INDIA’S Border Security Force continuing to push people into Bangladesh is another instance of its blatant disregard for international laws and border protocols and bilateral agreements. On May 10 and 11, Indian border guards pushed at least 92 people into Bangladesh through border points in Satkhira and Chuadanga. Indian border guards pushed 78 people into Bangladesh through Mandarbaria under the Satkhira range in the western part of the Sundarban forest on May 10. The Forest Department rescued them from the forest and handed them over to the police. The 78 people were sick with marks of torture on their bodies, with at least one of them having a broken arm. Among them, there were a few Indian nationals and the others were Bangladeshi citizens. The next day, the Bangladesh Border Guard detained 14 people, including women and children, for illegally entering Bangladesh from India through the Jibannagar border in Chuadanga. Earlier on May 7, at least 123 people, including many Indian nationals and Rohingyas, entered Bangladesh through a few border points in Khagrachari and Kurigram. On May 8, the BGB detained 25 people — 15 of them in Moulvibazar and 10 in Dinajpur. All this constitutes another unneighbourly attitude on part of India.
While the pushing in of Indian citizens into Bangladesh is odious from all perspectives, the pushing in of any Bangladeshi, who allegedly crossed into India illegally, is also a violation of international laws and bilateral agreements, which specify the procedures of dealing with illegal trespassers. The illegal pushing in of people into Bangladesh appears to be a new episode in the unneighbourly attitude of India and the new episode is likely to further aggravate the already strained bilateral relations, which suffer because of the unabated killing of Bangladeshi nationals on the border, among other things. Indian border guards killed at least 11 Bangladeshi nationals in January-April, according to rights group Ain O Salish Kendra. While Indian authorities continue to pledge to honour international laws and bilateral agreements in border management and follow a no-lethal-weapon policy, its border guards have continued a shoot-to-kill policy all along, turning the Bangladesh–India border the deadliest in the region. The BSF killed over 1,300 Bangladeshis between 2000 and 2023, according to the rights organisation Odhikar. The recent attempts by Indian border guards to erect fences at several locations on the zero line — in violation of bilateral agreements — are another provocative act that the Indian guards have continued on and off.
The Indian authorities should ensure that the BSF stops its push-in efforts and honours the bilateral agreements and international laws regarding border management and Dhaka should raise its concerns in international and bilateral forums to pressure Delhi into abiding by the agreements and laws.
