Diplomatic solution urgent to stop push-in and push-back

The issue of Indian citizens being forcibly sent into Bangladesh has been a topic of discussion for several days. International media have also reported it with importance. Last week, Al Jazeera published a harrowing report on the matter, revealing that law enforcement in Assam forcibly picked up Muslim citizens of Assam and pushed them toward the Bangladeshi border. Bangladesh’s border guards did not allow them to enter either. They stood all day without food in an open field.

Meanwhile, on Thursday (July 17), a report published in the media stated that 55 people were pushed in through four borders of the Sylhet division by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF). On Wednesday morning, members of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) detained them. From May 4 to July 17, the BSF has pushed in a total of 2,004 people. Lieutenant Colonel Md Nazmul Haque, commander of the 48 BGB, said that among those pushed in yesterday were 33 women and 10 children.

With the aim of reaching a diplomatic solution to the ‘push-in’ and ‘push-back’ issue, the Bangladesh government has already sent a letter to the Indian government. Even then, no effective solution has yet been achieved. The interim government's foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain stated that if any Indian is pushed in, they will certainly be sent back. He made the remark in response to a question at the inauguration of a month-long photography and graffiti exhibition of the July Reawakening programme at the Foreign Service Academy on Wednesday.

The foreign affairs adviser said that Bangladesh does not need to try to send Indian citizens back because the Chief Minister of West Bengal has already expressed dissatisfaction about Bengali-speaking people being pushed out of India. There is nothing for us to be alarmed about regarding this.

If the Chief Minister of West Bengal comes forward with a solution, then certainly the path to resolution becomes somewhat easier. But if that does not happen, then it is still uncertain what further steps Bangladesh will take. Although the foreign affairs adviser said that there is nothing for us to be alarmed about, there is actually sufficient reason to be concerned.

Whether it is two thousand or two people—this is playing with human lives. In today’s modern and civilized world, we cannot keep people standing in ‘no man’s land’. Both India and Bangladesh must find a diplomatic solution. Among Bangladesh’s eight divisions, six share borders with India; due to some cultural similarities and various necessities, human movement between the two countries is relatively easy. In this context, the way the Indian government is selectively pushing only Muslims—particularly citizens of Assam—toward Bangladesh is extremely alarming.

Especially after the recent political change in Bangladesh, and following the attack on tourists in India’s Pahalgam, Indian Muslims have been living in fear. In Modi’s BJP-ruled states, the authorities have seized this opportunity to launch operations against so-called ‘illegal Bangladeshis’ and ‘Rohingyas’. It can be said that the Modi government has started a new kind of politics on this issue. If this continues, it will be a matter of concern not only for India but also for Bangladesh. There is no proper solution other than increasing diplomatic communication between the two countries. Therefore, we want the Bangladesh government not to merely rely on the words of the Chief Minister of West Bengal but to build stronger diplomatic engagement with the Indian government to resolve the push-in and push-back issue.