Picture courtesy: Kamalendu BhadraStory by Subhro Niyogi
Khatiakhana char, Hamidpur (Malda): Kulesh Chandra Mondal has always been a keen voter. At the last General elections, 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 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 fellow villagers trickled in and they christened it Khatiakhana. A few months later, the EPIC arrived that left Mondal shell-shocked. The ID card stated that he belonged to Jharkhand, not West 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 but one of 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 the neighbouring one keen to corner the vulnerable vote bank.
Despite the odds, several of these men and women will journey across water and land to vote. But some of them will not. Among them are 8,000-odd inhabitants of Khatiakhana and Subhanitola. For a geographical perspective, these chars are 50-100 metre midstream off mainland Bengal and nearly 14 km adrift of Jharkhand shore.
The Bengal government has steadfastly refused to acknowledge them despite documentary evidence (nearly everyone above 30 has either ration card or land documents from the state) that they lived in Manikchak, Kaliachak II and Kaliachak III before the surging Ganga claimed their hearth. Some have been enrolled on the voter list of Rajmahal in Jharkhand. But the latter administration has also refused to commit more as the chars are not revenue villages yet.
The only time political parties of either state remember the castaways is just ahead of polls. Then, Congress and CPM leaders from Malda cross the river to campaign for their respective party candidates in Jharkhand.
"Politicians from Malda come because they know people will connect with them rather than politicians from an alien land. They dole out promises and then disappear for the next five years," said char resident Zakir Sheikh who has neither a ration card, nor an EPIC because he was born to an erosion-uprooted family. Hundreds suffer a similar existential crisis on these chars with no documentary evidence of birth. Or death.
"We realize we are just votes at elections. The Left Front government has washed its hands off because a majority of the homeless are Muslims who have traditionally voted for the Congress in Malda. The Jharkhand government has allowed voting right but shirks away from providing basic amenities like drinking water, electricity, schools, health centre and roads," fumed Sohail Sheikh.
With neither government willing to accept the existence of Khatiakhana and Subhanitola, 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. But we remain in a limbo and that is the crux of the problem," Sabitri Mondal pointed out.
Five months ago, her husband Bikash was arrested by West Bengal Police and lodged in Malda jail when he had an acrimonious fight with his char neighbour. When she cited the police action as proof of being a Bengal citizen, the spouse 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.
"Either of them refused to act as that would amount to acknowledging that we were part of one or the other," rued Rajen Nath Mondal, who teaches at one of the two primary schools operated by Child Relief & You. He is also a member of the Ganga Bhangan Pratirodh Action Nagarik Committee, a non-political outfit set up in 1998 to combat erosion and fend for victims’ rights.
Tariqul Islam, a founder member, acknowledged that the task remained an uphill one a decade later. "We have highlighted the plight of erosion victims before state and national leaders of all political hue to no avail. We have two primary demands. First, interstate boundary must be fixed according to mouja measurements and not river that shifts course. Second, erosion must be acknowledged as a natural disaster so that victims 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 by the river in 1998. In 2003, the West Bengal government abolished the panchayat. Islam, grandson of Taheruddin Ahmed, a zamindar who lived in a six bedroom house on a 650 bigha estate, has had to make a fresh beginning.
Manjoor Alam didn’t want to live like a refugee. Ravaged by the moody river that changed its course frequently, he has shifted home five times since 1979 but still holds dearly to land records that proclaim him owner of 60 bigha in Kaliachak III that were engulfed by the river years ago.
Alam reclaimed six bigha on Khatiakhana char. Last year, he sold two bigha to a fellow villager. Curiously, the transaction took place in the office of Kaliachak sub-registrar. While Bengal disowns the chars, land deeds continue to be transferred and registered in the state.
So incensed are inhabitants of Khatiakhana and Subhanitola that they plan to turn away political leaders if they arrive to campaign. A poll boycott is also on the agenda. An official from Jharkhand, who came to Khatiakhana to revise the electoral list a couple of weeks ago, was chased away by the angry villagers. "First give us basic amenities 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 to see how they are struggling to uphold democracy. I have always believed that every vote counts," he said with conviction.
This year though, he is still undecided. "With my very state disenfranchising me, I am angry and want to protest. But I don’t know if abstaining from elections will be the proper 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.
GANGA EROSION IN MALDA
· Since 1980, 4,816 hectare eroded
· Over 40,000 families turned refugees
· Since 1995, 26 villages washed away
· 5,000 languishing along river bank
· 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
MANJOOR ALAM’S FLOATING HOMES
· Manjoor Alam, 52, lives in Khatiakhana char, Hamidpur, a no-man’s land off Malda in mid-Ganga
· HE grew up in a house at Katlamari in Hamidpur mouja, around three kilometre to the east of where he now resides
· IN 1979, he set up a house in this very spot after erosion claimed his home and adjoining tracts of land
· IN 1982, had to move 10 km to a char in the west after land was lost to erosion again. This char was close to Jharkhand (then Bihar) than West Bengal
· IN 1988, moved further three kilometre westward after the river changed course and submerged the thatched house
· IN 1998, had to shift two kilometre to the west due to erosion
· IN 2003, learnt that a char had surfaced in Hamidpur and traveled 15 km to the east to land at the very spot where he had lived in 1979
Born in Khatiakhana village of Hamidpur gram panchayat (Kaliachak III block) in Malda, he migrated when the hungry tides of river Ganga gobbled 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 fellow villagers trickled in and they christened it Khatiakhana. A few months later, the EPIC arrived that left Mondal shell-shocked. The ID card stated that he belonged to Jharkhand, not West 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 but one of 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 the neighbouring one keen to corner the vulnerable vote bank.
Despite the odds, several of these men and women will journey across water and land to vote. But some of them will not. Among them are 8,000-odd inhabitants of Khatiakhana and Subhanitola. For a geographical perspective, these chars are 50-100 metre midstream off mainland Bengal and nearly 14 km adrift of Jharkhand shore.
The Bengal government has steadfastly refused to acknowledge them despite documentary evidence (nearly everyone above 30 has either ration card or land documents from the state) that they lived in Manikchak, Kaliachak II and Kaliachak III before the surging Ganga claimed their hearth. Some have been enrolled on the voter list of Rajmahal in Jharkhand. But the latter administration has also refused to commit more as the chars are not revenue villages yet.
The only time political parties of either state remember the castaways is just ahead of polls. Then, Congress and CPM leaders from Malda cross the river to campaign for their respective party candidates in Jharkhand.
"Politicians from Malda come because they know people will connect with them rather than politicians from an alien land. They dole out promises and then disappear for the next five years," said char resident Zakir Sheikh who has neither a ration card, nor an EPIC because he was born to an erosion-uprooted family. Hundreds suffer a similar existential crisis on these chars with no documentary evidence of birth. Or death.
"We realize we are just votes at elections. The Left Front government has washed its hands off because a majority of the homeless are Muslims who have traditionally voted for the Congress in Malda. The Jharkhand government has allowed voting right but shirks away from providing basic amenities like drinking water, electricity, schools, health centre and roads," fumed Sohail Sheikh.
With neither government willing to accept the existence of Khatiakhana and Subhanitola, 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. But we remain in a limbo and that is the crux of the problem," Sabitri Mondal pointed out.
Five months ago, her husband Bikash was arrested by West Bengal Police and lodged in Malda jail when he had an acrimonious fight with his char neighbour. When she cited the police action as proof of being a Bengal citizen, the spouse 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.
"Either of them refused to act as that would amount to acknowledging that we were part of one or the other," rued Rajen Nath Mondal, who teaches at one of the two primary schools operated by Child Relief & You. He is also a member of the Ganga Bhangan Pratirodh Action Nagarik Committee, a non-political outfit set up in 1998 to combat erosion and fend for victims’ rights.
Tariqul Islam, a founder member, acknowledged that the task remained an uphill one a decade later. "We have highlighted the plight of erosion victims before state and national leaders of all political hue to no avail. We have two primary demands. First, interstate boundary must be fixed according to mouja measurements and not river that shifts course. Second, erosion must be acknowledged as a natural disaster so that victims 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 by the river in 1998. In 2003, the West Bengal government abolished the panchayat. Islam, grandson of Taheruddin Ahmed, a zamindar who lived in a six bedroom house on a 650 bigha estate, has had to make a fresh beginning.
Manjoor Alam didn’t want to live like a refugee. Ravaged by the moody river that changed its course frequently, he has shifted home five times since 1979 but still holds dearly to land records that proclaim him owner of 60 bigha in Kaliachak III that were engulfed by the river years ago.
Alam reclaimed six bigha on Khatiakhana char. Last year, he sold two bigha to a fellow villager. Curiously, the transaction took place in the office of Kaliachak sub-registrar. While Bengal disowns the chars, land deeds continue to be transferred and registered in the state.
So incensed are inhabitants of Khatiakhana and Subhanitola that they plan to turn away political leaders if they arrive to campaign. A poll boycott is also on the agenda. An official from Jharkhand, who came to Khatiakhana to revise the electoral list a couple of weeks ago, was chased away by the angry villagers. "First give us basic amenities 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 to see how they are struggling to uphold democracy. I have always believed that every vote counts," he said with conviction.
This year though, he is still undecided. "With my very state disenfranchising me, I am angry and want to protest. But I don’t know if abstaining from elections will be the proper 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.
GANGA EROSION IN MALDA
· Since 1980, 4,816 hectare eroded
· Over 40,000 families turned refugees
· Since 1995, 26 villages washed away
· 5,000 languishing along river bank
· 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
MANJOOR ALAM’S FLOATING HOMES
· Manjoor Alam, 52, lives in Khatiakhana char, Hamidpur, a no-man’s land off Malda in mid-Ganga
· HE grew up in a house at Katlamari in Hamidpur mouja, around three kilometre to the east of where he now resides
· IN 1979, he set up a house in this very spot after erosion claimed his home and adjoining tracts of land
· IN 1982, had to move 10 km to a char in the west after land was lost to erosion again. This char was close to Jharkhand (then Bihar) than West Bengal
· IN 1988, moved further three kilometre westward after the river changed course and submerged the thatched house
· IN 1998, had to shift two kilometre to the west due to erosion
· IN 2003, learnt that a char had surfaced in Hamidpur and traveled 15 km to the east to land at the very spot where he had lived in 1979
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