In the aftermath of the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack orchestrated by Pakistan-based terror groups, even as Bharat was preparing to launch its short, sharp yet lethal response in the form of Operation Sindoor, the Ministry of Home Affairs started coordinating with States on identification, detention and eventual deportation of illegal infiltrators who have spread their tentacles in every nook and corner of the country.
Backed by the recently passed Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, many States of Bharat started working actively in this arena. One could witness major activities in terms of detaining Bangladeshis, and Rohingyas, happening in States like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Assam. In many other States, intense verification drives are also happening for identifying those living illegally without valid documents, or have fraudulently acquired those documents through illegal means.
Unprecedented Eviction of Illegal Immigrants
What has been remarkable and unprecedented this time is the large number of Bangladeshis who are being flown out of Bharat into Bangladesh, while others are being pushed back through the land borders. What has also come as a shot in the arm for the Government of Bharat is the stand of the Supreme Court, wherein during a particular hearing concerning a foreign national overstaying in India, the Supreme Court observed, ‘India is not a dharamshala to entertain foreign nationals from all over’.
Union Home Ministry’s Crucial Role
Incidentally, the recent action by many States of Bharat, was preceded by a major crackdown by the Union Home Ministry against many such syndicates who have been facilitating the infiltrators by providing them with fake documents that would prove them to be Indian citizens. In 2024, raids across many parts of Jharkhand and West Bengal were conducted to arrest masterminds of such syndicates.
Further, to streamline the process, the Union Home Ministry also issued guidelines, and asked all States to set up a Special Task Force (STF) with units in every district, for identifying, detaining and eventual deportation of illegal infiltrators. It has also asked every State to set up detention centres.
Threat Confronting Bharat
The reason for major crackdown on illegal immigrants and infiltrators, and the urgency now being shown by Modi Government, is the alarming concern of the half-front that is potentially taking shape within Bharat, and which may get activated through sleeper cells, in the eventuality of Bharat facing a full-fledged conflict, either on the Western or Eastern fronts, or both. Even as it becomes clear that Operation Sindoor is far from over, and even though Pakistan is a proven incubator and harbinger of terrorism, it is certain that both the Western power blocs, and China, would continue to discreetly and directly support Pakistan for the sake of containing India.
Likewise, the worsening situation in Bangladesh, aided and abetted by a regime changing coup, supported by the same Western power blocs, and their deep state collaborators, may potentially pose a major security challenge for India in the times to come. Against such a backdrop, illegal infiltrators may potentially become a major threat, with some of them actively collaborating with India’s adversaries to execute acts of terror or sabotage.
Are all States Equally Proactive?
The Union Home Ministry’s directive for every State to set up a Special Task Force for identification and detention of infiltrators, is much on the line of how Union Home Ministry, while expanding the capacity of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), also directed each State to set up dedicated Anti Narcotics Task Force or ANTF, within the policing framework. These organisations now actively work with Central NCB for cracking down on narco-terror syndicates and cartels.
However, having the system in place does not guarantee that all States would be equally proactive in identifying and deporting infiltrators. While the States that have been pro-active are already mentioned above, the same cannot be said about all States of India. The numbers may rise in the days to come, but some of the more proximate States to Bangladesh, where illegal infiltration has literally resulted in major demographic changes in certain pockets, should ideally have led the deportation process. The reality though is far from that, some occasional arrests notwithstanding.
The Curious Case of West Bengal
Situation in States like West Bengal is so alarming that security agencies, from Centre and the State, are on high alert about possibility of Bangladesh-based radical extremist terror groups like JMB, setting up modules in districts like Malda, Murshidabad, North Dinajpur, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia and Birbhum. Most of these above-mentioned districts have already witnessed considerable demographic shifts owing to alleged illegal infiltration abetted by local political support, porous and unfenced borders, as also vote bank politics.
Major Security Risk
Invariably, when Bangladesh-based terror groups would attempt to set up their modules here, they already have a large base of religiously conservative population of infiltrators to recruit from. This allegedly large population of illegals in border States like West Bengal pose a major security risk, and thus it would be interesting to see how much West Bengal Government would be swift and prompt in terms of detaining and deporting the illegals en masse, especially against the backdrop of the Assembly elections looming large in 2026, one which is not going to be a cakewalk for the incumbent party (TMC) there. If past precedence or track record is anything to go by, possibility of prompt action against infiltrators, looks like too much to expect
Also, it is only now that the West Bengal Government is taking some concrete action in terms of handing over land to BSF for border fencing, something that has been pending for years, and in spite of relentless requests, not much had moved for years until now.
