By Ashis Biswas
In West Bengal, the unending economic stagnation and a crippling lack of resources are making it difficult for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to keep her populist commitments to displaced Rohingyas of Myanmar or suspected ‘illegal Bangladeshis’ in Assam.
Ever in the forefront of the anti-BJP political campaign, Mamata had expressed her open defiance of the Centre’s declared policy on Rohingyas on different occasions. Backed by human rights groups, she promised shelter to the displaced Rohingyas ‘on humanitarian grounds’, citing India’s proud historical record of accepting migrants, refugees and oppressed people from other countries.
During the past few months, around 250 Rohingyas had been put up at some households at Baruipur and other Muslim-dominated areas. Initially, the state police took no notice. This, despite a Union Home Ministry standing order on the state to report officially the presence of such groups at once for ’further action’. The standard operating procedure worked out was that Rohingyas would be treated as a separate group and kept under official observation in special shelters.
According to latest reports, some NGOs took the initiative to bring over some Rohingyas from Delhi, Haryana and other places, promising to rehabilitate them. As pressure in India mounted against giving shelter to them, some Rohingyas came over to South 24 Parganas.
However, attempts to find work for the Rohingyas did not succeed. In Haryana and elsewhere, where they had been earlier, they could find regular work. It was different in Bengal. There was hardly any work for the locals themselves in view of the general unemployment situation. In fact, the out-migration of people to other states in search of work from Bengal had increased in recent years. To arrange for the daily upkeep of Rohingyas proved beyond the capacity of their sponsors.
There was considerable local opposition to their presence even in Muslim-majority areas, such as Ghutiari Sharif, Satbibi and Pharingpota, as Rohingyas tried to search for opportunities. The human rights groups supporting them apparently had not factored in such possibilities in their plans.
As the maintenance cost to look after the Rohingyas mounted, hard-pressed locals, who initially had cooperated by sharing space and food with them, protested. This caused some Rohingyas to shift to areas not disclosed by concerned HR groups. Some tried to get away to Bangalore by trains but were arrested.
In addition, frequent checks by the local police, no doubt alerted by people who were in no mood to tolerate Rohingya settlements in their localities, made things more difficult. After the categorical declaration made by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in presence of Mamata Banerjee during an official briefing in Kolkata, it became clear that the Centre was taking a hardline on the issue.
Rajnath Singh reiterated the government’s intention to repatriate all Rohingyas on Indian soil and ordered state governments to cooperate in locating them. Significantly, Mamata remained silent, leading to much speculation. There are reports that Rajnath Singh had warned the state government not to take his instructions lightly.
Whatever the reason, her reticence confused state police officials, who now did not know what do: to follow Mamata’s earlier orders or the fresh ones issued by the Union Home Ministry. But this sent a clear message to the HR groups that they were on their own from this point on; the state government could not work alongside them regarding the problems faced by Rohingyas.
As things stand, it appears that the initial commitment for a Rohingya rehab made by the Chief Minister, which was dutifully spread down the ranks of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) by senior ministers stands abandoned sans any official announcement. Says an aggrieved HR activist, ‘Talk about something starting with a bang but ending in a whimper!’
Opposition sources pointed out that this was not the first time that rehabilitating migrants or political victims of ethnic violence had proved difficult in West Bengal in view of its backward economy. Even during the Left Front rule, a survivor of the 2002 Gujarat riots, Mohammad Shahabuddin, had been brought and given shelter in Kolkata at a highly publicised ceremony. The objective was to draw obvious political mileage from the incident in a state with a 27 percent Muslim population.
The anti-climax to Shahabuddin’s story was understandably not publicised; three months later the man left Bengal and returned to Ahmedabad! The reason: he had to earn to maintain his family and he could not do this in Kolkata!
Similarly, when the Land Border Agreement (LBA) was bilaterally worked out between India and Bangladesh, the countries decided to exchange the enclaves each owned on the other’s territory. People living in these enclaves had a choice of opting for either Indian or Bangladeshi citizenship. Accordingly, Indian people living in enclaves in Bangladesh came over to areas assigned for them in Coochbehar near the international border. They had hoped that living conditions and economic opportunities would be better in West Bengal than Bangladesh. This happened during the TMC’s rule.
After several months, they held a series of protests. The state government had promised them good land, irrigation facilities and regular power supply as well as medical and educational facilities for their children. But they faced very tough conditions and alleged things were ‘far better in Bangladesh.’ Some wanted to go back to Bangladesh, especially after Bengal police started a crackdown against the protesters!
The obvious financial inabilities and failures to keep its promises to accommodate large indigent groups without central assistance has not stopped the TMC government from pledging all official help to migrants and victims of ethnic violence, whenever the opportunity arises. In the wake of ethnic tensions and inflammatory speeches by politicians in Assam over the problems related to the upgrading of the list of Indian citizens (NRC), Mamata Banerjee announced in north Bengal rallies that she would arrange for the rehabilitation of those displaced from Assam, no matter what their numbers! At Dooars and other areas, she told people attending her rallies that they must be ready to cooperate with the state government in its efforts to provide relief for those displaced from Assam!
Recently, Gorkhas living in north Bengal areas complained of fresh illegal settlements on vacant land and suspicious movements by ‘strangers who did not speak local languages’ in some areas. When the state government authorities did not act, they took their complaint to the Centre. It is not known what has happened since. Local Gorkha leaders told newsmen that ‘These people for all we know could either be Rohingyas or from Assam — apparently anyone can come here and grab land illegally. (IPA Service)
The post West Bengal Too Poor To Handle Rohingya Influx appeared first on Newspack by India Press Agency.
