Former Bangladesh enclave residents anxious over voter roll revision, fear loss of citizenship

Residents of former Bangladeshi enclaves in Cooch Behar, India, are deeply concerned about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, fearing they may lose their right to vote due to a lack of old Indian documents.

According to a report by The Telegraph India, many of these residents, who officially became Indian citizens under the 2015 Land Boundary Agreement (LBA), only possess documents issued after the merger.

Saddam Hossain, a man in his early 30s from Madhya Mashaldanga, one of the 51 former Bangladeshi enclaves, said, "Under the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) signed between India and Bangladesh, our enclaves became Indian villages. Our names were added to the electoral rolls as we, too, became Indian citizens. We were provided with other documents as well."

"Now, if we are asked to produce older Indian documents or the names of our parents from the 2002 electoral rolls… None of us has such records, since we were Bangladeshis at the time. This new exercise (SIR) has left all residents of the former enclaves worried," he added.

Under the LBA, 51 Bangladeshi enclaves merged with India at midnight on 31 July 2015, while 101 Indian enclaves became part of Bangladesh. Residents were given two choices: to remain where they were and accept the citizenship of the host country or return to their homeland.

None of the 16,000 Bangladeshis from the 51 enclaves opted to move to Bangladesh, whereas around 950 Indians living in Bangladeshi enclaves chose to return to India. Those who stayed were granted Indian citizenship, voter IDs, and other official documents.

"We have voter IDs, Aadhaar, PAN and ration cards, but all these were issued after July 2015," said Jainal Abedin, another resident of Madhya Mashaldanga. 

"We have been worried since the announcement of the SIR because all that we possess (from among the 11 categories of documents listed by the Election Commission) are old Bangladeshi documents relating to our ancestral land. We hope the Election Commission considers the LBA and our situation carefully."

Jainal also pointed out another issue: "Many women from these former enclaves have married and shifted to other villages. So, if the poll panel makes some concessions for the residents of the former enclaves, will those be extended to these women? If they are asked to produce old documents or their parents' names from the 2002 electoral rolls, they can't do so. Some had married before July 2015, when our enclaves merged with India. Their parents and relatives are equally worried."

Residents of Batrigach, another former enclave in Dinhata-I block, share similar fears. They recalled that a joint census had been carried out in 2011 by India and Bangladesh ahead of the LBA's implementation.

"A section of Batrigach residents had migrated to other (Indian) states to find work before 2011. Although they later received voter I-cards and other documents, their names do not appear in the joint census," said Raushan Sarkar, a local youth. "If the SIR considers the 2011 joint census, what will happen to these people?"

He added, "Some of us, especially the elderly, fear being pushed back into Bangladesh."

Trinamool Congress leaders in the district have echoed the residents' concerns. "The Election Commission recognises 11 types of documents as valid for SIR. However, most of the residents of these former enclaves possess none of these," said Parthapratim Roy, former MP and Trinamool spokesperson in the district. 

"The Election Commission should consider their case separately to shield them from harassment."

Meanwhile, a migrant workers' body, the Parijayee Shramik Aikya Manch (Migrant Labourer Unity Forum), has written to the Election Commission seeking special provisions for residents of these former enclaves.

The letter called for "special verification guidelines for the residents of the former enclaves, taking into account their unique historical and administrative circumstances," and urged the EC to "accept alternative documents - such as 2015 Land Boundary Agreement records, certificates issued by local administration, and panchayat residency proofs - as valid evidence of Indian citizenship."

It further appealed to the Commission to "ensure that no genuine Indian citizen is deprived of their constitutional right to vote due to the unavailability of old documents."

The letter also mentioned that some migrant workers from these areas were "allegedly harassed merely for speaking in Bengali in Delhi," stressing the persistent identity crisis a decade after the merger.