have been raising this issue with the Bangladeshi side for the past several years.
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In early May, Delhi had raised the issue of illegal immigrants with Dhaka and expressed hope that it will expedite nationality verification for smooth repatriation. The development came days after the BJP swept the West Bengal Assembly polls.
A day after the poll results, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman was quoted in the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s official Facebook page as saying that Dhaka will take action if “push-in” incidents occur amid the change of power in the bordering state.
Officials said the issue of illegal migration from Bangladesh to India is being discussed at several bilateral meetings between the two countries, including at the home secretary level. India and Bangladesh have put in place mechanisms, including a Coordinated Border Management Plan, to address problems arising from illegal border crossing, reduce the scope for incidents on the border and enhance cooperation between the border guarding forces of the two countries. The two sides are also cooperating in undertaking fencing of the vulnerable patches with a view to prevent criminal activities and illegal movements along the border, officials said.
Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More
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