West Bengal: After Targeted Hate Attacks in Odisha, Thousands of Migrant Workers Return to Villages

Kolkata/Murshidabad: Over a thousand migrant labourers, mostly from Murshidabad district in West Bengal, have had to return back to their villages from various districts of Odisha after targeted violence because they were speaking Bengali language and were termed as “Bangladeshis.”

Even after furnishing their Adhaar cards and other residential proofs of being citizens of India and hailing from Murshidabad district, these daily wage earners, especially those working in Odisha’s Keonjhar district, alleged they were threatened with “more difficult consequences” and “forced to leave that state bundled in a train”. When asked, some of the victims of the hate violence alleged that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated outfits were behind the targeted attacks on them.

When NewsClick spoke with a senior newsperson in Odisha, he, too, said that the violence took place following a call by ‘apolitical’ RSS. “These incidents have happened, though the hate violence is yet to touch the capital city of Bhuvaneswar. Most of the people affected are from the from the minority community who were termed “illegal Bangladeshis”.  He added that “such a thing has never been seen in Odisha until the BJP government came to power in that state”.

It may be recalled that Odisha and Bengal share many things in common and until 1936, Bengal, Bihar and Orissa were a single administrative unit called the Bengal Presidency. Many Oriya-speaking population live in Bengal and vice-versa.

A worker who has just returned to Murshidabad, said, “Workers from Bengal are becoming victims of hate crimes in Odisha. Migrant labourers and hawkers from West Bengal are being targeted and harassed by Right-wing extremists. Many workers are returning home, fleeing their workplaces.”

He said they were being labeled as “Bangladeshi” and were being threatened to leave Odisha, adding that Right-wing extremists were also posting videos on social media to “spread these threats”.

Rajibul Islam, a construction worker from Jangipur, Murshidabad, who has been working in Odisha since 2016, said he faced such threats for the first time. Speaking via telephone, he said, “Suddenly, some local people came and claimed that we are from Bangladesh. When we showed our Aadhaar cards, they had no argument. Yet they insisted that we return to Bengal.” Rajibul said he and seven other workers boarded a train from Rourkela to Howrah.

Somanth Singha Roy, CPI(M) leader from Jangipur, said his party had set up a helpline with three mobile numbers to help returning workers.

Murselim Sheikh from Suti, Murshidabad, who has been a hawker in Sambalpur, Odisha for nine years, alleged, “Hawkers are being attacked by RSS-affiliated men. It is clear from the way they talk. They told us that we must go back to Bengal and referred to incidents in Bangladesh, which we know nothing about.” According to him, nearly 100 hawkers from Samserganj and Jangipur are stuck in rented houses, with their businesses having come to a halt.

Fitu from Bahagalpur village in Suti, alleged he was attacked by a mob in Bhadrak. Fitu, who sells utensils on a bicycle, said was beaten with the utensils.

Malda North MP, Isha Khan Choudhury, sent an email to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on August 11, requesting protection for hawkers from Malda and Murshidabad in Odisha. On Sunday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, seeking his intervention in this matter. Isha Khan wrote, “Currently, approximately 700 individuals from Kaliachak in Malda and Farakka and Samserganj in Murshidabad are facing severe difficulties.”

However, according Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU)- backed West Bengal Migrant Workers Union, the actual number is much larger. 

CITU’s Malda district secretary, Debojyoti Sinha, has written to the District Magistrate demanding security and safe return of hawkers and other migrant workers from Odisha.

“We received reports about the brutality of Bajrang Dal forces against migrant workers from Jadupur, Jalalpur, and Sujpur of Malda. I reached out to some of these workers (in Odisha) who said that when they go to villages to sell things, their Aadhaar cards are checked to determine their religious identity. Some workers said they were physically abused and told to leave Odisha. We are deeply concerned about their safety”, said Sinha.

Meanwhile, the CITU and the West Bengal  Migrant workers Union have strongly condemned the recent attempts to “create animosity between Bengali and Oriya speakers in different parts  of the  Odisha.”

Subhas Mukherjee, president of CITU West Bengal Committee, told NewsClick, “Till recently, there were many Oriya residents living in Kolkata and Oriya messes were common in every mohalla in the city. However, recently development has come to a nought in West Bengal and Odisha has progressed comparatively, leading to reverse migration from West Bengal to Odisha.”

The trade union leader said, “RSS has only one agenda – to reap animosity between people and fan identity politics to reap electoral dividends. Hence such things are happening. As we know, the West Bengal CM has already spoken with her counterpart in Odisha and has urged him to look into the issue. However, such incidents are continuing. CITU will take all possible steps both in Bengal and Odisha to try and contain the situation,” he added.

Asadullah Gayen, general secretary of West Bengal Migrant Workers Union, claimed that over a crore people from West Bengal were working as migrant workers, doing menial jobs in other states, as under the current West Bengal regime, there has been marked paucity of work. “A once industrialised state, which saw revival in the 2000-2010 period, has now turned barren. As a result, people are venturing out and often face the wrath of reactionary forces in different parts of the country”. He cited such incidents of violence Bengaluru and now in Odisha.

“We are demanding security for migrant workers. Since the past few days, in Odisha’s Keonjhar district, BJP-RSS forces have created mayhem, targeting Bengal’s residents. Those targeted are from Maldah and Murshidabad districts, mostly of them hailing from the minority community.  We have severely condemned the incidents. We don’t support infiltration from Bangladesh as well, but at the same time. we are against marking out West Bengal residents as Bangladeshis,” he said.

Suren Sau, president of Utkal Samaj, an organisation of Oriya-speaking people in West Bengal, said it was “very unfortunate, though on a sporadic scale, the violence that has happened in Odisha. Our long ties with Bengal have become a victim of communal forces in Odisha. They term Bengali speakers as Bangladeshis and are torturing them,” adding that if this “is not checked in time, it will create problems for Bengal and Odisha.”

He accused RSS of being an organisation that does not want camaraderie between residents of Bengal and Odisha. One must be aware of the situation,” he added.