BANGLADESHI DIASPORA IN INDIA: MIGRATION, ETHNICITY, AND IDENTITY FORMATION

Abstract

This paper explores the historical trajectories and contemporary challenges of the Bangladeshi diaspora in India, focusing on migration, ethnicity, and identity formation. Migration intensified during the 1947 Partition and the 1971 Liberation War, driven by political upheaval, economic distress, and environmental displacement. It will also look at the process of cultural assimilation and acculturation with the Indian population especially in the states of West Bengal and Assam. While West Bengal enabled smoother integration due to cultural affinity, Assam has experienced intense conflict, where fears of demographic change and political discourses of “infiltration” have produced exclusion, xenophobia, and violence. Using diaspora theories by Safran, Brubaker, and Hall, the study emphasizes the fluid and negotiated nature of identity, shaped by the tension between self-asserted belonging and state-imposed classifications. It will also attempt to understand the formation of a collective solidarity among the Bangladeshi diaspora in India and the conflicting nature of their identities with other ethnicities such as ‘Assamese’. Despite such adversities, the diaspora sustains cultural resilience and civic participation, underscoring the need for nuanced perspectives on migration and identity in South Asia.