Living for an identity

SILIGURI, AUG. 5. It is difficult for them to prove that they are Indians. They do not have birth certificates, ration cards or a document identifying them as Indians.

Driven by this identity crisis, the 50,000 residents of Indian enclaves settled in north Bengal districts have formed a platform, the Association for Citizens Rights for Indian Chitmahals (Enclave) Residents and Oustees (ACRICRO), to draw the attention of the Centre to their plight.

``There are 1.45 lakh Indian citizens living in enclaves surrounded by Bangladeshi territory. Life in enclaves is uncertain. Hooligans loot and torture us and outrage the modesty of our women. The Centre has forgotten us'', the ACRICRO president, Mr. Ramesh Roy, said.

``Some of us have managed to find our way to north Bengal districts, but we find it difficult to prove that we are Indians.''

The ACRICRO had drawn up a six-point charter of demands which included taking the opinion of enclave residents before taking any measure to solve the problem, linking the corridors to the mainland, a socio-economic survey and provision of citizenship cards.

``How can we get a birth certificate when women deliver their babies at home and there are no hospitals,'' said Mr. Mangu Barman, who settled with his family on the bank of the Balasan five years ago after leaving an Indian enclave. A woman living in an Indian enclave does not get admission in Bangladesh hospitals at the time of delivery because of her nationality and cannot go to an Indian hospital because she would have to cross Bangladesh territory, Ms. Jharna Roy, a research assistant collecting data, said.

``There is no administration, no police, no communication facilities, no healthcare or maternity facilities in the enclaves, Ms. Roy, who left an Indian enclave 10 years ago with her parents, said.

She claimed that she and her parents were charged Rs. 300 each by the border guards to enter the mainland surreptitiously at night at Haldibari in Cooch Behar. ``I am happy. I have passed the higher secondary examination. I have now got a ration card. My name is in the electoral rolls. Though life here is expensive I am glad I have a regular source of income collecting data on residents of Indian enclaves,'' she said.

Social scientist, Mr. Arindam K. Sen, who undertook an Oxfam (India) Trust-sponsored research project on the issue in 1997, said 97.7 per cent of the 50,000 residents of the enclaves were illiterate. Only 22 per cent of the children attended school of which 86 per cent dropped out at the primary level.

- PTI

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : National
Previous : Inflation dips
Next     : Nirupam to tender apology?