After more than one year of her repatriation, Sweety Bibi, who was called Bangladeshi despite owning a Pan Card, Aadhar card, and other documents, still lingers in pain. On June 17, 2025, Sweety was cooking at home in Delhi when police arrived and asked her to come with them. When she asked where she was being taken, she said she was told to come along and that she would be released. Instead, Sweety Bibi and her then six-year-old son were held for three days on allegations that they were Bangladeshi nationals.
“I was taken there, and they told me that we were Bangladeshi. I told them we were Indian. I asked my mother to send my Aadhaar card, PAN card, and other documents. “They said that we had obtained all these documents by paying money,” she said, talking to Miles2Smile. She alleged she was then told she would be released on one condition: a payment of Rs 3 lakh. “They said they would release us on one condition and demanded Rs 3 lakh. Where would I have got Rs 3 lakh from?” she asked, with fear still engulfing her face.
She pleaded for her release but instead met with brutality, forcing her into the dense forest across the border in a new land—Bangladesh. For ten days Sweety Bibi and her son walked across the forest without food, water, and other basic facilities. A glimmer of hopes emerged when a hint of a village occurred. Sweety Bibi and her son, further, crossed rivers and reached the village. A Bangladeshi village.
Sitting on the edge of the village, she cried and pleaded, resulting in Bangladeshi men spotting her. The man took her to a nearby restaurant and arranged her lunch. After ten long days of hunger, she finally put a morsel in her mouth. Tears rolled off helplessly, shin shivered, and heart remained heavy.
“I ate something after 10 days. My children had been crying and struggling with hunger.” She told the team of Miles2Smile.
However, her atrocities did not end. Her homeland was still not welcoming her.
Sweety was taken into custody and subsequently sent to Bangladeshi jail. “Then we remained in jail there,” she said, recalling that they spent much of their time crying. “We used to cry so much. We cried all the time,” she said.
After a long legal battle, her detention was followed by a legal battle in India over their return and citizenship, which eventually reached the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court. The Calcutta High Court had directed the Union government to bring the group back to India; the Centre challenged that order before the Supreme Court, which subsequently directed that the group be brought back first, with their citizenship claims to be examined in India. The center later told the court it would facilitate their return.
Soon after her return, she found herself sitting on a tenterhook, still grappling with fears of sending back again. “I do not come out of my house now. I am afraid that the police might take me again and send me to Bangladesh,” she said.
Her repatriation also followed atrocities she endured silently. The financial instability. The crisis of a dignified source of income. She spent days in her one-room shanty without hope but with strong belief that her days would mark suns. Bright suns.
Soon her prayers reached Miles2Smile. The gate knocked yet again, but this time it was not for detention but to erase her apprehension. She opened the gate, and the team of Miles2Smile was standing outside with relief.
Sweety Bibi shared her ordeal, crying, shivering, and sobbing while her sons silently sat near us, waiting for someone to make them feel welcomed. To do so, Miles2Smile gifted them bicycles, bringing smiles to their tired faces. Furthermore, we extended financial assistance to Sweety Bibi to make her meet her ends. They erase poverty and bring relief.
“I haven’t felt this happy even once in the past year. Today, with the help of Miles2Smile, I felt happier than ever,” she said.
“I can’t describe how painful her story was, the way she was taken with her kids and thrown into Bangladesh. A mother. Two children. A journey through fear, hunger, uncertainty and finally, a return home,” said Aasif Mutaba, Founder & Director, Miles2Smile.
“Today, the family has no secure livelihood and continues to struggle for basic necessities. Yesterday, Miles2Smile Foundation stood beside Sweety and her family, providing immediate assistance towards the rent of their house and essential needs,” he added.
“It is only a small step, but sometimes, in the darkest moments, a little support can help a family begin again. For Miles2Smile, relief is not only about reaching people in their moment of crisis. It is about standing with them afterwards, helping them rebuild their dignity, security and hope,” Mujtaba added.
“We will continue to stand with Sweety and her children as they try to rebuild a life they deserve,” he said.
About Miles2Smile: Established nearly six years ago, the Miles2Smile Foundation is dedicated to making a positive impact on marginalized communities in India. From the crisis response during the pandemic to ongoing efforts in education and advocacy, the foundation remains steadfast in its commitment to creating a more inclusive and equitable society.
