R
ecent incidents of harassment and deportation of migrant workers from West Bengal, who are suspected of being illegal migrants from Bangladesh, have caused an outcry in Bengal’s political circles. While these events might be seen as a contemporary political issue, the real problem is much deeper and questions the very nature of belonging in India. The question of “hyphenated nationality” in India is not new. What is new, however, is the growing list of communities facing this scrutiny.
Politicians have responded by waging linguistic battles to prove these communities belong to India. These might seem like reasonable responses. But they miss a crucial point: Is this question of “hyphenated nationality” really new in India?
