By RC Sharma
Border security is national security. Treating border security as a perfunctory professional domain and linking the Bangladesh border only with the “GHUSPATHIYA” narrative ignores other pressing problems along the borders, thereby undermining national security. Border security is both a concept and a methodology for ensuring national security. It encompasses and needs integration of, human resources with modern weapon and equipment, obstacle system, flood lights, towers and surveillance devices. Inadequacy or scarcity of one dilutes the effectiveness of the other, rendering the border security ecosystem vulnerable to exploitation by anti-national elements. What’s needed is a balanced approach and federal cooperation among border security stakeholders, including Union and State governments, the border guarding force, and the local population. Nonchalant approach to border security from governments undermines national security. Let’s analyze the Indo-Bangladesh border in light of its strategic importance for India’s North East and internal security. The Indo-Bangladesh border is a 4,096.7 km land and riverine border running along the states of West Bengal (2216.7 Kms), Assam (263 Kms), Meghalaya (443Kms), Tripura (856 Kms), and Mizoram (443 Kms). The land component is plain and hilly with unfenced gaps, villages ahead of fence and cultivation up to zero line all along West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura borders with many population center’s right on the border. Riverine component characterizes char lands, which are unfenced, with population along the char areas and cultivation up to zero line. At many places, it is difficult to comprehend where India lies and where Bangladesh is unless one spends time in the area and becomes fully familiar with it.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, in response to Rajya Sabha unstarred question no. 2437 by Dr Kirori Lal Meena answered on 17 March 2021 informed that fence work remains pending in West Bengal (578.653 Kms), Assam (52.983 Kms), Meghalaya (117.227 Kms), Tripura (61.627 Kms), and Mizoram (162.923 Kms). The total unfenced area is 973.413 Kms which is about 23.76 percent of the total border. The reasons cited for pending fence work are difficult terrain, riverine and marshy land, short working season, land acquisition problems, public protests and objections by Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB). Government says that it is regularly monitoring the progress of the fencing work. Regarding illegal infiltrators caught by the BSF along the Indo-Bangladesh border from 2016-2020, the numbers are 31 for Assam, 152 for Meghalaya, 429 for Tripura and 4,844 for West Bengal. Altogether, 5,456 illegal infiltrators were caught along the Indo-Bangladesh border. The Ministry further states that there is no accurate estimate of infiltrators entering the country clandestinely. With these figures emerging officially, one wonders at the authenticity of the statement then Minister of State for Home Affairs, Prakash Jaiswal in 2004 in Parliament about there being 12 million illegal Bangladeshis in India. Kiren Rijiju, then Minister of State for Home Affairs, made a statement in Parliament in 2016 claiming that according to available information, there were about 20 million illegal immigrants from Bangladesh in India; he later retracted this statement. Even data on Indian citizenship between 2015-2019 does not reveal anything on illegal immigrants. In 2015, 14,880 Bangladeshis were granted Indian citizenship; the figures for 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 were 39,49, 19, and 25, respectively. Data and statements do not support each other. One wonders if Ghuspathiya narrative is real or just a political slogan for perception building for emotional exploitation.
Now let’s analyse the progress on the border obstacle system, specifically the fencing, to curb illegal immigration and smuggling. Fencing was a political hot potato during the recently held West Bengal assembly elections. In response to Rajya Sabha unstarred question no. 3044, asked by Shambhu Sharan Patel and Neeraj Shekher, Nityanand Rai, Minister of State in Ministry of Home Affairs, replied on August 20, 2025, that out of a total length of 2216.7 Kms in West Bengal, 1647.696 km is already fenced. Of the 569.004 km stretch that remains unfenced, 112.780 km is non-feasible and 456.224 km is feasible. He further states that out of the 456.224 km feasible in West Bengal, land for 77.935 km has been handed over to the executing agency. For the remaining 378.289 km stretch, the state government has yet to initiate land acquisition for 148.971 km, and the land for the remaining 229.318 km is in various stages of acquisition. Government data paints a grim picture of border security infrastructure as priority. Between 2021 and 2025, in about four and half years’ a tiny stretch of just 9.649 Kms has only been fenced in West Bengal. Fencing work on 77 Kms is ongoing while about 378.289 km remains unfenced. This means border security is more of a political punching bag than a real priority. Neither the Union nor the State government showed the desired determination to expedite the fencing of feasible stretches. The story must be the same for other Northeastern states along the Indo-Bangladesh border.
Fencing requires managing issues that dilute its effectiveness. The first is management of hamlets ahead of fencing in West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura. These hamlets pose risks to border security because they allow easy cross-border access for both sides. BSF has domination protocols ahead of fencing but these hamlets and Bangladesh villages have easy unnoticed access at night and may be used for facilitating illegal immigration, infiltration, cross border smuggling, espionage, spying and radicalization. There are possibilities that children born in Bangladesh are registered in India as born to mothers residing in these pockets. It is also possible that Bangladesh citizens are using these hamlets as residential proof to obtain Indian passports. In a nutshell, these hamlets pose a risk to border security because residents can be easily arm-twisted by anti-national elements to do their bidding.
Fencing is the antidote to containing illegal immigration, infiltration, and the smuggling of fake currency, drugs, arms and ammunition, local merchandise, sand, stone and lime stone smuggling from river beds. A multi-pronged strategy is needed to strengthen border security along the Indo-Bangladesh border, prioritized by importance. Firstly, begin the process to fence the feasible gaps by expediting land acquisition. The non-feasible gaps too need strengthening by resorting to situational security. West Bengal government has started a three-step process to expedite land acquisition which should not lose steam. In the process government transferred 142.79 acres of land across nine districts covering about 27 Kms stretch for border fencing. This process needs to be expedited in all north Eastern states. Secondly, we need to enhance our focus on strengthening existing fencing by replacing old fencing which is badly rusted in many areas and poses no obstacle to illegal migrants. Unfenced gaps and habitation along the fence alignment, which creates man-made gaps, render the Indo-Bangladesh border highly porous due to the population ahead of the fence.
Government’s priority must be to relocate the population to deeper areas ahead of the fence by identifying suitable land for this purpose. Expedite land acquisition and fence construction as the topmost national security priority. Stop practice of frequent pull out of Border Security Force for elections and internal security duties creating repetitive artificial porosity in border security. Address non-feasible gaps using situational domination protocols. Professional analysis of both artificial and natural porosity along the Indo-Bangladesh border is imperative and must be the top-most national security priority along the Indo-Bangladesh border. BSF cadre command has ensured effective foolproof border security along the Indo-Bangladesh border despite monumental constraints. Now, the double engine political dispensation along the Indo-Bangladesh border must catch the bull by the horns, expedite infrastructure development to contain artificial and natural porosity, and implement human resource reforms to turn the political rhetoric of “GHUSPATHIYA” into reality. The data on such push backs and hand-overs must be in the public domain. It is also necessary to prioritize and address multiple threats and combat challenges along the Indo-Bangladesh border, rather than treating illegal immigration as the only threat. Action on ground alone will reassure the nation that the political dispensation means business.
(The writer is Commandant (R) BSF)
