Key points
- The crackdown began after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s govt in Bangladesh: The Hindu
- The newspaper reports it intensified following the Pahalgam attack
- Delhi police have reportedly checked documents of over 16,000 Bengali speakers in recent months
ISLAMABAD: Thousands of Bengali-speaking migrants working across several Indian States are being questioned over their citizenship, detained, and, in some cases, allegedly pushed into Bangladesh, triggering a wave of fear that has forced many to return to West Bengal.
The crackdown, according to The Hindu, began after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in Bangladesh in August 2024 and intensified following the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam attack.
Harshest treatment
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that Bengali-speakers face the harshest treatment in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled States.
One such case is that of Nazimuddin Mondal, 34, from Murshidabad district, West Bengal. Mondal, who had been working in Mumbai’s Nalasopara area, earning $14 a day, was detained on June 9, 2025.
Deportations
He claims police questioned him, checked his phone for Bangladeshi contacts, and transported him, via Pune, to north Bengal, before allegedly forcing him across the international border into Bangladesh with $3 in Bangladeshi currency, food, and water.
On June 14, a video surfaced on social media showing Mondal and two other migrant workers, Minarul Sheikh and Mostafa Kamal Sheikh, appealing to the West Bengal Chief Minister for rescue. They were repatriated the next day through the Mekhliganj border in the Cooch Behar district.
Reports of similar incidents have emerged from multiple States. Delhi police have reportedly checked documents of over 16,000 Bengali speakers in recent months, according to The Hindu.
Detention centres
Gujarat authorities detained more than 1,000 migrants in Ahmedabad and Surat, while Haryana established detention centres in July. In Odisha, about 400 migrant workers from West Bengal were detained by Jharsuguda police in mid-July, with some released after three days, the English daily reported.
The political debate over the treatment of Bengali-speaking migrants has intensified ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections in West Bengal.
