The glint in Mizanur Rahman’s eyes as he caresses the rectangular piece of plastic laminated card reassuring himself of his new-found identity says it all. Rahman is excited. He would use that card for the first time ever to take part in a franchise as would 9,776 others like him on May 5, the last day of the six-phase assembly polls in West Bengal. Their feeling is indescribable.
No, it is not because they have come of voting age, but have earned something priceless -- nationality. They are the former enclave dwellers along the Bangladesh border in Cooch Behar district. Nowhere-people till five months ago, they would now partake in an exercise to elect a government. It is a first for them and the thrill is showing.
New Role as Voters
On July 31, 2015, 51 Bangladeshi enclaves with their 14,854 residents assimilated with India on an as-is-where-is-basis while 111 Indian enclaves with 41,449 residents went to Bangladesh through an exchange exercise between the governments of India and Bangladesh.
Those willing to migrate to the Indian mainland from the 111 Indian enclaves were allowed to do so till November 31, 2015. By official count, 922 people did and are currently housed in three settlement camps at Dinhata, Mekhliganj and Haldibari, all in Cooch Behar district.
Collectively the former enclave dwellers make up a bank of 9,776 voters, a trifle in terms of numbers. But the significance lies elsewhere. Having spent half their lives ignored as stateless people, they suddenly find themselves in an altogether alien role -- part of India’s massive electorate. The heady feeling of finally becoming part of a state is giving them wobbly knees besides a sense of importance. After all, they would elect a government for the first time.
Disillusioned with their Present State
The generosity of policy-makers in awarding them a nation is not lost on the beneficiaries and so there is a sense of gratitude, but the feelings of disappointment are equally strong. More than the elections or the outcome thereafter, it is the daily grind of life that therefore keeps them occupied.
Five months have passed since we became Indian citizens, but our lives are confined within the government organised settlements. To start with, we got job cards but there is no job. After the initial support we now get rationed foodgrains and fuel but have to arrange the rest for our daily needs. How do we do it?Mizanur Rahman, a resident of the former Indian enclave Dashiarchhara.
His complaint gains currency with Diptiman Sengupta,
chief co-ordinator, Citizens’ Rights Co-ordination Committee (CRCC). “They are
Indian nationals now, but their lives have grown directionless since the
migration. Bread earners of their families before the migration, they are now
simply vegetating. Assurances made prior to the rehabilitation have not
been kept,” alleges Sengupta.
India’s Newest Voters
- A total of 9,776 people residing in enclaves would
exercise their franchise for the first time in the sixth phase of assembly
polls.
- After India and Bangladesh signed the Land Boundary
Agreement last year, Bangladesh had transferred 51 enclaves to India.
- First-time voters of enclaves dissatisfied with the
administration as they struggle for food and jobs.
Hope is their Last Resort
According to the CRCC office bearer, 12 of those who had made the exodus till November 31, 2015, returned to Bangladesh after facing uncertainty in the settlement camps. Mizanur too acknowledges the fact but is not sure of the number of people who have returned.
“Since all of us belong to the agrarian community and had arable land in Bangladesh, the Indian government should urge the Bangladesh government to pay us due amount for the landed property we left behind in that country. That would see us through all our problems,” is Mizanur’s solution.
Politics and international relations, however, meander in their own circuitous route, beyond the grasp of Mizanur or his ilk.
“I have tried to draw the Centre and the state government’s attention to the problems without much success. I presume there is a communication gap at the ground level. I hope things would eventually shape up for the benefit of all,” says optimistic Cooch Behar MP Renuka Sinha.
The dust has settled on the election campaign trail, the excitement over the enclaves exchange has grown cold and the former enclave dwellers have graduated into refugees. Hope centring the elections is all the once nowhere people now have left to cling to.
(The writer is a Siliguri-based journalist)
Also read:
As West Bengal Poll Advances, Left-Congress Alliance Sees Hope
In Bengal Today, Mamata Banerjee Represents the Bawdy Politic
West Bengal Polls Phase 6: Enclave Dwellers to Vote for First Time
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