The Immigrant Question – Implications of Illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya Immigration in India

Introduction

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) of the United Nations defines ‘Irregular Migration’ as the ‘Movement of persons that takes place outside the laws, regulations, or international agreements governing the entry into or exit from the State of origin, transit or destination.’ (Key Migration Terms, Migration Glossary | IOM, UN Migration, n.d.)

It is to be noted that immigration, in general, is not always frowned upon. The progress of many Western countries is premised upon the influx of skilled migrants from the Eastern world. Similarly, many countries in the developed and developing world have maintained an open-door policy for refugees from conflict zones. However, problems arise when the migrant groups tend to be socially and culturally disconnected from the host country and its population, causing tensions in the social fabric of that country. (Trask, 2022)

The Indian subcontinent has had a history of peaceful coexistence of various cultures. This meant that ideas like Sufism gained acceptance amongst the masses, even against the backdrop of violent Islamic invasions. Similarly, the Zoroastrians, who were ousted from Persia in the 7th century and given refuge by none, found themselves being accepted in India. This multireligious and multicultural ethos was not only peculiar to the region but also a defining feature of its identity.

This peaceful coexistence was challenged by the widening ethnic conflict. Be it the HinduMuslim riots in the early twentieth century that culminated in the partition of India, or the nature of identity politics that carved out two countries based on religion, cultural conflict has been a central issue in the subcontinent for a while. The question regarding the acceptance of Rohingya refugees, juxtaposed with the illegal Bangladeshi immigration in the country, has been a pressing issue in India.

This paper will discuss the impact of Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants in India, discussing its implications on the country

History of the Rohingya Crisis

Rohingyas are a Muslim group originating from the Arakan state of Burma (Myanmar). An ethnic minority in a Buddhist majority state, the Rohingyas have historically faced religious persecution in Burma. This persecution reached its pinnacle when the 1982 amendments to citizenship laws in the country – through which they were denied citizenship rights. This was done despite the Rohingyas being Burmese domiciles for centuries. As a result, Rohingyas became the world’s largest stateless population – a refugee in their home. (USA for UNHCR, 2024)

Their prolonged study of identity faced a big setback when violence broke out in the Rakhine state in 2017. More than 7,42,000 Rohingyas were forced to flee to Bangladesh, half of them being children. This trend continued in the subsequent years when 1.3 million people were displaced in Myanmar. Most of the refugees in Bangladesh were settled in the Cox Bazar region. (USA for UNHCR, 2024)

The refugees soon formed one-third of Cox Bazar’s population, which prompted the Bangladeshi government to resettle 30,000 Rohingyas in the Bhasan Char Islands, a region susceptible to environmental risks and hazards. (USA for UNHCR, 2024) This case exhibits the glaring reality – while the Rohingyas were forced to migrate from their place of origin, they faced a challenge in being accommodated in their place of refuge as well, denoting their deplorable living conditions and its indelible impact on them, especially children and women.

The curious case of Bangladeshi immigration

While the Rohingyas face significant challenges for their livelihood in finding refuge in Bangladesh, the case of illegal Bangladeshi immigration in India provides a very ambivalent relation to the immigration scenario in India.

The partition of India in 1947 resulted in large-scale migration from the newly formed Pakistan and East Pakistan to India and vice versa. Before the subcontinent could emerge from this human tragedy, the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 exacerbated the volatility in the region, marked by ethnic and linguistic tension; thus, creating a ground for large-scale migration. However, this migration trend continued even after the establishment of peace in Bangladesh – what could be defined as illegal Bangladeshi immigration in the true sense.

Naturally, the immigrants settled in the Northeastern states of India that shared a border with Bangladesh, leading to demographic changes in the region. Insecure with their increasing electoral impact, Assam saw a pushback movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s, demanding the deportation of illegal immigrants. In connection with this, the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act in 1983 was passed by the Parliament of India, but it did not wield any significant impact. The people’s movement culminated in the Assam Accord (1985), which agreed upon deporting immigrants who entered India on or after 25 March 1971, the day on which the Pakistani army launched operations against its civilians who sought independence for Bangladesh. (Tripathi, 2016) However, the legislative measures have proven to be ineffective as the issue of immigration continues to be one of the primary concerns in the country.

Connection between the two case studies

It is important to note that the cases of Rohingya immigration and Bangladeshi immigration are different and mutually exclusive. The causes of migration in the former are more linked to security and safety, while the latter is largely linked to livelihood and economic causes. Yet, both tend to evoke almost identical responses in India. The researcher believes that this could be attributed to three important common factors –

i) India’s stance on refugees and illegal immigration

ii) Cultural Conflict

iii) Demographic Change

iv) National Security

India’s stance on refugees and illegal immigration

Article 1 of the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees defines them as "owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of [their] nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail [themselves] of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of [their] former habitual residence, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it." (UNHCR, n.d.)

India is not a signatory to this convention or its subsequent protocol (1967). However, India is a signatory to many Human Rights related conventions. This duality shapes India’s policy towards refugees and illegal immigrants – characterised by a commitment to human rights without an open-door policy. Historically, India has dealt with refugee crises on a bilateral and case-to-case basis. Thus, there are no special constitutional provisions for refugees, and all the laws that apply to foreigners on Indian land apply to them as well. (Pooja, n.d.)

However, this distinction gets blurred especially when refugees enter the Indian territory, as not granting them a refugee status characterizes them to the list of illegal immigrants in the country, for whom, the repurcussions are severe on paper. In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 11 August 2021, Shri. Nityananda Rai (MoS Home Affairs) stated that all foreign individuals who entered the country illegally or overstayed their visa would be governed under the Foreigners Act, 1946, The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 & The Citizenship Act, 1955. (Ministry of Home Affairs, 2021)

This stance equates Bangladeshi immigrants and Rohingya refugees from the Indian lens. While it may acknowledge the difference of causes, conditions and purpose, they are illegal immigrants as per the legal system. When violence errupted in the Rakhine state in 2012, the UPA-led Indian government categorised it as Myanmar’s internal affair, yet allowing the Rohingyas to penetrate Indian borders. However, when official calls were made to accept Rohingyas into the country, the NDA government showed disinterest. Further in 2017, the government declared its plans to deport the Rohingyas living in different parts of the country. (Yhome, 2018, 3)

While some Rohingyas hold the UNHCR Refugee cards, it is not directly applicable to India, a signatory to UN conventions in this regard. In fact, the status as card holders makes it easier for the government to identify and take stringent action against them. India also deported seven Rohingya refugees from the region of the Assam border in 2018 – a first of its kind and also instructed the collection of biometric details of refugees. (Mitra & Paul, 2023)

Similarly, Bangladeshis living in India apart from the Chakma refugees (1960s) and refugees from the liberation war of 1971 have not been given refugee status. (Kumar, 2020, 5)

This clarifies India’s stance in both cases – which excludes the majority of the immigrants from the refugee, making them eligible for punishment and deportation. As of 2013, only 850 immigrants were in detention centers

However, the question of Rohingyas and Bangladesh immigrants alike, is much more nuanced and complicated, going beyond the legal framework to have cultural undertones that levy a significant impact on India’s social fabric

Cultural Conflict

The genesis of both, Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigration has an underlying cultural phenomenon. Both of these communities fled their home state at some point of time due to violent ethnic conflict. While the conflict in the former case settled (before being reignited during the recent political developments), the latter still continues to simmer. However, it is common to see cultural backlash against both communities in India. Thus, even if less violent and volatile, the immigrants continue to face the same sentiment in the place where they seek refuge

The cultural impact of illegal Bangladeshi immigration has been significant. For example, when a large proportion of Bengali Muslims migrated to Assam, the Assamese Hindus saw this as a threat to their cultural identity for two primary reasons – language and religion. This in turn made the local Assamese Muslims collateral damage in this conflict, straining their relations with their Assamese brothers. (Goswami, 2010, 4)

The spreading awareness regarding the existence of Rohingya refugees has increased the issues for them. Moreover, their cultural dissociation from the majority made it difficult for them to settle in. For instance, an agitation took place in Jammu in 2017, which then was the largest host city for the community. The local population petitioned the administration to save their culture and identity, which invariably meant the deporting of the Rohingyas. (Mitra & Paul, 2023)

The conflation of Rohingyas and Bangladeshi in the common perspective has complicated the issue further as their concerns are looked at from a homogenous gaze, not understanding the issues faced by them. Many scholars argue that the allegedly increasing islamophobia acts as a threat to both communities. Often attributing it to the growth of Hindu nationalist politics under the protege of the incumbent Indian government, they believe that the Muslim identity of the immigrants is one of the primary motivations to disregard their refugee status. (Mitra & Paul, 2023)

By and large, the narrative spun around both these issues presents an ‘ingroup vs outgroup’ narrative, which having cultural reasons, has a more overt and sensational impact in the manner in which manifests for demographic purposes.

Demographic Change

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) report dated 11 September 2013, stated that Bangladeshi immigrants in India formed the largest bilateral stock in entire South Asia with 32 Lakh immigrants living on Indian soil. (Dutta & Das, 2013, 50)

A few years later, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Kiren Rijiju (MoS Home Affairs) informed the parliament that, as per available inputs, around 2 Crore Bangladeshi migrants were staying illegally in India. He also added that it wasn't possible to have accurate data regarding this due to the porous nature of the India-Bangladesh border. (Press Trust of India, 2016)

There is a greater lack of clarity regarding the status of Rohingya immigration. As early as 2017, over 40,000 Rohingya migrants were expected to have crossed the border illegally and stayed in India, as stated by Kiren Rijiju (Mos Home Affairs) in the parliament. He also added that these migrants were not granted refugee status and were qualified to be prosecuted as illegal migrants. (Ministry of Home Affairs, 2017) By 2024, the expected number had increased to 79,000 immigrants, out of which 22,000 also held the UN Refugee card. (Singh, 2024)

It is believed that the increasing population of immigrants has far deeper consequences. Naturally, one of the first arguments against the intake of immigrants is its detrimental effect on the country's resources. Many critics also point out that settling immigrants may hamper employment and livelihood opportunities for the host population

However, the deepest cut amongst all the criticisms could be attributed to those that manage to polarise the public perception, keeping the immigrant population at the epicentre. This could imply mobilising the host population in favour of immigration by passing value judgements or even polarising them against the migrants by evoking tribal confinements. The sharpest tool in such scenarios is the weaponisation of demography (or its illusion thereof) – for democracy runs on the principle of ‘demography is destiny’. In that context, there have been several reports and studies, especially about major Indian metropolitans and the implications of illegal immigration on them.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University released a report in February 2025 titled ‘Illegal Immigrants to Delhi: Analysing Socio-Economic and Political Conditions’, which claimed that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar were availing benefits from government schemes through fraudulent methods, disrupting the local economy by driving down wages and the resultant socio-politicaleconomic challenges. The report also added that the immigrants resided strategically in densely populated areas, collaborating with locals and politicians. These connections were to be leveraged to get forged documents that gave them access to various facilities, including voting rights. (Organiser Web Desk, 2025)

A few months before this report, Shouvik Mondal of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences presented a report titled ‘Illegal Migration to Mumbai: Analysing Social, Economic, and Political Consequences’. The report suggested that there had been a sharp increase in the influx of Muslim migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar since 1965. It also made a sensational claim that the migrants could be in the majority in one-third (12/36) constituencies of Mumbai, giving rise to the protectionism of illegal immigrants – what he termed as ‘shelter politics’ (Press Trust of India, 2024)

The possibility of any such scenario presents an alarming situation for the host country, as illegal migrants with voting numbers in their favour could influence political parties to implicitly support and encourage more such migration, invariably facilitating a demographic takeover – a major threat to national security.

National Security

Immigrants, especially those residing illegally in a country, are often considered to be the biggest threat to the national security of a nation. In the Indian context, this fear unfortunately has some factual backing to it. The researcher would use the riots of Azad Maidan, Mumbai in 2012 as an example to illustrate the same.

In retaliation to the violence against Muslims in Myanmar and Assam, many Muslim organisations, especially youth, assembled at Azad Maidan, Mumbai, on 11 August 2012 to conduct a ‘peaceful’ protest against these atrocities. The protests turned violent as the protesters burned Media Television OB and Police vans and molested women police officers. The mob destroyed the Amar Jawan Jyoti memorial and damaged BEST buses. 53 police officers were injured in this process. (Editorial, 2012, 8)

Prima facie, the scale of the protest was shocking as the situation in Myanmar and Assam was incoherent to its fallout in Mumbai. This solidified the public opinion that this protest was not merely aimed at expressing discontentment but also a projection of street power and political strength. The situation intensified after ‘single-entry’ Bangladeshi passports were allegedly found at the protest sites – unearthing the possible role of migrants in the violent processions. (Tare, 2012)

In 2022, stones were pelted from a mosque in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri area during a Hanuman Jayanti procession. Nine people, including seven policemen, were injured in the process. Jahangirpuri is known to house many Rohingya immigrants and Bengali Muslims and is alleged that it includes a large number of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. (The British Broadcasting Corporation, 2022) Incidents like these create distrust amongst the masses and fuel enmity among communities.

Conclusion and the way forward

Studying the question of Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants, the researcher discussed the homogenisation of both the communities, their identities and the problems faced by them. While the researcher is conscious of their differences in challenges faced by them, finding plausible solutions to the conflict is imperative

On the cultural front, the gap between the immigrant population and the host population appears to be at loggerheads, which leads to the alienation of Indian Muslims, who are stigmatised for being sympathetic to the immigrants. The recent increase in ethnic conflicts is a testament to that. Meanwhile, this fear has been exacerbated by the looming national security threats. All factors considered the researcher believes that the following steps and approaches could be taken to mitigate this issue –

1. Clarity of Stance – India needs to formulate a clear refugee policy. Even if the matters are to be dealt with on a case-to-case basis, there needs to be a clear mandate on the issue. For instance, in the case of the Rohingya conflict, the government unofficially authorised the Rohingyas to percolate through the border in 2012 but never granted them refugee status nor showed the intent to do so, This created confusion in the latter half of the decade after the government showed its intent to deport illegal immigrants including the Rohingyas. Thus, while India may not conform to the Western standards of morality and refugee rights, it needs to ensure that there remains no inconsistency in the domestic policy on this issue. It is being speculated that the government is planning to introduce the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, in the budget session of the parliament. If and when enacted as a law, it can play a pivotal role in defining India’s position on these issues.

Apart from the legal aspect, it is equally important to influence the public sentiment regarding such migrations. It needs to be ensured that illegal immigrations are not used as a political tool to harbour communal hate. The political dispensations across ideologies have encashed this sentiment in recent times, some use the immigrants as a face to propound a larger ethnocentric agenda, while others use it subliminally to paint certain sections as victims, pitting them against other communities. Manifestation of the former leads to cases of Mob lynching, social boycott, etc, whereas the latter gets shaped into conflicts, including major events such as the 2012 Azad Maidan riots in Mumbai.

2. Census and fact-finding – Over the past few years, various numbers have been floated regarding the status of illegal immigrants in the country. However, there remains no clarity on the actual number of those staying illegally in the country. The protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) made it further difficult to initiate a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC). Having a record of accurate data is essential to formulate a plan of action. Hence, the implementation of an NRC is imperative alongside the next National census, which is expected to be conducted in 2025.

3. Deportation of illegal immigrants – In the past decade, the government has spoken about its intent to deport illegal immigrants and has taken token steps to arrest and place them in detention. However, not much progress has happened in this regard. From an economic as well as a human rights perspective, it is not favourable to host immigrants in detention camps till an indefinite date, where they lack clarity about their future, while at the same time, draining public resources. The Supreme Court of India summoned the central government to clear its stance on the issue. (Mohanty, 2025)

In conclusion, the issue regarding illegal immigrants, Rohingyas and Bangladeshi immigrants particularly, has been in the power corridor pipelines for years. The government must act upon this issue before it reaches its tipping point, after which any damage control or course correction might become difficult. In the greater interest of human rights without hampering national security objectives, the resolution of these long-standing conflicts is necessary for a peaceful and secure future for the nation and its people.

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