Beyond the official circles where illegal immigration and how it can be strictly controlled is discussed, life at the borders is a completely different reality. There is interdependence especially among those whose livelihoods depend on commerce. What is available in Bangladesh is what people on the Meghalaya side of the border need. They include fish, dry fish and Chinese made products which are much cheaper than the Indian made ones. In the real world prices matter and for border residents most goods from Bangladesh are cheaper than those transported all the way from Shillong, Tura, Jowai or Nongstoin.
The Indo-Bangladesh border on the Meghalaya side is an open one. In the East Khasi Hills side the fencing that is seen right through the areas of Bholaganj ends before reaching Sohbar. At Dawki right down to Balat the river Umngot is the boundary separating the two countries. Around Ichamati the fencing over rivers had collapsed due to floods. At Ranikor too the borders are not fenced. The same is the case with the Indo-Bangladesh borders in Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills. It’s an open secret that there is a lot of unofficial border trade with trucks carrying vegetables, fruits, sugar and other food items from the Indian side regularly crossing the borders over to Bangladesh at night. It is not physically possible to guard every inch of a border that is not fenced off. Interestingly the border haats are all shut since August 2024. Not that they were transacting brisk business in the past.After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina Government in August 2024 the number of refugees and economic migrants from Bangladesh has gone up by leaps and bounds. They come via the open borders in Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura etc. While illegal migration from Bangladesh has always been an issue of great concern in this country, more so after the 2024 coup, India has no data on the exact number of illegal immigrants present in India today. Reports claim that the figure is around the range of 15 million Bangladeshis living in India. This has major economic, social, and security implications for the country, more so for the border states in North east India – Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam.
Scholars studying illegal migration aver that the solution for India lies in a multi-faceted and well-coordinated strategy that fits within the legal framework such as the introduction of a national refugee law. This law must make a distinction between refugees who obtain a residence permit and illegal persons who receive a return decision. Although India has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, it can introduce the definition of the 1951 Refugee Convention in its domestic law, defining a refugee as someone who is being persecuted on account of religion in his country (in this case Bangladesh where Hindus are persecuted). Overall, however, it is important to tighten control over borders. Border fencing and tighter policing at the borders are non-negotiable factors.
