Fifteen years after the killing of Felani Khatun, violence along the Bangladesh–India border remains an unresolved and deeply troubling reality. Felani, a Bangladeshi teenager, was shot dead by India's Border Security Force (BSF) on January 7, 2011, while crossing the barbed-wire fence at the Anantapur border in Phulbari upazila of Kurigram. Her body remained hanging from the fence for hours. The incident sparked widespread outrage at home and abroad and drew global attention to human rights abuses at the border. Yet killings, torture and other abuses have not only continued but become disturbingly routine. The persistence of such violence by Indian forces points to a failure of accountability and an erosion of respect for international law and bilateral commitments.
The testimonies of victims' families and rights activists at a recent event made clear that such violence has continued unabated. From the killing of teenage Jayanta Kumar Singh in September 2024 to reports of detention, torture and sexual violence against women, there is a clear pattern of excessive and unlawful force used by India's BSF. According to Odhikar, at least 625 Bangladeshi citizens, including 25 children and adolescents, were killed, and 808 were injured between 2009 and 2025 by BSF gunfire or torture. These are not isolated incidents; they reflect a systemic problem that has gone unaddressed for far too long.
Equally alarming are the continued reports of push-ins from India during recent months. Despite Bangladesh's formal protests, Indian agencies have allegedly pushed nearly 2,500 Bangla-speaking people, including Rohingya refugees and even individuals holding Indian documents, across the border without any diplomatic procedures. Families have been rounded up in raids, detained, abused, and dumped at border points under the cover of darkness. Allegations have also been raised that India is involved in the enforced disappearances of Bangladeshi citizens. Such acts blatantly violate international human rights norms and established repatriation procedures, deepen mistrust and strain bilateral relations.
We urge the Indian authorities to stop border killings and all kinds of violence once and for all. Our government should robustly raise these concerns through diplomatic channels and, if necessary, at international forums to ensure accountability for such grave human rights violations. Silence or passivity will only embolden further abuses. The government must ensure justice for victims' families, compensation and transparent investigations. The legacy of Felani Khatun demands that border violence is no longer accepted as inevitable, and that Bangladesh's sovereignty, dignity, and the rights of its citizens are defended with resolve.
