Part one of two part articles on recent trip to Dhubri in Assam
By M. Reyaz, TwoCircles.net,
In discussions on ‘migration’ and Bengali Muslims facing brunt of having come ‘illegally’ from Bangladesh, their defenders often talk of the historical pattern of migrations and that of Bengali migrants from undivided India allowed to settle in chars (river basins). Recent studies show that the erosion and shifting course of river Brahmaputra has gobbled 4000 sq km of land, thus engulfing about 2500 villages, according to one estimate. Over 5 million populations have been internally displaced according to these estimates.
On a recent trip to Assam, this reporter visited Dhubri, one of the bordering districts of Assam with West Bengal on one side and Bangladesh on the other, and with 76% Muslim population. Clearly the district is one of the most backward districts, not only in the state, but in whole country.
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Local mandi at Bilasipara
What struck me most in poorer regions of Assam was abject poverty. This was more prevalent in places like Dhubri. It was like village after villages, you hardly see any concrete houses. As if the ‘poor neighbourhood’ slums of labourers, rickshaw pullers, poor farmers, do not seem to end.
Dhubri has mostly been part of Bengal in history until 1874, the British Government created a new province named Assam Valley Province and incorporated Goalpara district area comprising three civil subdivisions Dhubri, Goalpara and Kokrajhar with the new Assam Province.
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Outside the home of Phool Bano in Hatikota village, near Bilasipara.
On way to chars in Dhubri, we stopped at Hatikota village near Bilasipara. Parts of the dry land, I am told once used to be part of a stream that connected with the river Brahmaputra. It has now dried though.
Phool Bano, 30 is married with five sons and two daughters. Her husband pulls carts, while she works in fields. Most villagers work in fields, or earth cutting, or pull rickshaws in nearby urban settlements and earn an average of Rs 100 to 150. Driven by poverty, men from some families have migrated to other bigger towns.
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Probe them little and they begin narrating their problems. There is anger, but also helplessness.
Each couple had several children, most of whom do not even go to schools. Mid day meal seemed to be working in drawing some students to schools. Often, school uniforms were the only proper piece of cloths, little children seem to have.
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What future these children can have?
We did a random survey asking about job cards, women commission, minority commission, NREGA, etc – all those flagship welfare schemes. Most appeared blank. Even those who knew about job cards claimed local Panchayat leaders demand some money. Negligible number had it.
(Part II will be published on Saturday)
