Illegal Bangladeshis living in India

Illegal Bangladeshis living in India refers to allegations that Bangladeshi nationals are residing illegally in India.

Estimates of Population
In 2003, former Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes alleged that there are there are more than 20,000,000 of these aliens in India .

The Government of Bangladesh claims that "there is not a single Bangladeshi migrant in India".

Drain on Government
It is extremely hard to distinguish between illegal Bangaldeshis and local Bengali speakers. The Hindu has reported a case where Bangladeshis have been able to secure ration and voter identity cards.

Assam spent Rs.1.7 billion between January 2001 and September 2006, which resulted in identification of 9,149 foreigners, only 1,864 could be deported back to Bangladesh. This amounts to Rs. 180,000 spent to deport an illegal Bangladeshi

India is building a fence along its entire border with Bangladesh .

Allegations of terrorism and crime
Indian intelligence sources claim that terrorist groups have been recruiting Bangladeshis in India. Indian police have alleged that some Bangladeshi insurgent groups were involved in several terrorist incidents in India
The Government of Bangladesh have generally denied these reports. Some commentators have attributed the rise of terrorist attacks in North-East India to the rise of illegal immigration.

In 2005, South Delhi police claimed to have captured a group of criminals, allegedly of Bangladeshi origin, who were involved in several cases of robbery and dacoity in Delhi and Gurgaon. They confiscated gold and diamond articles worth Rs 30 lakh, weapons and house breaking implements from them.

Human trafficking

Centre for Women and Children Studies estimated in 1998 that 27,000 Bangladeshis have been forced into prostitution in India. Ahmedabad Crime Branch (ACB) has investigated a prostitution racket run by a Bangladeshi couple living in Ahmedabad. It believed over 500 women had been coerced into prostitution by illegal Bangladeshi agents in Gujarat. .

Settlement
Indian newspapers reported that "the state government has reports that illegal Bangladeshi migrants have trickled into parts of rural Bengal, including Nandigram , over the years, and settled down as sharecroppers with the help of local Left leaders. Though a majority of these immigrants became tillers, they lacked documents to prove the ownership of land".

Politics
Allegations exist that other parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress have discriminated against Bengali-speaking Muslims..

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