Pakistan, June 13 -- Rice farmer Mohammad Ismail Hossain fears violence could blight his quiet fields in southwestern Bangladesh, on the front line of a growing Indian push to expel undocumented migrants.

The countries share a porous 4,096-kilometre (2,500-mile) border, with communities on either side often so interwoven that crossings - illegal or not - are common.

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has been stepping up deportations of illegal migrants to Bangladesh, a campaign that critics say unfairly targets Bengali-speaking Muslims.

Rights groups say those efforts have gathered more momentum since Modi's Hindu-nationalist party won power in West Bengal state, which borders Bangladesh, for the first time last month.

"(India...