By Shahnoor Rahman for TwoCircles.net,
As 21st century citizens, nothing seem impossible for us, from reaching Moon to trying for Mars now. Within hours we reach from one part of the world to another and can communicate through internet in no time. However, still there are some communities, who are untouched by the comforts and facilities of the new age and have minimum access to rest of the world as if nothing has changed in their lives since the medieval period.
But there is one of community people who are not even recognized by any name in general and their living conditions including ways of life, thought process, culture and all other social and economic profiles. I am referring here to the Muslims of Bengali origin, who were encouraged to come and settle in riverine basins (Chars) in Assam, mostly during the British era.
A ferry across the stream of river cost an individual Rs 2 and is the only mean of communication with the world.
Condition of that community neither improved nor progressed because that community resides in a particular area, which is also an integral part of the Republic of India, who don’t know to how to raise voice about their demands. Even if voices are raised by few of them, their voice is never heard by the government of India and if the government does something that too just before election; that is also temporary, purpose of which are not to give permanent remedy but to gain sympathy of innocent simple people living in that area, to gain votes to be elected as MP/MLA. The condition of that nameless downtrodden helpless community is so bad that it would be simply unimaginable to believe how much hardship and life of distress they go through.
This community has not yet changed largely because that community has never been part of any development programmes of the government; be it education, welfare schemes and all other factors which lead to progress and development. Moreover, this community has been destructively influenced by same geographical factors since the medieval period, whose any form of remedies have never been thought of. Only cause why they are living life of hell is that they are born in particular hell spots in this earth,whose establishment depends upon changing route of mass destructive river erosion of mighty only male river of the earth i.e. Brahmaputra and his tributaries like river Beki, Manas etc.
Migration and exploitation: This community has originally migrated from undivided Bengal in different period of time; some came around 13th centuries, some came around 16th century, some in 18th century and some around 19th and 20th century and consequently settled in unoccupied forest areas located in river basins of Brahmaputra and its tributaries and distributaries.
They brought with them seeds of high yield cereals, vegetables, jute etc and started to cultivate in these remote unoccupied areas, clearing the forests. British government facilitated their migration and distributed them lands by zamidhari system for cultivation in order to get land revenue and crop yield as taxes. When these poor newly migrated people started to cultivate through their hard labour, they were subjected to severe exploitation of zamidhars and British government.
Their welfare was never a concern for the British government and they were used them as revenue generating machines who contributed a lot for development of British occupied India. Majority of them are Muslims and had been misfortuneate since their ancestors because their ancestors were born as lower caste Hindus, who accepted Islam under the influence of Abdul Qader Jilani (R.A.) and such other Sufi saints to escape untouchability, satidah system of then orthodox Hinduism and exploitation from upper class Brahmins. So they had been socio-economically weaker and exploited since that time.
When they were newly converted to Islam, they were socially boycotted by the Hindu society at that time and they were made to flee from their own home. Finding suitable opportunity, they migrated from that areas and started to settle down in river basins of Brahmaputra and its tributaries which are presently part of lower Assam covering districts of Barpeta, Goalpara, Dhubri, Kamrup, Nalbari, Kokrajhar etc. This migration, as mentioned, was encouraged by British for cheap labour and for cultivation.
Even after independence their socio-economic condition, alas, could not improve a tad. Rather it appears that the Indian government continued with the same British policy of labour exploitaion, and never gave a serious thought for the welfare of this community, except during the elections, when some freebies are announced.
Even now, if you go to any Char area, you will not seldom find any pucca road, or bridge, or proper transport facilities. Boat is the only mode of transport for these riverine basins. In fact around Rs 15-20 lakh are collected per year from contractors by inland water transport of the government of Assam for one year permission for transport by ferry boats, substantially increasing fare for crossing the river to Rs 10 per passenger from Rs 2 in previous years.
The main road of Kuntisar village, a Char across Dhubri town, from the river bank.
Not only that, the problem of these people are multiplied by political turmoil and the politics over D-voters, faulty land patta, inadequate updating of NRC, 1951 , which got intensified after 1971 following independence of Bangladesh and the Assam Accord, 1985. In the absence of any long term of resolution to the problems, these Muslims of Bengali origin are suspected and harassed endlessly as ‘Bangladeshis’.
What can be greater painful for a person who inspite of being genuine citizens of India is harassed as foreinger and Bangladeshis, although they accepted Assamese as mother tongue, and regard Assam as their motherland.
Contributions: Health and education are their distant and long cherished dreams to be achieved. Higher education and modern amenities of life are simply unimagineable for them. But interestingly, although their condition are so poor, but their contribution to domestic agricultural production of Assam is critical as around 90% of eggs, fishes, meats, chicken, pulses, rice, wheat, vegetables etc are produced by these less fortunate people. Had they not produced these products, gross import of Assam would have been increased from present Rs 400 crores to an estimate Rs 4000 crores. So, gross money of Rs 4000-400= Rs 3600 crores would have been lost from Assam in absence of contribution made by them.
Moreover, around 95% of unskilled/semiskilled labourer used in construction worke of major towns/cities of Assam are also these misfortunate people, who work 16-18 hours a day with no provision to basic amenities of life and take around Rs 100-200 a day which is less than one-third of wages taken by labourers comming from other states. Had they been not there, an estimate extra Rs 10,000-20,000 crores would have gone in labour wages.
Further, they are used as very cheap labourers in all spheres of public and government settings like restaurants, groceries, industries, transport sector, vegetable suppliers etc. They are contributing in building Assam from east to west and north to south for the socio-economic proseprity of the state.
Related:
River erosion and flood in Assam
From where have all the ‘Bangaldeshis’ come? A brief history of Muslims in Assam