Rescued By Bapu, Resettled Noakhali Victims Face
Prosecution in Orrissa
Palash Biswas
(contact: Palash Biswas,c/o Mrs Arti Roy, Gosto Kanan,
Sodepur, Kolkata-700110, Phone:033-25659551r)
Rescued by Bapu, the resettled Noakhali victims face
prosecution in Independent India, in the coastal areas
of Orrissa.Though The birth anniversary of Mahatma
Gandhi, the father of the nation, is celebrated with
reverence all over the country. He is the man who
played a significant role in achiveing independence
for India from the British Empire with his simplicity
and strong will power.We have forgot the life and
ideology of Bapu, thus the son of Biju Patnaik, a
national leader himself, the Orrissa chief minister
Naveen Patnaik sees to have no symapathy with the
partition victims. I visited the cosatal area situated
in the coastal area of Orrissa nearby Paradip, a
dreamproject of Biju and sawthe agony which was shared
by the father of the nation at the time when Punjab
and Bengal was bleeding and New delhi celebrated with
glittering the new found power for the caste Hindu
Ruling classes.
The prime minister Dr Manmohan singh inaugruated the
centenarycelebration of Bapu`s styagrah in South
Afrika forgetting the partition victims and their
plight. Gujrat leaders enjoyed Munnabhai Lage raho and
Gandhigiri has overtaken Indian Politics as well as
the ideology of Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi.
Lage Raho Munnabhai, the Bollywood blockbuster has
reinvented Mahatma Gandhi for an entirely new
generation of Indians. Munnabhai shows the way on
screen, but can Gandhigiri work in real life.CNN-IBN
Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, engaged the audience
in a debate on Gandhi and Gandhigiri. A poll conducted
some time ago found that 68 per cent said Gandhi's
ideals can work in real life India today, 19 per cent
said they can't work and 16 per cent were
undecided.Gandhi was no emperor, not a military
general, not a president nor a prime minister. He was
neither pacifist nor a cult guru. Who was Gandhi ? If
anything, Mohandas K. Gandhi was a constant
experimenter. Spirituality, religion, self-reliance,
health, education, clothing, drinks, medicine, child
care, status of women, no field escaped his search for
truth. His thoughts when appeared in the form of talk
or article became official words of action with the
masses of India. He was a man who did what he said and
led an exemplary and a transparent life. Not many
people can claim "My life is an open book". What the
ruling classes do, it is quite evident if you care
enough to understand the psyche of Noakhali victims
residing in Kendrapara district of orrissa.
Gandhi's work in the Noakhali District of Bengal
during 1946 and 1947 provides a good example of the
Mahatma's delicate balance between despair and the
faith of a saint. As he began his stay in Noakhali, he
told a prayer meeting that "today I am going through
the greatest test of my life. I am now to find if the
road I follow is really the true road for the people
of this country."40 The test of Noakhali brought
Gandhi a combination of comfort and despair, for even
as he realized the failure of the people to practice
Ahimsa, he recognized the truth and power of
non-violence.
It's all very well for the Indian government to be
hospitable and generous to refugees from Bangladesh
and Sri Lanka, but the ground reality is different.
Settled in Orissa, the preferential treatment meted
out to them by the government has become the cause of
much resentment and bitterness among the locals.
Partition victim all refugees from Punjab have not
only rehabiliated , but they got Indian citizenship
one and all. Most of the Bengali refugees,
particularli who settled outside Bengal, are dalits,
the lowest communities of Hindus in Bengal society.
Bengal caste Hindu leadership had not been interested
ever for their rehabiltiation or citizenship.
Contrarily, the locals in different states have been
much more sympathetic and helpful. As it is proved
once again in Orrissa.The partition victim dalit
refugees settled in Orrissa are being targetted and
implicated most unlawfully and arbitrarily. Their sole
offence is that they do spek in their mother tongue
and that is Bengali. Majority of them possessed
Voter`s Identity Card, Ration Card, Pand Card, Land
reciept and most importantly Migration dispersal
slipissued by Refugee Rehabilitation Directorate,
Government of west Bengal dating back in 1956-57.
These peole have availed benefits under various states
and centre sponsored schemes erlier on the basis of
refugee policy for partition victims in compliance
with assurances given by the nationalleaders like
Bapu, Nehru, Patel and Dr Rajendra Prasad. They are
bonifide citizens in accordance with the citizenship
Act of India, 1955, of a sovereign country. Most of
them had to flee from Erswhile East Pakistan due to
independence of two dominions called India and
Pakistan, created by dividing Bengal and Punjab on the
basis of two nation theory. The influx continued as
population transfer on religious lines failed and
minorities chose to stay on their motherland across
the border., but political and religious prosecution
continued.These Bengali refugees settled in the
coastal areas of Orrissa are in possession of refugee
resettlement documents issued by then labour ministery
, Government of India. Hence, all dates of their
migration and resettlement are clearly indiacated that
they settled much before the cutt off date 16
December, 1971 fixed by government of India, erlier in
1956 to 1958. Most importantly the Oria speaking
population, political parties and media stand united
with them and support their claim for citizenship.
The road to Ramnagar begins from the link bridge on
Kendrapara-Paradeep national highway.The road itself
is the symbol of the backwardness of Mahakalpara Block
which comprises of old Oria, Santhal and refugee
colonies.I had to travel the route on a scooter,
driven by a social activist, Ravindra Nath Sarkar.
Kendrapara had experienced heavy floods some days
ago. The national highway was damaged and it is still
under repairing. Paddy fields were affected badly. It
was raining interminnently for some days.There was no
shelter in between.You have to take extra sets of
clothes lest getting wet, you may not change. The
route was quite dangerous for driving and I had to be
careful to save my hanging leg which tended to get
hurt anywhere.
Mind you, This entire population of Oria, Bengali and
santhals have to face a common threat very soon as
Mahakalpara is proposed to consist of Special Economic
Zone to get oil for an American Multi National. Iron
Ore Mines refugees are not settled as yet and further
desettlement is imminent.Provided all refugees, the
partition victims and the victims of industrialisation
unite, what may come. Rmangar is a very old settlement
which have Two Cyclone Shelters built after the super
cyclone, 2004 among other things. It has got Bnak,
Post Office, Highschool and local market ,too. The
people are independent economically as they practice
fishing on large scale. The river flowing side by side
Rmanagra connects it to Bay of bengal. Even the
Ramnagar people get Hilsa here. Paradeep is only six
KM away in air distance.
I was amazed to discover all sixty familes settled and
rehabiliated in adjoing BB colony are from Noakhali,
the riot victims of 1946 and onwards. No less a
personality, Bapu rushed to Noakhali to stop the
riots.Saved by Bapu, the partition victims of Noakhali
are once again prosecuted in Orrissa. Wonderful. I met
some of the eyewitnesses of the Noakhali riots and
have details of the nightmare. All the sixty families
belong to Debnath community which is recognised in
Orrissa as Debnath. Most of the Refugees settled in
Ramnagar, Kharinasi, Baulakani, Batghara, Jamboo and
other gram panchayats ogf Mahakal Para Block belong to
Orrissa recognised scheduled caste Namoshudra. Others
belong to another dalit community as per as
namoshudra, the Pod Or apundras.Apart from Noakhali,
they root in Jassore, Khulna, Barisal, Faridpur, all
well known for the main base of Dalit Movement in
undivided India.
Bengal had one of the worst records of communal riots
before the Partition of the country. It was only in
Bengal that the MuslimLeague succeeded in forming
``relatively'' stable ministries in
the two decades before the British quit in 1947. The
refugee infux continued as the minority prosecution in
Bangladesh never stopped. Continuous influx of
refugees made the life of settled and rehabiliated
refugees out of Bengal very miserable as they have not
got citizenship as yet and the administration knows no
way to distinguish an Indian citizen refugee and a
bangladeshi National.In Ramnagar itself a lady
migrated in 1957 have been served eviction notice.
None of the South Asian countries are party to the
1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
which currently is ratified by 134 nations. This may
reflect the unwillingness of South Asian governments
to submit to international scrutiny. Though India is
not a party to the Refugee Convention, the general
principle prohibiting forced repatriation called non-
refoulement has risen to the level of customary law,
such that they bind even non-signatories.
Since the matter (entry and regulation of aliens)
falls under the Union List(3), the Central Government
is empowered to deal with refugees. Traditionally, the
Union Cabinet has made reactive decisions with each
particular refugee influx, often taking action only
when the particular refugee influx went beyond the
control of the Border Security Force, and the matter
became political. India thus lacks a cohesive national
policy for handling refugee inflows. The lack of a
national Indian policy limits the ability of the State
governments and Border Security Force to deal with
refugees instantly, resulting in mass rejections at
the frontier while policy directions are awaited or
non-recognition of refugees sneaking into Indian
territory.
"Refugees should not be dealt with like outsiders;
they should be treated like human beings," said
Mohammad Amin, chief of Adhikar, a state level NGO.
Wherever they go, they adopt the norms of the local
society, its culture and lifestyle. But Utkal Bangeeya
Surakshya Samiti spokesman Vijoy Shukla told me at
Ramnagar under Mahakalpara Block of Kendrapara
district on 24th September, 2006, that all those
persons served eviction notice and noted as
bangladeshi nationals, have been omitted from the
voters list for the coming Pnchayat elections. Besides
many others have found their names deleted. He alleged
that the Bengali refugges are being deprived of human
rights as birth certificate, caste certificates,
ration card, bpl card, domicile card are being denied.
Shukla told that the samiti is planning to launch a
fresh agitation.
A former sarpanch of Ramnagar, Bijoy Shukla, who
witnessed the scene, found it really cruel and
inhuman. With an uncertain future in store for the
students on the deportation list, attendance at the
school has also thinned.
It is not verylate, last year only, the bengali
settlers in Orrissa from fifties began to get the
notice to evict India within seven days.Mr Shukla
said, the local Oria people, political parties and
media stand united with the partion victims, but the
ouster axe is likely to fall soon on more than 1,500
socalled illegal Bangladeshi migrants in Kendrapara
district only.
The district administration claimed to have
identified them in 2003 and sent a report to the
government seeking permission for their deportation,
said Kendrapara superintendent of police Dayal Gangwar
in 12 th January , 2005, adding that most of the 1,551
illegal settlers are concentrated in Mahakalpada block
of the district. We will issue eviction notices to all
of them . We will forcibly deport them if they don`t
leave on their own, Gangwar said. But Gangwar and the
administration had to retreat on the face of stiff
resistance from all quarters in Orrissa.Notices will
be served on the illegal migrants by the respective
block development officers, tehsildars and the police,
he added.
The eviction notice was actually a government of
Orrissa, home department order, dated 18.12.2004
issued from Bhuvneshwar. A copy of the eviction notice
read as follows: ``In exercise of power conferred by
clause (c) of sub Clause(2) of Section -3 of the
Foreigners Act- 1946 (Act No.31 of 1946) read with
notification No. 413/56(1) FI Dt 19.4.1958 of the
government of India Ministery of Home affairs, New
Delhi, the state government do hereby direct that
Deepak sarkar s/o Paritosh, a Bangladeshi national at
present residing in the District of Kendrapara, should
quit India within 30 (thirty) days from date of
service of this order on him ., failing which steps
will be taken to deport him from India.
address: village -kharinasi, Tahsil- Mahakalpara,
Dist- Kendrapara.
Signed by Deputy secretary to Government.
The act is used for the eviction is the Foreigners
Act- 1946. At the time of the enactment of the Act
neither India was independent nor divided. All persons
divided in three soverein nations India, Pakistan and
Bangldesh were the citizens of undivided India. How
does the government use The British law which was
passed without the actual event of partion, population
transfer and refugee influx , refugee and
rehabilitation policy of India, not to mention the
assuarances by national leaders and its spirit.
Utkal Bangiya Surakshya samiti spokesman Shukla
rightly said, `` the government had not any idea of
the odd situation. Now they want to stip of all
documents possesed by the refugees before any fresh
action.
The initial survey, conducted in 2001, had revealed
that more than 3,500 Bangladeshi nationals had settled
in several coastal and interior districts of Orissa.
Kendrapara alone accounts for than 2,300 migrants. In
2002, 25 Bangladeshi nationals were repatriated from
Navrangpur district.The state has divided Bangladeshi
nationals living into three categories. Those who came
to Orissa before March 25, 1971 will not be deported.
The cases of those who came between March 25, 1971 and
December 16, 1971 have been referred to the central
government for a decision, Gangwar said that time.We
have initiated the deportation of those who arrived
after December 16, 1971, he added. The government has
deported 103 infiltrators between 1973 and 1993.
Kendrapara district collector Hemant Sharma said the
administration will have to forcibly evict the
migrants if they fail to comply with the state order.
In December 2004, the Supreme Court had issued notices
to the Centre on the unchecked flow of Bangladeshi
immigrants into the country after a public interest
litigation by the India Image Foundation alleged that
over 3 lakh migrants were entering India every
year.The petition listed West Bengal as a major
recipient of such immigrants. It also said the
Assamese faced the danger of being reduced to a
minority in their home state as Bangladeshi immigrants
would soon outnumber them.
While the immediate reason for the current round of
deportation drive seems to be the xenophobia sweeping
through coastal Kendrapara, state government officials
plead helplessness, citing repeated directives from
the Union home ministry to deport illegal immigrants.
Orissa`s home secretary, Santosh Kumar, who is
supervising the cleansing process, denies any
immediate provocation. Although these deportations are
unlikely to solve the problem of illegal settlement,
it has ensured cheap political dividends for the chief
minister, Naveen Patnaik. Apart from endearing himself
to the local people, he has managed to corner
Congress legislator from Rajnagar, Nalini Mohanti.
Traditionally, the Bengali-speaking majority here have
been supporters of Mohanti.But even as the state
government claims to be deporting illegal settlers,
the fact remains that all the 1,551 who have been
served eviction notice, are Hindu.
Mrityunjay Mandal is a third generation youngman, born
and brought up in Orrissa. He is the Panchayat Pradhan
for consecutively three terms. Mandal said, `` All
registered refugees settled in the coastal areas of
Orrissa, particularly in Kendrapara, migrated to India
in 1950, 1953, 1954 and 1957. They were in the
Charbetia Refugee camp near Cuttuck before
resettlement.
Mandal added, ` Apart from agririan settlement,
Bengali refugees were settled by government as small
traders inBhuvneshwar, Puri, Cuttack, Baripada,
Balasore, sambalpur, Brahmpur, Dhenkanel Anugul. The
Charbetia refugees got settlment in Malkan Giri under
dandyakaranya Project. Some of them got rehabilitation
in different districts of Undivided UP and MP. Some
got rehbilitation in Bhushandipur in six colonies
adjoining the famous Chilka lake.
Mandal`s house is situated opposite the cyclone centre
in Ramnagar. An idol of durga was in making and
children were playing there unaware of their fate. I
saw anothor cyclone centre near chhapauli where a
school was run by lady teachers in the ground floor.
Pushpa, an aunt of Mandal has also been served
eviction notice while she belonged to an alotee
regitered resettler family which was shifted in
Ramnagar from charbetia camp on 5th May , 1957, as the
dispersal certificate from Charbetia Relief camp
shows.. They migrated in 1956. She was married to a
resident of west Bengal, an Indian citizen. She has
got every document to support her claim for
citizenship.
Mandal is grateful to the local people and political
parties and media in general. He said, `All media
people supported our genuine cause. All political
parties and local people helped us to resist. Thus we
stay here even today. Nalinikanti Mahanti, an ex
minister and MLA for 25 years led us from front, he
added. He organised a deputation to Prime minister
Manmohan Singh, Congress President Mrs Sonia Gandhi ,
Home Minister in centre Shivraj Patil and Loksabha
Speaker somnath Chatterjee.President of Utkal Pradesh
congress committee Jaidev Jena, ex minister Srikant
Jena and Malkangiri MLA Nimai sarkar met the
netionalleaders. Chairman of Mahakalpara Panchayat
Samiti Balram Pareeda led the local support.
I met Sanatan Debnath(90), Narayan Debnath(75),
Sridam debnath(85), Rasmohan Debnath(80), Harendra
Debnath(80),Lokmohan debnath(80),Nanibala Debnath w/o
Krishnabandhu Debnath and others. Sanatan Debnath has
lost his memory but walks himself, still bearing the
injuries in his bleeding heart. I tried to talk to him
in vain.His mother was seriously injured in Noakhali
riots. All these persons belong to Sandeep island area
of then Noakhali. Sandeep was later included in
Chittagang after 1956. All these persons are
eyewitnesses of Noakhali Riots in sandeep area. They
recall Bapu`s visit in Noahkali but could not meet him
as he did not visit Sndeep. ``In Sandeep riots my
grandmother got a cut on her throat. She was
absconding for several days but was found by
fishermenand survived,'' said the son of Sanatan
Debnath, a teacher in the local highschool Dinesh
Chandra Debnath. `` My parents fled from sandeep and
took shelter in a safer place nearby Rahmatpur
Village, in my maternal home which was under a
different union area and protected by secular
muslims. My mother was very beautiful.The riots broke
in sandeep fair on Shiv Chaturdashi where a large
number of females and children gathered. The rumours
of riots in Kolkata and massacre of Muslims spred by
seamen coming to the area agitated Muslims. They
attacked the Hindus and chopped off many of the in the
fair."
Narhari debnath remembers everything with full
details.`The riots was aftermath of direct action and
following riots in kolkata, he said. Sailors returning
from Kokata spred the rumour of Muslim Massacre and
Noakhali was burnt', He said. `It was a saturday. The
miscreants attacked the Tiner badee of Dr Harinath and
chopped him on the spot.In Kachhiapar he became the
first victim. He was a resourceful and reputed man and
his house was famous as godam Badee. It triggered the
panic button as wanted. Then the secular Muslims
reached the Sener Hat, the local Hat in sandeep and
warned Hindus to flee to safer places. it worked.The
Hat was immidiately deserted.Meanwhile the sky was lit
up by large scale arson. The elder brother of
Harinath Doctor escaped and he told the fleeing Hindus
that petrol was used in the arson.Entire Sandeep area
was burnt. Sandeep was victimised just for
nothing."`Lalmohan sen, a freedomfighter who
particiapted in Chittagang revolt under the leadership
of Master Surya sen, another reputed personality of
sandeep was killed immidiately. His brother Bhushan
was also assasinated. Bhushan was a piolot and he had
to fly Kolkata next day. locals deserted sandeep and
escaped to nearby Jungle. They reached Another union
area Rahamatpur., ' he added.Now Sreedam Debnath told
that the chairman of Rahmatpur Union area, Batam
sardar was very powerful and secular, too. He
challanged the rioters not to touch Hindus in his
union area. He deployed his supporter Muslim youths to
protect the Hindus.
Both the oldman said that Fazlul Haq visited sandeep
before the riots.
Describing the atmosphere of Noakhali then, The old
men said,` rioters were crying Zihad with the slogan-
Alla Ho Akbar. The Batam Sardar supporters and Hindus
answed with vande Mataram.Tension prevailed , but
altogether Hindus were safe in Batam`s den. Hindus
were not so fortunate in other areas. And Bapu had to
go for rescue.Gandhi stayed for about four months in
the riot stricken areas. He started moving around the
villages and motivated the people towards his peaceful
coexistence and non-violence philosophy. When Gandhiji
came to Jayag on 29th January 1947 all sections of the
local community extended him whole-hearted support.
At that time, Barrister Hemanta Kumar Ghosh of the
village donated all his resources to Mahatma for the
development and peace of the area and "Ambika
Kaliganga Charitable Trust" was formed. The office of
the Gandhi Peace Mission, formerly known as Gandhi
Camp, was shifted to the present campus of Jayag. The
Gandhi Camp started working for both peace and
charitable functions and it continued till partition
of India.
In Azimpur criminallawyer Presh Moktar was killed.
Shocked by Lalmohan and harinath`s death the people
began singing a song remembering them since the very
next days: RABIBARE DASHTAAR PARE AAMAARE GELI BACHHA
CHHARIYAA
KAAL SHAMANE NILO RE KAARIAA
RAASTAYA CHHILO JATO BAAREE DEKHE KAANDE TATO NAAREE
KAATE KHANDO KHAND KARI MUKHE BALE HARI HARI
They were weeping while singing the old song with
frail rythm and sound.I felt my heart wet wet, though
it was not raining anywhere.
Till he lived, Kartik Manna, an unlettered Bengali
fisherman in the Ramnagar village of Kendrapara`s
Mahakalpada block, was never a cause for worry for the
Orissa administration.
Now dead for the last ten years, Manna must leave for
Bangladesh. Or so believe the mandarins in the Orissa
police and state administration who have zeroed in on
1,551 people in Mahakalpada block for deportation. On
January 16, a local police team knocked on the rickety
doors of Manna?s hut and shoved a small piece of paper
into his son Bhanu Manna?s grimy hands, asking him to
?quit India? within 30 days or face police arrest and
subsequent handing over to the Border Security
Force.Bhanu, 60, would have perhaps laughed off the
notice as a cruel joke had it not been a deportation
notice from the Kendrapara district administration.
The police did not forget to give another notice for
Bhanu`s dead wife, Surati.
What`s my fault? I am not a Bangaldeshi. I came from
Midnapore district after the 1971 cyclone,? protests
Bhanu. But in the sleepy fishing village of Ramnagar,
Bhanu and his deceased family members are not the only
ones who have been randomly selected for deportation.
Over 600 toddlers, men and women in the area have been
slapped such notices by the Kendrapara district
administration since January 16, when the deportation
move started.
Like several of his neighbours, Bhanu was not among
the thousands of Hindu refugees who escaped Bangladesh
during the liberation war and arrived in India before
December 16, 1971. The people who came in after this
date were branded illegal immigrants. There were
others who crossed into India before December 16 but
hung around other relief camps and trickled into the
settlement camps only after the cut-off date. It is
these people who have been targeted by the government
from time to time.
Rani Haldar belongs to Goda village of Orissa's
Jagatasinghpur district, which was the worst hit by
the killer super-cyclone in October 2000. She lost her
husband, children and home. She is yet to recover from
the trauma. She claims her forefathers have been
staying in the village since 1943. They are not
infiltrators. They belong to the area.
Kamini Khan (Roy) belongs to Raighar area of
Nabarangpur district. His wife is a panchayat
sarpanch. Although he came here as a refugee, he has
now become a landlord and is reportedly the kingpin in
clashes between local tribals and refugees of the
area.
Aurobindo Dhali, Orissa's then co-operation minister,
hails from south Orissa's tribal dominated Malkangiri
district. He was in the centre of controversy
consequent to his meeting with the West Bengal chief
minister, who was seeking support for the cause of at
least 400,000 Bengali settlers in Orissa, for the
revival of their lost language. Dhali is reportedly a
Bengali refugee, elected to the state assembly on a
Bhartiya Janata Party ticket, and is allegedly
fighting more for the cause of refugees than in the
interest of the state.
Rani Haldar, Kamini Khan (Roy) and Aurobindo Dhali
have created a furore over Orissa in the last two
years because of their links with the refugee problem
in the state. While no official figure is available,
it is estimated that more than 700,000 refugees are
living in various parts of Orissa. A majority of them
are Bengali refugees, the rest are from Tibet, Tamil
Nadu and Sri Lanka.
The Bengali refugees have their own story to tell.
After the formation of East Pakistan in 1948,
thousands of Bengalis had left their homes to settle
in India. After the formation of Bangladesh, in 1971,
more Bengalis (both Hindu and Muslim) sought refuge in
India. Some of them were rehabilitated in Dandakaranya
forest range of South Orissa by the government of
India in collaboration with the government of Orissa.
Apart from this, a large-scale influx of Bengali
refugees, who have subsequently settled in coastal
areas of the state, has raised many eyebrows. Besides
engaging in marine and inland fishing and allied
trades, they have illegally occupied coastal
forestland and are responsible for the destruction of
the coastal eco-system, complain some local residents
of Jagatasinghpur district. The interception of
illegal radio stations and the arrest of a few
suspects in the Rajnagar block of Kendrapara district
in May 2002 have brought to light the activities of
infiltrators from Bangladesh and security breaches
made in the vicinity of sensitive defence
installations. It is suspected that ISI and other
foreign intelligence networks have installed some
transmission centres near Wheeler Island in the Bay of
Bengal to get information regarding Chandipur missile
testing range.
Orissa's home department has identified for
deportation 2,867 Bangladeshis in six districts – from
Kendrapara, Malkangiri, Bhadrak, Nowrangpur,
Jagatasinghpur and Sambalpur. 392 have been issued
"Quit India" notices; 21 from Nowrangpur district were
recently handed over to the border security forces in
neighbouring West Bengal for deportation. The rest
will be deported in a phased manner as the process of
identification is still under way with several
districts yet to submit their final lists. State home
department sources said that in the past too, the
state government has taken steps to deport illegal
immigrants. About 102 Bangladeshi infiltrators were
deported from 1973 to 1993. Meanwhile, the state
director general of police, NC Padhi, recently said in
Malkangiri that the list of the settlers has been
submitted to the government and deportation will be
undertaken only after a government decision.
Of late, a tug of war over immigrants between the
ruling Biju Janta Dal (BJD) and Bhartiya Janata Party
(BJP) has become sharper. BJP alleges that the
identification for deportation is being made on
communal lines, because Hindu refugees have not voted
in favour of BJD and Congress. Dismissing this charge,
a senior state government official said that all has
been done as per a central government circular issued
on 16 September 1997. The circular states: "Any
Bangladeshi found to have settled in the state after
16 December 1971, will be deported after due inquiry
and issue of "Quit India" notice as per Foreigner Act,
1946. While those who have entered the state between
25 March 1971 and 16 December 1971, will be referred
to the government of India for a decision. The state
government will not disturb any Bangladeshi, who had
landed in India before 25 March 1971".
Meanwhile, Dhali says that the state government has
neglected the refugees' lot. Refugees from Bangladesh
who are now living in Malkangiri, Raighar and Umerkote
areas should not be treated as infiltrators as they
all came to India before December 1971. They have been
here for the last 40 years and should be able to avail
of all facilities and services, according to him.
Dhali clarified further that following the
announcement of the government of India through All
India Radio, most Hindu refugees came here from East
Pakistan after the partition and were rehabilitated by
the union government in consultation with the state
government in Malkangiri, Raighar, Umerkote,
Kendrapara and Puri districts. In those days, the
government had provided land, agriculture equipment
and citizenship certificates in the names of the heads
of their families. Now their families have expanded
and they are facing a problem of citizenship, because
teenagers were not issued with this certificate at
that time. They have now been short-listed for
deportations.
Interestingly, local politics has also taken an ugly
shape -- those who were fighting against refugee
ouster have now politically settled into various
parties. As a result, the conflict owing to the
refugee issue is gaining momentum, and both refugees
and the tribal are victims of their ugly game. The
"development" of refugees has concentrated on settled
agriculture and their exposure to the market economy.
The local tribal population's shifting cultivation
practices and lack of education has made them
subservient to the refugee population, feels Dhirendra
Tripathy, a Bhubaneswar-based social activist. The
other issues, according to him, are large-scale
deforestation of forest land and encroachment of
tribal land. Local legislator Mamata Padhi charged
that some Bengali refugee men are allegedly involved
in false marriages with girls from local tribal and
backward communities; later, these men desert the
women they have married.
The deportation drive may be well-meaning, but its
arbitrariness and utter cruelty have brought the
process under a cloud of suspicion. Several of those
on the deportation list have voter identity cards, PAN
cards and BPL cards that prove their citizenship. Some
of them even work in government offices. But the most
absurd has been deportation notices to children, who
should have been Indian citizens by birth. Sampad
Sarkar, 35, who runs a small shop in Ramnagar has been
served a notice while his wife, Jyotsna, and
three-year-old son have been spared.
Similar despair has descended on other households. As
men and women are erratically selected for
deportation, families are disintegrating and hurtling
towards penury. Gokul Bera, 34, along with his
74-year-old father, 58-year-old mother and 34-year-old
wife, Arati have been asked to leave. And so their six
children aged between two and 12, who were all born in
Ramnagar. Gokul?s childhood friend, Krishnapada
Mandal, says the notice is arbitrary: How did he
become a Bangla national suddenly? Why should he go to
a place which he has never seen, he asks.
It`s a question that resonates in almost all
households of the village. The arbitrariness is all
the more evident in the case of Arabinda Kayal, a
Class-IV employee of the Paradip Port Trust. The
entire Kayal household, including his son,
daughter-in-law and daughter, have been marked out for
deportation though their names figure in the voters?
list and Kayal holds a PAN card as well. Kendrapara?s
collector, Hemant Sharma, admits that the decision of deportat
palashcbiswas,
gostokanan, sodepur, kolkata-700110 phone:033-25659551
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