New Delhi [India], September 9 (ANI): Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressing severe concern over reports detailing the arbitrary profiling, harassment, and detention of Bengali-speaking Indian labourers in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, and other states under the suspicion of being illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
In a post on X, Chowdhury highlighted media reports indicating that impoverished labourers, domestic workers, and women are being targeted simply for speaking Bengali. He noted that many of those detained possess valid Indian identity credentials, such as Voter ID cards and government-issued identity documents.
The former MP condemned the custodial harassment and separation of families, calling it a direct violation of basic constitutional protections and civil rights.
"Written to Union Home Minister @AmitShah expressing grave concern over reports of arbitrary profiling & detention of Bengali-speaking Indian workers as alleged “Bangladeshis” in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh & other states. As per media reports, those detained—including women, domestic workers & impoverished laborers—allegedly hold valid Voter IDs & Aadhaar cards. Despite these reports, they are being subjected to custodial harassment without proper verification, separating families & violating constitutional rights," he said.
The letter emphasised that Bengali is India's second most-spoken language—with over 9.72 crore speakers—and holds official status under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India. Chowdhury urged the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to intervene immediately, halt indiscriminate detentions, and establish strict protocols to prevent law enforcement from using linguistic background as a basis for criminal profiling.
"Bengali is India’s 2nd most-spoken language (9.72+ Cr speakers) & an official language under the 8th Schedule. @MHAIndia must urgently intervene, halt arbitrary detentions, and establish strict protocols against linguistic profiling," he added.
Written to Union Home Minister @AmitShah expressing grave concern over reports of arbitrary profiling & detention of Bengali-speaking Indian workers as alleged “Bangladeshis” in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh & other states.
As per media reports, those detained—including women, domestic…
Highlighting the injustice of questioning citizens' identity based on their native tongue, Chowdhury challenged the central government's stance on constitutional language rights:
"If the State considers the Bengali language itself a threat, let a resolution be brought to Parliament to remove Bengali from the 8th Schedule. As long as Bengali remains constitutionally protected, no citizen should be forced to prove their patriotism for speaking their mother tongue," he said.
This comes amid reports from states like Odisha and Karnataka, including recent incidents and detentions noted in places like Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, that have highlighted cases where migrant workers have allegedly faced social discrimination, arbitrary detention and physical assault by local groups or law enforcement personnel
Such incidents are often linked to verification drives around citizenship and illegal immigration, language-based profiling, and local tensions over jobs and resources. In several recent cases in both states, workers originally from West Bengal and Assam were detained on suspicion of being illegal immigrants and were later released after document verification. (ANI)
