Trisha Ghosh, Pune
Many members of the Hindu community in Sandeshkhali, West Bengal, have made serious allegations of socio-economic and sexual exploitation against Trinamool leaders. In particular, Hindu women in Sandeshkhali have been protesting the alleged injustices since February 8th.
The women have accused a member of the Trinamool Zila Parishad, Sheikh Shahjahan, of sexual assault and misconduct. Shahjahan’s premises have recently been raided by the Enforcement Directorate. The women in question have taken this opportunity to start protesting against the alleged abuse in his absence.
As a whole, the people of Sandeshkhali have been reportedly undergoing exploitation on various levels. This is particularly true of the large community of illegal Hindu migrants from Bangladesh present there. Several public figures, including pundits on social media, have questioned why people have never spoken up about these allegations earlier.
In answer to this, Bengali author Diptasya Jash has said, “If you ask, why have the villagers not raised their voices yet? I would say that many of these villagers, never enfranchised, may not have seen a voter card.” Poverty has endured in the Sandeshkhali region for years now, resulting in a large population that does not have adequate knowledge of their legal rights.
This is compounded by the fact that many of the aforementioned Hindus have illegal citizenship status. They are also often part of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
Anirban Ganguly, a member of the BJP executive committee, told India Today that Bangladeshi Hindus routinely face religious persecution in their home country. This often culminates in them crossing the border illegally into India. Bangladeshi Muslims migrate as well, but solely in search of better work opportunities.
Ganguly has suggested that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would be instrumental in empowering Sandeshkhali Hindus. “The Citizenship Amendment Act will certainly help the persecuted Hindus, because West Bengal is their natural home,” he said.
In addition, it is highly likely that the victims did not report these alleged offenses to the local police due to a lack of trust. According to Ganguly, a large chunk of the police and officers are allied with the Trinamool Party and work alongside their interests. As such, utilising the CAA may be beneficial for as many as 2 to 3 crore people in West Bengal.
If implemented, the CAA will grant citizenship status to non-Muslim people who have illegally migrated to India from Bangladesh, as well as from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Those who entered India on or before the date of December 31st, 2014 are eligible to receive citizenship rights.
For now, months prior to the Lok Sabha elections, the CAA is being viewed as an important part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign. “The CAA will be implemented before the elections. No one should have any confusion about it,” said Home Minister Amit Shah.