India not a ‘dharamshala’, says Amit Shah; cites threats from infiltrators

Amit Shah said only citizens had the right to live in the country and infiltrators posed a threat to India’s security, economy and demographics.

Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday reiterated that India was “not a dharamshala”, saying only citizens had the right to live in the country and that infiltrators posed a threat to India’s security, economy and demographics.

“This country is not a dharamshala (charitable rest house); only citizens of the country have the right to live here,” Shah said, speaking at the valedictory session of the National Security Strategy conference of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), attended by chiefs of central agencies and state police forces.

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Shah's take on India's security policy

Stressing that infiltrators threatened the country’s “security, economy and demographics”, the home minister said: “Over the past eight months, after visiting all states sharing land borders, we have shared a document outlining a four-pronged approach to border security with the states. Our goal is to make the country free of infiltrators in a very short period.”

Shah said India’s security policy had to be framed against the backdrop of global instability, insecurity around energy and resources, supply-chain disruptions, rising radicalisation and the warfare of cyber misinformation. A strong internal security apparatus, he said, was a prerequisite for a developed India. “If India is to emerge at the forefront in every field, its internal security will have to be further strengthened.”

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Over the two-day NSS conference, intelligence agencies and security forces discussed infiltration, real-time intelligence-sharing against terror groups, and the dismantling of their logistics and funding networks, among other national security matters.

Similar comments from the past

Shah made similar remarks in Lok Sabha on March 27 while replying to the debate on the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025. On that occasion, he had said India was “not a dharamshala where anyone can come and stay for any purpose”, arguing that Parliament had the right to bar those who posed a threat to national security, and that sensitive locations and army establishments along the borders could not be left open to all. Those who came legally to contribute to India’s prosperity were welcome, he had said, but illegal entrants would be dealt with strictly.

The Supreme Court too used phrasing when on May 19, a bench of justices Dipankar Datta and K Vinod Chandran declined to intervene in the detention of a Sri Lankan Tamil national facing deportation after a seven-year sentence under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. “Is India to host refugees from all over the world? We are struggling with 140 crore. This is not a dharamshala that we can entertain foreign nationals from all over.”

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Attacking previous governments, Shah on Tuesday said had they anticipated the problems of narcotics, Naxalism and insurgency in the northeast before they became enormous challenges, “the country would not have had to suffer their consequences for decades.” He said the challenges in the country’s three internal security hotspots had been eliminated, and credited state police forces, central agencies and the central armed police forces (CAPFs).

Asking officers to look for trends over the next 15 to 20 years, Shah said they should identify problems that might arise and work out strategies to prevent them. He also directed state police forces to implement the Narcotics Control Vision document 2026-2029 on the ground and work on the “three Ds — Detect, Disrupt and Destroy” — to achieve a drug-free India.

Neeraj Chauhan, senior associate editor with the National Political Bureau of Hindustan Times, writes on security, terrorism, corruption, laundering, black money, narcotics, and related policy matters while covering MHA, ED, CBI, NIA, IB, CVC, NHRC, CAG, Income Tax department, etc.Read More