Shona Banu's troubling ordeal began on May 25 when she was summoned to a local police station in Assam's Barpeta district. She recounts being taken at gunpoint alongside 13 others to the India-Bangladesh border, where they were forced to cross over without knowing the reasons behind their deportation. This was a devastating moment for Banu, who has been trying to prove her Indian citizenship amid fears of being labeled an "illegal immigrant."
“They pushed me over at gunpoint. I spent two days without food or water in the middle of a field in knee-deep water teeming with mosquitoes and leeches,” Banu recalled tearfully. After twodays in this lawless "no man's land," she and a few others were taken to a detention facility in Bangladesh but were eventually escorted back to India by officials from both nations.
Banu’s troubling experience is reflective of a disturbing pattern emerging in Assam, where officials have been accused of rounding up people—predominantly Muslims—who have been flagged as foreign nationals by the state’s Foreigners Tribunals. Media reports indicate that significant numbers—possibly over 1,200—have been forcibly pushed into Bangladesh, with local authorities claiming they acted to boost national security in response to illegal immigration concerns.
Though the Indian government has not released official numbers, it has faced growing scrutiny over its treatment of residents living in fear of deportation. Legal experts and advocates have decried these actions as violations of due process, claiming that the sweep against alleged illegal immigrants has intensified drastically in recent weeks.
The state's Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, has cited a Supreme Court directive to justify the crackdowns, insisting that people who have not filed appeals in foreigners' tribunals can be summarily returned. Activists, however, argue that many victims of this crackdown have not been given fair opportunities to contest their citizenship status.
As the deportations continue, concerns rise over the psychological and legal ramifications faced by those caught in this tumultuous environment. With no clear path to resolve these allegations of forced deportation, the plight of individuals like Banu and her compatriots highlights the ongoing tensions over citizenship and identity in Assam. Meanwhile, the situation remains precarious for the affected individuals, who live in constant fear of being uprooted from their homes again—a sentiment echoed by community members concerned over the government's intensified crackdown.
Their stories underscore the acute human rights dilemmas embedded in political and ethnic conflicts over citizenship, as families strive to navigate a system rife with ambiguities, bias, and fear.
