After the polls, saving the eastern border

India’s eastern borders, shared primarily with Bangladesh and Myanmar, face persistent threats from illegal infiltration, smuggling, and insurgency that demand urgent action from the newly elected BJP-led governments in West Bengal and Assam. These administrations, victorious in the May 2026 assembly elections, now control key stretches of the 4,096 km Indo-Bangladeshi border — West Bengal with 2,217 km and Assam with 262 km — positioning them to lead a unified security push. Securing these frontiers must be their top priority to safeguard demographics, the economy, and national integrity.

The BJP secured a landslide in West Bengal, winning 208 of 294 seats and ousting Mamata Banerjee’s TMC, which held just 79, while in Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma’s NDA clinched 102 seats for a second term. Assam CM Sarma explicitly tied the Bengal win to border security, noting that with the BJP now ruling all five Bangladesh-border states (including Tripura, Meghalaya, and Mizoram), Home Minister Amit Shah can orchestrate a “cohesive effort” to protect the Siliguri Corridor — the 22 km “chicken’s neck” linking Northeast India to the mainland. Prior Bengal governments’ reluctance to provide land for Border Security Force (BSF) fencing along Bengal’s border exacerbated vulnerabilities; the new governments have pledged to fast-track fencing, including 600 acres in Bengal within 45 days.

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Porous borders enable massive illegal migration, altering demographics and fuelling unrest. In Assam, 47,928 illegal immigrants were detected from 1971 to 2014 under the Assam Accord’s 24 March 1971 cut-off, with Assamese speakers dropping to 48.38 per cent of the population, according to 2011 Census data. Intelligence agencies reported a massive push of thousands of infiltrators into Assam and West Bengal ahead of the 2026 polls, exploiting unfenced riverine stretches — over 900 km nationwide, including 569 km unfenced in Bengal (of 2,217 km total) and challenging terrains in Assam. BSF routinely thwarts such bids, as in Assam’s Dhubri in 2024, amid a 2026 spike linked to instability in Bangladesh following Sheikh Hasina’s ouster. This influx risks the demographic stability of indigenous communities, as seen in Assam districts like Dhubri and Goalpara.

Over 40,000 Rohingya refugees pose a security risk, concentrated in Assam, West Bengal, Jammu, Hyderabad, and Delhi; India views them as illegal immigrants, not protected refugees, with detentions in Assam’s Matia camp (103 Rohingyas among 274 detainees) and West Bengal’s Dum Dum jail. Bangladesh’s interim government’s failure to curb radical Islamists enables cross-border terror, arms smuggling, and narcotics links between Bangladeshi outfits and Northeast insurgents like ULFA. Myanmar conflicts spill over via unfenced segments, allowing insurgents sanctuary. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has urged focus on these ‘emerging eastern border challenges’ amid unrest in Bangladesh and attacks on minorities.

The eastern borders facilitate arms, drugs, and gold smuggling, undermining security. West Bengal ranked fourth nationally in unlicensed firearms seizures (NCRB 2017 data), with consignments from China via Myanmar’s UWSA fuelling Northeast insurgents. Mizoram has emerged as a hub, but Assam and Bengal routes persist; DRI-Assam Rifles busted Myanmar-to-Bangladesh arms rackets in 2018. Narcotics fund militants, while illegal migrants strain resources — debated economic “benefits” are overshadowed by indigenous job losses and cultural erosion. Floodlighting covers 2,752 km of the 3,077 km sanctioned (much of it in Bengal), but gaps remain.

The Siliguri Corridor’s vulnerability amplifies risks: instability in north Bengal could isolate the eight Northeast states. With BJP alignment, Sarma called for integrated BSF-state action, as infiltrators turned back from Assam re-enter via Bengal. Only 3,006 km of the 4,096 km Indo-Bangladesh border is fenced; 1,090 km remains pending, including 684 km where fencing is feasible. New priorities include non-physical barriers, smart technology for riverine gaps, and land handover — now feasible without prior TMC delays. The BSF DG’s April 2026 visits to Assam and Bengal underscored election-security coordination.

Prioritising fencing, intelligence, and deportations will stem threats, boost investor confidence, and preserve indigenous identity. The BJP’s manifesto commitments position these governments to deliver, potentially securing India’s Northeast flank amid turmoil in Bangladesh and chaos in Myanmar. Failure risks escalated terror, demographic upheaval, and economic sabotage — making border security not just a task, but the cornerstone of their legacy.

(Hindol Sengupta is professor of international relations and executive dean of the School of International Affairs, and director of the India Institute, at O.P. Jindal Global University. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.)