M I Khan, TwoCircles.net
Saidul Sheikh and Noorul Sheikh, both migrant workers from Murshidabad, West Bengal, have allegedly been forced to return to their homes prematurely. They are the latest victims of hate crimes in Odisha. Labeled as “Bangladeshi Muslims,” they have been subjected to abuse, humiliation, threats, attacks and beatings allegedly by Hindutva activists and members of organizations linked to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Yuva Morcha.
They are among hundreds of Bengali-speaking Muslim migrant workers — mostly daily wage earners, street hawkers, and vendors — who have returned to their native places in Murshidabad and Maldah after facing targeted violence from the right-wing Hindutva forces. They were allegedly branded as Bangladeshi simply for speaking Bengali in nearly half a dozen districts, including Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Bhadrak in Odisha.
Saidul, 30, a resident of Momin Tola under Jangipur in Murshidabad, expressed his pain and trauma while talking to TwoCircles.net over phone: “I resemble any other young man working in the construction sector in Odisha’s Sambalpur district but was targeted for being a Bengali-speaking Muslim after violence and a change of government in neighboring Bangladesh. Despite the fact that I have nothing to do with Bangladesh and am an Indian citizen like those who targeted me, my only ‘crime’ seems to be that I am a Bengali-speaking Muslim.”
Four days after Saidul, a mason, returned to his native place from Odisha out of fear for his life, he recounted that Bengali-speaking Muslims were made easy targets by individuals carrying saffron flags and loudly chanting “Jai Shri Ram”.
“It was like a day of terror for us because our citizenship was questioned, and we were called illegal Bangladeshi Muslims. They used vulgar language against Muslims and our religion, Islam, abused us, threatened us to go back to Bangladesh, and attacked and beat some of us despite us showing our Aadhar and Voter ID cards upon request. With folded hands, we repeatedly told them that we are Indian residents of Murshidabad and not Bangladeshi Muslims, but they refused to accept it.”
He recalled that the fear was so intense that they silently gathered in groups of 15 or 20, reached the railway station, and boarded a train to Howrah. “After being threatened by Sanatani Sena, Hindu Rakshak Dal, and BJP members to leave Odisha or face arrest by the police, we decided to leave our workplace in Sambalpur for our safety.”
Noorul Sheikh, 27, who had been working as a hawker in rural Sambalpur to support himself for over five years, faced a similar situation earlier this week. The resident of Chunakhali village under Murshidabad Jiaganj was allegedly attacked, beaten and injured by a group of people with saffron flags.
“It was a typical August morning when I left my rented room to sell steel, aluminum utensils, and toys on a bicycle by visiting different villages. At noon, feeling exhausted due to the heat and humidity, I took a rest under a tree. A group of people surrounded me and accused me of being Bangladeshi. Some of them first abused me, then attacked and beat me. I was injured on my head. I begged them to let me go on the condition that I would leave Odisha as they had threatened me.”
He alleged their aim was to terrorize Bengali-speaking Muslims working in different parts of Odisha under the pretext of them being Bangladeshi, following reported violence in Bangladesh against Hindus. “I failed to convince them that I am from West Bengal, not Bangladesh, despite providing my Aadhar card and other residential documents. They dismissed them as fake and were adamant about targeting us for being Bengali-speaking Muslims.”
Both Saidul and Noorul stated they will not return to Odisha for work. “Odisha nahi jayenge, Delhi, Patna ya kahin aur jayenge, koi chara nahi hai, kamana to padega, Dekhenge kahan jayenge kaam ke liye lekin Odisha nahi.”
(We won’t go to Odisha. We’ll go to Delhi, Patna or somewhere else — there’s no other choice. We have to earn a living. We’ll see where we can go for work, but not to Odisha.)
They noted that some Hindutva activists have been uploading fake and misleading video clips on social media, branding Bengali-speaking Muslim migrant workers as Bangladeshi to spread hatred. Their aim is to create suspicion and threat against them in rural areas.
Two senior journalists based in Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur reported that recently, some unknown extreme Hindu organisations have targeted Bengali-speaking Muslim migrant workers from West Bengal by branding or terming them as Bangladeshi. There is no doubt that the Hindutva forces’ attempt has largely failed, as the common people in Odisha did not support their move to attack these workers.
They mentioned that some BJP leaders in Sambalpur town had roughed up and handed over 34 Bengali-speaking Muslim migrant workers engaged in the construction sector to the police.
However, the police later released them after verifying that they were from West Bengal, not Bangladesh. “In Sambalpur and other districts, some isolated incidents occurred, but by and large, people knew that the laborers and hawkers were Bengali-speaking Muslim migrant workers from West Bengal, not Bangladesh,” said Priya Ranjan Sahu.
According to Saidul and Noorul, hundreds of migrant workers from Murshidabad and Maldah were forced to leave Odisha after Hindutva forces created panic among them through targeted violence. Those who returned home are upset and angry. This hate crime against them in Odisha has led to protests and road blockades by angry youths in Murshidabad on August 14.
Official data shows that Malda and Murshidabad are Muslim-majority districts, with Muslim populations constituting 51% and 66%, respectively. For years, the RSS-BJP has been highlighting these areas for ‘rising population’ due to alleged infiltration from neighboring Bangladesh.
Hundreds of angry people blocked National Highway 12 at two locations in Murshidabad for nearly four hours to protest against the hate crimes perpetrated against Bengali-speaking Muslim migrant workers in Odisha. It was reported that some protesters vandalized a truck with an Odisha registration number. The protests disrupted traffic on NH. More protests are likely to follow in the coming days as migrant workers continue to return home from Odisha until August 15.
Taking serious note of the hate crimes against Bengali-speaking Muslim migrant workers from West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi last Sunday to seek his intervention and reportedly asked him to stop such violence against migrant workers from the state. Majhi has reportedly assured Mamata that actions will be taken and such incidents will not be repeated.
Former Odisha Chief Minister and BJD President Naveen Patnaik also expressed concern, stating that such incidents damage the state’s image of communal harmony and peaceful coexistence. Patnaik, the longest-serving chief minister of the state, noted that Odisha’s image as a harmonious state has attracted investors and strengthened the state’s financial infrastructure. “We have lifted more than 60 percent of people out of poverty,” he said on X.
This is not the first instance of hate crimes against Bengali-speaking Muslim migrant workers in Odisha. In March 2024, nearly 100 Bengali-speaking Muslim migrants, who had been engaged in selling plastic goods and clothes in Bhadrak district, Odisha for 10 to 15 years, were forced to leave after being threatened and assaulted allegedly by local BJP leaders and workers.
A BJP leader was arrested by the police following a complaint by the Bengali-speaking Muslim migrants. Reports indicate that BJP leaders demanded documents to prove that these vendors were Indian citizens, not Bangladeshis. When the vendors opposed this, they were attacked, beaten, and threatened to leave.
With the BJP-led government coming to power in Odisha in June 2024 — marking the first time BJP has formed its own government in the state — Hindutva forces have reportedly been targeting minorities, including Muslims and Christians.
Earlier, violence and hate crimes against Christians were reported in Odisha’s tribal areas. In June 2024, some unknown individuals vandalized a Baptist church in Cuttack and assaulted two priests while looting Rs 10 lakh from a Catholic church in Sundergarh district.