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`s list and Kayal holds a PAN card as well.
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