State Govts instructed to build detention centres for infiltrating Muslims in India

• Foreign Tribunals to be set up

• Decision on extradition to depend on tribunals’ verdicts

• Hindus and other minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to get concession

New Delhi – The Indian Government has issued a gazetted order to build detention centres for infiltrators in all States. Now, infiltrators will be sent to these detention centres after arrest, and then, they will be deported to their country of origin. The Union Government has directed all State Governments and Union Territories to set up detention centres. Minority Hindus from neighbouring Islamic countries have been exempted from this, which means that infiltrating Muslims will be kept at the detention centres. This order has been issued under a new law, viz.  ‘The Immigration and Foreigners’ Act 2025’.

What will be the process of sending infiltrators to the detention centres?

A person staying illegally in India and unable to prove himself as an Indian citizen will be detained at this centre. A Foreigners’ Tribunal will be set up for this purpose. This tribunal will decide whether a person is a foreigner. The tribunal will have three members with judicial experience. If a person is proven to be an infiltrator, he/she will be detained at these centres till deportation.

Who will get relief?   

1. People coming from Nepal and Bhutan will be given relief from the requirement of a passport and visa; however, they can enter India using land or air route only if they are not coming from China, Macau, Hongkong or Pakistan.

2. Minorities coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan for religious purposes till 31.12.2024 will also be given a concession.

3. These new rules have been implemented under the ‘Immigration and Foreigners’ (Exemptions) Order, 2025.

Relief for minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan 

Exemptions have been granted to people from Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian communities in their requirements of visa or passport who came to India before 31.12.2024 due to religious persecution. It means that these people will be able to stay in India even if they don’t have any legal documents or their validity has expired. This clause can be annexed to the Citizenship Amendment Act, which talked about giving citizenship to refugees who have come here till 31.12.2014. Now, this limit has been extended to 31.12.2024, but this order is related only to the permission for stay and not directly connected to citizenship.

Editorial Perspective

The Union Government’s decision is commendable. About five crore Bangladeshi Muslims are living in India, as per a report; therefore, the tribunals have to work speedily to serve justice and to expel all such people from India.