Hundreds detained, deported under sweeping mass drive in IIOJK
150 flown out of Kashmir amid serious concerns over due process
Srinagar: Indian authorities have intensified a controversial drive against people they describe as undocumented foreign nationals in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, with the deportation of 150 people amid concerns over detention, nationality verification and due process.
The 150 people were flown from Srinagar to Bagdogra in West Bengal on a special Indian Air Force aircraft on Monday and handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) for onward repatriation to Bangladesh. Another batch of 150 people is reportedly scheduled to be deported on October 7.
Indian authorities have described those being deported as Bangladeshi nationals allegedly staying illegally in IIOJK. However, reports indicate that the ongoing verification drive has involved the detention of around 500 people from different parts of the territory, with some reportedly identified as Rohingya from Myanmar as well.
According to reports, many of those detained had been living in different parts of the Kashmir Valley for years and were engaged in low-paid informal work, including ragpicking and other menial occupations. A separate report said discrepancies in Aadhaar details prompted nationality verification, after which authorities claimed that Bangladeshi citizenship was confirmed.
The mass detention and deportation process has raised questions about whether every individual was given an effective opportunity to establish their identity, nationality and legal status before removal. Human Rights Watch has warned in a broader 2026 context that Indian authorities must ensure due process, access to legal representation and an opportunity to challenge deportation decisions, while nationality should be verified through established procedures.
The rights watchdog has also documented cases this year in which Bengali-speaking people in India were detained and forcibly expelled without adequate procedural safeguards, with some families reportedly left stranded at the India-Bangladesh border. It has stressed that genuine voluntary repatriation may comply with international human rights standards, but coercive expulsion without due process does not.
The latest action comes after a high-level committee constituted by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs to examine demographic changes.
The large-scale detention and deportation exercise has therefore intensified concerns over the treatment of vulnerable migrant communities in IIOJK, particularly regarding arbitrary detention, collective targeting and the absence of transparent safeguards to ensure that no person is expelled without proper determination of nationality and legal status.
