{"id":6375,"date":"2026-04-30T09:36:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T09:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/30\/why-is-india-turning-to-crocodiles-and-snakes-to-fence-bangladesh-border\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T09:36:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T09:36:07","slug":"why-is-india-turning-to-crocodiles-and-snakes-to-fence-bangladesh-border","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/30\/why-is-india-turning-to-crocodiles-and-snakes-to-fence-bangladesh-border\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is India turning to crocodiles and snakes to \u2018fence\u2019 Bangladesh border?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

New Delhi, India \u2013<\/strong> Indian officials have floated a controversial plan to introduce apex predators such as crocodiles and venomous snakes into riverine stretches along the Bangladesh border, to act as natural deterrents against undocumented migration and smuggling in places where erecting fencing is difficult.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s 4,096km-long (2,545-mile) border with Bangladesh runs through some challenging terrain \u2013 and New Delhi has found some stretches impossible to fence.<\/p>\n

In an internal communication dated March 26, India\u2019s Border Security Force (BSF), which patrols international borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, ordered personnel at its headquarters on the eastern and northeastern fronts to explore \u201cthe feasibility of deploying reptiles in vulnerable riverine gaps\u201d.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s latest move to fence the border with Bangladesh has alarmed human rights activists and wildlife conservationists alike in India.<\/p>\n

What are the risks of such a move for local communities on both sides of the border \u2013 and for the ecosystem of the region?<\/p>\n

\"India\"
A view of the river flowing through Petrapole, close to the India-Bangladesh international border, in India on October 16, 2024 [Sahiba Chawdhary\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why does India\u2019s border force want to deploy killer wildlife?<\/h2>\n

The India-Bangladesh border runs along the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram. There is difficult and unforgiving terrain in these areas, passing through hills, rivers and valleys.<\/p>\n

New Delhi has fenced nearly 3,000km of the border. But the remaining stretches include marshy and riverine areas with local populations living on either side.<\/p>\n

In its recent communication, the BSF directed its frontier units to observe \u201cstrict compliance\u201d by \u201cexploring use of reptiles in riverine gaps\u201d. The officials were also instructed to share \u201caction taken\u201d after receiving the direction. This was first reported by Northeast News, a regional publication.<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Home Affairs noted in its report last year that, despite the punishing terrain, the BSF has diligently performed its duty to curb illegal cross-border activities and undocumented migration from Bangladesh.<\/p>\n

That report also noted: \u201cSome problem areas such as riverine\/low-lying areas, habitations close to the border, pending land acquisition cases and protests by the border population, have slowed down the installation of fencing in certain stretches on this border.\u201d<\/p>\n

Analysts and activists have expressed alarm at the prospect of dangerous animals such as crocodiles being used to deter refugees and migrants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis would be hilarious if it weren\u2019t sinister and dangerous,\u201d said Angshuman Choudhury, a researcher with a focus on northeastern and eastern Indian border states. \u201cIt\u2019s absurd, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking at it objectively, argued Choudhury, \u201conce you release venomous snakes and crocodiles, they won\u2019t be able to differentiate if it\u2019s a Bangladeshi or Indian\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is peak cruelty against and dehumanisation of undocumented immigrants. A whole new way of weaponising nature and animals against human beings.\u2029It\u2019s biopolitical violence of a new kind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the Achilles\u2019 heel in the India-Bangladesh border: the river,\u201d he told Al Jazeera. \u201cThis core impulse comes from the fact that the BSF has always found that the river on the border is practically impossible to fence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rohingya\"
A Border Security Force (BSF) official registers the names of Muslim-majority Rohingya after they were detained while crossing the India-Bangladesh border from Bangladesh, at Raimura village on the outskirts of Agartala, on January 22, 2019 [Jayanta Deyon\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What\u2019s behind this idea?<\/h2>\n

India\u2019s Hindu majoritarian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has long argued that undocumented migrants are a threat because they change the demographics of India.<\/p>\n

Human rights observers say Modi\u2019s government has used this rhetoric to harass religious minorities in India, especially Bengali Muslims in the eastern and northeastern parts of the country.<\/p>\n

The partition of British India in 1947 sliced through the region of Bengal, with people on either side of the border still sharing cultural and ethnic roots.<\/p>\n

BSF officials have, on several occasions, made headlines for physically pushing Indian Muslims into Bangladesh at gunpoint.<\/p>\n

There are no formal statistics on the number of undocumented migrants in India. While a new census was begun this month<\/a>, the last one was undertaken in 2011.<\/p>\n

Even if the number of undocumented migrants is rising, said Harsh Mander, a human rights activist, rather than engaging with Bangladesh\u2019s government and following the judicial process to hand over undocumented immigrants, India has opted for \u201cextrajudicial methods\u201d to deal with them.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, activists say India is using this as an excuse to mete out unfair treatment to minorities, especially Muslims, by conflating them with migrants.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndia\u2019s approach on the question of what they call \u2018contested citizenship\u2019 is one of both cruelty and the defiance of the constitution and international principles,\u201d Mander told Al Jazeera, referring to the government\u2019s drive to round up migrants but, in reality, pushing Indian Muslims across the border and labelling them Bangladeshi.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis [targeting Muslim Indians] is also a way of continuously keeping Bengali Muslims in the sense of ongoing dread that they might be stripped of citizenship and rendered stateless,\u201d Mander added.<\/p>\n

In the state of Assam, for example, Choudhury said, India set up foreign tribunal courts \u2013 quasi-judicial bodies established to determine whether a person suspected of being an illegal migrant is a \u201cforeigner\u201d or an Indian citizen under the Foreigners Act of 1946.<\/p>\n

Choudhury said he has worked on many cases of Indians being declared \u201cforeigners\u201d in Assam and West Bengal \u201cjust because they couldn\u2019t produce documents [that proved their citizenship]\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese forced expulsions are new border control mechanisms, which are very sinister,\u201d Choudhury said.<\/p>\n

The notion of introducing crocodiles and venomous snakes into border areas is an extension of the same policy towards Indian Muslims, he said.<\/p>\n

\"Sundarban\"
A woman fishes along the banks of a river near the island of Satjelia in the Sundarbans, India, on December 16, 2019 [Anushree Fadnavis\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How will crocodiles and poisonous snakes affect the local ecosystem?<\/h2>\n

Crocodiles are not native to the riverine stretches along the India-Bangladesh border, Rathin Barman, chief of strategy and liaison at the Wildlife Trust of India, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

A species of crocodile is found in the Sundarbans, in southern West Bengal, and another in the restricted wetlands of Assam, far from the border areas. If they are moved to the border areas, they may not survive, Barman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst thing you know, they end up dead soon,\u201d he said. \u201cThe same goes for so-called venomous snakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barman warned against \u201cany manipulation to the natural distribution range of species\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we do impose [this], it may intervene in the entire chain or ecosystem,\u201d Barman said. \u201cI am concerned about other creatures who have equal rights to live in this world and in those stretches.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnically, it is definitely not advisable,\u201d he added. \u201cIt will definitely never work in an open, flowing river.\u201d<\/p>\n

The swampy stretches along the India-Bangladesh border are also prone to flooding, which could result in poisonous snakes spreading into residential areas, exposing the local communities, particularly those involved in fishing, to grave risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis kind of policy reflects the Indian state\u2019s cruelty,\u201d said Mander, the human rights activist. \u201cThere\u2019s no reason to expose an undocumented immigrant in a river to crocodiles and snakes, or the threat of gunpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese animals cannot do what the Indian state is unable to: to identify who is an \u2018illegal infiltrator\u2019,\u201d he added. \u201cThey will, of course, attack the local population on either side.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"sundarban\"
Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers patrol on a boat in the river Brahmaputra near the border with Bangladesh at Dhubri, west of Guwahati, the major city of India\u2019s northeastern state of Assam, on April 22, 2009 [Rupak De Chowdhuri\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Has this been done anywhere else in the world?<\/h2>\n

There is no modern precedent for deploying natural predators to fence an international border.<\/p>\n

United States President Donald Trump was reported to have discussed ideas to deter migrants during his first presidency, including building a moat filled with snakes or alligators, and shooting people in the legs.<\/p>\n

He denied the reports, saying, \u201cI may be tough on Border Security, but not that tough,\u201d and called it \u201cFake News!\u201d<\/p>\n

However, a comparison of sorts has arisen in the US. The South Florida Detention Facility opened to controversy in July 2025 and has been dubbed \u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d by state officials, who support Trump.<\/p>\n

The place got its nickname for its remote, swamp-like location, where the terrain, believed to host predators, acts as a perimeter that makes escape impossible. The centre has become notorious for inhumane conditions and has faced criticism for harming the fragile Everglades ecosystem, noted Amnesty International, which has called for it to be shut down.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Delhi, India \u2013 Indian officials have floated a controversial plan to introduce apex predators such as crocodiles and venomous snakes into riverine stretches along the Bangladesh border, to act as natural deterrents against undocumented migration and smuggling in places where erecting fencing is difficult. India\u2019s 4,096km-long (2,545-mile) border with Bangladesh runs through some challenging … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}