More than 50 years have passed, these Hindu refugees living in India still have no homeland of their own

New Delhi: 72-year-old Bijoy Das, who lives in the dense forests of Bastar, still shudders at the memory of the year 1971 when he/she had to leave his/her home and come to India. Stories of atrocities on Hindus in East Pakistan are again coming from Bangladesh. Once again, minorities are being attacked there and they are forced to take refuge in India. Das and thousands of Bangladeshi Hindu refugees like him/her came to India from Pakistan decades ago. Even today, they are struggling for their identity and citizenship.

Pakistani army persecuted Hindus

Bijoy Das tells how his/her sister Dulahan was dragged out of their village and murdered. Somesh Singh recalls how his/her father was pulled out of his/her burning house by Muslim neighbours wearing a burqa. This is the story of millions of Hindus who were forced to flee their homes during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. The Pakistani army and the Razakar militia inflicted untold atrocities on Hindus. Millions of people fled to India to save their lives. One of these victims, Amar Mandal, tells how he/she crossed the Padma river in the dark of the night and kept walking through the water-filled fields. he/she kept pressing the mouths of his/her children so that their voices would not be heard by the enemy.

Refugees stayed in the forests of India for months

After coming to India, these refugees were kept in Mana transit camp near Raipur in Madhya Pradesh (now Chhattisgarh). After living in tents in dense forests for months, they were settled in areas which are today the stronghold of Maoists. 2.8 lakh East Bengali refugees are spread across 300 camps in these forests, including Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.

The struggle continues even after coming to India

The struggle of these refugees did not end even after coming to India. Living in dense forests, they had to fight with wild animals. Many children and elderly became prey to tigers. A refugee, Sunil Biswas, tells that gradually they cleared the forests and started farming. But the land was not fertile and the little grain they could grow was barely enough to survive. Many refugees tried to return to the newly formed Bangladesh after 1971, but their efforts failed. Biswas tells that the ‘Marchajhapi massacre’ in Sundarban in 1979 dashed all their hopes of returning home. The relations of refugees with local tribals have also been tense. Sporadic campaigns have been carried out to drive out the refugees, which has created an atmosphere of fear among them.

They still keep their culture alive

The residents of these refugee settlements have kept their Bengali culture and beliefs alive. The sound of evening prayers reverberates. A red gamchha tied with rice and jaggery adorns every door as a symbol of auspiciousness. Inside the homes, pictures of ‘Lakhi Thakur’ (Goddess Lakshmi) adorn the walls. The refugees who settled in Dandakaranya can be divided into two groups. Those who came through official channels from East Pakistan between 1964 and 1971, and those who migrated after the formation of Bangladesh in 1971. The first group received ‘border slips’ as proof of their refugee status. Others settled without documents. Some could carry only a few valuables or a family deity or a photograph.

Border slip is the only identity

For first-generation refugees like Jyotischandra Sarkar, the effort to build a home has been a lifetime one. “We broke rocks, cleared forests and made habitable spaces in the jungles,” says Sarkar, now 87. Today, the 1985 border slip is their only identity proof. Sukhendu Chakraborty, 68, a resident of Ghot No. 20 in Gadchiroli, says they have managed to thrive here despite an identity crisis and enormous hardships. “In those years, there were hardly any government documents here. Nowadays officials and politicians visit these jungles with commandos and minesweepers. But we made peace with nature and the inhabitants. Adversity has hardened our will to survive, but we pray for stability and recognition.” Even decades after coming to India, Chakraborty and countless others like him/her remain stateless. They have farmed the land, raised families and found livelihoods, but their struggle to become Indian citizens continues.

Refugee schools were also closed

Many have managed to gain a foothold, some benefiting from government programmes that have given them jobs, land and the chance to build small businesses and farms. However, their progress has not been easy. Bengali-medium schools, once set up by the government specifically for refugee children, have been closed, while many claim they have been excluded from government schemes. Many settlers farm land without official ownership.

No documents for citizenship

We have been living here for decades, but we are still waiting for recognition, says Bipin Bepari, a member of the Nikhil Bharat Bangla Samanwaya Samiti (NBBSS). Grocery shop owner Jatin Karmakar (name changed) is excited that his/her son got a corporate job. While he/she leads a regular life in India, complications still surround his/her legal status. I have an Aadhaar card and voter ID, but I am still not an Indian citizen, he/she said. The settlers say they need a border slip for citizenship document, which Karmakar does not have.

Kalikrishan Ghosh came to India in 1982, but like many others, he/she found himself in a grey area when it came to citizenship. “I came through an agent. There are many people in Bangladesh who help you cross the border. After living in Kolkata for some time, I settled in Chamorshi in Gadchiroli in 1989, where my family was already living,” he/she says.

CAA raised hopes, but…

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) seemed like a ray of hope for these refugees. The CAA, enacted in 2019, paves the way for Indian citizenship for religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who came to India till 2014. However, many settlers have found the process difficult, especially those who lack documents to prove their eligibility. “Many are not applying because they don’t have documents,” says Subodh Biswas, president of NBBSS. Of the 221 applications filed by them so far under the CAA, only six have been successful.

Hindus are being harassed again in Bangladesh

The ongoing political turmoil in Bangladesh has triggered another wave of attacks on Bengali Hindus. “My brother keeps calling me on WhatsApp, asking me to come and take him/her to India. No one is buying our property there. They want Hindus to leave everything and go away so that it can be an easy smash-and-grab,” says Krishna Bose of Chamorshi. Recently, around 10,000 Bengali settlers gathered in Pakhanjore and urged the Centre to open its borders for Hindus from Bangladesh. Biswas says his/her organisation plans to hold similar rallies in Bengali areas before launching a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on September 23.