Hundreds of Bangla Speaking Migrant Workers Detained in "Holding Centres" Across Gurugram

Hundreds of Bengali and Assamese migrants, mostly Muslims, have been detained in Gurugram, Haryana, in a crackdown against suspected illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Despite having identity documents like Aadhaar, voter ID and even passport many say they were taken into custody solely for speaking Bengali.

When asked about the charges under which the migrants are being detained, Gurugram Police PRO Sandeep Kumar said, “They are not detained. As per the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), certain holding centres have been created, and suspected Bangladeshis are being kept there. All basic necessities, including medical facilities, are being provided to them at the centres.”

These detentions appear to follow a Ministry of Home Affairs directive, said Advocate Supanda Sinha. They come in the backdrop of a nationwide drive against alleged undocumented foreign nationals. However, multiple reports show that Bengali-speaking Muslim migrants from West Bengal and Assam are facing the brunt of these drives.

At a recent protest in Kolkata led by Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress protested various attacks against migrants in Delhi (Jai Hind colony), NCR and Odisha. Banerjee dared the BJP to put her in a detention facility. She has also condemned these attacks on social media. “The second most spoken language in the country, Bangla, is also the second most spoken language of Assam,” she wrote.


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