LOST IN NOWHERE LAND

CAST AWAY
They are the refugees no one wants to call their own. Harassed by a rampaging Ganga and disowned by their own state, they end up being exploited for votes, say Subhro Niyogi & Subhro Maitra
Kulesh Chandra Mondal has always been a keen voter. During the last general election, he crossed two rivers and walked five kilometres to vote legitimately for a stranger in an alien state. Born in Khatiakhana village of Hamidpur gram panchayat (Kaliachak III block) in Malda, he migrated when the hungry tides of river Ganga gobbled up his village three decades ago. Since then, Mondal has taken refuge in various chars or new patches of land that emerged midstream as the river changed course. Around nine years ago, he was enrolled in an electoral photo-identity card (EPIC) drive. Three years on, when a char emerged at the very spot where Khatiakhana once stood 30 years ago, Mondal reclaimed it and settled down. Other villagers trickled in and they christened it Khatiakhana. A few months later, the EPIC arrived and left Mondal shell-shocked. The ID card stated that he belonged to Jharkhand, not Bengal. An incensed Mondal complained, but his marooned voice went unheeded. Though furious over the state switch, the conscientious voter made the arduous journey to cast his ballot. Mondal is one of the 1.5 lakh people (1,09,811 persons recorded in Census 2001) who have lost their homes to the vagaries of a mighty river and now survive on eight chars. They share the bizarre predicament of being disowned by their own state for their political allegiance and claimed by a neighbour keen to corner the vote bank. Despite the odds, several of these men and women will journey across water and land to vote. But some will not. Among them are 8,000-odd inhabitants of Khatiakhana and Subhanitola. For a geographical perspective, these chars are 50-100 metres midstream off mainland Bengal and nearly 14 km adrift of Jharkhand shore. The Bengal government has steadfastly refused to acknowledge them despite evidence (everyone above 30 has either a ration card or land documents from the state) that they lived in Manikchak, Kaliachak II and Kaliachak III before the surging Ganga claimed their home. Some have been enrolled on the voter list of Rajmahal in Jharkhand. But the administration has refused to commit more as the chars are not revenue villages. The only time parties remember the castaways is before polls. Then, Congress and CPM leaders from Malda cross the river to campaign for their party candidates in Jharkhand. “Politicians from Malda come because they know people will connect with them rather than someone from an alien land,” said char resident Zakir Sheikh who has neither a ration card, nor an EPIC as he was born to an erosion-uprooted family. Hundreds suffer a similar existential crisis with no evidence of birth. Or death. “We realize we are just votes. The Left Front government has washed its hands of us because a majority are Muslims who have traditionally voted for Congress in Malda. The Jharkhand government has allowed voting right but shirks from providing drinking water, schools, health centre and roads,” fumed Sohail Sheikh. With the governments turning a blind eye, the erosion victims have no clue which administration they belong to and cannot avail of poverty alleviation programmes like National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme that provides 100 days’ work. “If we knew where we belonged, we could figure our rights and make demands,” Sabitri Mondal pointed out. Five months ago, her husband Bikash was arrested by West Bengal Police and lodged in Malda jail when he had a fight with his char neighbour. When she cited the police action as proof of being a Bengal citizen, Bikash was released. Last year, the char residents tried another trick to establish legitimacy. They cultivated opium seeds that is barred without permit. When word got around, police from both states arrived, inspected the site and left. “Neither of them wanted to act as that would amount to acknowledging that we were part of one state or the other,” rued Rajen Nath Mondal, who teaches at one of the two primary schools operated by Child Relief & You. Tariqul Islam, founder member of Ganga Bhangan Pratirodh Action Nagarik Committee, a non-political outfit set up in 1998 to combat erosion and fight for victims’ rights, acknowledged that little has been achieved a decade later. “We have highlighted the plight of erosion victims before state and national leaders of all political hues to no avail. Interstate boundary are still determined by the river that shifts course and not according to mouja measurements. Erosion is still not considered a natural disaster. So victims don’t get compensation,” said Islam. An erosion victim himself, Islam’s house was in one of the 19 hamlets of Kakri Budha Jhaobona panchayat that was completely swept away in 1998. In 2003, the Bengal government abolished the panchayat. Grandson of Taheruddin Ahmed, a zamindar with a 650 bigha estate, Islam had to start from scratch after the river reduced him to a refugee. Of the 60 bigha at Kaliachak III that Manjoor Alam lost to the moody river in 1979, he has reclaimed six bigha when Khatiakhana char emerged. Last year, he sold two bigha to a fellow villager. Curiously, the transaction took place in the office of Kaliachak subregistrar. While Bengal disowns the chars, land deeds continue to be transferred and registered here. Incensed by the apathy of the state, inhabitants of Khatiakhana and Subhanitola plan to shoo off politicians if they arrive to campaign. A poll boycott is on the agenda. An official from Jharkhand, who came to Khatiakhana to revise the electoral list a couple of weeks ago, was chased away. “Give us basic amenities first, and then seek our vote,” growled Razia Biwi. She has not voted since 1980. Back to Kulesh Chandra Mondal, who at 60, made that gruelling journey to cast his vote five years ago. Despite his advancing years and failing eyesight, his enthusiasm in participating in the electoral process remains undiminished. “One has to just look across the border (at Pakistan and Bangladesh) to see the struggle to uphold democracy. I have always believed that every vote counts,” he said with conviction. This year though, he is undecided. “With my very state disenfranchising me, I am angry and want to protest. But I don’t know if abstaining from elections is the right way,” said Mondal, clearly battling a dilemma within. In an electoral collage as huge as that of India, Mondal’s vote may appear insignificant. But if this committed voter and resolute believer in democracy abstains from this year’s elections, it will leave our enigmatic and grandiose elections a wee bit impoverished. RIVER RAMPAGE IN MALDA * 4,816 hectares eroded since 1980 * Over 40,000 families turned refugees * 26 villages washed away since 1995 * 5,000 languishing along riverbank * 100 primary schools/madrasas, 15 high schools hit * 64 moujas of Manikchak, English Bazar and Kaliachak II blocks eroded * KB Jhoubona panchayat under Kaliachak II wiped away * Jharkhand claimed 13 moujas of Manikchak and 29 of Kaliachak that surfaced as chars on right bank