GUWAHATI — In the past two years, Assam’s government has declared 193 individuals as foreigners, yet the state has provided no official account of how many were actually removed from India or left stranded at the Bangladesh border. The discrepancy has intensified scrutiny of Assam’s controversial “push-back” policy, a practice critics describe as legally dubious, diplomatically fraught, and potentially in violation of international law.
Data tabled in the Assam Legislative Assembly in March 2026 revealed that 193 people were identified as foreigners between April 2024 and March 2026 by the state’s Foreigners’ Tribunals—specialized quasi-judicial bodies tasked with determining citizenship. However, the government has not disclosed whether these individuals were deported through formal channels, detained, or subjected to the state’s informal push-back practice, in which declared foreigners are escorted to the India-Bangladesh border and left in a no-man’s land buffer zone. The opacity has left human rights groups, legal experts, and opposition parties demanding greater transparency and accountability.
What Happened
The Assam government’s data, presented in response to a legislative query, confirms that 193 individuals were declared foreigners over the two-year period. However, state officials have refused to clarify how many of these individuals were physically removed from India. A senior official from Assam’s Border Police, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Indian Express that while the state follows “due procedure,” the final outcome of deportation efforts depends on “diplomatic and logistical factors.”
The push-back policy, which has been in place for years but gained renewed attention amid Assam’s aggressive anti-migration crackdown, involves transporting declared foreigners to the border and leaving them in a contested zone between Indian and Bangladeshi checkpoints. The practice lacks any formal bilateral agreement with Bangladesh, which has repeatedly denied accepting such individuals. In a 2025 statement, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry reaffirmed its position: “Bangladesh does not recognize the unilateral expulsion of individuals across the border. Such actions violate international norms and bilateral relations.”
Human rights advocates argue that the policy exposes individuals to severe risks, including statelessness, violence, and exploitation. “There is no legal basis for this practice,” said Aman Wadud, a Guwahati-based human rights lawyer who has represented individuals declared foreigners. “Once someone is declared a foreigner, they should either be detained in accordance with Indian law or deported through formal diplomatic channels. Leaving them in a border buffer zone is not only illegal but also inhumane.”
Why It Matters
The push-back policy is not merely a local administrative issue—it reflects broader national and geopolitical tensions over migration, citizenship, and sovereignty. Assam, a state with a long history of ethnic and demographic anxieties, has been at the forefront of India’s efforts to identify and remove undocumented migrants, particularly those from Bangladesh. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which governs both Assam and the central government, has framed the issue as a matter of national security and cultural preservation.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, a key architect of Assam’s anti-migration policies, has repeatedly vowed to “free the state of illegal Bangladeshis.” In a 2024 election rally, Sarma declared, “We will not allow Assam to become a dumping ground for infiltrators.” The state’s aggressive stance has been mirrored in national policies, including the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC), which critics argue disproportionately targets Muslims and other marginalized communities.
However, the push-back policy’s legal and diplomatic ambiguities raise serious questions about its sustainability. India and Bangladesh share a 4,096-kilometer border, much of it porous and poorly monitored. While the two countries have cooperated on issues like counterterrorism and trade, deportation remains a contentious issue. Bangladesh has consistently refused to accept individuals pushed back by Indian authorities, arguing that such actions violate the principle of non-refoulement—a cornerstone of international refugee law that prohibits the return of individuals to countries where they may face persecution.
The lack of transparency surrounding the push-backs has also fueled allegations of arbitrariness. Activists claim that many of those declared foreigners are later re-arrested upon re-entering India, creating a cycle of detention and expulsion with no clear resolution. “This is not deportation—it’s abandonment,” said Harsh Mander, a human rights activist and former member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). “The state is washing its hands of these individuals, leaving them in legal limbo with no recourse to justice.”
Background and Context
Assam’s preoccupation with undocumented migration dates back to the colonial era, but the issue gained renewed urgency in the 1970s and 1980s amid fears of demographic change driven by migration from Bangladesh (then East Pakistan). The 1985 Assam Accord, signed between the Indian government and Assamese student leaders, sought to address these concerns by identifying and deporting migrants who entered the state after March 24, 1971—the cutoff date for citizenship under the accord.
However, the implementation of the accord has been fraught with challenges. The Foreigners’ Tribunals, established to adjudicate citizenship disputes, have faced criticism for their opaque procedures, lack of legal representation for defendants, and high rates of exclusion. A 2023 NHRC report found that many individuals declared foreigners were unable to access legal aid or challenge their status effectively. The report also noted that the tribunals’ decisions were often based on flimsy or contradictory evidence, such as discrepancies in spellings of names or dates of birth in legacy documents.
The push-back policy emerged as a workaround to the diplomatic impasse with Bangladesh. While India has formal deportation agreements with countries like Nepal and Bhutan, no such arrangement exists with Bangladesh. In the absence of a bilateral framework, Assam’s authorities have resorted to informal expulsions, a practice that legal experts argue violates both Indian and international law.
Competing Claims and Uncertainty
The Assam government’s reluctance to disclose details about the push-backs has led to conflicting narratives about the policy’s effectiveness and legality.
Government’s Position:
State officials maintain that the push-back policy is a necessary measure to enforce immigration laws in the absence of formal deportation agreements. A senior Assam Police officer, who requested anonymity, told Herald Express that the state follows a “multi-step process” before declaring someone a foreigner, including verification of documents and legal proceedings before the Foreigners’ Tribunals. “We are bound by the law,” the officer said. “If someone is declared a foreigner, we have a duty to act. The push-backs are a last resort when diplomatic channels fail.”
The BJP government has also defended the policy on national security grounds. In a 2025 interview with The Hindu, Chief Minister Sarma argued that undocumented migration poses a threat to Assam’s demographic balance and cultural identity. “We are not targeting any community,” Sarma said. “We are simply enforcing the law. If someone is here illegally, they must go back.”
Critics’ Concerns:
Human rights groups and legal experts counter that the push-back policy is arbitrary, inhumane, and potentially illegal. “The state cannot simply dump people at the border and call it deportation,” said Wadud. “Deportation requires a formal agreement between countries, and even then, it must comply with international law. What Assam is doing is not deportation—it’s expulsion.”
Critics also point to the lack of safeguards for individuals subjected to the push-backs. Many of those declared foreigners belong to marginalized communities, including Bengali-speaking Muslims and Hindus, who may lack the resources to challenge their status in court. The NHRC’s 2023 report highlighted cases where individuals were declared foreigners based on minor discrepancies in documents, such as a misspelled name or an incorrect date of birth.
Bangladesh’s consistent refusal to accept pushed-back individuals further complicates the issue. In a 2025 statement, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry reiterated that it does not recognize India’s unilateral expulsions. “We have made it clear to the Indian government that we will not accept individuals who are forcibly pushed across the border,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Such actions undermine our bilateral relations and violate international norms.”
What to Watch Next
The future of Assam’s push-back policy hinges on several key developments:
1. Diplomatic Engagement with Bangladesh:
The Indian government’s ability to negotiate a formal deportation agreement with Bangladesh will be crucial. While the two countries have cooperated on other issues, migration remains a sensitive topic. Any progress on this front would likely require concessions from New Delhi, such as increased trade or security cooperation.
2. Legal Challenges:
Human rights groups are expected to file petitions in the Gauhati High Court and the Supreme Court of India, challenging the legality of the push-back policy. A successful legal challenge could force the Assam government to abandon the practice or seek alternative methods of deportation.
3. Transparency and Accountability:
Pressure is mounting on the Assam government to disclose how many of the 193 declared foreigners were actually pushed back, detained, or deported through formal channels. Opposition parties, including the Indian National Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), have demanded a detailed breakdown of the data.
4. Impact on Marginalized Communities:
The push-back policy disproportionately affects Bengali-speaking communities, many of whom have lived in Assam for generations. Observers will be watching for signs of increased harassment, arbitrary detentions, or statelessness among these groups.
5. National Repercussions:
Assam’s policies could set a precedent for other Indian states grappling with migration issues, particularly West Bengal and Tripura. If the push-back policy is upheld, it may embolden other state governments to adopt similar measures, potentially leading to a patchwork of inconsistent and legally questionable practices across India.
Conclusion
Assam’s push-back policy underscores the complex interplay between national security, human rights, and diplomatic relations. While the state government frames the issue as a matter of sovereignty and cultural preservation, the lack of transparency, legal safeguards, and formal agreements with Bangladesh raises serious ethical and legal concerns.
The fate of the 193 individuals declared foreigners over the past two years remains unknown, but the broader implications of the policy are clear. Without a formal deportation framework, the push-backs risk creating a stateless underclass, undermining India’s obligations under international law, and straining relations with Bangladesh. As legal challenges and diplomatic pressure mount, the Assam government may be forced to reconsider its approach—or risk further isolation on the global stage.
For now, the policy remains a contentious and unresolved issue, with human rights advocates warning that the true cost may not be measured in numbers, but in lives left in limbo.
Story synopsis gathered from: [Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/india/193-in-2-years-how-many-people-have-been-pushed-people-back-to-bangladesh-10785098/) — source.
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Story synopsis gathered from: Indian Express – India — source.
