Targeting Bengalis: Politics Behind Migrant Persecution In BJP States

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a rally in Kolkata on July 16 to protest against the persecution of Bengali speakers, mostly migrant workers, in states run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). On the same day, the Calcutta High Court questioned the Union government’s targeting of such people and asked it to file a report on July 28.

On July 17, Banerjee percipiently pointed out that Rohingyas were not Bengali speakers, in response to Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari’s delusional allegation that they had been registered as voters on a large scale.

Samik Bhattacharya, the recently elected West Bengal BJP president, justified on July 9 the harassment of Bengali migrant workers while seeming to shift to a moderate line. But fault lines were exposed. Bhattacharya took charge on July 3, handpicked because of his suavity and ‘cultured’ image, acceptability to both the ‘old guard’ and later entrants, and his suitability to push a more inclusive line.

Bhattacharya initiated an outreach to Muslims, belatedly realising perhaps that merely consolidating the Hindu vote won’t work in Bengal. The BJP peaked in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with 40.7 per cent of the vote and 18 seats of 42. A dip to 38.15 per cent in the 2021 assembly elections saw them finishing a distant runner-up. They settled at 38.73 per cent and 12 seats in the 2024 general elections. This trend is hardly good augury for the 2026 assembly elections.

But the inclusive approach foundered on the day of Bhattacharya’s ascension, with Adhikari fulminating from the pulpit: “Let’s unite the Hindus… If we can ensure 80 per cent turnout…, we can oust this Muslim League-II government, which is an affront to Hindus.”

Bhattacharya said his party was not against Muslims and has since courted them. On July 6, he invited the support of ‘progressive and nationalist Muslims’ while inviting opposition parties to unite in ousting the TMC. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Congress swiftly and brutally snubbed him. Winning Muslim support is a huge stretch. Additionally, the mixed messaging could confuse voters. Which brings us to Bhattacharya’s attempt to defend the indefensible targeting of Bengalis in BJP-ruled states.

Reports of Bengalis being detained and, in many cases, forced into Bangladesh began to surface in mid-June. On June 15, it was reported that a Murshidabad resident working in Mumbai was detained and handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF), which pushed him into Bangladesh.

On June 16, reports of four earlier detentions and expulsions emerged; three had been rescued. On June 17, it was reported that two Bengal residents had been picked up in Maharashtra and forced into Bangladesh. On June 25, it was reported that over 300 Bengalis had been detained in Rajasthan. On July 1, it was reported that the Delhi Police detained seven Bengalis, including three children. They were reported freed on July 3. On July 2, 16 Bengal residents were reportedly detained in Odisha. On July 10, it was reported that over 200 migrant workers had been detained by the Odisha government and at least 600 had faced some harassment. The Odisha government was the most egregious offender, with Rajasthan close behind. Maharashtra and Delhi also figured noticeably.

On July 14, it was reported that at least 600 migrant workers had been detained in the BJP-run states. The next day, it was alleged that the Chhattisgarh government had illegally confined eight Bengali migrant workers. On July 16, it was reported that six members of the Matua community were detained in Maharashtra, which was ironic given that the BJP has made this Hindu Dalit sect from present-day Bangladesh a vote bank by promising citizenship.

In the midst of these ethnolinguistically motivated attacks, it was reported on July 7 that a National Register of Citizens-related notice had been issued by the Assam police to a poverty-stricken Rajbanshi farmer in Cooch Behar district, accusing him of entering India illegally. He has never left the district.

Referring to this, Banerjee called on all opposition forces to fight the BJP’s sectarianism. On July 3, Bengal chief secretary Manoj Pant wrote to his Odisha counterpart seeking an end to this ‘continuing harassment’, with the Odisha Human Rights Panel pulling up the Cuttack police two days earlier.

Two petitions were filed in the Calcutta High Court in connection with the Orissa detentions on July 4. On July 10, the court took cognisance of the issue and ordered Pant to appoint an officer to address migrant workers’ problems. The next day, it asked him to seek details about the ‘deportation’ of six Bengali migrants.

This chain of events establishes that a campaign of harassment has indeed been mounted by BJP governments against Bengali migrant labourers, predominantly Muslims. It would hardly be preposterous to suggest that this connects with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls underway in Bihar and in the pipeline for Bengal. The baseline is the last round of SIRs undertaken in Bihar in 2003, with the state adding 30 million voters till the 2024 general elections, and in Bengal in 2002, with 30.2 million voters being added.

These baselines are unjust, given millions of voters have voted in numerous elections since then. Calling into question their eligibility and, perversely, their citizenship is a malignant and partisan measure that exposes the Election Commission’s partiality. Its meddling with citizenship earned a sharp rebuke from the Supreme Court on July 9.

The convergence of the SIRs and government-sponsored anti-Bengali campaigns threatens the franchise and citizenship of many migrant workers, whose peripatetic lives make them easy targets. A mass movement is needed to halt the ethno-fascist BJP regimes in their tracks.

Suhit K. Sen is a historian, author and freelance journalist.

Published on: Saturday, July 26, 2025, 12:56 PM IST