India’s Bengal pushes out Muslim Bangladeshis, deepening religious tensions
Key takeaways
- Hundreds taken to the border and many others put in detention centres as part of a ‘detect, delete and deport’ crackdown on undocumented migrants.
- Bangladesh sent them back, leaving them temporarily stranded in no-man’s land.
- Now, a year later, fears are growing that the same could happen in West Bengal.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Hundreds taken to the border and many others put in detention centres as part of a ‘detect, delete and deport’ crackdown on undocumented migrants.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Undocumented Bangladeshi migrants gathered near the Hakimpur border crossing [Gurvinder Singh/Al Jazeera]By Gurvinder Singh Published On 10 Jun 202610 Jun 2026Hakimpur, India – Raisul Islam stands under the scorching sun near a checkpoint in Hakimpur village along the border with neighbouring Bangladesh in the North 24 Parganas district of India’s West Bengal state.
His wife, Rebeka Khatun, 36, and their two sons, Riad, 14, and Jubair, 16, are sitting nearby at an unfinished building erected with raw bricks and cement, as the brutal heat and humidity, coupled with an absence of potable water, turn the cramped waiting room into a furnace.