Shona Banu, among several others, has documented her harrowing experience of being pushed across the border without legal proceedings, highlighting a troubling trend in Assam where such actions appear to be escalating without due process.
**Forced Crossings: Allegations of Illegal Deportations from Assam to Bangladesh**
**Forced Crossings: Allegations of Illegal Deportations from Assam to Bangladesh**
Recent reports reveal shocking accounts of individuals being forcibly deported from India to Bangladesh, raising serious concerns about the treatment of alleged illegal immigrants.
In a chilling revelation, Shona Banu, a 58-year-old resident from Assam's Barpeta district, has shared her distressing experience of being taken to the border with Bangladesh at gunpoint. On 25 May, after being summoned to the local police station, Banu and approximately 13 others were allegedly forced to cross into Bangladesh without any explanation regarding their treatment. Banu recounted her ordeal, where she spent two days without food or water in a field filled with mosquitoes, before being detained in a makeshift prison in Bangladesh. Just days later, she and some others were returned to India, but the reasons behind their deportation remain unclear.
This incident is not isolated; the BBC reports multiple similar cases in Assam, where people deemed illegal immigrants by local authorities have been abruptly taken and "pushed across" the border. Reports from Bangladesh have indicated that India deported over 1,200 individuals in May alone, emphasizing the tension along the nearly 2,545-mile-long border that divides the two countries. Critics, including legal experts, are voicing concern over the lack of due process in these deportations, suggesting that recent government actions represent a deliberate misinterpretation of legal orders surrounding the treatment of alleged foreigners.
In Assam, a region grappling with complex issues surrounding citizenship, migration, and ethnic identity, the situation has ignited fears among many. The Indian government, led by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, has intensified its crackdown on suspected illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, insisting on the veracity of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) that has left millions uncertain about their citizenship status. Amid these fears, individuals like Banu continue to navigate the chilling possibility of being thrust into no man's land — victims of a system that seems to overlook their rights and history.
Amidst the escalating tensions, many affected families are left in anguish, uncertain of their loved ones' fates and the legitimacy of the authority's decisions. As this situation develops, questions remain regarding legal accountability and the protection of the rights of those at risk of being forcibly exiled from their homes.
This incident is not isolated; the BBC reports multiple similar cases in Assam, where people deemed illegal immigrants by local authorities have been abruptly taken and "pushed across" the border. Reports from Bangladesh have indicated that India deported over 1,200 individuals in May alone, emphasizing the tension along the nearly 2,545-mile-long border that divides the two countries. Critics, including legal experts, are voicing concern over the lack of due process in these deportations, suggesting that recent government actions represent a deliberate misinterpretation of legal orders surrounding the treatment of alleged foreigners.
In Assam, a region grappling with complex issues surrounding citizenship, migration, and ethnic identity, the situation has ignited fears among many. The Indian government, led by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, has intensified its crackdown on suspected illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, insisting on the veracity of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) that has left millions uncertain about their citizenship status. Amid these fears, individuals like Banu continue to navigate the chilling possibility of being thrust into no man's land — victims of a system that seems to overlook their rights and history.
Amidst the escalating tensions, many affected families are left in anguish, uncertain of their loved ones' fates and the legitimacy of the authority's decisions. As this situation develops, questions remain regarding legal accountability and the protection of the rights of those at risk of being forcibly exiled from their homes.
