As political parties gear up for the Legislative Assembly election in Delhi, politics over Bangladeshi “illegal immigrants” has taken center stage this election season. Amid the crackdown by the Delhi Police on these “immigrants,” Bengali-speaking people who migrated to the national capital for work are caught in the chaos.
Last month, when 48-year-old Sulub Jamal went to have tea at a nearby stall, he was randomly picked up by the Delhi Police along with an elderly man present there.
“I had just gone to have tea when some men in plain clothes came and asked me my name. Then, without checking or verifying anything, they picked me and the old man beside me. We were taken to the police station and kept there for hours,” he told Maktoob.
Jamal was released after showing his papers, including his National Register of Citizens (NRC) registry. “It was not a problem to show the documents, but randomly picking us up while we are trying to earn money is becoming a problem,” he added.
Jamal, who hails from Assam, migrated to Delhi 15 years ago with his wife and children. Some of his children were even born in Delhi. A ragpicker by profession, Jamal and many others like him mostly reside in areas like Shaheen Bagh and Okhla in JJ clusters.
Surrounded by heaps of collected rags, they sell the material to factories. “Our work is to collect this rag, which our contractor usually helps us sell,” Jamal said.
Since the beginning of the year, nine Bangladeshis have reportedly been deported from India as part of a broader drive to clamp down on irregular immigration within the city. However, for Muslims from Assam and West Bengal, constant police interrogations have become a source of stress.
The JJ clusters near Shaheen Bagh house many migrants from Assamese and Bengali communities, but residents told Maktoob that the issue of Bengali immigrants is irrelevant here, as neither they nor anyone they know in the locality is from Bangladesh.
One evening, 28-year-old Sharjeena noticed an unusual number of police officials crossing the JJ clusters. Initially, she thought little of it until she heard people were being randomly picked up.
“The contractor told us to give our documents, including Aadhaar, ration cards, and NRC papers, to the police officials,” she said.
Sharjeena, who hails from Assam, lives with her husband, a ragpicker, and their two daughters. “We are tense but have nothing to worry about as we are citizens of this country,” she added.
Private contractors are responsible for providing work to migrants and must have their documents before offering jobs. Al Amaan, a private contractor, told Maktoob that while the documentation process is necessary, it has caused misinformation and fear. “Why are the citizens of this country being treated like this? We have all the documents, including the NRC. Nowhere else in the country would you see NRC certificates, but we have them here,” he said.
Jamal acknowledged that Bangladeshi immigrants have become a political issue, but he emphasized that they are not concerned. “We are citizens of this country. All I want to say is that this is a form of harassment. We don’t mind you checking our documents, but taking us to the police station is stressful,” he added.
Mohammad, a migrant from West Bengal, said some people have left due to the stress. “We are just here working and have all our documents, so why randomly pick people and create fear?” he questioned.
Reports suggest that the police have initiated deportation processes for over 25 people, questioned more than 5,000 individuals, and claimed to have dismantled a syndicate involved in facilitating irregular immigration and issuing fake identification documents.
According to the police, those deported admitted to entering India illegally and were found in possession of Bangladeshi citizenship documents and mobile numbers.
