On India's Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a "high-powered demography mission" would deal with the "conspiracy" of irregular migration.

Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has repeatedly described immigrants from neighboring Muslim-majority Bangladesh as a "national security crisis," claiming that the Muslim "infiltration" is leading to a demographic shift in India.

"Infiltrators are snatching away the livelihood of our youth, targeting the sisters and daughters of our country, misleading innocent tribals, and capturing their land," Modi said in his August 15 speech at the iconic Red Fort in New Delhi. "This will not be tolerated."

Since then, Modi has doubled down on his declaration, although detailed operational plans have not been made public.

Many critics have pointed out that linking irregular migration to threats against jobs and tribal land rights was nothing but a ruse to justify targeting populations perceived as outsiders — especially in the Indian states that share borders with Bangladesh.

Infiltrations an issue, says government

India's Home Ministry said that irregular migration from Bangladesh remained a top security concern, with most apprehensions recorded along the West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, and Meghalaya borders.

This concern has led to periodic pushes for identification and deportation of migrants lacking legal status. Many people — most of them reportedly Muslim — have been detained or expelled to neighboring Bangladesh.

Writer and journalist Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, who has chronicled the issue closely, said the demography mission announcement follows closely on the heels of the Election Commission's revisions of electoral rolls in Bihar — one of India's largest states by population, making it a key election battleground.

"The core rationale behind both efforts chillingly converges to undermine the legitimacy of a substantial segment of Indian citizens by branding them as foreigners," Mukhopadhyay told DW.

"What was once sharply opposed as communal politics is now repositioned as a form of nationalistic policy deemed politically acceptable."

Security imperative — or is it about votes?

Tom Vadakkan, a BJP national spokesperson, stated that opposition parties are riled by the demography mission because they treat outsiders as part of their vote bank.

"As long as bonafide citizens of this country vote, there is no problem at all. There is a process by which people can apply for citizenship in India and not through fraudulent means. This is what we want to check and put a halt to," Vadakkan told DW.

He was referring to the Citizenship Amendment Act that fast-tracks Indian citizen applications from Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian immigrants who escaped to India from religious persecution in Muslim-majority Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. It excludes Muslims from this fast-track process, making it controversial for allegedly discriminating on the basis of religion.

The cut-off date was extended by 10 years earlier this month, making many more people eligible.

"Opposition parties benefit politically by including outsiders or illegal immigrants in their support base, which leads them to oppose governmental measures aimed at curbing illegal immigration and protecting citizenship rights," Vadakkan added.

'Climate of bigotry and demographic scaremongering'

In 2019, an effort by the state of Assam to tackle irregular migration excluded 1.9 million people from the final citizenship list — effectively rendering their political and legal status as Indian citizens unclear. Critics said the list discriminated against Muslims and Bengali-speaking Hindus.

Kavita Krishnan, a women's rights activist, said that the exercise served "an ideological purpose by creating a climate of fear among Muslims, Bengali speakers, Kuki-Zo people from the northeast and Rohingya refugees."

"Then, the ruling BJP will consolidate the majority population around a climate of bigotry and demographic scaremongering that is essential oxygen for the party," she told DW.

"The other purpose is quite practical, demographic engineering of the electorate, by suspending the nationality status and voting rights of entire communities that are not likely to vote BJP," said Krishnan.

Ranjit Sur, general secretary of the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), told DW that there are no "illegal migrants," as claimed by the BJP, terming the notion of "illegal immigration" a bogeyman created by the ruling party to stoke fear and justify its demography mission.

"The BJP and its ideological mentor, the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] are colluding to artificially change the demography of border states, especially West Bengal," said Sur.

"My team conducted field visits to border districts like Malda, Murshidabad, Cooch Behar and South 24 Parganas and found no evidence of an influx of people from Bangladesh," he added.

"Ironically, Indians cross over to Bangladesh to work in the garment industry periodically, reversing the narrative of large-scale infiltration," Sur concluded.

Edited by: Keith Walker