Stop unlawful deportation of Bengali Muslims, Human Rights Watch tells government

Criticising India’s deportation of “ethnic Bengali migrants” to Bangladesh, the Human Rights Watch on Thursday (July 24, 2025) said the exercise was being done “without following due process”. Such acts done to “garner political support” reflect the “broader discriminatory policies against Muslims”, it said in a statement.

Citing various news reports of Bengali migrants being picked up from “BJP-run States” such as Assam, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch said: “India’s ruling party BJP is fuelling discrimination by arbitrarily expelling Bengali Muslims from the country, including Indian citizens.”

The statement said the government should stop unlawfully deporting people without due process, and instead ensure everyone’s access to procedural safeguards against arbitrary detention and expulsion.

The body further said that it had interviewed 18 people in June, including affected individuals who returned to India after being expelled to Bangladesh, their family members, and relatives of those who were detained and are still missing. Subsequently, the body alleged that it had written to the Ministry of Home Affairs with its findings but did not receive any response.

‘1,500 Muslims sent out’

“The Indian government has provided no official data on the number of people expelled, but Border Guard Bangladesh has reported that India expelled more than 1,500 Muslim men, women and children to Bangladesh between May 7 and June 15, including about 100 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar,” the statement read.

It further noted that the authorities of “BJP-run States” of Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, and Rajasthan have “rounded up Muslims, mostly impoverished migrant workers”, and turned them over to Indian border guards. In some cases, the border guards allegedly “threatened and beat the detainees to force them to cross into Bangladesh” without adequately verifying their citizenship claims, the statement said.

The body further said in its statement that India’s detention and expulsion of anyone without due process violates fundamental human rights. “India is obligated under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to ensure the protection of everyone’s rights and to prevent deprivation of citizenship on the basis of race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin,” it read.

Citing examples of Bengali Muslims from various States being “harassed” and Rohingyas being “deported”, the body said the Indian government is undercutting the country’s long history of providing refuge to the persecuted as it “tries to generate political support”.

“The Indian government is putting thousands of vulnerable people at risk in apparent pursuit of unauthorised immigrants, but their actions reflect broader discriminatory policies against Muslims,” Ms. Pearson further said.