Latest news with #ForeignersTribunals
The Star
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
India intensifies expulsion of suspected foreigners to Bangladesh
FILE PHOTO. Police officers stand next to men they believe to be undocumented Bangladeshi nationals after detained during raids in Ahmedabad, India, April 26, 2025. - Photo: Reuters file GUWAHATI, (India): India has started to push people it considers illegal immigrants into neighbouring Bangladesh, but human rights activists say authorities are arbitrarily throwing people out of the country. Since May, the northeastern Indian state of Assam has "pushed back" 303 people into Bangladesh out of 30,000 declared as foreigners by various tribunals over the years, a top official said this week. Such people in Assam are typically long-term residents with families and land in the state, which is home to tens of thousands of families tracing their roots to Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Activists say many of them and their families are often wrongly classified as foreigners in mainly Hindu India and are too poor to challenge tribunal judgements in higher courts. Some activists, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal, said only Muslims had been targeted in the expulsion drive. An Assam government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Assam, which has a 260 km (160 mile) border with Bangladesh, started sending back people last month who had been declared as foreigners by its Foreigners Tribunals. Such a move is politically popular in Assam, where Bengali language speakers with possible roots in Bangladesh compete for jobs and resources with local Assamese speakers. "There is pressure from the Supreme Court to act on the expulsion of foreigners," Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the state assembly on Monday. "We have pushed back 303 people. These pushbacks will be intensified. We have to be more active and proactive to save the state." He was referring to the Supreme Court asking Assam in February why it had not moved on deporting declared foreigners. Bangladesh's foreign affairs adviser, Touhid Hossain, did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment. Last week, he told reporters that people were being sent to his country from India and that the government was in touch with New Delhi over it. Aman Wadud, an Assam-based lawyer who routinely fights citizenship cases and is now a member of the main opposition Congress party, said the government was "arbitrarily throwing people out of the country". "There is a lot of panic on the ground - more than ever before," he said. Some brought back Sarma said no genuine Indian citizens will be expelled. But he added that up to four of the people deported were brought back to India because appeals challenging their non-Indian status were being heard in court. One of them was Khairul Islam, a 51-year-old former government school teacher who was declared a foreigner by a tribunal in 2016. He spent two years in an Assam detention centre and was released on bail in August 2020. He said police picked him up on May 23 from his home and took him to a detention centre, from where he and 31 others were rounded up by Indian border guards and loaded into a van, blindfolded and hands tied. "Then, 14 of us were put onto another truck. We were taken to a spot along the border and pushed into Bangladesh," he said. "It was terrifying. I've never experienced anything like it. It was late at night. There was a straight road, and we all started walking along it." Islam said residents of a Bangladeshi village then called the Border Guard Bangladesh, who then pushed the group of 14 into the "no man's land between the two countries". "All day we stood there in the open field under the harsh sun," he said. Later, the group was taken to a Bangladesh guards camp while Islam's wife told police in Assam that as his case was still pending in court, he should be brought back. "After a few days, I was suddenly handed back to Indian police," he said. "That's how I made my way back home. I have no idea what happened to the others who were with me, or where they are." It is not only Assam that is acting against people deemed to be living illegally in the country. Police in the western city of Ahmedabad said they have identified more than 250 people "confirmed to be Bangladeshi immigrants living illegally here". "The process to deport them is in progress," said senior police officer Ajit Rajian. - Reuters
Express Tribune
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
India pushes back 'foreigners' into Bangladesh, sparking human rights concerns
Police officers stand next to men they believe to be undocumented Bangladeshi nationals after they were detained during raids in Ahmedabad, India, April 26, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS Listen to article India has started to push people it considers illegal immigrants into neighbouring Bangladesh, but human rights activists say authorities are arbitrarily throwing people out of the country. Since May, the northeastern Indian state of Assam has "pushed back" 303 people into Bangladesh out of 30,000 declared as foreigners by various tribunals over the years, a top official said this week. Such people in Assam are typically long-term residents with families and land in the state, which is home to tens of thousands of families tracing their roots to Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Activists say many of them and their families are often wrongly classified as foreigners in mainly Hindu India and are too poor to challenge tribunal judgements in higher courts. Some activists, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal, said only Muslims had been targeted in the expulsion drive. An Assam government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Assam, which has a 260 km (160 mile) border with Bangladesh, started sending back people last month who had been declared as foreigners by its Foreigners Tribunals. Such a move is politically popular in Assam, where Bengali language speakers with possible roots in Bangladesh compete for jobs and resources with local Assamese speakers. "There is pressure from the Supreme Court to act on the expulsion of foreigners," Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the state assembly on Monday. "We have pushed back 303 people. These pushbacks will be intensified. We have to be more active and proactive to save the state." He was referring to the Supreme Court asking Assam in February why it had not moved on deporting, opens new tab declared foreigners. Bangladesh's foreign affairs adviser, Touhid Hossain, did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment. Last week, he told reporters that people were being sent to his country from India and that the government was in touch with New Delhi over it. Aman Wadud, an Assam-based lawyer who routinely fights citizenship cases and is now a member of the main opposition Congress party, said the government was "arbitrarily throwing people out of the country". "There is a lot of panic on the ground - more than ever before," he said. Some brought back Sarma said no genuine Indian citizens will be expelled. But he added that up to four of the people deported were brought back to India because appeals challenging their non-Indian status were being heard in court. One of them was Khairul Islam, a 51-year-old former government school teacher who was declared a foreigner by a tribunal in 2016. He spent two years in an Assam detention centre and was released on bail in August 2020. He said police picked him up on May 23 from his home and took him to a detention centre, from where he and 31 others were rounded up by Indian border guards and loaded into a van, blindfolded and hands tied. "Then, 14 of us were put onto another truck. We were taken to a spot along the border and pushed into Bangladesh," he said. "It was terrifying. I've never experienced anything like it. It was late at night. There was a straight road, and we all started walking along it." Islam said residents of a Bangladeshi village then called the Border Guard Bangladesh, who then pushed the group of 14 into the "no man's land between the two countries". "All day we stood there in the open field under the harsh sun," he said. Later, the group was taken to a Bangladesh guards camp while Islam's wife told police in Assam that as his case was still pending in court, he should be brought back. "After a few days, I was suddenly handed back to Indian police," he said. "That's how I made my way back home. I have no idea what happened to the others who were with me, or where they are." It is not only Assam that is acting against people deemed to be living illegally in the country. Police in the western city of Ahmedabad said they have identified more than 250 people "confirmed to be Bangladeshi immigrants living illegally here". "The process to deport them is in progress," said senior police officer Ajit Rajian.
Al Arabiya
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
India intensifies expulsion of suspected foreigners to Bangladesh
India has started to push people it considers illegal immigrants into neighboring Bangladesh, but human rights activists say authorities are arbitrarily throwing people out of the country. Since May, the northeastern Indian state of Assam has 'pushed back' 303 people into Bangladesh out of 30,000 declared as foreigners by various tribunals over the years, a top official said this week. Such people in Assam are typically long-term residents with families and land in the state, which is home to tens of thousands of families tracing their roots to Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Activists say many of them and their families are often wrongly classified as foreigners in mainly Hindu India and are too poor to challenge tribunal judgements in higher courts. Some activists, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal, said only Muslims had been targeted in the expulsion drive. An Assam government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Assam, which has a 260 km (160 mile) border with Bangladesh, started sending back people last month who had been declared as foreigners by its Foreigners Tribunals. Such a move is politically popular in Assam, where Bengali language speakers with possible roots in Bangladesh compete for jobs and resources with local Assamese speakers. 'There is pressure from the Supreme Court to act on the expulsion of foreigners,' Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the state assembly on Monday. 'We have pushed back 303 people. These pushbacks will be intensified. We have to be more active and proactive to save the state.' He was referring to the Supreme Court asking Assam in February why it had not moved on deporting declared foreigners. Bangladesh's foreign affairs adviser, Touhid Hossain, did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment. Last week, he told reporters that people were being sent to his country from India and that the government was in touch with New Delhi over it. Aman Wadud, an Assam-based lawyer who routinely fights citizenship cases and is now a member of the main opposition Congress party, said the government was 'arbitrarily throwing people out of the country.' 'There is a lot of panic on the ground - more than ever before,' he said. Some brought back Sarma said no genuine Indian citizens will be expelled. But he added that up to four of the people deported were brought back to India because appeals challenging their non-Indian status were being heard in court. One of them was Khairul Islam, a 51-year-old former government school teacher who was declared a foreigner by a tribunal in 2016. He spent two years in an Assam detention center and was released on bail in August 2020. He said police picked him up on May 23 from his home and took him to a detention center, from where he and 31 others were rounded up by Indian border guards and loaded into a van, blindfolded and hands tied. 'Then, 14 of us were put onto another truck. We were taken to a spot along the border and pushed into Bangladesh,' he said. 'It was terrifying. I've never experienced anything like it. It was late at night. There was a straight road, and we all started walking along it.' Islam said residents of a Bangladeshi village then called the Border Guard Bangladesh, who then pushed the group of 14 into the 'no man's land between the two countries.' 'All day we stood there in the open field under the harsh sun,' he said. Later, the group was taken to a Bangladesh guards camp while Islam's wife told police in Assam that as his case was still pending in court, he should be brought back. 'After a few days, I was suddenly handed back to Indian police,' he said. 'That's how I made my way back home. I have no idea what happened to the others who were with me, or where they are.' It is not only Assam that is acting against people deemed to be living illegally in the country. Police in the western city of Ahmedabad said they have identified more than 250 people 'confirmed to be Bangladeshi immigrants living illegally here.' 'The process to deport them is in progress,' said senior police officer Ajit Rajian.
Reuters
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
India intensifies expulsion of suspected foreigners to Bangladesh
GUWAHATI, India, June 10 (Reuters) - India has started to push people it considers illegal immigrants into neighbouring Bangladesh, but human rights activists say authorities are arbitrarily throwing people out of the country. Since May, the northeastern Indian state of Assam has "pushed back" 303 people into Bangladesh out of 30,000 declared as foreigners by various tribunals over the years, a top official said this week. Such people in Assam are typically long-term residents with families and land in the state, which is home to tens of thousands of families tracing their roots to Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Activists say many of them and their families are often wrongly classified as foreigners in mainly Hindu India and are too poor to challenge tribunal judgements in higher courts. Some activists, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal, said only Muslims had been targeted in the expulsion drive. An Assam government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Assam, which has a 260 km (160 mile) border with Bangladesh, started sending back people last month who had been declared as foreigners by its Foreigners Tribunals. Such a move is politically popular in Assam, where Bengali language speakers with possible roots in Bangladesh compete for jobs and resources with local Assamese speakers. "There is pressure from the Supreme Court to act on the expulsion of foreigners," Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the state assembly on Monday. "We have pushed back 303 people. These pushbacks will be intensified. We have to be more active and proactive to save the state." He was referring to the Supreme Court asking Assam in February why it had not moved on deporting, opens new tab declared foreigners. Bangladesh's foreign affairs adviser, Touhid Hossain, did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment. Last week, he told reporters that people were being sent to his country from India and that the government was in touch with New Delhi over it. Aman Wadud, an Assam-based lawyer who routinely fights citizenship cases and is now a member of the main opposition Congress party, said the government was "arbitrarily throwing people out of the country". "There is a lot of panic on the ground - more than ever before," he said. Sarma said no genuine Indian citizens will be expelled. But he added that up to four of the people deported were brought back to India because appeals challenging their non-Indian status were being heard in court. One of them was Khairul Islam, a 51-year-old former government school teacher who was declared a foreigner by a tribunal in 2016. He spent two years in an Assam detention centre and was released on bail in August 2020. He said police picked him up on May 23 from his home and took him to a detention centre, from where he and 31 others were rounded up by Indian border guards and loaded into a van, blindfolded and hands tied. "Then, 14 of us were put onto another truck. We were taken to a spot along the border and pushed into Bangladesh," he said. "It was terrifying. I've never experienced anything like it. It was late at night. There was a straight road, and we all started walking along it." Islam said residents of a Bangladeshi village then called the Border Guard Bangladesh, who then pushed the group of 14 into the "no man's land between the two countries". "All day we stood there in the open field under the harsh sun," he said. Later, the group was taken to a Bangladesh guards camp while Islam's wife told police in Assam that as his case was still pending in court, he should be brought back. "After a few days, I was suddenly handed back to Indian police," he said. "That's how I made my way back home. I have no idea what happened to the others who were with me, or where they are." It is not only Assam that is acting against people deemed to be living illegally in the country. Police in the western city of Ahmedabad said they have identified more than 250 people "confirmed to be Bangladeshi immigrants living illegally here". "The process to deport them is in progress," said senior police officer Ajit Rajian.
Indian Express
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
330 deported to Bangladesh: Himanta cites 1950 law to say District Collectors can push ‘foreigners' back
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Monday announced in a special one-day session of the Assam Assembly that the state government has decided to bring a 1950 Act into action to 'push back' into Bangladesh anyone who District Collectors prima facie find to be foreigners — without going through the state's existing system of Foreigners Tribunals. The CM claimed the state had been empowered to do so by the Supreme Court. He said this will be implemented in addition to the ongoing 'pushbacks' of people who have been declared foreigners by the Foreigners Tribunals (FTs); around 330 such declared foreigners have been pushed into Bangladesh in the past couple of weeks. Speaking in the Assembly, Sarma referred to the October 2024 judgment of the Supreme Court in which a majority of a five-member Constitutional Bench headed by then Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud had upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, which makes March 24, 1971 the cut-off date for citizenship in Assam. 'Four judges said 1971 is the cut-off date. But one thing the Supreme Court said repeatedly was that the people brought after 1971 should not be spared in any way. They will have to be deported… In that judgment, the Supreme Court gave the Assam government a sweeping power… The Supreme Court in this judgement affirmed that the 1950 expulsion Act remains valid and operative. That means for expelling foreigners, the government does not have to go to tribunals. The 1950 Act says that if the DC says that prima facie this person is a foreigner, he can be evicted from the state of Assam,' Sarma said. 'By the order of the Supreme Court, every Deputy Commissioner is empowered to evict anybody whom he feels is a foreigner. This is the law of the land… This power has been given to the state of Assam by the Honourable Supreme Court… It says in the Act itself that it will not be applicable to those who came for reasons like religious persecution,' he said. Sarma was speaking after multiple Opposition MLAs, including Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia and AIUDF MLA Ashraful Hussain, spoke at length in the Assembly during Zero Hour and Special Mention raising concern over the manner in which these pushbacks have been taking place, alleging that in multiple instances, Indians are being 'persecuted' in the name of a drive against foreigners. 'These pushbacks will be intensified. Because the way Pakistani elements have entered our state, Bangladesh fundamentalist elements have entered, to save itself, the state has to become more proactive than before. That's why the state government has decided that we will bring the Illegal Expulsion Act into action, and whoever the DCs think are foreigners, we will push back without referring to tribunals… Deportation will now be a reality. Even if their names are in the NRC,' he said. Sarma's statements led to a furore in the assembly, with opposition MLAs questioning the validity of the actions. Congress MLA Zakir Hussain Sikdar asked on what basis the DCs would identify 'foreigners' under this course of action, to which Sarma replied, 'The DC has to be satisfied about it.' This drew more opposition, with Sikdar shouting, 'That can't be the system.' Speaking in the Assembly after Sarma, Leader of Opposition Saikia said the Act in question 'does not mention anything about pushback'. 'We are a state of India and in Parliament Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar had said it is the obligation of all countries to take back their nationals if they are found to be living illegally abroad. This is, however, subject to an unambiguous verification of their nationality. This is not a policy practised only in India; it is a generally accepted principle in international relations. Therefore, if Bangladeshis come to India, they have to go back, Bangladesh has to accept them and they have to be proved to be Bangladeshis,' he said. He said that even when the Act had first been introduced in 1950, it did not remain in force for very long. 'The Act they are talking about had been used for only a couple of days in Assam because at that time, it invited trouble for many Bengali Muslims and after an old resident was asked to leave his residence in Upper Assam town within a few days, Nehru was furious and wrote to Gopinath Bordoloi (the then Chief Minister) on April 10 to suspend the enforcement of the Act. It was in force for only a few days, and it was stopped,' he said. The system at present and the 1950 Act Under the existing system in the state, the identification and declaration of 'foreigners' is done through Foreigners Tribunals (FTs). FTs are quasi-judicial bodies that determine whether a person presented before them — usually referred by the border police or listed as 'D-voters' in electoral rolls — is a 'foreigner' or an Indian citizen. Those declared foreigners by these tribunals have the option to appeal against the order by approaching the Gauahti High Court and the Supreme Court. One of the 13 questions that had been framed for and deliberated by that Constitutional Bench had been: 'Whether the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950 being a special enactment qua immigrants into Assam, alone can apply to migrants from East Pakistan/Bangladesh to the exclusion of the general Foreigners Act and the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 made thereunder.' In the judgment, after upholding the validity of Section 6A, the court had issued a set of six directions, of which one was: 'The provisions of the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950 shall also be read into Section 6A and shall be effectively employed for the purpose of identification of illegal immigrants.' The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950 had commenced from March 1, 1950 and stated that if any person had been an ordinary resident of a place outside India and entered Assam, and the Central government is 'of opinion… that the the stay of such person or class of persons in Assam is detrimental to the interests of the general public of India or of any section thereof or of any Scheduled Tribe in Assam', then the central government may 'direct' them to 'remove himself or themselves from India or Assam within such time and by such route as may be specified in the order.' It states that the Central government can delegate this power to any officer of the Central government or the Assam government.
