By Ashis Biswas
KOLKATA: In West Bengal, new Chief Minister Mr. Suvendu Adhikari has certainly made an impressive beginning in galvanising/reviving the moribund state administration, which hardly properly functioned during the 15 year long tenure of the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Credit for the visible improvement in the functioning of various departments also goes to two senior officers in the new administration, Mr. Subrata Gupta and Mr. Manoj .Agarwal. Known for their competence, both had been unfairly consigned to Coventry, along with other efficient officers, during Mamata Banerjee’s reign.
However, Mr. Adhikari needs to tread with caution in tackling the thorny issue of Bangladeshi illegal influx. This is a top priority assignment for the new Government. Deporting thousands of Rohingyas and illegal Bangladeshis is a more complex business than his 3 D (detect, delete, deport) programme suggests because of external reasons well beyond well his control.
In the context of present world developments, India may find it extremely difficult if not impossible to repatriate either illegal Bangladeshis or Rohingyas (fortunately fewer in number) to their home countries in significant numbers. It hardly matters therefore whether Mr. Adhikari is ruling West Bengal or someone else.
In the short term, more diplomatic pressure will be brought to bear on Bangladesh and Myanmar, to take back their citizens who have entered into and settled in India. But prospects of success appear dim. This is not to write off GOI’s efforts, to end Bangladeshi illegal infiltration of which Mr. Adhikari’s initiative to complete the border fending and other work to protect Indian territory forms a major part.,
Present developments suggest that Bangladesh authorities, who have yet to announce permission for nearly 3000 illegals marked for expulsion from India two years ago, would never own up and readmit thousands already rounded up by GOI! In 2026, the plight of these Bangladeshis is strongly reminiscent of the situation Burmese Rohingyas in the Rakhine state faced during the 1980s. Unlike the Burmese authorities GOI has not resorted to driving ‘non citizens’ out by burning their villages and killing them en masse!
In the historical context of these developments that GOI has been compelled to take a new harder line against illegal immigration. This is what the large lobby of peaceniks and liberals in India and abroad do not appreciate. Bangladesh is the most densely populated country in the world, but for sheltering lakhs of displaced Rohingyas it receives a fair amount of regular international aid.
Also, unlike generations of illegal Bangladeshis settled in India, Rohingyas in Bangladesh are not allowed to secure local jobs or work of any kind. Whereas illegal Bangladeshis settled in West Bengal and other states admit having received Aadhaar, PAN and ration cards, not to mention benefits of the various women welfare schemes, aided by the TMC and other parties
The silver lining is, even if Bangladesh refuses to accept lakhs of its citizens who had been illegally living in India for years, conditions for ‘non Indians’ caught without official documents would be very difficult indeed in the near future. In 2026, India is also a densely populated country with its 1.4 billion citizens of whom about 80% are below middle class income levels!
Further Bangladesh and Myanmar are independent developing countries with full sovereign rights in international communities like the UN and other bodies. Along with their rights, they must also assume full and every responsibility for the behaviour, well being and interest of their own citizens who must not create problems while they live abroad. Countries with far more resources than India have virtually thrown out illegal foreigners who had sneaked into their territory in recent years.
The US under President Trump has sent back such illegals bag and baggage, in planeloads, to India, Mexico and other places. The UK has deported over 12000 Bangladeshis during the last two years, while in Germany, there is a new slogan to reduce the number of immigrants (mostly Muslim) by at least 800,000!
In short, there seems to be no reason for India to go on the defensive on HR-related issues in the face of organised campaigns at home or abroad by lobbyists. It is almost certain that Bangladesh will not accept its citizens from India in large numbers, following the bad example set by Myanmar authorities on the Rohingya issue vis-a-vis Bangladesh.
No wonder thousands of Bangladeshis, understanding what may be in store for them in Assam, Bengal, Maharashtra or Madhya Pradesh, where ‘holding centres’ are being set up to detain them, have gathered at the Bangladesh border at Murshidabad, Nadia and parts of north Bengal. That apart, the frenzied reaction in Bangladesh among Jamaat-e-Islami circles against the GOI’s decision to complete border fending in West Bengal, suggests that the message seems to have reached the ruling establishment in Dhaka that India would not be prevented from taking a very hard line on illegal infiltration from now on.
It seems for some time in the near future, India would resort to its recent policy of directly pushing back hordes of illegals back into Bangladesh, at suitably opportune moments, GOI would not convert its ‘holding centres’ into permanent refugee camps, where essential supplies to ensure human survival need to be maintained officially.
As for the question of Rohingya repatriation to Myanmar, recent developments occurring way beyond India’s shores spell only bad news. The fatigue and indifference of international community about the plight of the Rohingyas has increased over the years. The recent ongoing wars in West Asia and Ukraine have landed additional millions of people in acute financial distress, straining the world’s economy.
It comes as no surprise that the UN and concerned international agencies have recommended that the quantum of aid for Rohingya repatriation and rehabilitation, mainly intended to help Bangladesh, be reduced to $715 million during the next fiscal, a year-on-year decline of nearly 20%. Most donor countries and relief organising agencies have reported funds crunches of their own, thanks to the generally unsettled international situation.
Further economic strains within the EU and the US and domestic income losses have emerged as a major factor. The numbers of homeless people forced to live on the streets of major cities in the US, the UK, Ireland and France, are increasing.
Intensive UN-sponsored, West-backed negotiations to carry out the return of the Rohingyas and their rehab in Myanmar from Bangladesh have not progressed very much. Only a few hundreds of people have gone back. The Burmese, currently recovering from the effects of a long bruising civil war at home, are unlikely to give top priority for Rohingya rehab, for Rakhine refugees sent from Bangladesh or India.
GOI and concerned authorities including the Chief Ministers of Assam, Tripura and West Bengal, have no other option than adopting a’ wait and watch position while dealing with illegal infiltration. (IPA Service)
