CAUGHT between two states and claimed by neither, they wait under the open sky. Some have spent days in the narrow strips of land that separate Bangladesh and India. Others have been held for weeks in detention centres in India before being driven to the border in darkness. Among them are women clutching frightened children, elderly people exhausted by uncertainty and poverty and men whose bewildered faces betray a simple question. Where do they belong?
Their plight is a humanitarian tragedy unfolding in plain sight. The faces of those stranded in the no man’s land between Bangladesh and India evoke scenes that history has witnessed repeatedly whenever states fail to uphold human dignity. They are reminders that behind every policy slogan and political calculation stand real human beings whose lives can be upended by the stroke of a bureaucrat’s pen or the command of a security official. Unless the current trajectory changes, many more are likely to suffer the same fate.
The ongoing push-in strategy pursued by Indian authorities along the Bangladesh border has created a situation that raises legal, humanitarian and moral concerns. It has left vulnerable people stranded between countries, strained bilateral relations and exposed the growing influence of exclusionary politics in India that increasingly target minorities. More importantly, it has undermined principles of due process, neighbourliness and respect for rights that should govern relations between sovereign states.
While every sovereign state possesses the right to identify and deport undocumented migrants, it does not grant states the authority to disregard domestic laws, bilateral arrangements or international norms.
If an individual is suspected of residing illegally in a country, established legal procedures exist for determining nationality, verifying identity and conducting repatriation. Bangladesh has repeatedly communicated its willingness to accept any of its citizens found to be living illegally in India provided proper verification procedures are followed. Yet, instead of engaging fully through these mechanisms, Indian authorities have increasingly resorted to unilateral push-ins.
The distinction is crucial. A lawful deportation follows due process. A push-in bypasses it.
The evidence increasingly suggests that many of those being forced across the border are not verified Bangladeshis at all. According to Border Guard Bangladesh data, India pushed 2,344 people into Bangladesh between May 2025 and January 2026, excluding Rohingya refugees. Among them were 126 Indians. Their eventual return to India exposed the arbitrary nature of the exercise and raised serious questions about the methods being used to identify alleged ‘illegal immigrants.’
The practice has continued despite judicial scrutiny. In September 2025, the Calcutta High Court reportedly declared such forcible deportation into Bangladesh illegal and ordered the repatriation of Indian citizens who had been pushed across the frontiers. Yet, legal censure appears to have done little to halt the policy.
Particularly troubling are reports regarding the treatment of the Rohingya refugees. India has allegedly pushed hundreds of Rohingyas into Bangladesh, including more than a hundred who had been registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in India. These individuals had already been recognised as refugees entitled to international protection. Their expulsion into Bangladesh raises serious concerns regarding refugee rights. The humanitarian implications are difficult to ignore.
Reports describe families being transported to border areas at night and forced through gaps in fencing. Some allegedly had identity documents, money and personal belongings taken from them. Others were left stranded near the zero line after Bangladeshi authorities had refused entry because their nationality could not be verified.
The image of hungry children crying in makeshift conditions while women sleep under the open sky should trouble anyone who believes in the basic principles of human dignity. Borders may define states, but they should not erase humanity.
The role of politics in this crisis is impossible to overlook. The rhetoric surrounding migration in parts of India has become increasingly aggressive and exclusionary. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has publicly defended what he describes as a ruthless approach to deportation, arguing that formal procedures are too slow. Similar sentiments have emerged from political leaders in West Bengal after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s electoral gains there.
The phrase ‘detect, delete and deport’ may resonate with certain political constituencies, but it reduces complex human realities to simplistic political narratives. When citizenship becomes entangled with religion, ethnicity or partisan mobilisation, the consequences can be devastating.
Human Rights Watch has already raised alarms regarding the treatment of ‘ethnic Bengali’ Muslims in India, alleging that authorities have carried out the expulsion without due process. The organisation has warned that people have been detained and expelled on questionable grounds, sometimes linked to voter-list exclusions and citizenship disputes.
These concerns do not emerge in isolation. They are connected to broader developments that have shaped India’s political landscape over the past decade. The controversial citizenship verification exercise in Assam left nearly two million people without a recognised citizenship status. The Citizenship Amendment Act generated widespread criticism for introducing religion as a criterion in the citizenship policy. More recently, allegations surrounding voter-list revisions and the disproportionate impact on Muslim communities have deepened fears of institutional discrimination.
Against this backdrop, the push-in policy appears less like an administrative response to migration and more like a manifestation of a larger ideological project.
Bangladesh, on its part, has maintained a comparatively consistent position. It has resisted attempts to force people across the border while continuing to insist on formal verification and repatriation mechanisms. Border Guard Bangladesh personnel have reportedly foiled numerous push-in attempts, arguing that no sovereign state can be expected to accept individuals whose nationality remains unverified.
Dhaka’s position is legally sound and diplomatically responsible. Accepting unverified individuals would not only undermine established procedures but also create incentives for further violations. At the same time, Bangladesh must continue to engage diplomatically and raise the issue in regional and international forums. The challenge extends beyond bilateral relations. It concerns broader issues of refugee protection, rights and regional stability.
The international response has so far been disappointingly muted. Human Rights Watch has condemned the push-in strategy and called for due process protection. The United Nations has urged Bangladesh and India to resolve the issue through dialogues while emphasising respect for rights and human dignity. Yet, expressions of concern alone are unlikely to change the behaviour.
History suggests that silence often emboldens rights violations rather than curbing them. International organisations, regional forums and rights agencies need to engage more actively with the issue. Civil society organisations and conscientious section of people in India also have a critical role to play. Democratic societies depend on institutions and citizens willing to challenge policies that undermine constitutional values and human rights. The stakes extend beyond those currently stranded in the border.
Policies built on exclusion rarely remain confined to a single group. Today’s targets may be undocumented migrants, suspected foreigners or vulnerable refugees. Tomorrow, the circle can widen further. When due process is abandoned for expediency and religious identity becomes a basis for exclusion, the rule of law begins to erode.
The people stranded in no man’s land are, therefore, more than victims of a border dispute. They are symbols of a larger struggle between law and arbitrariness, inclusion and exclusion, and humanity and indifference.
Their predicament should compel governments and societies alike to ask difficult questions. Can a state claim to uphold the rule of law while bypassing legal procedures? Can democratic institutions remain healthy when citizenship becomes politicised? Can neighbouring countries build lasting relationships while treating vulnerable people as disposable burdens?
The answers should be obvious. No nation loses dignity by respecting human rights. No border becomes less secure because laws are followed. No government becomes weaker by treating people humanely.
The men, women and children stranded between Bangladesh and India deserve more than uncertainty. They deserve legal clarity, humane treatment and the protection of rights that transcend nationality. Until that happens, the narrow stretches of no man’s land along the border will remain stark reminders of how easily law and humanity can be abandoned when partisan, exclusionary politics overtakes principle.
Monwarul Islam is an assistant editor at New Age.
