Inside the labour supply chain fueling illegal Bangladeshi infiltration

The vast majority of illegitimate immigrants from Bangladesh who enter the territory of India do not seek opportunity; they come as part of a well-established labour supply chain, which includes Indian employers in states located far from the border, who recruit people through intermediaries in Bangladesh.

The entire ‘jobs for illegal immigrants’ eco-system is characterized by the presence of agents at every stage of the process — from assisting with crossing the border and transportation to work locations in India to helping with fake documents creation and providing the necessary jobs in sectors like textile manufacturing, construction and pharmaceuticals.

According to a senior government official of Assam, “It’s an organised eco-system that comprises Bangladeshi recruitment touts who, based on requirements of Indian employers for cheap labour, identify unemployed Bangladeshis seeking low-paid, unskilled jobs in India. Every step, from their illegal entry into India to reaching their job locations, is planned well in advance.”


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He also pointed out that crossing the border to India mostly takes place with the help of guides, who help people to cross the border through Meghalaya, Tripura and West Bengal. Agents on the Indian side facilitate the victims' transit to Assam and arrange onward train travel from Guwahati to their job destinations across the country.

Local touts assist them in getting fake documents, such as Aadhaar, before another layer of agents hands the documents to Indian employers willing to employ them at wages lower than what is paid to Indians.

Assam busted one such network that transported illegal migrants from Guwahati railway station to Tamil Nadu for work in a textile factory, resulting in 34 arrests, bringing it up at the all-India SPs conference for border districts headed by home minister Amit Shah on July 9. Assam sought a legal framework for making Indian employers accountable for the abuse of the illegal Bangladeshi immigration network.

Intelligence reports say Bangladeshi manpower agents work on the ground of labour requirements of Indian companies’ agents. They provide fake Aadhaar and PAN cards for illegal migrants in destination states for registering them as workers and moving from one place to another.

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A police officer told TOI, “Armed with the same documents, many went on to project themselves as Indian citizens and even enrolled as voters. Special intensive revision (SIR), however, may have cut their dream run short by requiring proof of their parents’ or relatives’ presence in the 2002 rolls.”

(With inputs from TOI)