Hotel owners in Siliguri, West Bengal, have announced an extension of their boycott of Bangladeshi nationals during the New Year period, citing what they describe as recent anti-India campaigns and rhetoric originating from across the border.

According to the Greater Siliguri Hotel Welfare Association, the decision applies to all Bangladeshi nationals, including those travelling on student visas or for medical treatment. Posters announcing the ban have been put up at hotels across the city.

What hotel associations said

• Ujjwal Ghosh, Joint Secretary of the association, said no Bangladeshi nationals are being allowed to stay in hotels this time, adding that “first comes the country’s identity, then business.”
• Sandip Kumar, Secretary of the association, said the decision has widespread support, including from hotels that are not formal members of the body.
• Tanmay Mani, a hotel manager in Siliguri, said that while some relaxation had been given to Bangladeshi students and medical patients last year, the boycott is now being implemented fully.

Political backdrop

The announcement comes amid heightened political rhetoric on illegal infiltration and border security in West Bengal. Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the West Bengal government of failing to curb illegal immigration from Bangladesh and of refusing to provide land for border fencing. He alleged that infiltration has been halted in states such as Assam and Tripura, but continues in West Bengal due to political reasons—claims strongly contested by the state government in the past.

The boycott reflects rising tensions at the local level, as regional developments in India–Bangladesh relations and domestic political debates increasingly spill over into business and civic decisions in border regions.