ABSTRACT
Although often posed as a problem of the future, migration defines South Asia's present. As a region, South Asia is also one of the most violent in the world, hosting ‘hot’ wars driven by political or economic factors, as well as more slowly manifested conflicts exacerbated by conditions such as environmental degradation. While people migrate for a variety of economic and social reasons, vulnerability in South Asia — particularly livelihood impacts due to environmental degradation — is shifting migration patterns and causing large-scale migration throughout the sub-continent. In particular, Bangladeshi migration into India's urban centers is a topic of concern for Indian officials, who publicly fear that this movement may destabilize social relations and lead to violent Muslim extremism. This argument is predicated upon the fear that potential mass Bangladeshi migration in the future will be so large, sudden and overwhelming that it will undermine India's social fabric and security safeguards. In response, over 2,000 migrants have been killed along the India-Bangladesh border since 2000 from India's attempt to militarize its anti-Bangladesh migration policy.
