POBNEWS24, Dhaka Mar 26, 2025 : The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) has said that the number of Muslims among the Bangladeshi nationals caught illegally entering India from August 24 to the third week of December is higher.
The number of infiltrators from Bangladesh has increased slightly in 2024 compared to the same period in the previous two years, but when compared to the data for the entire year, the BSF said that there was no significant increase in infiltration between August and December.
This information was obtained from sources in the South Bengal border area of the Indian Border Security Force (BSF).
Several officers of the force said that during the initial interrogation of the Hindu Bangladeshi nationals who were caught illegally entering India, ‘a few people’ said that they left the country due to ‘atrocities’ and ‘violence’ against Hindus in Bangladesh.
The picture of the entire border area between India and Bangladesh is the same, several officers of the force said.
Analysts are a bit surprised by this information, because a narrative that many Hindus are migrating to India or trying to migrate to India due to ‘atrocities’ and ‘violence’ against Hindus in Bangladesh has been being spread by Hindutva organisations in India for quite some time now.
Do these figures refute that narrative?
Hindus 301, Muslims 415
Statistics obtained from the BSF’s South Bengal border area show that 716 Bangladeshi nationals were caught by Indian border guards while illegally crossing the border from August to December 24 this year.
Their religious identities reveal that 301 of them are Hindus and 415 are Muslims. However, officials also say that if we look at the statistics for the entire year, it can be seen that there has been no significant change in the number of infiltrations between August and December.
BSF sources say that the number of Hindus and all types of infiltrators has increased slightly. The picture is also said to be the same for the entire India-Bangladesh border, i.e. the area under the Eastern Command of the BSF.
Statistics of infiltrators caught between August and December of the last two years show that in 2023, 203 Hindus and 449 Muslims were caught in the South Bengal border area. The previous year, between August and December of 2022, 114 Hindus and 298 Muslims were caught illegally entering India.
Mohit Roy, convener of the Indian organization ‘CAMB’, which has long been vocal against the alleged persecution of minorities in Bangladesh, said, “Muslims have always been in the majority among infiltrators from Bangladesh.”
BSF sources say that the number of Hindu infiltrators who have been tortured or atrocities against them in Bangladesh or fear that they will be tortured or atrocities and that is why they have come to India is very negligible. That number is only one to two percent of the infiltrators caught.
A senior BSF official says, “Since August, the Indian High Commission has been issuing very few visas to Bangladeshis. However, many Bangladeshis have to come to this part of India for business, family or various needs. Such travel continues legally. Now, due to the extensive visa restrictions, many may be trying to come illegally and are getting caught.”
The number of Muslims among the infiltrators in India since August is more, while Hindus are less – this statistic has surprised analysts and activists.
For the past few months, there has been a campaign and narrative going on in India that Hindus in Bangladesh are trying to come to India after being victims of ‘persecution’. In that context, such statistics of infiltrators are being found, which somewhat undermines that narrative and propaganda, says Snigdhendu Bhattacharya, a researcher of Hindutva politics.
In his words, ‘A section of politicians in both countries had been saying incessantly since August that Hindus are being subjected to widespread persecution in Bangladesh. That is why Hindus are coming to India in droves or are thinking of coming.’
‘This campaign is especially going on in the states bordering Bangladesh, including West Bengal and Assam. The intensity of this campaign has been increased keeping in mind the 2026 elections in West Bengal. But the statistics available from the BSF now show that only a small number of Hindus are being caught at the border. And the number of Muslims who have been caught illegally crossing the border cannot be called ‘coming in droves’!
