Historic sword of legendary Maratha Commander Raghuji Bhosale secured by government
News of this historic sword going up for auction broke unexpectedly on 28 April 2025, creating a wave of interest across Maharashtra. As soon as the Cultural Affairs Minister learned of it, he immediately discussed the matter with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and initiated planning to ensure the sword came into the government's possession.
Calling it a witness to many glorious feats, Shelar expressed his honour at having the privilege of bringing such a priceless piece into Maharashtra's custody, describing it as a historic victory for the entire state. This marks the first time that the State has acquired a historic artefact from abroad through an auction.
When the sword was taken into possession Monday, a large number of Marathi-speaking citizens in London gathered to witness and celebrate the event. Deputy Director of the Archaeology Department, Hemant Dalvi, also accompanied the Minister on this trip.
After completing all legal formalities, the sword will arrive at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai, at 10 am on Monday, 18 August. In the presence of Cultural Affairs Minister Shelar, a bike rally will escort the sword with great fanfare to PL Deshpande Kala Academy, Dadar. On the same day, the programme 'Gad Garjana' will be held in the presence of dignitaries.
Minister Shelar conveyed special thanks to the Chief Minister for the achievement, stating that under the leadership of CM Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, this is a proud moment that will go down in the Government's history.
Raghuji Bhosale I (1695 – 14 February 1755) was the founder of the Nagpur Bhosale dynasty and a prominent commander in the Maratha army during Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj's reign. Impressed by his bravery and military strategy, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj conferred upon him the title 'Senasahib Subha'. Raghuji Bhosale I led military campaigns against the Nawab of Bengal in 1745 and 1755, extending the Maratha Empire's reach to Bengal and Odisha. He also established control over Chanda, Chhattisgarh and Sambalpur, and defeated the Nawabs of Cuddapah and Kurnool, thereby asserting Maratha military and political dominance in southern India. Recognised as one of the most daring Maratha commanders of the 18th century, Raghuji Bhosale's Nagpur kingdom was rich in iron and copper deposits, used not only for manufacturing goods but also for crafting weapons.
The sword of Raghuji Bhosale that went under the hammer in London is an exquisite example of the Maratha-style Firangi sword, featuring a straight, single-edged European blade and a gold-inlaid Mulheri hilt. Near the hilt is the name of the European manufacturer, as such blades were popular among India's elite in the medieval era. The spine of the blade bears a gold-inlaid Devanagari inscription reading 'Shreemant Raghoji Bhosale Senasahib Subha Firang', indicating it was made for or used by Raghuji Bhosale. The hilt is adorned with gold koftgari work, and the rounded pommel is wrapped in green cloth.
This Firangi sword is remarkable for several reasons. Most medieval Maratha weapons lacked decorative embellishment or inscriptions of their makers or owners. This sword is a rare exception, bearing both intricate ornamentation and the owner's name. The presence of its European-made blade further points to the flourishing international arms trade in 18th-century India.
In 1817, the Nagpur Bhosales fought the British East India Company at Sitabuldi. Following the Company's victory, the Bhosale treasury was looted, including many valuable items, jewellery and weapons. After Nagpur was annexed, the British also received tribute and gifts from the Bhosales over time. Experts believe that Raghuji Bhosale's sword may have left India either as part of the war loot or as a gift to the British.
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Hindustan Times
17 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Ukraine's Once Nimble Army Is Mired in Soviet Decision-Making
SUMY, Ukraine — In the first year of Russia's all-out invasion, Ukraine's defenders repeatedly outmaneuvered a lumbering Russian army, relying on improvisation and the judgment of men in the field. Three years on, Ukraine's military has slipped back into a more rigid, top-down mode of fighting with roots in the Soviet era, creating mounting frustration about unnecessary casualties while hurting civilian morale and army recruitment. Without overhauls, the Soviet-style habits could undermine Ukraine's ability to sustain its defense against Russia, which shows no sign of relenting in its quest to conquer the country. Ukrainian officers and infantrymen complain of a centralized command culture that often punishes initiative and wastes men's lives. Generals order repetitive frontal assaults that have little hope of success, and deny requests from beleaguered units to carry out tactical retreats and save their men. Casualties accumulate on operations with little strategic value. 'Our army is holding mainly thanks to the initiative of people up to the level of battalion commander,' said Maj. Oleksiy Pasternak, a veteran officer who argues the higher echelons need urgent change. It isn't holding everywhere. In recent days, small groups of Russian troops have pierced Ukrainian lines at a critical spot in the eastern Donetsk region, taking advantage of Ukraine's infantry shortage. Kyiv is scrambling to stanch the advance. Russia's military suffers from far greater problems of an iron-fisted hierarchy that treats men as disposable. Its inefficiency helps explain why Russia has struggled to turn its advantages in numbers into a decisive breakthrough so far, instead inching forwards at great cost for the past two years. But the issue is more critical for Ukraine, which can't replace its losses as easily as Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made that central to his strategy. Moscow is aiming to eventually force Ukraine's capitulation by wearing out its army and outlasting its Western support. A cease-fire remains a long shot, despite this Friday's summit in Alaska between Putin and President Trump, because Putin is demanding that Ukraine retreat from strategically vital territory—a demand Kyiv and its European allies flatly reject. Final straw Privately, many Ukrainian soldiers repeat a bitter refrain: 'Big Soviet army beats little Soviet army.' Capt. Oleksandr Shyrshyn, a battalion commander in Ukraine's 47th Mechanized Brigade, took his frustrations public. In May he denounced the army's top brass on Facebook. Railing against 'stupid' orders and losses, he spoke of pervasive fear in the army of generals who are 'only capable of reprimands, investigations, imposing penalties.' Addressing the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces, he said: 'I hope your children will also be in the infantry and will carry out your tasks.' He told the Journal he was driven to speak out after his battalion was repeatedly ordered by senior commanders to launch assaults that were unrealistic for the unit's limited means. The final straw, said Shyrshyn, was an order for his men to go back into Kursk—a Russian region that Ukrainian forces had partly captured a year ago but ultimately had to withdraw from. The direction of the ordered attack was predictable and the Russians were prepared for it, he said. Wave after wave of Russian infantry counterattacks forced a retreat. Many men were killed, said Shyrshyn, including fresh, well-trained recruits, who are hard to come by. 'They were young and motivated. I had hopes for them. Instead we just lost them.' 'We need to change our methods from quantity to quality,' Shyrshyn said. 'We can't beat Russia with our resources. They are bigger—we need to be better.' Capt. Oleksandr Shyrshyn, a battalion commander in Ukraine's 47th Mechanized Brigade, has taken his frustrations public. After the Facebook post, the army leadership reprimanded Shyrshyn for indiscipline. The military's overall chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy, brushed him off as an attention-seeker. But many fellow soldiers supported his criticisms. Syrskiy's headquarters, the General Staff of the Ukrainian military, acknowledged some problems in a statement to the Journal but said improvements were being made, including an overhaul of training and the transition to a U.S.-style command approach that delegates more decisions. It said strict top-down control is sometimes needed when units aren't performing, and that brigade commanders are replaced if they're losing too many men. 'A full-scale war has revealed both strengths and vulnerabilities at all levels,' the General Staff statement said. In a sign of a continuing clash of cultures, Maj. Gen. Mykhailo Drapatiy—a 42-year-old seen as one of Ukraine's most talented generals from a younger, post-Soviet generation—resigned as head of ground forces in June. Drapatiy said he was taking responsibility for a Russian missile strike on a training base that killed 12. But he also spoke of his struggle to change an institutional culture based on 'an atmosphere of fear, lack of initiative, closedness to feedback' and 'a deep gap between the headquarters and the units.' He said he had kick-started reforms but more were needed. Soviet tradition Up and down the 750-mile front line, many Ukrainian troops tell stories similar to Shyrshyn's. One common experience: senior commanders have on a number of occasions refused to authorize a timely tactical retreat, leaving men in danger of encirclement and destruction. Front-line officers say such refusals show a wasteful attitude to men's lives by senior ranks who don't want to take the blame for losing ground. Late last year, Lt. Col. Serhiy Kostyshyn wanted to withdraw his battalion of Ukraine's Presidential Brigade from a badly exposed position in the southern part of the Donetsk region. He had intercepted Russian plans to surround the battalion, but staff headquarters kept telling him to stay put, even as larger Russian forces were outflanking the unit, he said. So Kostyshyn made his own decision. Lt. Col. Serhiy Kostyshyn, above, made his own decision last year to conduct a fighting withdrawal from a badly exposed position in the Donetsk region, despite being told to stay of the battalion commanded by Kostyshyn near the front line. Over three rain-sodden days, he conducted a fighting withdrawal. Most of the battalion escaped from the trap, but a platoon that stayed behind to cover the retreat was nearly wiped out. For months afterward, Kostyshyn was investigated by military police and the SBU, Ukraine's counterespionage service, for abandoning a position. Eventually the interrogations petered out, he said. 'If you're dumb and obedient, they leave you alone,' Kostyshyn said. 'It's the Soviet tradition.' Kostyshyn later won a promotion to deputy brigade commander. 'Somebody high up probably saw the logic of my actions,' he said. The SBU declined to comment. The General Staff said initiative on the battlefield is encouraged so long as it doesn't violate orders or lead to the unauthorized abandonment of positions. The tensions in the Ukrainian army reflect the country's larger struggle to move away from its authoritarian past toward a more Westernized, democratic society. The country's dramatic changes since independence in 1991 have often stemmed from spontaneous initiatives by its civil society, including two mass revolts against governments. But many of Ukraine's institutions still bear the legacy of the Soviet past, including bureaucratic instincts of control. Early in the war, soldiers headed into forests alongside veterans and civilians, armed with a mix of Western, Soviet-era and homemade weaponry. Their ingenuity—such as pioneering the use of commercial drones to spot the advancing Russian columns—led to a series of successes in 2022. Defying expectations in both Moscow and Western capitals of a rapid Russian conquest, Ukraine's defenders took back half of the territory that the invaders had captured. 'The butcher' Soon, however, a more old-school command structure emerged. It made a controversial decision that had a lasting impact on morale: to defend the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine for nine months, feeding many experienced army brigades into a meat grinder. The battle for Bakhmut continued for long after it was clear that Ukrainian forces would have to withdraw from the shattered city, which they finally did in May 2023. It remains the deadliest battle of the war. Wounded Ukrainian soldiers arrive at a field hospital on the Bakhmut front line, summer soldiers coming back from the front line at the eastern part of Bakhmut, December soldiers deployed at the front lines near Bakhmut, March 2023. Gen. Syrskiy, then the head of ground forces, directed the grim attritional slugfest, earning him the nickname 'the butcher' from the rank and file. Bakhmut began a worrying pattern for Ukraine's army: It was choosing battles its limited manpower couldn't afford, even though it was killing more Russians. The 60-year-old Syrskiy, who became chief commander of the military in 2024, remains widely unpopular with Ukrainian soldiers, many of whom see him as the epitome of the Soviet syndrome: a Moscow-trained career officer who micromanages units on the ground, delaying retreats or ordering assaults that lead to morale-sapping casualties for tree lines or other objectives with little strategic value. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy, right, on a visit to the front line in 2024. The General Staff said preserving soldiers' lives and health is a key priority for the military's leadership. Syrskiy has been enacting measures since 2024 to save lives through better training, use of drone technology and learning from combat experience, the statement said. But many Ukrainian officers say the problems run deeper than Syrskiy. Staff headquarters still include many officers who trained in a Soviet-style military many years before the war. Because of the rapid expansion of the army, many were pulled out of retirement and don't understand the fast-evolving, high-tech drone war on the ground, say veterans of the fighting since 2022. Some officers say the situation is now improving as men with front-line experience rise to senior positions. 'The change is not gigantic, but it's happening,' said Lt. Col. Yehor Derevianko, who is commanding a battalion of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade, another battle-hardened unit fighting on the eastern front. Shouting over the radio For years before Russia's full-scale invasion, countries from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization arranged training for Ukrainian officers to help modernize the country's military. In 2022, Pasternak attended a course in the U.K. to study NATO concepts such as mission command, an approach to warfare where senior commanders set a goal but subordinates on the ground figure out how best to achieve it. It's the antithesis of the top-down Soviet tradition. Maj. Oleksiy Pasternak, who resigned in frustration earlier this year from the 108th Territorial Defense Brigade, photographed in June in Dnipro. He is now training with the new Third Army Corps, which operates with more independence. Pasternak resigned earlier this year from the 108th Territorial Defense Brigade in frustration at commanders' failure to follow the Western military methods. 'The NATO doctrine of mission command is absent from the whole army, except maybe for a few brigades,' he said. 'They're using the Soviet principles. They don't trust the people under them.' During Ukraine's failed 2023 counteroffensive in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, generals from higher-level headquarters were shouting over the radio at brigade commanders, and even at sergeants on the battlefield, to attack again and again, even as units' casualties were making them incapable of combat, Pasternak said. He recalled a battle last year in which 14 Ukrainian infantrymen, supported by artillery and drone units in their rear, were defending buildings in the Zaporizhzhia region against attack by several hundred Russians with armor and drones. Senior commanders insisted that the position be held, he said. Lt. Col. Yehor Derevianko, commander of a battalion of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade, in the basement where his unit has established a headquarters in the Donetsk railway station, destroyed by shelling and drones. What they didn't realize was that another brigade had lost the area on their right flank, but hadn't told anyone. The Russians came in from the side and killed all 14 infantrymen, he said. Fear of being sacked often leads to brigade commanders not reporting that they've lost a position, said Pasternak and other officers. Pasternak is now training with the new Third Army Corps, being built around an elite brigade that's known for breaking with Soviet traditions: It relies on nimble decision-making at lower levels and tries to preserve its men through rigorous training and constantly analyzing and refining tactics. Meanwhile he's under investigation by his old unit for going AWOL. Collecting firewood Ukrainian forces have suffered around 400,000 total casualties, including up to 100,000 killed, according to a recent estimate by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Russian total casualties are approaching one million, up to 250,000 of them killed, according to the CSIS estimate. But Russia's total population is nearly four times bigger. In a country where everyone has a friend or relative who is fighting, stories of conscripts thrown into the fray after barely any training are hampering Ukraine's recruitment efforts. After the initial wave of patriotic enthusiasm in 2022, volunteers have become a trickle. Some soldiers say they warn friends against enlisting. Comrades and relatives of Yuri Kazakov, an army sergeant killed in June, attend his funeral at a cemetery in Kharkiv. One 50-year-old man from Kyiv said he volunteered for the army early this year and soon regretted it. Training consisted of collecting firewood. 'I didn't even see a gun.' When he joined, he said he was promised a job as a driver in a drone unit, but he was sent to join the front-line infantry near Pokrovsk, another main target of Russia's offensive. He drove back to Kyiv, joining tens of thousands of men who have gone AWOL or deserted. 'I'm happy to serve,' he said. 'But I didn't want to head to the front with no knowledge, not even having fired a gun.' The General Staff said training has been improved since last year and all soldiers are taught basic skills including shooting. Chaos in Kursk For many soldiers, Kyiv's incursion into Kursk was emblematic of how lingering Soviet habits are costing lives. The foray began well. Some of Ukraine's best assault troops stormed over the border last summer, catching the Russians by surprise and seizing more than 400 square miles of territory. Ukraine's government hoped the land could be a bargaining chip in peace negotiations. Carrying the fight to Russia was supposed to change the world's perceptions and boost morale at home. But Kursk soon turned into another attritional battle. Russia brought in reinforcements, including its best drone units and some 10,000 North Korean troops. 'They started to cut off our logistics,' said Shyrshyn, whose 47th Mechanized Brigade took part in the incursion. 'By winter we couldn't continue the operation effectively.' He said he wrote reports describing the problems and proposing solutions, but commanders didn't want to make hard decisions. 'We needed to either change the situation on the battlefield, or withdraw. But we just waited, until everything started falling apart.' Fear of making decisions led to a growing paralysis. Two men from the 41st Mechanized Brigade said their unit spotted a group of Russian soldiers out in the open and asked a commander for a mortar strike. But he refused until he had permission from higher up. A Ukrainian soldier wounded at the front is transported inside a stabilization point in the Donetsk cares for a wounded Ukrainian soldier at the medical stabilization point in the Donetsk region. 'If it doesn't work, I'll get blamed,' the commander said. By the time he got approval, the Russians had disappeared. The commander's comment became a punchline among his men. On another occasion, a corporal from the 41st said he and five other soldiers were hunkered down in a trench that was getting pummeled by Russian drones and artillery. Their overhead cover had been destroyed. They asked for permission to retreat a few hundred yards to another tree line. 'Is the square holding?' a commander responded, referring to a colored square on the army's grid map. Since the answer, for the moment, was yes, he denied permission to withdraw. Only after hours of artillery strikes were they allowed to retreat, carrying two men who couldn't walk. 'On the map it's green squares—looks tidy,' the soldier said. 'But decisions need to be made based on what's happening on the ground.' When the Ukrainians finally retreated from Kursk, it was often desperate and chaotic. Units abandoned their vehicles. Men walked long distances on foot. The main road back to Ukraine, by now under intense Russian fire, was strewn with the smoldering corpses of Ukrainian soldiers and stricken vehicles with more dead servicemen inside, according to troops who retreated. A member of the Bulava drone group of Ukraine's Presidential Brigade leaves a bunker near the eastern front where his unit develops and builds drones. Some platoon commanders who withdrew without permission to save their men's lives were investigated. Other men found themselves abandoned in Kursk without orders. A drone operator with the 17th Tank Brigade, known by his call sign Barsik, said his team was encircled by Russians after earlier being told to stay in place. He and three other men managed to escape. Barsik abandoned his brigade and joined the Da Vinci Wolves, a battalion fighting in the Donetsk region. The battalion, which relies on volunteers and private donations, has an unusual degree of independence and is known for taking care of its men. Other soldiers from the Da Vinci Wolves say they're recruiting a growing number of men who've gone AWOL from their old units. 'People were dying without understanding why. Commanders didn't care about the personnel,' said Barsik. Write to Marcus Walker at and Ian Lovett at Ukraine's Once Nimble Army Is Mired in Soviet Decision-Making Ukraine's Once Nimble Army Is Mired in Soviet Decision-Making Ukraine's Once Nimble Army Is Mired in Soviet Decision-Making Ukraine's Once Nimble Army Is Mired in Soviet Decision-Making Ukraine's Once Nimble Army Is Mired in Soviet Decision-Making Ukraine's Once Nimble Army Is Mired in Soviet Decision-Making Ukraine's Once Nimble Army Is Mired in Soviet Decision-Making Ukraine's Once Nimble Army Is Mired in Soviet Decision-Making Ukraine's Once Nimble Army Is Mired in Soviet Decision-Making Ukraine's Once Nimble Army Is Mired in Soviet Decision-Making Ukraine's Once Nimble Army Is Mired in Soviet Decision-Making Ukraine's Once Nimble Army Is Mired in Soviet Decision-Making Ukraine's Once Nimble Army Is Mired in Soviet Decision-Making Ukraine's Once Nimble Army Is Mired in Soviet Decision-Making
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Dadar Kabutarkhana row escalates into Jain–Marathi manus face-off
MUMBAI: The Dadar Kabutarkhana controversy took a sharp communal turn on Wednesday as hundreds of Marathi Ekikaran Samiti members were detained while protesting against the Jain community's demand to allow pigeon feeding. The Samiti members said that they were angered by remarks from Jain monk Nileshchandra Vijay, who threatened an indefinite hunger strike and said he would 'pick up arms' if necessary to protect his religion. Police had denied the samiti permission to protest a day earlier, but by morning, heavy bandobast was in place with barricades, deployment of multiple police teams, and officers stationed outside the adjoining Jain temple. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai | Gold Rates Today in Mumbai | Silver Rates Today in Mumbai Several shops in the vicinity remained shut. Protesters engaged in heated arguments with the police, demanding to know why no action was taken against Jain community members who had, last week, forcibly torn down the civic cover around the Kabutarkhana alleged even using knives and scissors. 'This is not a religious issue but a matter for the entire community,' said one protester, adding that if anyone was speaking about picking up weapons, 'they should clarify against whom. We come from the lineage of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and are also capable of picking up weapons. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Compare Spreads: Bitcoin vs Ethereum CFDs IC Markets Learn More Undo Marathi manus will not tolerate this.' The crowd repeatedly chanted slogans of 'Marathi mansacha vijay aso.' Samiti member Govardhan Deshmukh accused the home minister of siding with 'a particular community' and ignoring the concerns of locals. 'We had gathered only to speak to the press and give our representation to police against those who threatened to take up arms if pigeon feeding was banned. We were not here to create unrest,' he said. The confrontation comes exactly one week after the Jain community staged their own protest at the same spot against the BMC's pigeon-feeding ban — a protest that ended with them dismantling the civic cover around the Kabutarkhana. The cover however was again put up by the BMC late on Sunday night. The Kabutarkhana, a long-standing feeding spot for pigeons at Dadar, has been at the centre of a civic drive to curb the practice due to public health concerns. In response to the Samiti's protest, Jain monk Nileshchandra Vijay clarified that his community would not use weapons and planned to protest peacefully — but only after Paryushan. 'When I said we will pick up shastra, I meant we would go on a hunger strike, following Mahatma Gandhi's path of satyagraha. Even if someone assaults us, we will endure it. If anyone believes we are disrespecting the Marathi manus, let me be clear — we will never take up arms. We believe in ahimsa,' he said. He added that while Rajasthan is the community's janmabhoomi, Maharashtra is their karmabhoomi, and they respect both Maharana Pratap and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. 'We are a peace-loving trading community. But if court decisions go against us, we will be compelled to protest. We did not use weapons to cut the Kabutarkhana cover — it was cut with a sharp tool used for cutting pipes. Even at Vile Parle, when our temple was demolished, 40,000 of us gathered and protested peacefully without weapons,' he said. Calling MNS chief Raj Thackeray 'the god of the Marathi language,' the monk urged him to intervene and end the controversy. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
The Wire
3 hours ago
- The Wire
MHA Directive Contradicts Union Minister's Lok Sabha Reply on Detentions of Bangla-Speaking Migrants
While Shobha Karandlaje said state police were responsible for the drives against suspected undocumented immigrants, a May 2 Union home ministry directive proves otherwise. The recent crackdown has left the entire Khatola neighbourhood in Gurgram, where Assamese migrant workers live, deserted. Photo: Shruti Sharma New Delhi: On August 11, speaking in the Lok Sabha, Union minister of state for labour and employment Shobha Karandlaje replied to Trinamool Congress MP Abishek Banerjee's question on detentions of Bangla-speaking migrant workers. She said that the responsibility lay with state governments, citing 'public order' and 'policy' as state subjects. While she shared general statistics on migrants from West Bengal, she evaded Banerjee's question regarding concrete data on detained Bangla-speaking migrants. Karandjale's reply seemed to suggest that somehow, different police forces across states, especially in those ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, spontaneously began simultaneous detention drives of their own accord. However, a directive from the Union home ministry (MHA) and inputs The Wire gathered from officials, lawyers and detainees, point to quite the opposite – that the detentions follow MHA guidelines. On May 2, the MHA (Foreign Division) had issued a directive to the chief secretaries of all states and union territory administrations, DGPs/IGPs of all states/UTs, the DG of the Border Security Force, DG of Assam Rifles, and DG of Coast Guard, outlining the procedure for deporting undocumented Bangladeshi nationals and the Rohingya. Though a copy of this directive is unavailable online, it has been widely reported in the media. The directive reads, 'The Central Government has laid down the legal framework wherein all State Governments and Union Territory Administrations are fully empowered to take action regarding detection, imposing restrictions on the movement of illegally staying foreign nationals and their deportation/ removal/ expulsion as per the provisions in the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Foreigners Order, 1948.' It further states, 'Since the Central Government does not maintain a separate federal police force exclusively dedicated to the task of detection, imposing restrictions on movement and deportation of illegally staying foreigners, action in this regard has been entrusted to the State/ UT police.' 'Therefore, State Governments/ UT Administrations are primarily responsible for identifying the illegally and overstaying foreign nationals, their restriction in identified places and their deportation.' Also read: In Dhubri, Muslim Residents Were Evicted First and Then Deleted from Electoral Rolls The directive also lays down guidelines to be followed while apprehending Bangladeshis and Rohingya living illegally in the country. It said: '(i) All State Governments/UT Administrations shall set up a Special Task Force in each District under the police of the State/UT to detect, identify and deport / send-back illegal immigrants from Bangladesh / Myanmar settled in the State/UT concerned. (ii) All State Governments/UT Administrations shall set up adequate Holding Centers in each District under the Police of the State/UT to detain illegal immigrants from Bangladesh / Myanmar. (iii) In respect of Bangladesh / Myanmar nationals identified to be staying unauthorizedly in any particular State/UT, an inquiry shall be conducted by the State Government/UT concerned. (iv) If the suspected Bangladesh / Myanmar national claims Indian citizenship and residence of a place in any other Indian State/UT, the concerned State Government/UT would send to the Home Secretary of the State/UT and District Collector/District Magistrate of the District from where the suspected person claims to hail, the details including name, parentage, residential address, details of near relatives etc. The State Government/ UT/Collector/District Magistrate concerned in turn will ensure that an appropriate report is sent to the deporting State Government/UT after proper verification within a period of 30 days. During the period of 30 days, the suspected person shall be kept in the Holding Center to ensure physical availability at the time of deportation/ send back. If no report is received within the period of 30 days, the Foreigners Registration Officer may take necessary action to deport/ send-back the suspected Bangladesh/Myanmar national. If a person is identified as an illegal Bangladesh national / Rohingya after the enquiry, the State/ UT shall immediately capture their biometrics (fingerprints and facial photographs) and demographic details on the Foreigners Identification Portal (FIP) of the MHA. Where connectivity is not available, these shall be captured offline and then shall then be uploaded on the Foreigners Identification Portal (FIP) of the MHA as soon as possible. For this purpose, the State/ UT shall use the biometric equipment available at the Districts under the District Police Module for capturing the biometric data on FIP. In case biometric equipment is available at the Police Station in the State/UT, the same may be used to upload data on the FIP. The use of NAFIS to capture biometrics will stand to be discontinued. All State Governments/UT Administrations should maintain a record of illegal Bangladesh nationals or Rohingya handed over to designated Border Guarding Forces / Coast Guards for deportation and send a report in this regard to the Ministry of Home Affairs by the 15th day of every month through the FRRO. This report is mandatory. The order instructs states, UTs, and border guarding forces to strictly follow the revised deportation guidelines and avoid 'unnecessary publicity' around such actions. It further says that complete details of any detained Bangladeshi or Rohingya should be sent to the Ministry of External Affairs.' It carries the signature of Pratap Singh Rawat, under secretary, MHA (Foreigners). Initially, this MHA directive was not publicly available, not even on the ministry's website. When The Wire inquired with Gurugram police officials about the order, they confirmed receiving a copy but refused to share it. The PRO of Gurugram Police had told The Wire, 'Although police can detain 'suspected' foreign nationals without any order from the government, in this matter, we have the MHA directives.' Senior police officials at various instances reiterated the same claim. However, under the Foreigners Act of 1946, a uthorities cannot detain individuals solely on suspicion of being foreign nationals. Despite being severely critiqued as flawed by legal experts, there is an expectation on the part of the state to produce some evidence before a foreigners tribunal, like in the case of Assam, to challenge a person's citizenship. Last month, The Wire reported on how the Gurugram Police detained hundreds of Bengali-speaking migrant workers from West Bengal and Assam – most of whom are Muslim – on the suspicion of them being Bangladeshi citizens living in India without the required documents. People were detained despite many of them possessing Aadhaar cards, voter ID cards and, in some cases, even passports issued by the Government of India. All were later released except ten individuals whom the police claimed were 'confirmed Bangladeshis'. Following the crackdown, large numbers of Bengali-speaking migrant workers fled to Assam and West Bengal, fearing police action and harassment. In Gurugram's Khatola village – a neighbourhood that housed around 2,000 Assamese workers – most residents have fled to their villages in Assam. Also read: Bengal Migrant Who Was Stripped and Beaten in Odisha, Returns to Work – in Nagpur A copy of the May 2 MHA directive was obtained by the All India Lawyers Association for Justice (AILAJ), a pan-India association of lawyers and law students. AILAJ has called on the Union home ministry to withdraw this 'unconstitutional and illegal' directive, which they say allows the detention of individuals solely on suspicion of being foreign nationals. It has demanded that such detentions be stopped altogether and urged the courts to intervene to halt what it sees as a violation of constitutional rights. They said the May 2 directive is part of a broader assault on citizenship and the rights of working people, particularly Muslims and non-Hindi-speaking communities. It linked the Gurugram crackdown to other measures such as the verification drive in Assam, sudden voter roll revisions in Bihar, forced evictions, imposition of Hindi and the institutionalisation of Islamophobia through laws and media narratives. Legal scholar Mohsin Alam Bhat, who recently released a report titled 'Unmaking Citizens: Architecture of Rights Violations and Exclusion in India's Citizenship Trials' which argues that India's citizenship tribunals have transformed into instruments of exclusion, told The Wire in an interview this month that the detentions outside Assam – including in Gurugram and NCR – are worse than Assam. 'There is no process here,' he said. 'This is a system built on distrust and suspicion. A police official sitting in Haryana can decide who's an Indian just by looking at their faces or hearing them speak.' The Trinamool Congress has accused the Union government of evading questions on the detentions. The party alleged that the Union home ministry under Amit Shah had earlier directed BJP-ruled states to profile Bengali speakers, brand them as 'Bangladeshis' and push them out, making the Union government equally accountable for the harassment, detention and deportation of innocent workers. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
