Dandakaranya and Marichjhapi─

 In Historical Context

Sudhir Ranjan Halder

 

॥ One ॥

There is no place or forest named 'Dandakaranya' in present day India. In the Ramayana written by Balmiki, there is a mention of a vast mountain forest called 'Dandakaranya'. That is, the forest existed in Treta Yuga. A story behind the naming of that forest is also mentioned in Ramayana. The area was ruled by a king named 'Danda'. Madhumanta was the capital of that kingdom. Devarshi Shukra was the priest of Raja Danda. One day, during the absence of King Shukra, he visited his ashram and was enraptured by the sight of his eldest daughter Orja. Despite many pleas, the king could not convince Orja and finally forcibly raped her and left for his own city. Devarshi Shukra, on hearing this news from his disciple, immediately retired to the ashram and, seeing the condition of the girl, cursed King Danda in great anger (Brahmin sages of ancient times would suddenly become so enraged for the slightest reason and curse) that the sinful king would surely perish in seven nights. Indra will destroy his vast kingdom by raining dust. Within this kingdom all the people, all the domesticated animals─ even all the animals of the forest─ will be completely destroyed and the whole kingdom will turn into a dense forest. Instead of a developed township, the forest will be home to ferocious wild animals and demons. The curse of the Brahmin sage is not to fail! So it became true. The cursed forest is named 'Dandakaranya' after King Danda. It was there that the so─called avatar Ramachandra spent fourteen years in the forest with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana. Since Ramsita lived there, it is only natural that the area would be considered holy land for Hindus.

In that part of the forest, the Government of India developed a scheme for the resettlement of refugees from East Pakistan. The project was named 'Dandakaranya Project' to awaken the desire of the Hindu─Mansa to live in that holy land and the area came to be known verbally as Dandakaranya. But before talking about the Dandakaranya Project it is necessary to talk about its background.

The political movement of the Namashudras of East Bengal was a very powerful Dalit movement in colonial India. The leaders of the Dalit movement realized that they could not gain political power by taking advantage of the Caste Hindu party Congress.

The proof of this is that Caste Hinduskeep them away with various adjectives like 'lower caste', 'untouchables', `Chhotolok' etc. ─ making them disenfranchised in religious, social, political, educational fields etc. That is why they never felt solidarity with Caste Hindus. Rather, they felt more solidarity with the Muslims of Bengal. The Muslims of Bengal at that time were also oppressed and hated by the Caste Hindus. The majority of Muslims ─ especially the Muslims of East Bengal, were landless marginal cultivators and poor. The leaders of the Dalit movement were able to take control of the ruling power of Bengal from the time of the British rule and put the Congress party of Caste Hindu gentry in the opposition seat by working with them. Bengal was divided at the time of independence mainly under the pressure of these powerless gentry Hindu parties─ Hindu Mahasabha and Congress. So that at least the western part of Bengal can be kept under their control.

It was these Dalits who suffered and suffered the most due to the partition of Bengal. They have no chance to bargain for power. Because whatever ambitions the Caste Hindu leaders had in mind, outwardly the country was divided on the basis of Hindu Muslim religion. Dalits living there in Pakistan are considered as Hindus in the eyes of Muslims.

However, Dalit movement leaders led by Mahapran Jogendranath Mandal, based on their experience of governing Bengal with the Muslims before partition, joined the Mulim League government and tried to prevent the situation of Dalits coming to India as refugees due to emigration. But due to the extreme communal mentality of the political leaders in power in Pakistan, despite being a Union Minister, Jogendranath was forced to come to India and submit his resignation letter to save his life. Along with that, the hope of Dalit people to live safely in Pakistan by protecting their life, property and dignity is also dashed.

As a result of partition, Caste Hindus from East Pakistan came to India in droves to take shelter, but later due to repeated communal riots, Dalit Hindus also started coming as refugees. Initially, those refugees were kept in various temporary relief camps in different parts of West Bengal. Some families were also resettled in different parts of West Bengal. But as the number of refugees continues to increase day by day─ the question arises of resettlement of large numbers of refugees. And among them, a large number of peasant families ─ most of whom were so─called lower caste Hindus─ who came to this country after being uprooted─ were the most problematic. Despite living in various refugee camps in West Bengal, the West Bengal government has not agreed to give them adequate land in West Bengal for their resettlement. Because here too the old fear of losing power. If these large numbers of Scheduled Caste people stay in West Bengal and join political movements in the future, no party can run the government without sharing political power with them. As a result, all these farming families were dispersed and sent for resettlement in different states of India. These families are scattered in areas such as Betiya in Bihar, Chanda in Maharashtra, Nainital in Uttar Pradesh, Kagajnagar in Andhra Pradesh, Andaman Island in the Bay of Bengal etc. But even this does not solve the rehabilitation work. Because the number of refugee families is many times more. Compulsively, a major project was undertaken to rehabilitate all these peasant families.

It was for this purpose that the Government of India set up a project under the Department of Rehabilitation to deforest a large tract of abandoned forest in Odisha and the then Madhya Pradesh (now Chhattisgarh). The name of that project is 'Dandakaranya Project'. The organization formed to manage the work of this project is called 'Dandakaranya Development Authority' (DDA).

Many people question the area of the Dandakaranya. In this context, it is not possible to say the exact area of the area covered by the Dandakaranya Project. However, the organization's operations cover approximately 25,000 square miles of forested land. Numerous hilly forest areas of then Madhya Pradesh─ present day in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh and then Koraput ─ present day Nabarangpur and Malkangiri districts of Odisha fall within this area.

It is also not possible to accurately describe the geographical boundaries of Dandakaranya of the Treta Yuga. In central India, between the Vindhya Mountains and the Shaibal Mountains, was the kingdom of Raja Danda. Dhamtri town is 60/65 km south along National Highway No. 43 from Raipur, the present capital of Chhattisgarh. There is also a railway line from Raipur to this city. From here approximately another 15/20 km, the boundary of Dandakaranya of Treta Yuga begins. Again the boundary of Dandakaranya starts from Vijayanagaram in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh along the National Highway No. 43 crossing the Purbhaghat Mountains in the north─west direction. To the south, south─west and south─east of this forest lies Andhra Pradesh. It extends to the borders of Balangir, Phulbani and Ganjam districts of Odisha in the north─east.

But not all the land in this vast area is covered by the Dandakaranya Project. A large number of indigenous peoples of India have been living in the gaps of this vast forest since ancient times. Relatively low fertile land of those tribals. Apart from this, some small towns have also been developed due to the establishment of office courts to keep the administrative system of the state government running. Those villages, towns, bazaar─haats etc. are outside the Dandakaranya Project. This is why it is not possible to say in one word how much is the area of Dandakaranya.

Dandakaranya Development Authority (DDA) was formed on 12 September 1958. Its headquarters were in the hill town of Koraput, Odisha. Due to the high altitude of the city in the hot and dry climate of the region, its climate was quite comfortable. But the action was far away.

Mr. Fletcher, an able officer of the Punjab cadre, handled the resettlement of refugees from West Pakistan with great credit. He was appointed its first chief officer─ Chairman. He was a very independent minded person. He started the rehabilitation work quite efficiently. But he had to leave as he did not get on well with the then Rehabilitation Minister Shri Meher Chand Khanna. Sukumar Sen was later made the chairman under the pressure of the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. Later, Tapashili leader Dr. Manomohan Das also became its chairman. But due to various reasons no one could work as chairman for a long time.

There is no reason to think that the provincial governments (Odisha and then Madhya Pradesh) would easily handover the land recovered from their forest destruction to the refugee families to resettle the Bengalis in these vast forested areas. The state governments had various conditions on the central government for implementation of this programme. All those conditions are ─ The cost of paved roads, bridges, culverts, electricity supply etc. to facilitate the communication system of this region has to be borne by the penal authorities. Necessary hospitals, primary health centers and schools should be built in every village. After the completion of the rehabilitation work, everything including the administrative arrangements should be handed over to the state government. About 25 percent of the reclaimed land (areas identified by the provincial government) of the vast forest area will be given for the rehabilitation of the local landless tribals and the cost of their rehabilitation will also be borne by the Dandakaranya Authorities. But the state government will manage the rehabilitation work.

The Dandakaranya Project area is divided into four zones. Two in Bastar district– Paralkot and Kondagaon and two in Koraput district– Umarkot and Malkangiri. Of these, very few peasant families were resettled in the Kondagaon region and the first three villages of Dandakaranya were established in this region. A total of 205 farmer families and 46 ST (Small Traders) families were resettled in three villages – Yugani, Borgaon and Farasgaon – near Kondagaon. The area of ​​this region is very small. Among these areas, Dharampura, Orna etc. are notable. In these places mainly ST families have been resettled. They are rehabilitated through menial jobs or manual work. In the remaining three regions mainly peasant families have been resettled.

In the second phase, rehabilitation work was started in Umarkot area. Then Paralkot in Madhya Pradesh and finally Malkangiri region. These regions are naturally large in length and breadth. The distance from one to another is more than 200 km. The dry hot weather in most parts of the region was unbearable for the Bengalis of the muddy country.

There was a central government body called Rehabilitation Reclamation Organization (RRO). Their job was to salvage the land before resettlement. They were the first to enter the designated forest area. With the help of a bulldozer, this monster of a machine used to push all the trees, including huge ancient trees, and push them to the ground and stack them in one place. Roads were made by cutting through the forest. In this way, a village site has been created on relatively high ground ─ identified by a number. To make it easy to understand which village belongs to which region, the villages of Malkangiri region are named as ─MV─1, MV─2, etc. Again given in Umarkot region – UV─1, UV─2 and in Paralkot region – PV─1, PV─2 etc. Here is MV. meaning Malkangiri Village, U.V. Umarkot Village and P.V. meaning Paralkot Village. Later, many villages were identified as Malkangiri Poteru Village – abbreviated as MPV, after the Pateru River in the Malkangiri region to accommodate the increase in the number of refugees. Similarly, the villages towards Raigarh of Umarkot region are called Umarkot Raigarh Village ─ U.R.V. for short. Identified as. Later, however, the resettled residents also renamed the village. But that number is more real than that name.

Every village has wide roads so that big lorries can pass easily. If the land is not compacted on both sides of the road, the land of the house is specified in a row on one side. It was distributed to each family by lottery. Cultivation land started from the lower part of the village. In villages of fifty, sixty, or even a hundred families, the cultivated land is naturally far away.

Tents have been pitched first, tube wells have been installed in these identified villages. Then the refugee families were brought in from the makeshift camps. One tent per family is allotted. There was no difference in the number of tents whether there were ten or two in the family.

First every family had to live in this tent. Each family had to make a hut from this tent, Mud house to build their own Homestead Plot according to their needs. Of course, there was an allocation of money from the government for this─ Hutment Grant. Had to live in this hut for many days─ until a bigger house was built by the government, sometimes three or four years.

The contractor built that big house. All things are provided by the Dandakaranya authorities. Solid narrow wooden frame─ called balli─ Dhewtin Chala. The contractors for building these houses are, however, recruited on priority basis from among the residents of the villages. After that we had to provide the fence of the house i.e. the mud wall. For this, the government paid for the wall.

Initially each family was given half an acre i.e. one and a half bigha house area and six and a half acres of land for cultivation. But later due to the increase in the number of refugees, it gradually decreased and finally stood at three acres.

॥ Two ॥

As a result of partition, the newly created state of Pakistan became an Islamic state. But India remains a secular state. Since Pakistan is an Islamic state ─ literally 'The land of Muslims'─ non─Muslims living there become second─class citizens. They were victims of various tortures and injustices. They are tortured in various ways by the state. Seizure of Hindu property, kidnapping of Hindu girls, rape, murder and injury, destruction of temples, disrespectful treatment of Hindus etc. Riots sometimes broke out at a moment's notice. Apart from this, any rumor of persecution against Muslims in India would lead to bloody riots in Pakistan. As a result, Hindus lost their homes, wealth and lives.

As West Pakistan has a small number of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, most of them migrated to India soon after partition. As a result, there is almost no problem with non─Muslims in West Pakistan. But it has been difficult for the non─Muslims of East Pakistan ─ especially the Hindus. Among the Hindus, the majority of the so─called upper castes migrated to India within a short period of time. But the so─called lower castes ─ who are mostly cultivators, many cannot come due to lack of capacity ─ have to remain and endure various atrocities. In that too, when the level of torture was exceeded, looting of Hindu houses, burning of houses, kidnapping, rape etc. or rumors of riots, refugees would start pouring towards India again.

Those refugees who came to India from 1947 to 1959, from refugee camps located in West Bengal, were taken to the villages of the first Dandakaranya in 1959 and the first phase was completed in 1961. Even then, many refugee families remained in various refugee camps in West Bengal, refusing to go to Dandakaranya. The government also began to pressurize to go to Dandakaranya by cutting off all aid to them. The area of the Dandakaranya Project was small then. But the riots in East Pakistan, although subdued at times, flared up every now and then. Such riots broke out in 1961─62 as well. But in 1963─64, the rumors of the theft of the holy hair of Hazrat Muhammad from the Hazratbal Mosque in Kashmir again caused a terrible riot in East Pakistan. As a result, there is a flood of refugees towards India. Refugees living in various refugee camps in West Bengal were then cut off from all assistance to continue the pressure to go to the Dandakaranya, and as the West Bengal government refused to provide any assistance to the newly arrived refugees, the refugees were taken directly to various refugee camps outside West Bengal ─ especially the Mana Transit Camp. From there, they were later sent to different villages of Dandakaranya for rehabilitation.

Mana near Raipur in Madhya Pradesh (now the capital of Chhattisgarh) is considered by many as Dandakaranya. This is actually not true. Mana was not under the Dandakaranya Project. Mana was a makeshift camp for refugees. However, arrangements have been made for the rehabilitation of a few business families here. But that is much later. Only here was official fostering and vocational training and rehabilitation of orphan widows and minors from Pakistan. Mana can therefore be regarded as the gateway to penance.

Distance from Raipur Rail Station to Mana is about 12─13 km. Here was an old camp for makeshift accommodation of soldiers during the war. This camp is open all around. Everywhere red moram soil, very hot and dry climate. Harsh environment like desert. There were only two large halls in the camp. Initially, one of them was used to shelter refugees. The hall was very high and used for the purpose of Army’s fooding, entertainment, speeches etc. Later, tents were arranged to accommodate the refugees.

When the train with the refugees reached Raipur station, government employees used to bring them to Mana camp by bus and lorry. But as there was not enough space to accommodate all the refugees in that one hall, many families had to spend their time in the railway station, in the open. They used to cook khichuri and feed them then. Many people have to spend many days in this railway station. Tents were then arranged in Mana. A hundred and fifty tents were pitched every day in the sun─scorched open desert of Mana. One tent was allocated for one family, but later, as the number of refugees increased, two families were accommodated in one tent. It is an unbearable environment. There are not enough toilets. Drinking water was also very scarce. There was no proper treatment. Many children and old people became sick and died. An epidemic took shape around Mana. It was only then that arrangements were made to convert the rest of the hall into a children's hospital.

The administrative system of Mana was not under the Dandakaranya Development Authority, but was completely separate. An army colonel was at the top of the administration here. Apart from this, there were many other makeshift camps ─ where refugees from West Bengal were brought and kept before being resettled in the village of Dandakaranya. All these were under the administrative authority of Mana. Initially, refugees from these makeshift camps were moved to different areas of the Dandakaranya ─ wherever they liked. Later, however, there was no more the same system. After the riots in 1964, when the flood of refugees came again, the refugees were brought directly to these makeshift camps without leaving them anywhere in West Bengal. Refugees sometimes have to spend years in these camps before being resettled. Because ─ preparing the land with suitable infrastructure for resettlement was quite time consuming.

॥ Three ॥

In fact, the flow of these refugees never ended after partition. Emigration of Hindus to India has been going on more or less all the time.

It has already been said that some families were resettled outside West Bengal under the supervision of the local state government on the pretext that 'a large amount of cultivable land is not available in a small state like West Bengal'. The refugees have been sent to those areas despite their reluctance.

At that time the Congress government was in all India including West Bengal. In West Bengal, all the left parties, including the Communist Party, were then in the opposition. All the refugees from East Pakistan are Bengali, they should be resettled within Bengal ─ i.e. 'in West Bengal itself' ─ was the only demand of the opposition parties. United Central Refugee Council (UCRC) was formed by the joint refugee branch organization of the Communist Party and the Marxist Forward Block. They have branches in all refugee camps in West Bengal. The movement goes on in all the refugee camps.

When the Communist Party was banned in East Pakistan, all the leaders fled to West Bengal. Almost all these leaders were upper caste Hindus. These leaders were recruited by the party in the occupied colonies at various places and the communist movement was strengthened in West Bengal with the refugees. Whether these colonies occupy government or private land, most of the people are from earlier upper castes. On the other hand, most of the people who have taken shelter in the refugee camps belong to the helpless lower castes ─ Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes such as Namashudras, Pundras, Rajvanshis, Santals etc.

During this time PSP, UCRC, RCP, PBRC, Subhashvadi Forward Block, newly formed 'Purva Bharat Bastuhara Sangsad' etc. became very active in the refugee movement. Satyagraha and imprisonment also took place at various times to demand resettlement in West Bengal and a change in the government policy of sending refugees to Dandakaranya against their will. Leftist parties have also submitted a calculation of how much fallow land in West Bengal can be recovered and rehabilitated the farming families. It was at that time that Sundarbans' 'Marichjhapi' was first mentioned. In a multiparty parliamentary democracy, the job of the opposition is to support constructive work and oppose anti─people government policies. But unfortunately for India ─ the only job of the opposition here is to oppose the government policies. The refugees did not understand that all these groups did not agitate for the refugees in their hearts, but merely to oppose them, to draw them into their fold.

Marichjhapi is the northernmost part of the Sundarbans. This Marichjhapi island is opposite Kumirmari village of erstwhile Sandeshkhali block. About 160 square miles in area. It is surrounded by salt water rivers. This region is full of small shrub forests. Among the trees that grow here are sedum, saffron, etc. They do not exceed six feet in height. No thicker than two inches and two and a half inches in diameter. They are of no use except for general fencing or burning. Apart from this, Nona Shak, Gire Shak, Mutha Grass, Dhani Grass etc. are grown here. A report published by the Sundarbans Development Board of the West Bengal Government said─ "The growth of trees in these Zones is quite slow due to the site factor and attack of insects and fungus to aging tree rules but the possibility of quality timber." In 1974 the Government of West Bengal announced a scheme for plantation of coconut trees and palm trees to increase the state's income. Weeds etc. in that area are also cleaned.

The agitating leaders strongly campaigned that it is possible to recover about fifty thousand bighas of land in this pepper jump. Sending the people of East Bengal, a land of mud and rocky soil, a land of forests, a land of dry hot water and air, to Dandakaranya means nothing but sending them into exile. They have to be rehabilitated in the environment in which they have grown up and lived forever. And the perfect place for that environment is this chili jhangi. The land here will also be very fertile. This forest is built on alluvial soil on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. Fertile soil like this cannot be found anywhere else. The people of East Bengal who left the land of their forefathers will also get a taste of the fresh air of their homeland. They can fill Sonar Bangla with grain abundance. Therefore Dandakaranya can never be a suitable place for the resettlement of Bengali refugees. Almost these statements were in every speech of the agitating leftist leaders.

However, in the meantime, the refugees were sent to Dandakaranya for resettlement by persuading them in various ways, by persuading them, by creating various pressures from the government. Stopping the cash dole was a major weapon to put pressure on those who didn't want to go to the Dandakaranya.

During this time some prominent personalities of West Bengal also joined in supporting the resettlement of refugees in Sundarbans. Soumen Thakur, prominent scientist Dr. Meghnad Saha and others were among them. Besides, all the leftist leaders─ Jyoti Basu, Pramod Dasgupta, Radhika Banerjee, Jyotirmoy Ghosh, Tridiv Chowdhury, Shivdas Mukherjee, Samar Guha, Dhiren Bhowmik, Pranakrishna Chakraborty, Samar Mukherjee, Kanai Bhattacharya, Suhrid Mallick, Ram Chatterjee, Kripasindhu Saha, Kiranmoy Nanda, Ashok Ghosh etc. tried to implement rehabilitation measures in the Sundarbans region. Left parties led by them demanded that the central and West Bengal governments jointly take responsibility for rehabilitation. In various shelter camps, through meeting─committees, on various lecture platforms, by printing leaflets, the C.P.M. in West Bengal continued to propagate. Also, if the leftists come to power, they will bring back all those who have gone to Dandakaranya and rehabilitate them in Marichjhapi in Sundarbans.

So till 1977 these leftists were the ultimate benefactors of the refugees. During the tenure of Prafulla Sen, Com. Jyoti Bose raised the slogan "Stop the tears of Dandakaranya". On January 25, 1975, he called upon the refugees to attend the public meeting in Vilai. In that public meeting, he said to the refugees, "It is not possible to change the situation of the refugees until we come to power. If we come to power, we will definitely fulfill the demands of the Sundarbans."

In September 1974, Pranakrishna Chakraborty, Suhrid Mallik Chowdhury and Samar Mukherjee came to investigate the shooting of refugees at Shahidbhata in Madhya Pradesh. They strongly condemned the firing. Samar Mukherjee said in a strong voice, "Today you have shoted with the demands of Sundarbans, we will fulfill your demands of Sundarbans if we get power.

Sri Ram Chatterjee, Kripasindhu Saha and Sri Jambuvantrao Dhote, general secretary of the All India Forward Block, attended the three─day All India Refugee Conference held at Mana in May 1975. They also strongly supported the Sundarbans claim.

In June 1975, a meeting of Eight Leftist Party-leaders was held under the Chairmanship of Jyoti Bose on Dandakaranya refugees at the provincial office of the CPM in Calcutta. In that meeting, supported the Sundarbans claim. It was decided to give a memorandum to the then Governor of West Bengal A.L. Dias and a mass deputation to the then President Fakruddin Ali Ahmed in support of that demand. Thus CPI(M) i.e. Left Front became the best friend of the refugees settled in Dandakaranya.

Finally, in 1977, under the leadership of the CPI(M), the Leftists came to power in West Bengal.

India's most popular prime minister, Indira Gandhi, who had implemented many welfare initiatives at that time, had to be ousted. Against the emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi ─ at the call of Jaiprakash Narayan ─ almost all right─wing parties united to form a new jagged party ─ 'Janata Dal'. The Left Front government of West Bengal also supported the party. The present Bharatiya Janata Party, which the Left often taunts as communal, was called to West Bengal as their best friend and launched the 'Indira Hathao' campaign together on the same platform. Although the Bharatiya Janata Party was then merged into the Janata Party under the name 'Jana Sangh'. The 'Janata Dal' won that election by defeating Indira Gandhi by a huge margin ─ with the full support of the Left Front. Even there, late Jagjivan Ram, despite being the most senior and fit person, was not allowed to become the Prime Minister simply on the charge of being an untouchable ─ a 'Chamar'. Instead, the power─hungry Morarji Desai was elected Prime Minister with the full support of the Left. For this, Morarji Desai's gratitude to the left was endless. As a reward for this gratitude, Morarji Desai extended all possible help to the government of Jyoti Bose in evacuating the refugees from Marichjhapi.

॥ Four ॥

Dandakaranya settlement surrounded by numerous rivers, hills and forests. Rivers are numerous but lifeless without monsoons. Due to the lack of monsoon, it is dry sand desert. If it rains again, it will be terrible. This monsoon water is the only hope for farming. Crops will grow only if there is enough rain on time. But even if there is heavy rain everywhere, it does not happen. Rocky─craggy soil ─ sandy or sandy soil. No water holding capacity at all. Even if the land is 18 bighas or twenty bighas, it is not enough for many families. It is not flat ─ high and low the land Naturally slanted. In order to retain water, small plots have to be tied tightly. Once the monsoon is over, all is lost. The field is dry and cracked. Very hot in summer. The sun is shining all around. At ten o'clock, it is troublesome to walk on the road. Even the grass dries up and dies. The field soil becomes sand in the light wind. The people of East Bengal, Jal─Bill─Canal country, feel helpless naturally. Big hard life here. There is no shortage of wild animals ─ tigers and bears in the forest.

The people found living in the forest live for years in their new villages ─ their own homes. But mind is always flying. As if it is not their own homes ─ they have come to visit for a few days, they will leave when it is time. But no one knows where to go. However, no one can think of this soil as their own.

There is a 'Sewak Babu' to look after the village. However, one is for two or three villages. Whatever the government owes, he takes care of it. But the behavior of most of the sewaks is rude and inhumane. He is like a small god! Treating refugees as if they were special beings. Younger boys work ─ talking 'tui─tokari' with people of father's age. It has also been seen that some have raised sticks for minor reasons. Finalize the dishonor. Not only the village serfs treated the refugees harshly, but some villages also housed government compounders or agricultural workers. Besides, there were teachers in every village. The treatment of all these employees towards the refugees was also not good.

The distance from one village to another is long. There is no trace of where the relatives are scattered. Even if one or two relatives or acquaintances are in the same area, there is no way to meet anyone. Markets and hospitals are far away. The mosquito kingdom is here. Malaria prone areas. Other diseases persist. Although there is one compounder posting for five to ten villages, he has no medical treatment except for a slight cold─cough─fever. If something is serious, there is no alternative except to take it to the far hospital. Many patients die before reaching the hospital. Everything is in turmoil. What country they have come! One should stay here forever for generations ─ no one can think of this thought.

Local people ─ Adivasi language is unintelligible. The behavior is uncivilized. The dress code is very short ─ men only wear one─piece tiny cloth. Girls have an extra single piece of cloth on the breast and a single piece on the lower body. The new settlers had no idea that there could still be almost nudists in India. But they saw ─ tribal men and women bathing completely naked in the river. There is no question of association with them. But they are neighbors so to speak. These tribal villages are very close to the villages of the new residents. Some villages are nearby. New residents are also worried about how future generations will develop in contact with these indigenous peoples.

On the other hand, the educated gentlemen here are very jealous. Especially the Oriya speaking people of Odisha region. Their attitude is as if they have flown from where they are sitting in their country. They always have an attitude of bullying. In fact, these educated gentlemen are also outsiders. Because no other people lived in that region except the tribals. They came from other regions to do business, some to work. Some have cheated the tribals and taken possession of the land. They misbehaved more with the newly arrived Bengalis. Bengalis are naturally more cunning than the natives ─ they are not as easily fooled as the natives. After coming in contact with them, gradually seeing the tribals also become clever, more violence arises in their minds. That's why they misbehave more. When they take their produce to sell in the markets, they take the goods and pay the price they like. Sometimes they don't pay, take it snatch away. Sometimes, when they grumble, they abuse him by saying 'Shada Bangali' (Shala Bangali). Due to these reasons, the morale of Bengalis was broken. Sometimes it seems that the persecution of Muslims in Pakistan was much better than this.

There were also many aspects of government management that appeared to be grossly discriminatory towards refugees. First of all, Vaskal Dam was constructed in Umarkot region with the money of Dandakaranya project. According to the plan, water irrigation will be provided in 11000 acres of land. But the surprising thing is that Bengali refugees will get the benefit of irrigation in only one tenth of this i.e. 1100 acres of land. Local residents will get all the remaining water. After the construction of the dam, the Dandakaranya authorities completely handed over the management of the dam to the Odisha government. Because that was the agreement with the state government. But it is a pity that the Odisha government has deprived them of the little water that was available to the refugees by closing the mouth of the canal.

The cultivated land here is divided into two categories. A class and B class. A class land is designated for paddy cultivation. This land is low lying and relatively loamy. Some of this land has been allotted to each family. B class land is relatively high─ sandy soil or gravel soil or sometimes rocky soil. This land is more given to each family. Jute cultivation is done here. But not that jute of golden fibers grown on the soil of Bengal. This is a type of white fiber low grade jute─ named Mesta. This Mesta can be cultivated on upland. But the cost of Mesta cultivation is high. Nothing happens unless weed. Then cutting ─ hiring a bullock cart and taking it to the water and soaking it─ removing the husks with people─ is just an expense. After doing so much and selling what is available─ many times it is a loss. Apart from this, sesame can be woven in this land. But if there is no water or if it is too much, the sesame crop does not grow.

It must be remembered that these lands were created by cutting down the ancient forests and hastily uprooted them with the help of bulldozers. That is why the roots of all the trees, big and small, have remained deep in the soil. Fear of breaking the blade of the plough by sticking to it during cultivation. Again new trees will grow from the roots. A new forest will be created. Therefore, the root should be dug out with a crow bar, pick-axe, axe. It is very hard work. It is not possible for one working man in the family to do that. So first farming had to be done in group system on cooperative basis. Fifteen─twenty families have formed a group. Those fifteen─twenty people together raised the roots deep in the soil, cultivated together. Then shared the harvest. It's been two years. But naturally not everyone is equally hardworking or efficient. Not everyone's land yields equally. So later the cultivation has been separated. But the root of the tree in that soil is like a descendant of blood seed. A new plant will grow out of the small pieces of roots that remain in the soil each time. And it should be cut in the bud. And there is wild grass. What will happen if the soil dries up in the summer and becomes dusty sand ─ if it receives monsoon water, it will grow and grow slowly. Its branches will cover the crop. So it should be picked while it is still young. Otherwise the crop will die. Therefore, till the harvest, one has to continue with the manual labor behind it.

Even if the soil is fertile, crops cannot be grown if there is no proper water supply. There is no irrigation system here. Many times it has been seen that even after Asadha has ended, the rain has not come. Or at the very end of Asadha, the rain fell. Farming work will be delayed due to natural reasons. If there is no rain on time, the expected harvest is not available. Cultivation can be started on time if irrigation system is available. Although projects of various dams have been taken up, work has also started─ but there is considerable doubt as to when they will be completed and how much land will be irrigated. So even though some families have fertile land in some villages, good crops cannot be grown due to lack of timely water supply.

Because of these reasons, most families do not have enough food for more than six months in a year. For the rest of the six months, they have to make arrangements for food by doing various hard work. All that work has to be done far away. There was always an uneasiness in people's minds due to not being able to earn a proper livelihood even in the hard work by severe drought.

Later, in 1970, the new refugees who continued to come due to the terrible riots in East Pakistan, were taken directly by special trains instead of leaving them anywhere in West Bengal to a makeshift camp with tents pitched in an open field near Jagdalpur in Bastar district of then Madhya Pradesh. This camp is named 'Saraju Camp'. Then the number of refugees increased so much that new areas had to be added to the Dandakaranya Project. The land given to the inhabitants of the old villages was cut off and given to the new families. Later on, the landholdings of the refugees decreased from 6 acres to 5 acres and finally to 3 acres.

Another major problem was language. Every village had a school, but the medium of education was the local language i.e. Oriya in Odisha and Hindi in Madhya Pradesh (Chhattisgarh). Though education was started in Bengali medium in the beginning─ but slowly─ step by step the process of replacing Bengali medium was also going on. Because of this, the refugees were worried about losing the Bengali language and culture by becoming Bengalis. In this context, after winding up the Dandakaranya project, the teaching of Bengali language has been completely stopped from all those schools. The fear and anxiety of the refugees has turned into reality.

In 1977, In West Bengal, the Left Front government came to power. Dandakaranya refugee leaders see this as a huge opportunity. Those who did politics with them before, supported them, now coming to power they will surely take them back─ keep their promises.

With this hope, they came to West Bengal and started contacting the big leaders and ministers of the Left Front. The leaders─ministers also gave full assurance instead of disappointing them. It was largely on their advice that through meetings, gatherings etc. in different areas of Dandakaranya, the refugees faced various hardships as a result of resettlement in Dandakaranya. In all these campaigns Ram Chatterjee, a member of the Left Front Cabinet of West Bengal, the Acting Minister of Civil Defense, visited various areas of Dandakaranya and gave provocative speeches for the Sundarbans (Marichjhapi) campaign of refugees. The gist of his speech was this ─ Bengalis were brought to this forest not for rehabilitation but for deportation. They are the victims of various atrocities by the local people, there is no doubt that they will become the victims of more communal atrocities in the near future. So the proletarian populist Left Front government is now in power in West Bengal. Farmers─labourers, their luck will return within a few days. Zamindar─Jotdars will not have influence. Surplus land will be recovered from them and distributed among the landless farmers. There will be radical land reform. Capitalism will be destroyed. Brotherhood will develop everywhere in the society. Communism will be established ─ the principle of the Communists. At the head of this government is the representative of the proletariat.

Who does not feel hopeful after hearing such words in the mouth of a minister? Especially those who are living in the forest with an eternal thirst to find a place in a corner of Bengal? With good reason, the refugees felt more encouraged by his speeches. A restlessness arose in everyone's mind to leave Dandakaranya and go to Sundarbans.

From 1959 to 1977, the residents who were rehabilitated in the Dandakaranya lived for five, ten, maximum eighteen years, and how many things have been collected. How many plants─ mango, jam, litchi, lemon, banana etc. have become gardens in many houses. How many trees have started bearing fruits. However, no one cares about all those things. How many times he cried when he came from East Pakistan and left everything. But nothing much is happening here. It's as if everyone is crazy to go to the Sundarbans with a smile on their face. In the Hat-bazars, path-ghats─everywhere the discussion revolves around the Sundarbans. The left front government is calling them by the beckoning with the hands. Many over─enthusiasts even cut down house plants before leaving. Wondering why the trees that have been made with so much pain will be left behind for the people here. So they started selling household items to reduce their burden. They took it to market. The whole year's hard work─ paddy─ rice─ jute─ sold everything. They have taken everything to sell ─ carpets─Kantha─blankets, bed─clothes, crowbar─pickaxe, spade─axe, boxes, cow─goat. But if everyone wants to sell what is sold? Done, at a very low price. Someone I know, who bought a new bicycle one year ago and sold it for just ten rupees! Paddy, cattle and goats─ these have been bought by the traders and send away from one state to another.

Finally, the refugees' journey to West Bengal has started from Dandakaranya. Bus, lorry, train ─ those who have come to West Bengal from a long way when they can. Some took eight to ten days to arrive. This arrival phase has been going on for months.

During this arrival period, the officials of the West Bengal government have, however, circulated various circulars to prevent the refugees leaving from the Dandakaranya. The then Rehabilitation Minister late Radhika Banerjee and present Speaker Abdul Halim visited different areas of Dandakaranya. With the help of the Dandakaranya authorities, they held meetings at many places and spoke to the refugees not to come even after acknowledging the various difficulties. (At one such meeting the present writer had the opportunity to be present.) But considering the background of the previous events, the refugees did not understand that it was the mind of the two leaders. Those who have gone down before, may be saying so out of political compulsion. Definitely don't do that at work. And already more than half of many villages have left. Therefore, their words did not stop the refugees from leaving the village. No matter what they say, there is no place to rehabilitate in the Sundarbans─ especially those who have been rehabilitated once, cannot be rehabilitated a second time. No one believed in those words.

A total of 150,000 refugees migrated from Dandakaranya. Hoping that the government will honor their word. Now the Congress government is not in power. So there will be no one to stop them from keeping their word. So did the refugees expect too much from the ruling Left Front and its major partner CPI(M)? What they said repeatedly in the speech─ when a minister also came with a kind of reiteration?

After coming to West Bengal, the refugees did not go directly to Marichjhapi in Sundarbans. There were also difficulties in going. In Hasnabad area, they live in small huts in the shape of boat-cover, along the railway line, on the side of the main road, in some open fields, by spreading polythene sheets. During the day, both sunlight and heat come inside that hut. Air cannot enter inside. But there is no way─ the wife, son, daughter, father-mother had to live together there for quite some time. So many families are stuck together. But so many people lack essential water—especially drinking water. No toilet facilities, no bathroom facilities. A queue of thousands of people in a tube─well. There is filth all around. The air is heavy with the stench of polluted weather and the waste of thousands of men, women, and children. I had the opportunity to explore this environment for some time. But it was not possible for me to visit for a long time. My stomach is upset, I want to vomit. But in the meantime, everyone is cooking, eating, sleeping. The area had become a living hell. Many children and old people died from diarrhea, intestinal, cholera, dysentery etc. Because there was no medical facility there. In spite of such hardships, the refugees were patiently waiting for the instructions of the refugee leaders. Because the leaders asked everyone to be patient. Often they held meetings in various places ─ they were assuring that they would get a place in the Sundarbans' Marichjhapi. From Hasnabad by river─ either by big boat or motor─launch, one has to go to Marichjhapi. One or two families cannot go there. Hundreds of families should go together like marching together.

Finally, in May 1978, under the leadership of Satish Chandra Mondal, president of the 'Udbastu Unnayan Sangstha' (Refugee Development Association)─ who was closely associated with the Communist Party's refugee program─ the refugees set sail in droves for Marichjhapi. After that almost every day the refugees went to Marichjhapi Island. Thus about 30,000 people reached that island. All of them were scheduled caste refugees. They settled there entirely by their own efforts.

First they cleared the bushes and built huts. The felled bushes were also used to build huts and built them along with cultivated land─ excluding government-made coconut groves and scrub forests. So that government property is not destroyed. There was no special obstacle from the government. The forest guards gave little resistance at first but later retreated.

As mentioned earlier, there were no expensive trees or mangrove forests in Marichjhapi. So there was no question that the island would be disturbed due to natural balance or marine disaster if the land was cleared and the refugees settled. In fact, the false proletarian government did not have the mentality to accept that settlement. So the government has spread lies in the name of refugees. Officially, the incident was described as a ‘violation of the Forest Act as the refugees illegally encroached on a part of the Sundarbans reserve forest in Marichjhapi. Refugees have purposefully come to permanently destroy the existing and newly developed forest resources and destroy the natural balance here.’

Seeing the fact that the refugees from Dandakaranya were settling in Marichjhapi, the villagers of the neighboring islands in the Sundarbans─ Satjelia, Kumirmari, Puinjali, Jharkhali etc. also came and joined them. All those villagers were also brought by the British government from East Bengal's Khulna district to clear forests in the 1930s and 1940s. Many have also found blood relations with many refugees after being introduced to them. Because there were a large number of people from Khulna district among the refugees. They help the refugees in various ways with various items like paddy, rice, curry etc. Many of the landless families of those islands came to Marichjhapi to build huts to live in and reinforce the refugees.

Many of the refugees make a living by catching crabs in the jungle and fish in the river, selling them to residents of nearby villages. Those villagers embraced the refugees like brothers.

The refugees turned Marichjhapi into a much developed island. They established 'Netaji Nagar' with their own efforts. Under the initiative of 'Udbastu Unnayan Sangstha' (Refugee Development Association), they built roads for movement, schools for children's education, market-shops etc. in a cooperative manner. Many tube wells were installed for drinking water. They also arrange vocational work for livelihood. Bidi making factory, bread making factory, wooden furniture making factory etc. Also started production of salt by building salt fields, also produced a lot of vario for fish farming. A great potential of fish farming was also created there. They even arranged a dispensary for treatment. The arrangements which the old inhabitants of the villages have not yet been well established by the proletarian government. Not then. But despite all this, the Left Front government did not agree to grant the right of permanent residence to all these Scheduled Caste people. The upper caste Marxist leaders could well understand that if there are so many scheduled caste people in one place, the politics of the future will be different. So they were determined to clear the island of refugees at any cost. As a result, the Left Front government declared the settlement in Marichjhapi illegal. In order to chase away the refugees, the government adopted the policy of 'killing them with rice' and 'killing them with water'. Starting with the economic blockade. It imposes an unwritten prohibition on bringing in or taking anything from outside. Refugees have come and gone off the island. Meanwhile, with the help of the police, the work of expelling the refugees began.

On January 31, 1979, the police fired the first shot to evacuate Marichjhapi Island and 36 people died. The news media began to publish the news in detail. Also appreciates the efforts of the refugees for resettlement. On February 8, 1979 'Amrita Bazar' newspaper also printed the picture. The opposition Congress party 'walked out' in the state assembly strongly protesting the government's inhuman treatment of refugees. Chief Minister Jyoti Bose banned the media from reporting on the refugees citing national interest and advised the government to support the issue.

When the economic embargo failed (which was announced in insinuating remark on January 26, 1979, Democracy Day), the government began forced evictions. The island was completely surrounded with the help of 30 police launches to cut off the food and water supply. Police camps were set up inside all the villages. Arrangements were made to disperse the crowd by throwing tear gas. Boats were sunk in the river. The huts are broken down and mixed with the ground. Shacks were set on fire in many places. Those who were going to swim across the river were shot dead. The fishery was destroyed. The tube-wells were dismantled. The refugees had to defy the fear of tigers in the forested parts of the island dangerously in the dark of night to fetch drinking water. They were forced to eat wild grass by blocking all the ways to bring food. Hundreds of men, women and children were indiscriminately beaten by the police and thrown into the river and washed away. The Calcutta High Court ordered the evacuation of refugees to be carried out gradually ─ over two weeks. But the Left Front government police did not pay attention to that order. They continued their hellish killing spree indiscriminately. It is not possible to accurately calculate how many people died as a result of this evacuation. But a total of 4,128 families have suffered at different times, at different places on the way to arrival, cholera, other diseases, sinking of boats and shootings by the police, etc.

Although this heinous murder is a heinous crime, no government worker or policeman has been brought to book for it. Even then Prime Minister Morarjee Desai of the newly formed Janata Dal government at the Center greeted the Left as a reward for supporting his government and refused to criminalize the inhumane deportation of refugees as the right thing to do.

Dandakaranya refugees belong to the lowest strata of society. They are mainly farmers, fishermen, day laborers, the exhausted artisans of the society. In India, the land of caste, they are also low caste. In order to protect the interests of the upper class of the society, for the increase of all the facilities including luxury, the government─ no matter the group─ the poor, the helpless, the beggars, the refugees─ are sacrificed at all times─ the incident of Marichjhapi is a great example of that.

List of the books & journals that have been used to write this essay.

1. Valmiki Ramayana translated by Hemachandra Bhattacharya.

2. Present Author─ In the Darkness of the Forest (Novel)

3. Annu Jalais Dwelling on Marichjhapi, 'Swap', January, February, March─ 2005.

4. Gunin Tagore ─ Cursed Peppers, Shardia Bangdarpan, 1410.

 

Additions from newspapers

Bartaman ─ January 21, 2010 ─ "Cuba's Successful Revolution in 1959 - Later since 1962 the administration of the imperialist power, the United States, tried to crush the Cuban people by imposing an economic embargo, encircling the Caribbean island's anarchic government and capitulating to the US dictatorship. In an attempt to force it to its knees, the Jyoti Basu government imposed an economic blockade on the hapless people of Morchijhapi and surrounded the island under strict police guard, declaring a complete ban on the entry of any food, medicine, drinking water and other vital commodities Section 144 was declared to quell the resistance of the hapless people of the island.Strict vigilance was also imposed on the islands near Morichjhapi, namely, Mollakhali and Kumirmari.

"Since the morning of January 24, the police from about thirty vessels including large steamers of the Border Guard Force, Coast Guard Force, etc. fired tear gas and demolished many crude houses and arrested and imprisoned many people and continuously increased the intensity of torture. For about seven days continuously. This one-sided attack went on. According to eyewitness accounts, a large number of women jumped into the river and swam to Kumirmari Island on January 31 to save their children from inevitable starvation All those mothers were attacked. Many of them were drowned by inflicting cruel blows on the hungry and exhausted women. The police administration did not spare the men who came forward to resist such torture on the women..."

(' Abhutapurba Asama Aghoshita Juddha' - Manoj Bhattacharya, 'Marichjhapi Chhinnadesh, Chhinna Itihasa, Gangchil Publications)

 

"After much preparation, the refugees were set on fire at midnight on May 13, 1979 for their final extermination. The flames and the cries of helpless people shattered the stillness of the night of May 13. The dead and wounded were taken to the launch Tiger as tiger food. In the project. The wounded shouted - 'Don't give us the tiger's belly.' Yunus, the launch driver, heard that tragic scream. The rest were thrown into the deep sea.

"As a result of the Left Front government's food crime, 40,000 refugees cried out in Mirichjhapi. The death march began. Finally, some desperate youths ignored the blockade and appeared on the island of Kumirmari with a few boats. About 40 refugees were shot by the police while reaching the island. The body. Their crime was to collect food for the hungry children. The bodies of about 40 people were kept in the yard of Budhbare. Ravi Mandal worked as a police tenant at that time."

("Udbastu 'Biday' Prakriya" -Tushar Bhattacharya)

At that time C.P. Ai's daily mouthpiece 'Kalantar' wrote - '... the people there have not come here for fourteen days. Could not eat rice. Didn't even get water. Police surround the island. For the first 2-3 days there was no sound. After that, crying was heard every day. Some people used to sneak across rivers full of crocodiles and gorse at night - in search of rice etc. looking for water Then it stopped. They have been eating net leaves and magic spinach. Many have died. I can hear their cries from here... 43 people have died of starvation after the government blockaded the island on January 24.'

('Kalantar', 25-26 February, 1979).

"In mid-June (1979) the Chip Administrator of the Penitentiary Development Authority Pari Mohapatra (the author writes this name but his name is Parimohan Mahapatra) came to Calcutta to talk about refugees returning to Dandakaranya. The IAS of Odisha in 1963. The officer made a name for himself as a civil servant. He found a huge discrepancy between the number of refugees returned and the number given by the West Bengal government. Pari Mohapatra spoke to Chief Minister Jyoti Bose about this. Jyoti Basu smiled triumphantly at him and said, 'I managed to convince these people and send them back to you again with great difficulty.' Mahapatra Saheb said to Jyotibabu with great surprise, 'Sir you say you have persuaded them and sent them back. Sir, among your returning refugees, about five hundred people have to be admitted to Raipur, Kondagaon and Koraput hospitals with various injuries.' Pari Mohapatra his Bengali I.A.S. Telling this incident to the officers, your Chief Minister looked at me for a while and said, 'How many years have you been in service?'

('Ekaler Karbala' - Sukhranjan Sengupta)

"All the families who are returning there (Dandakaranya) today, almost all of their families have children or old people or both lost forever on the way. Their grief and sorrow are also overwhelmed by this great trauma and deception. From the West Bengal Government on the return train 2/ 3 officers are being sent to supervise the refugees. I heard from them that they threw the dead children and old people from the train on the way back, and did not wait for them to be treated at the next station."

(Pannalal Dasgupta, Jugantar, July 25, 1978)

Dandakaranya - Revisited twenty-five years later

(Published in ‘ADAL BADAL’, October, 2009)

About twenty-five years later - I recently had the opportunity to stay in the Malkangiri region of Dandakaranya for several consecutive months. Having stayed for a long time, I got a chance to see and know the area anew. During this long interval, as there have been administrative changes, we have also noticed considerable changes in the financial, social, political and religious aspects of the residents.

Malkangiri is the largest area of ​​Dandakaranya as a Bengali refugee-resettlement area. Malkangiri, an unpopular sub-division of Koraput district, has now been converted into a district. Naturally, the number of outsiders increased due to the increase in government offices and courts in the district headquarters. Due to trade, the small town of Malkangiri grew enormously in size and population. Roads, communication systems have also improved. But what I want to see is not Malkangiri town - Bengali refugees who were resettled within the district - who once came to Marichjhapi at the instigation of the Left Front i.e. CPM government of West Bengal and went back as refugees for the second time - is how they are now.

Relatively speaking, many of the refugee residents are financially better off than before. The main reason for this is that the lands of the residents of several villages are now yielding crops twice a year thanks to the irrigation system. Residents of many villages are getting the opportunity to grow almonds, maize and paddy during the dry season with water from the Balimela and Satigura reservoirs. Although this arrangement could not be made in all the villages, the financial condition of the residents has improved a lot in those that have been done. In villages where water cannot be supplied, people are finding work elsewhere as agricultural laborers in the dry season - where previously they had to sit idle for almost six months of the year. Many people also go to the neighboring states of Andhra and Chhattisgarh as laborers for these six months and earn some money. Due to some reason, this water could not be supplied and many people became unemployed that year. Apart from this some family members are working after learning education - although they are not very many in number. Most of them are primary School teachers - few high school teachers. Very few work in banks or other offices. Some have made some progress in business as well. Where bicycles used to be the main means of transportation, motorbikes have now taken over. Where earlier bullock carts were the main means of transporting goods - now there are tractors, power trawlers, minitrucks in almost every village. All these vehicles are now used to bring crops home from the fields. Bullock carts are hard to find now. Even paddy threshing is now done with tractors instead of bulls. Some of the villagers have also owned trekkers and other four-wheeled vehicles to move from village to village. Some have even become bus owners. However, bank loans and in some cases some government grants also helped to buy them. Almost every village has one or two pakabari. The number of pakabaris is more in the villages near the city or market.

There is now a second generation of rehabilitated Bengalis in Dandakaranya. In some cases the third generation has also arrived. So far three-four or more families have been created from one family. But according to that their land did not increase. As the share of land decreases, many families are forced to give up farming and work as day laborers. Naturally their financial condition is not that good. Here the daily wage of the worker is also low - starting from 50 taka to not more than 70 taka. Due to the lack of space to build a house at home, many people are forced to go to the agricultural land to build a house.

Socially the inhabitants still remain in that ancient period. Social interaction and activities are going on with a blind superstitious mind. Modern scientific mind has not developed at all. Due to the lack of contact with the gradual change in Bengali culture that took place in West Bengal, no such change was noticed there. The only change I have noticed is that the association with the tribals has increased considerably. This is a good sign in one respect. However, although the adivasis have improved considerably in contact with the Bengalis, the deterioration of the education and culture of the Bengalis seems to be heavy instead of improvement. It would be difficult for a newcomer to differentiate between Bengalis and Adivasis among the youth. Tribal girls now wear conch-vermilion, sarees-blouses and jewelry- all like Bengali girls. Youngsters also use pants-shirts, watches, mobiles.

Many tribal youths are also using motorbikes. Intermarriage also occurred in several cases. But Bengalis have brought home more tribal girls.

In terms of religion, the residents here have opted for orthodox Hinduism. Due to better financial situation, there are Kalimandirs, Durgamandirs etc. in every village - Pujaparbans also increased. Apart from Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Basanti Puja also happens in many villages. Apart from this, Shani Puja, Trinath Mela is held from house to house. Ramakrishna, Satyananda Brahmachari, Nityananda Girimaharaja, Anukal Thakur etc. have established temple ashrams. Lakhs of rupees are being spent on various festivals in those temples and ashrams. The influence of Ramakrishna and favorable Tagore is more noticeable in the educated community. In every village, religious meetings of different communities, Harisava, Ramayana reading, Mahabharata reading etc. are held at various times. Whoever belongs to any community is united in the name of Ram and in the attire of Rambhakta. Everyone gets furious when they hear the slightest criticism of Ram. They do not borrow any logic or science in this regard. In all these cases there are one or two Brahmin families in the village who take the leading role. Apart from this there are temples and ashrams of 'Matuadharma' introduced by Sri Sri Harichand Tagore at several places. The population of Matua Dharma is also considerable. But unfortunately they have forgotten the ideals of non-Vedic Matua Dharma and are immersed in the practices of Vedic Brahmanism.

There are some bigots, who consider the only religious act to be to approach God through chanting-meditation-naming etc. They do not consider doing anything for benefit of people or social service or public interest as any action - especially the Dikshit and Vaishnava community of Ramakrishna Mission. They have almost isolated themselves from society. By social service they mean only temple construction, religious criticism, Vaishnava service or name chanting etc. and they also spend liberally on these. But they consider it a waste to do something for the benefit of the society or to build any institution. On hearing that I want to do some social service work there, someone sarcastically referred to me as 'Vikarma' (i.e. not an act of godliness, hence a bad act). But they do whatever is necessary for self-interest.

Although the education system has improved, the Bengali residents have not been able to make any progress in education. I have not yet heard of any doctor or engineer among the Bengali residents of Malkangiri (as of 2008). Two to four people who have been educated, most of them have passed secondary school and few are graduates.

Despite the large number of Bengali residents here, there is no system of teaching Bengali language. After the closure of the Dandakaranya scheme, the Odisha government did not make any arrangements for Bengalis to learn their mother tongue. Although there have been Bengali MLAs and Ministers here for many years, they do not seem to have attempted it, or if they did, they did not succeed. I have not heard that the residents here have made any movement about it. They did not seem to have a headache about it.

The language of the new generation here is mainly Oriya. Due to the association with the tribals, the tribal 'Kaya' language also got mixed with it. At home we speak Bengali (East Bengal) with our parents, but outside everyone speaks only Oriya. No one knows how to read or write Bengali. Children of many educated families speak Oriya even at home with their parents. The most surprising thing is that the children of the new generation are completely ignorant of their past history. Even though they are Bengali, they do not know anything about why they are living in that hill-forest area. Some only know that their ancestors once lived in Bangladesh. They are also completely in the dark about the Chilli Jhapi massacre.

The medical system here is very deplorable. Apart from a few primary health centres, there were regional hospitals in Malkangiri while under the Penal Scheme of the Central Government. Apart from this, the state government also had a hospital. There was also a pharmacist in four or five Bengali villages - who provided first aid to the villagers. Currently there are none. Although there are primary health centres, they are not as well-equipped as before. The old state government hospital in Malkangiri has been closed. Even though the regional hospital of the Dandakaranya project has now been converted into a district hospital, it does not have any quality medical facilities. The number of doctors is also less, there are no specialist doctors. Those who are - practice outside more often. They are not everyone is that experienced. There are complaints from local people that they do not get good treatment for hospitalized patients unless they secretly rub something in their hands. It has become a custom. The most surprising thing is that there is a Bengali doctor here, who is the son of a refugee family (not from Malkangiri) settled in Dandakaranya, who also practices that custom. If this is true, it is very sad. Due to these reasons, those who are a little compatible - even with common diseases - go to the neighboring states for better treatment.

The residents here are not particularly enthusiastic about politics. No one cares whether a party won the government or not. But since everyone is immersed in orthodox Hinduism, they shed tears at Ram Naam, so they prefer BJP. However, some clever people (including a small number of Bamun Kayats) - who do not support any party on the basis of any ideology - broker various parties only for temporary personal financial or other benefits, and manage to sway the votes of the villagers to a particular party. Malkangiri Assembly Constituency has earlier been BJP's Bengali MLA for two consecutive terms. The next time a Bengali Congress MLA was elected by a narrow margin. But this time the constituencies were redistributed by combining the neighboring constituencies of Balimela with many Bengali villages, leaving both the constituencies reserved for tribals. As a result, Bengalis had no chance to get nominated in those two seats. In the 2009 elections, the BJP won one seat and the BJD candidate won the other.

It is only natural that Malkangiri will also change as everything changes in the world in twenty-five long years. But the drastic change I have observed in the character of the people is surprising to me. The simplicity and honesty that I have seen among the people here, even in the midst of scarcity, I feel that the new generation lacks that simplicity and honesty.