File photo. Tauseef Mustafa—AFP
A recent report published in Bangladesh has noted smuggling on the India-Bangladesh border and the violent steps taken by Delhi to squash it. India’s Border Security Force (BSF), it said, shot dead three Bangladeshis over five days at the end of March 2024; earlier in January, two people were shot dead by the BSF, including one Bangladeshi border-guard. Even on Dhaka’s Independence Day, which India boasts of having helped Bangladesh achieve, two Bangladeshi citizens were shot dead by the BSF.
This aggression stands in contrast to India’s longstanding declaration of Bangladesh as a “friend,” and is part of growing trend, despite repeated state-level commitments to bring the killings down to zero. According to a human rights organization, the BSF killed 31 Bangladeshis along the border in 2023; 23 in 2022; and 18 in 2021. According to one official, at least 522 Bangladeshis were killed by the BSF between 2009 and 2020. Justifying the killings, the BSF claims it acts in “self-defense,” with then director general of BSF Pankaj Kumar Singh claiming in July 2022 that the victims were all “criminals” involved in the drug-trade and cattle smuggling. The unstated messaging was clear: the BSF could kill any foreign citizen with impunity after declaring them a criminal without trial.
This assertion has provoked rights campaigners, who note smuggling requires the participation of individuals on both sides of the border. As a rights organization based in West Bengal noted: “They say cattle are smuggled across the border, and those smugglers are killed. It seems as if cows are born at the border and smuggled into Bangladesh. In fact, these cows are brought from Haryana and Punjab, crossing 2,000 to 2,500 kilometers away in India. The cattle are brought on foot, by truck, or by train. Is it believable that no one sees this movement? Nobody stops these because everyone gets their share. The real issue here is corruption; the BSF kills when there is a dispute with the distribution of the spoils.”
These incidents make clear that despite public posturing, India’s border management with Bangladesh is that of an aggressive and dominating neighbor. It is noteworthy that this aggression is limited to “friendly” neighbor Bangladesh, with similar occurrences far rarer for “hostile” neighbors China and Pakistan.