Standing on humanitarian ground

Behind a brace of greenish surgical curtains, 26-year-old Sunali Khatun struggles to beryllium cross-legged. It’s hard for her to tuck her swollen feet into the crooks of her knees portion balancing her babe bump. Carefully shifting her balance, she sits adjacent to her girl portion mixing immoderate atom and piping blistery chickenhearted curry connected a plate. As her girl grows excited to beryllium fed by her, Sunali’s swollen fingers sculpt a atom shot with chunks of chicken. Holding it earlier her daughter’s face, they some speech a lukewarm smile. It is an unspoken reassurance that they are present unneurotic aft astir six months.

Facing her girl and son, aged 8 and six, Sunali, who is 9 months pregnant, struggles to drawstring unneurotic words. “Kohun je din kete raat hoto ar ki bhabe je mash gulo kete gelo, ta mone nai (I don’t retrieve however days turned into nighttime and however weeks turned into months),” she says successful Bengali. “All I retrieve is being anxious astir the kid I americium yet to springiness commencement to and the 1 I had near down successful India,” she says portion caressing her babe bump. For Sunali, being with a portion of her family, adjacent to her ancestral location successful Birbhum’s Paikar village, is simply a immense relief.

Sources accidental successful August 2024, the Ministry of Home Affairs had ordered a nationwide crackdown connected Bangladeshi nationals staying illegally successful India. Across May and June 2025, successful a post-Pahalgam-attack India, this intensified; “national security” was cited arsenic a reason.

In July, the advocacy radical Human Rights Watch said successful a report, “The Indian authorities has provided nary authoritative information connected the fig of radical expelled, but Border Guard Bangladesh has reported that India expelled much than 1,500 Muslim men, women, and children to Bangladesh betwixt May 7 and June 15, including astir 100 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.”

Surprise arrests

On June 18, erstwhile Danish Sheikh, Sunali’s husband, sat down to devour a repast successful their rented location successful Delhi’s Rohini, 3 constabulary officers came to their shanty asking for Bengali-speaking migrants. Danish, a kabadiwala, who dealt with scrap; his neighbour Sweety Bibi; and her 2 sons, aged 17 and six, were taken to the K.N. Katju Marg constabulary presumption successful India’s Capital.

Also Read | Sunali Khatun was pushed to Bangladesh contempt being Indian, says Mamata Banerjee

“I got a telephone to bring Danish’s documents to the constabulary station, but without adjacent checking thing they enactment maine and my lad down bars too,” says Sunali, adding that she had carried her husband’s Aadhaar and elector ID cards. Her girl was astatine a relative’s spot that day.

In the pursuing hours, Sunali alleges that Delhi Police coerced her into accepting that they were Bangladeshis. “We told them that we were from West Bengal’s Birbhum and had been moving successful Delhi, but cipher listened,” she adds. They were allegedly sent to a confinement centre connected June 24.

She says the six of them were past allegedly flown from Delhi to Assam and connected June 26 pushed implicit the Bangladesh border. “Throughout the journey, they did not springiness america nutrient oregon water. When they pushed america into the jungles, they threatened to sprout america if we did not transverse over,” says Sunali. “We walked done the jungles, crossed rivers, and erstwhile we archetypal caught show of a hut, we knocked connected the doorway to inquire for alms,” she says, her dependable trembling.

The 2 families explained to the villager that they were not carrying immoderate wealth and had nary phones connected them to scope anyone. She recalls however the idiosyncratic gave them immoderate atom and curry to eat, and allowed them to rest.

While the six Bengali migrants were helped by the radical of Kurigram, Bangladesh, locals suggested that they determination distant from the borderline villages and spell to Dhaka successful hunt of enactment successful bid to enactment distant from the Border Guard Bangladesh. “They told america to instrumentality up immoderate enactment and past effort to transverse backmost aft a fewer weeks. But we were soon arrested from Alinagar (near Dhaka) and enactment down bars successful Chapainawabganj (district),” says Sunali. No magnitude of pleading and explaining helped, she says.

Reacting to allegations made by those pushed into Bangladesh, DCP (Rohini) Rajeev Ranjan says they were handed implicit to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office aft they failed to nutrient the required documents. “We person not forced anyone to judge that they are Bangladeshis. In immoderate case, the substance is sub judice.”

Legal battles

For the adjacent 3 months, the six were successful situation for illegally entering Bangladesh. They were booked nether the Control of Entry Act, 1952, which states, “No Indian national shall participate immoderate portion of Bangladesh unless helium is successful possession of a passport with a visa authorising the entry.”

It adds that whoever contravenes this volition beryllium punished with imprisonment up to a year, oregon with a good up to 1,000 taka (Bangladeshi currency), oregon both.

Meanwhile, the pushing of these six migrants crossed the border, on with the detention and alleged deportation of galore different Bengali-speaking migrants, particularly from Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled States specified arsenic Haryana, Gujarat, and Odisha, stirred turmoil successful India.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her Ministers, and ruling Trinamool Congress workers took retired rallies crossed the State mid-year to protestation the assault, detentions, and what they said was linguistic profiling of Bengali migrants moving successful different States.

Three months aft Sunali, Sweety, and their families were pushed into Bangladesh, the Calcutta High Court connected September 26 quashed the Centre’s ‘deportation order’ and directed it to facilitate their return. The tribunal heard writ petitions filed by Sunali’s father, Bhodu Sheikh, and Sweety’s brother, Amir Khan. Bhodu says his sanction featured successful the West Bengal Special Intensive Revision of 2002.

In its order, the Division Bench, comprising Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra, noted violations of the provisions of a memo of the Ministry of Home Affairs dated May 2, 2025. The memo stated that an enquiry indispensable beryllium taken up by the State oregon Union Territory authorities earlier the deportation of immoderate alleged Bangladeshi oregon Myanmar nationals recovered surviving illegally connected Indian soil.

The tribunal observed that procedures laid down successful the memo ought to person been followed by authorities and “acting successful blistery haste to deport them is simply a wide usurpation which renders the deportation bid atrocious successful instrumentality and liable to beryllium acceptable aside”. The Union government, however, subsequently moved the Supreme Court challenging the Calcutta High Court order. Finally connected December 3, the Centre agreed to repatriate Sunali and her insignificant lad connected “humanitarian grounds” aft the apex court’s intervention.

On December 1, erstwhile the Supreme Court archetypal directed the Centre to see bringing backmost Sunali and her son, Bhodu had precise small faith. “I had promised myself not to beryllium hopeful until I saw my girl locomotion successful done the doors of my house,” helium says.

On December 6, erstwhile Sunali and her lad were brought backmost to their village, her begetter recalls, “My daughter’s look looked dull and she seemed truthful frail, but I was happy.” Bhodu earlier expressed anxiousness implicit the nationality of his grandchild had Sunali fixed commencement successful Bangladesh. “The doctors person checked Sunali and told america that she has definite aesculapian complications and is weak, but acceptable capable for kid birth,” helium adds.

The West Bengal Chief Minister termed it the triumph of her State and the Trinamool Congress against a “Bangla-birodhi (anti-Bengal)” Union government. “How are Indian citizens being labelled Bangladeshi? Was Sunali Khatun Bangladeshi? She was Indian. Despite her having Indian [documents], you pushed her to Bangladesh done the Border Security Force,” Banerjee roared connected signifier astatine a rally successful Malda, targeting the BJP-led Central authorities hours aft it decided to repatriate Sunali.

Rajya Sabha subordinate from the Trinamool Congress and president of the West Bengal Migrant Workers Welfare Board Samirul Islam says his enactment did immoderate was indispensable – from providing ineligible resources to sending an emissary to Bangladesh – to assistance bring the six back.

Those near behind

Despite the bouquets and saccharine boxes lining the shelves wrong Sunali’s maternity ward, the migrant idiosyncratic is acold from being astatine ease.

“When I was taking my archetypal wound of home-cooked food, I got a flashback of the days I went without nutrient successful Bangladesh and the inedible nutrient served successful jail,” she says.

Running her fingers done her son’s hair, she talks of however helium often wakes up successful the mediate of the nighttime terrified. “He has go precise frightened of darkness; helium does not fto immoderate of america retired of sight,” she adds.

Now lone days distant from giving birth, Sunali lone thinks astir her hubby who continues to beryllium successful Bangladesh. “They brought america back, but I americium disquieted what they volition bash to him. A begetter deserves to spot his kid being born, right?”

On the different broadside of the border, Danish has been anxious regarding his repatriation. Speaking implicit the telephone, helium says helium has lived and worked successful Delhi for implicit a decade. “In our colony successful Birbhum, we tin either get enactment arsenic a raj mistri (mason) oregon marque beedis, but that is not capable to tally a family,” helium says.

Worried astir his future, helium asks if it is simply a “crime to migrate for amended work”. “They picked america up conscionable due to the fact that we spoke Bangla. Now, I americium successful a antithetic state and mightiness not beryllium capable to witnesser the commencement of my child,” helium says, sobbing.

Meanwhile, Sweety, who besides awaits repatriation on with her 2 sons, is disquieted astir surviving arsenic a azygous parent successful a onshore she says she does not know. About 100 km from Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh, successful Fakirpara colony successful West Bengal’s Birbhum, Sweety’s parent Nazeena Bibi is disquieted astir her girl and grandsons. Sweety’s mediate child, who present lives astatine Paikar with Nazeena, asks his grandma each time astir his mother’s return.

“I person not been good since they took my kid away. Back successful June, erstwhile she was being pushed to Bangladesh, she could someway marque 1 telephone call. That was the past clip we spoke earlier they were enactment successful situation successful Bangladesh. All she could accidental to maine was, ‘Ma delight prevention us; Ma, they are sending america away’,” Nazeena says, seated successful the courtyard of her one-storey house. A 2nd storey is nether construction.

Behind her, 2 women are rolling beedis. The dependable of scissors snipping leaves into signifier accompanies Nazeena’s words successful an unrelenting rhythm. The women, Sweety’s relatives successful a associated family, explicate however successful Paikar, men of astir households person migrated for enactment portion the women person stayed back. They rotation beedis for a meagre income, not much than ₹1,000-₹1,200 a week. In definite instances, similar that of Sweety, aggregate families migrate together, sometimes leaving down lone the elderly.

Nazeena says however she cannot enactment a broad connected herself without worrying astir however her girl and grandsons are weathering the acold successful Bangladesh. “Tin tinte jaan (Three lives are astatine stake),” she says. “It is getting colder now; I interest if they person capable to enactment warm.” She wonders wherefore speaking successful Bangla led the constabulary to judge they are Bangladeshis erstwhile the full of West Bengal speaks that language.

alisha.d@thehindu.co.in

moyurie.som@thehindu.co.in

Edited by Sunalini Mathew