32 Bangladeshi, 34 Indian fishermen detained after storms push boats across borders: Plea to NHRC

By A Representative

A human rights organisation has appealed to the National Human Rights Commission over the arrest of 32 Bangladeshi fishermen who were recently detained in Indian waters after being caught in storms at sea. In a memorandum submitted on Friday, Kirity Roy, Secretary of Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) and National Convenor of the Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI), urged authorities to ensure the immediate release of these fishermen, along with 34 Indian fishermen held under similar circumstances in Bangladesh.

According to the memorandum, two Bangladeshi fishing trawlers carrying thirteen men drifted into Indian waters in the Bay of Bengal due to stormy winds and heavy rainfall. The vessels were intercepted by the Indian Coast Guard, and the fishermen were later booked at Frazerganj Police Station under Case No. 147 dated September 17, 2025. In a separate incident, another Bangladeshi trawler with nineteen men from Bhola District, Barishal Division, was apprehended by the Sundarban Coastal Police Station and booked under Case No. 245/25 under Section 303(2) BNSS and Section 21 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.

The appeal noted that the detained men belong to extremely marginalized communities, are from lower castes, and work as traditional fishermen dependent on a risky and labour-intensive occupation. “These men are clearly not criminals. Yet, due to the harsh realities of nature and lack of support, they have been charged as illegal trespassers and, in some cases, even accused of theft,” the memorandum stated.

MASUM further highlighted that a similar situation occurred in Bangladesh on July 15, when two Indian fishing vessels, FB Jhor and FB Mangalchandi 38, carrying 34 fishermen, crossed into Bangladeshi waters during a severe storm. These men were arrested by Mongla Police Station and are currently imprisoned following trial in Bagerhat Court.

Despite repeated appeals to both governments and their respective high commissions, the memorandum said, no concrete action has been taken to secure the release of these fishermen. It criticised what it described as “bureaucratic apathy” and “insensitive law enforcement,” urging both India and Bangladesh to honour the Memorandum of Understanding on Blue Economy and Maritime Co-operation signed in 2015, which includes a commitment to address inadvertent crossings and ensure early release of fishermen.

MASUM demanded that all 32 Bangladeshi and 34 Indian fishermen currently detained be released without delay, and that both governments establish a rapid-response mechanism to deal with such incidents compassionately. “Peaceful cooperation and mutual respect between our two nations must start with humane treatment of the most vulnerable citizens,” the memorandum concluded.

Comments

The golden crop: How turmeric is transforming women's lives in tribal India

By Vikas Meshram* When the lush green fields of turmeric sway in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, it is not merely a spice crop — it is the golden glow of self-reliance. In villages where even basic spices once had to be bought from the market, the very soil today is yielding a prosperity that has transformed the lives of thousands of families. At the heart of this transformation is the initiative of Vaagdhara, which has linked turmeric with livelihoods, nutrition, and village self-governance — gram swaraj.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

Authoritarian destruction of the public sphere in Ecuador: Trumpism in action?

By Pilar Troya Fernández The situation in Ecuador under Daniel Noboa's government is one of authoritarianism advancing on several fronts simultaneously to consolidate neoliberalism and total submission to the US international agenda. These are not isolated measures, but rather a coordinated strategy that combines job insecurity, the dismantling of the welfare state, unrestricted access to mining, the continuation of oil exploitation without environmental considerations, the centralization of power through the financial suffocation of local governments, and the systematic criminalization of all forms of opposition and popular organization.

Echoes of Vietnam and Chile: The devastating cost of the I-A Axis in Iran

By Ram Puniyani The recent joint military actions by Israel and the United States against Iran have been devastating. Like all wars, this conflict is brutal to its core, leaving a trail of human suffering in its wake. The stated pretext for this aggression—the brutality of the Ayatollah Khamenei regime and its nuclear ambitions—clashes sharply with the reality of the diplomatic landscape. Iran had expressed a willingness to remain at the negotiating table, signaling a readiness to concede points emerging from dialogue.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

False claim? What Venezuela is witnessing is not surrender but a tactical retreat

By Manolo De Los Santos The early morning hours of January 3, 2026, marked an inflection point in Venezuela and Latin America’s centuries-long struggle for self-determination and independence. Operation Absolute Resolve, ordered by the Trump administration, constituted the most brutal and direct military assault on a sovereign state in the region in recent memory. In a shocking operation that left hundreds dead, President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were illegally kidnapped from Venezuelan soil and transported to the United States, where they now face fabricated charges in a New York federal detention facility. In the two months since this act of war, a torrent of speculation has emerged from so-called experts and pundits across the political spectrum. This has followed three main lines: One . The operation’s success indicated treason at the highest levels of the Bolivarian Revolution. Two . Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and the remaining leadership have abandone...

The price of silence: Why Modi won’t follow Shastri, appeal for sacrifice

By Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey* In 1965, as India grappled with war and a crippling food crisis, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a United States that used wheat shipments under the PL-480 agreement as a lever to dictate Indian foreign policy. Shastri’s response remains legendary: he appealed to the nation to skip one meal a day. Millions of middle-class households complied, choosing temporary hunger over the sacrifice of national dignity. Today, India faces a modern equivalent in the energy sector, yet the leadership’s response stands in stark contrast to that era of self-reliance.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

Search This Blog