Assam government nabbed and deported 8 immigrants who entered the Indian territory illegally, as informed by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday (12th December). In a post on X, CM Sarma posted the image of the illegal immigrants and wrote that “people across the border seemed to have taken our philosophy of अतिथि देवों भवः too seriously”.
Sarma shared a Sanskrit verse and said that the infiltrators forget that India also believes in the message conveyed in the verse. “सुदुर्बलं नावजानाति कञ्चिद् युक्तो रिपुं सेवते बुद्धिपूर्वम्। न विग्रहं रोचयते बलस्थैः काले च यो विक्रमते स धीरः॥” Sarma wrote. The verse describes the quality of a prudent person as one who does not insult the weak, always remains cautious, and deals with his enemies with wisdom and discretion, avoids conflict with the strong, and shows bravery at the right time.
People across the border seemed to have taken our philosophy of अतिथि देवों भवः too seriously.
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) December 12, 2025
But they forgot that we also believe in
सुदुर्बलं नावजानाति कञ्चिद् युक्तो रिपुं सेवते बुद्धिपूर्वम्।
न विग्रहं रोचयते बलस्थैः काले च यो विक्रमते स धीरः॥
8 illegals thus PUSHED BACK. pic.twitter.com/3y3sankK8g
Operation Pushback
The action of the Assam government comes as the Indian government is identifying and deporting illegal immigrants under the ongoing Operation Pushback. The operation is a measure adopted by the Indian government to get rid of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, considering their large numbers in the country and the lack of cooperation from Bangladesh due to its unstable political situation. Instead of following the slow and lengthy procedure of deporting illegal immigrants, the Indian government is now adopting a swift strategy of pushing-back the infiltrators to the other side almost instantenously. In cases where Bangladeshis are nabbed from different cities of India (far from the Eastern borders), they are first flown to either Tripura, Assam, or West Bengal and then pushed over to the Bangladeshi side.
Several Indian States, including Rajasthan, Tripura, and Odisha, have stepped up the process of identification of illegal immigrants. The operation has yielded positive results with illegal Bangladeshis voluntarily returning to their home country. As per 2016 data, there are more than 2 crore Bangladeshis living illegally in India.
