From displacement to resilience: The life of Bangladeshi refugees in Raichur

Refugees who came to live in camps in Raichur in 1971 are now well acclamatised. However, some issues persist, ranging problems in getting caste certificates to land deeds

Anil Roy, a resident of a small village near Batiaghata in Khulna district, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), was just 16 when he fled his homeland in 1971, seeking refuge in India. The country was embroiled in the Liberation War, with communal violence sweeping cities, towns, and the countryside.

A month before his scheduled matriculation exams, Roy packed a few books and notes and, along with his parents, grandparents, and three brothers, prepared to leave their motherland. His parents had arranged an “agent”, a Muslim man who risked his life to help fleeing Hindu families cross into India, for a fee.

Passage across border

Four other Hindu families from their village had also enlisted the same agent’s help. Leaving behind their agricultural lands, homes, and other possessions, they offered all they could to secure their passage across the border. The agent first sheltered the families with relatives and then moved them from one location to another under the cover of night, inching closer to the Indian border.

After several days and nights, they finally crossed the border at a remote location in West Bengal. Upon arrival, each member received a Relief Eligibility Certificate, or “border slip”, from Indian authorities, allowing them to settle in India.

Roy’s family initially stayed in West Bengal before being relocated to a refugee relief camp in Madhya Pradesh. Eventually, they were moved to one of five Rehabilitation Camps (RH Camps) near Sindhanur in Raichur district, Karnataka.

Decision to stay

“It’s hard to imagine what it feels like to leave the country where you grew up with relatives, friends, and ancestral memories,” Roy, now 68, told The Hindu outside his home at RH Camp 2 near Sindhanur, tears streaming down his face.

Roy was among the over 10 million people who fled East Pakistan in 1971. At the time, the conflict between the Mukti Bahini, a Bengali nationalist militia fighting for self-determination, and the West Pakistan-controlled armed forces was at its peak.

“When the Indian armed forces defeated the Pakistani military and Bangladesh was born, my father wanted to return to our native land. But I discouraged him. India had offered us refuge when we needed it most. This is our motherland now. I convinced him to stay, and he spent his last days here,” Roy recounted.

Adjusting to new life

The early years in India were challenging. “We didn’t speak Kannada, and the people here didn’t know Bangla. Surviving in an unfamiliar land was tough, but we managed thanks to the support of the Indian authorities and the local Kannadigas,” Roy said. His two sons and a daughter, now settled in Bengaluru and Raichur, were educated in Kannada-medium schools.

The refugees who arrived in India were dispersed across 18 States under three major rehabilitation packages. One, a service package for those who were eligible to be absorbed in government services; two, a business package for those who were traditionally into business activities; and three, an agriculture package for the rest.

Karnataka accommodated 727 families, numbering over 4,000 people, across four RH Camps under the agriculture package. Each family was provided with four to five acres of agricultural land, a 40 x 80 residential plot with a small tin shed built on it, a pair of bullocks, and a few farm equipment. Today, the Bengali population in the RH Camps has grown to over 20,000.

Travails in a dry land

Prasen Raptan, a leader of the Bangladeshi refugees, explained the difficulties the immigrants faced. Coming from a land rich in water sources to a dry area like Sindhanur was a drastic change for the immigrants. “Most of the farmlands in Bangladesh are irrigated by rivers and streams, and the people knew only only paddy cultivation. When they relocated to the camps with five acres of dry land, they seemed to be lost,” he told The Hindu.

He said the rehabilitation officers appointed by the India government trained the immigrants in cotton cultivation.

Citizenship issues

Citizenship has been a lingering issue for the Bangladeshi immigrants. Many were granted Indian citizenship in 1983, and the Indian government handed over the management of the camps to the Karnataka government which extended to the immigrants all facilities that the people of Karnataka were getting. However, the citizenship issue remained unresolved as most people had lost their citizenship certificates as they did not understand its importance.

“During the partition in 1947, Hindus in East and West Pakistan were given the option to move to India. Many educated Hindus took advantage of this. But many illiterate people in remote areas who were unaware of the scheme then, moved to India later, when their survival was threatened. Some got citizenship in 1983, while others didn’t. Recently, five immigrants got citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act. It has rekindled hopes among others”, Raptan explained.

Mother tongue

Initially, Bangla-medium schools were provided for the immigrants’ children. When the Union government handed over the camps to the Karnataka government in 1983, these schools were converted to Kannada-medium. “Many children couldn’t cope with the change and leading to an increase in student dropouts. After a prolonged struggle, Bangla was approved as a second language in schools alongside Kannada and English,” Raptan said..

Basavaraja Kodagunti, a linguist at the Central University of Karnataka, Kalaburagi, says, “Linguistic minorities in the country have the right to have their primary education in their mother tongue. Primary education in the mother tongue is effective.”

However, the immigrants themselves aren’t demanding it. “We understand that we have to stay in Karnataka forever. Our children have learnt Kannada and they will live as Kannadigas here. What we want is Bangla as one of the three languages to be taught in the schools so that we can preserve our culture and tradition,” Raptan said.

There is the challenge of finding qualified Bangla teachers as well. “There aren’t qualified candidates to fill the 11 permanent Bangla language teacher positions. So we rely on guest teachers,” Raptan said. The community is requesting the government to allow candidates from West Bengal to apply for these posts.

Land and caste issues

Another unresolved issue is land ownership. The four to five acres of land and the residential plot that the Union Government gave to each family was only for cultivation and shelter purposes. The land can’t be sold or mortgaged or converted for non-agricultural or commercial purposes. They cannot take bank loans against their lands. The younger generations are not even able to officially inherit and divide the lands among themselves.

Of the Bangladeshis who were forced to flee in 1971, around 6% were Brahmins, 30% were Kshatriyas and around 1% belonged to different communities belonging to the Vaishya class.

The vast majority of rest were Namasudras, a Dalit community. Since the caste is not on the Karnataka government’s list of castes, the Namasudras are not able to get the benefits while applying for government jobs.

”Namasudras are on the Scheduled Castes list in West Bengal Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, Orissa, and Tripura. We want the same tag in Karnataka too so that Namasudras can get SCs Caste Certificate and apply for government jobs in the State,” Raptan said.

Published - October 11, 2024 06:02 am IST