Kolkata: The implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has triggered varying reactions among communities across various districts of West Bengal. While Matua communities largely forming the Bangladeshi refugees in North 24 Parganas and Nadia are expressing relief and excitement, a starkly different picture emerges in North Bengal, particularly among the Rajbanshi community.
In her first public address after the CAA notification, Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday, termed the CAA a divisional tactic to partition Bengal again. “I will not allow anyone to become refugees again. There has been a lot of bloodshed and people have come from Bangladesh. We are not accepting CAA. We don’t accept NRC and divisiveness,” Banerjee said at a rally at Habra in North 24 Parganas, one of the districts with significant Matua population.
As the second-largest Scheduled Caste group in West Bengal, constituting 3.8% of the total population, the Matuas have persistently advocated for the proper rehabilitation of Hindu Bengali refugees from Bangladesh. In 2019, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured victories in Matua-dominated seats like Ranaghat and Bangaon in Nadia and North 24 Parganas, while narrowly losing Krishnanagar to Trinamool Congress (TMC). However, in the recent Panchayat election, TMC recovered its lost ground winning 49 out of the 53 panchayats in these areas. The BJP won only one.
The BJP, which has been eyeing to consolidate the Matua support again to retain its two seats, seized the opportunity on Monday to capitalise on the recent announcement. In the Matua-dominated areas of Nadia and North 24Parganas, the BJP workers organised celebratory events to commemorate the introduction of the CAA as a political victory. Shantanu Thakur, the junior Union minister and head of All India Matua Mahasangha, hurried to the state BJP office in Calcutta, presenting packets of sweets to commemorate what he deemed a “historic event.”
Addressing the media, Thakur stated, “History has been created today. A century from now, the government may change, but no one will ever question the citizenship of refugees. This is a response to Mamata Banerjee who spread misinformation and created unnecessary panic about the CAA jeopardising individuals’ right to stay in India.”
In recent years, the BJP has strategically positioned itself as a champion of the interests of lower-caste Hindus, aiming to unite their votes. The party has successfully gained influence within West Bengal’s two significant Scheduled Caste communities, namely the Rajbanshi and Namashudra groups, collectively accounting for 18.35% and 17.41% of the state’s total Scheduled Caste.
Discontent among Rajbanshis
In North Bengal, the Rajbanshi community, asserting their indigenous status, vehemently opposes the CAA, demanding the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) instead. The BJP, a dominant political force in the region, faces the challenge of mitigating discontent among the Rajbanshi community.
Banshi Badan Barman, a prominent leader of the Rajbanshi community and chairman of the Rajbanshi Language Academy, said, “We don’t want CAA, we want NRC. If the government wants to enforce CAA here, it must first engage in dialogue with the people and take appropriate action. We want NRC with a cut-off date of March 25, 1971. Rajbanshis are not ignorant anymore. We will only support those who address our interests.”
Amit Roy, the secretary of the Kamtapur Party, echoed this sentiment, expressing concern about the lack of protection for the Kamtapuri community. “We Kamtapuris are natives of this place, and we strongly oppose the way CAA has been introduced without providing us any protection,” Roy remarked.
The Rajbanshis, making up around 30% of North Bengal, are the largest Scheduled Caste group in the state. For many years now, the community has been demanding territorial autonomy or separate statehood due to the perceived adverse effects of a significant influx of Bengali refugees from East Pakistan, resulting in the loss of land, economic opportunities, and cultural identity over the years.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri, both constituencies with over 15% Rajbanshi population. Rajbashis now find themselves disappointed and without the safeguards they had hoped for.
Maharaja Anant Maharaj of the Rajbanshi community, a BJP Rajya Sabha member, had previously promised the creation of a Kamtapur union territory. However, he is yet to make a statement on the implementation of the CAA, he has fallen silent on the matter. The Wire has reached out to him for his reaction. The report will be updated as and when he responds.
Former CPI(M) minister criticised the BJP’s approach as “election-centric drama” and accused them of exploiting historical events to divide the people. “The BJP’s strategy is to deliberately sow confusion among the residents. They already vote, receive rations and pay taxes. What is the point of linking them to new citizenship policies? It reflects the BJP’s divisive political approach. Should the citizenship of even one person be jeopardized, we are ready to take to the streets in protest.”
Sukhvilas Varma, former Congress MP of Cooch Behar, dismissed the CAA as a “gimmick” and accused the BJP of playing a dangerous game of polarisation politics. “They claim that nobody’s citizenship will be revoked, but applicants must initiate the process, followed by providing documentary evidence. Now, the burden lies on the individual to prove that they were forced to leave their country due to religious reasons, subject to the country’s judgment. The BJP has been engaging in polarisation politics for long. Even TMC was party to its original CAA 200C policy.”
Translated from the Bengali original by Aparna Bhattacharya.
