Celebration Or Despair? The Confusion Over CAA In Bengal

BONGAON, West Bengal - On April 7, the modest house of Mridulal Mandal at Kaya village in West Bengal’s North 24-Parganas district had over 150 guests. None of them had any blood or marital relation with the Mandals. They had come to attend the annual fair of the Matua religious sect at Thakurnagar, about 3km from Kaya, and spent the night at Mandal’s place. They had simple vegetarian meals.

“Our connection is greater than blood relations. We are followers of the same path,” said Mandal with a hearty smile, speaking of his guests.

It is common among the Matua community members living in and around Thakurnagar, the headquarters of the Matua sect in India, to host pilgrims coming from faraway districts, and even states, on the occasion of Baruni Fair, which commenced on April 6 this year. A few lakh people gather on this occasion. The community is made entirely of migrants from Bangladesh.

Despite the sense of unity that such a practice of communal hosting reflects, a division became clear the moment the issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the Rules of which were notified on March 11, was broached.

“We need the CAA. We need watertight citizenship. We have been homeless once, we don’t want to be homeless again,” said Madhusudan Mallick, one of the guests.

Mallick and others who stayed at Mandal’s place had come from Durgapur in Paschim Bardhaman district, about 180 km west of Thakurnagar.

The host differed, saying that the CAA would land the community in even greater trouble, as people could end up losing all the benefits they have been receiving as citizens.

“First, how does one submit proof of past residence in Bangladesh? Who has it? And second, the application under the law requires declaring oneself an illegal immigrant. What happens if the application is rejected? There is no mention of any remedy or scope for appeal once an application has been rejected,” said Mandal.

He demanded that the government should declare everyone having a Voter ID as a bona fide Indian citizen. That would solve all the problems.

The debate gradually got more intense, as it has usually been going in West Bengal’s Bangladesh-bordering districts of North 24-Parganas and Nadia since the Rules of the CAA were notified on March 11.

Soon, the whole gathering appeared divided, some favouring the law while others preferring to ignore it.

The CAA was passed in November 2019 but had not been implemented as the rules had not been framed. The legislation had drawn widespread criticism for discriminating on the basis of religion. It offers citizenship only to six minority communities from the Muslim-majority countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan – Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians.

The Matuas have been the biggest votaries of the CAA, as most of them have obtained their Indian documents through illegal means. Most of the Matuas belong to the Namasudra community, a Scheduled Caste (SC) group which has its origin in eastern Bengal.

In 1901, they were the largest scheduled caste group in eastern Bengal, with no presence in western Bengal or Assam. A century later, they were the second-largest SC group in West Bengal, making up 4% of the state’s population (32.12 lakh), as well as Assam, where they numbered 5.55 lakh or 2% of the state population, according to the Census of 2001.

They started migrating from East Pakistan to West Bengal and Assam in the 1950s, mostly due to persecution by Muslim communal elements. However, the vast majority of them came during or after the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

In 2019, they overwhelmingly welcomed the passage of the CAA. But the rules have left many of them upset, aggrieved and anxious. At Mandal’s residence, the host and some of the guests stood poles apart.

“We have Voter ID, Aadhaar, PAN, ration card…everything. What more document does one need to prove citizenship?” asked Hareram Sarkar, one of the guests. “Why should we proactively declare ourselves as illegal migrants?”

Someone from the gathering contested. “If these are enough proof of citizenship, why are people from Matua-concentrated areas asked to produce pre-1971 documents during police verification for passports?” he asked.

Mallick chipped in, saying that a full-proof citizenship document would also be required if the government carries out a citizenship screening exercise styled after Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC).

However, he fumbled when someone asked him if he had any documents to prove his or his parents’ past connections with Bangladesh. He did not. “How would you apply then?” asked someone from the gathering. Mallick said he hoped the BJP leaders would find a way.

The Devil Is In The Process

It is the BJP’s promise of a citizenship natuaralising law for persecuted minorities (read Hindus) from Bangladesh that helped them sweep the Matua-concentrated pockets in Nadia and North 24-Parganas district of West Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha election as well as the 2021 assembly election.

The BJP’s Bongaon MP, Shantanu Thakur, is the junior Union minister for shipping.

While many Matuas believe what they have got is far from what they wanted, the hope of others that the BJP would find a way may not be unfounded. A “simplification process” has already started at the home ministry level.

Under the CAA rules, District Level Committees formed for this purpose will screen online applications for citizenship and forward them to an Empowered Committee, which will take the final call on granting citizenship.

The applicants need to furnish five documents: 1) proof of the country of origin, 2) proof of having entered India before the cut-off date of December 31, 2014, 3) an affidavit declaring oneself as a foreign national seeking Indian citizenship, 4) an “eligibility certificate” from “a locally reputed community institution” certifying one’s religion, 5) and a copy of parents’ passport or birth certificate as evidence of the date of birth of the parents.

The second document is not a matter of difficulty, as most of the Matua community members have several of the required documents to prove presence in India before 2014 – Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID, school certificate, bank account, driving license, land or tenancy record, and ration card.

But to meet the first requirement, one has to submit any of the nine documents issued by a government authority or agency in Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan that will establish that the applicant is from that country.

It can be a copy of the passport, birth certificate, educational certificate, identity document, license, land or tenancy records, or registration certificate or residential permit issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) or Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO) in India, or “any document showing either of the parents or grandparents or great grandparents of the applicant is or had been a citizen of one of the three countries.”

BOOM’s visit to Thakurnagar and its neighbourhood revealed most people did not have any proof of their or their parents’ past life in Bangladesh.

The third requirement of self-declaration as a foreign national is a matter of concern to many. Confusion galore over what the fourth requirement – an eligibility certificate on religious faith from “a locally reputed community institution” means, as the rules do not define them.

The fifth requirement, evidence of parents’ date of birth, is another headache. The rules say that in case of non-availability of the passport of mother/ father, the birth certificate of the applicant “clearly indicating the name, address and nationality of mother/ father” will do. However, many do not have these documents either.

According to caste researcher Ayan Guha, a British Academy International Fellow at the School of Global Studies, University of Sussex, UK, the process of verification of documents is a bit opaque.

“The empowered committee set up for verification of application and the documentary proofs in support of nationality and date of entry into India is supposed to seek the assistance of intelligence agencies to ascertain the authenticity of documents. This brings in subjective assessment into the entire endeavour,” said Guha, author of the 2022 book, The Curious Trajectory of Caste in West Bengal Politics: Chronicling Continuity and Change.

He thinks the problem stems from the fact that the documents in support of the original nationality are documents issued by foreign governments and there appears to be no other alternative but to rely on the assessments of intelligence agencies. “For intelligence agencies too it will be a tough ask to gather information about each applicant from countries that are not on good terms with the Indian government,” he said.

Guha feels that since most of the proposed beneficiaries do not have these documents, the Namasaudra community’s demand for a waiver of documentary proofs is justified and “the right way to benefit the expected beneficiaries at the moment.”

Preferential Treatment

That waiver is likely coming but it will also bring along a greater scope for subjective bias in considering applications.

When the online portal for applications first started accepting applications, many could not complete the process because the 5th step required uploading documents related to the country of origin.

The Shantanu Thakur-led faction of the Matua Mahasangha – the highest religious body of the sect – took up the matter with the Union home ministry, following which the process was changed. A new option was added at the fifth step that allows the applicant to say she/she would submit the documents during physical verification before the District Level Committee.

According to a senior leader of the pro-BJP faction of the Matua Mahasangha, another exception would likely be made for the physical verification process.

“One may submit before the district-level committee that all documents related to the country of origin have been lost. They may register a diary with any police station reporting the loss and a copy of that diary may be treated as an alternative to the document,” said the leader.

He added that rules, once notified, are difficult to change. "But they can be simplified by adding exceptions or options. This is exactly what would be done and the District Level Committee and the Empowered Committee will consider the applications on a case-to-case basis,” he said.

This is where the scope for preferential treatment of applications increases, alleged TMC leaders. “This will lead to corruption and people would be left at the mercy of bureaucrats and members of such committees. Matuas will end up as victims of extortion,” alleged Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Mamata Thakur, who heads the other faction of the Matua Mahasangha.

“We are demanding unconditional citizenship. This is a farce,” she alleged.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has criticised the CAA rules, saying it is a “trap” that will take away whatever the refugees have. Everybody on the voter list is citizens and she will protect everyone’s rights, she said. He warned Matuas against applying.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people to trust him. “The TMC and the Left are intimidating people and might resort to undemocratic means to stop the implementation of the CAA,” he said from a rally in Cooch Behar of northern West Bengal on April 5.

“It is ‘Modi ki guarantee’ to provide citizenship to all those who have faith in Mother India,” he said, adding, “You can rely on me.”

However, in less than 24 hours since Modi’s remarks, Shantanu Thakur’s remarks spread the confusion only further. In a video clip that went viral on social media platforms, Thakur is seen addressing an election rally and telling people that no TMC supporter would get citizenship.

“You’ll give a self-declaration and, at the time of physical verification, pay a visit to us, we will guide you on where to send people and how to get it done. I am not telling you those things now,” he was heard saying.

He went on to add, “Don’t allow any TMC people any chance. We will not grant citizenship to a single person belonging to the TMC. Let Mamata Banerjee save them.”

According to the TMC’s Bongaon candidate, Biswajit Das, the minister’s words have only proved their point that the mechanism is flawed, with serious scope for preferential treatment and corruption.

“The main reason people want full-proof citizenship is the harassment they face during police verification for passport applications. It is the Union government’s inimical attitude towards refugees that is the prime cause of panic over citizenship among the Matuas,” he told BOOM.

Thakur has made a range of comments assuring people. He claimed that anyone holding a membership card of All India Matua Mahasangha helmed by him would get citizenship.

This announcement led to serpentine queues outside the Mahasangha’s office on the campus of his residence to get those membership cards. The Mahasangha issued these cars for Rs 80 each. TMC leaders, however, claimed that this card can at the most fulfill the criteria of a certificate from a “locally reputed community institution” as proof of religion.

Complicating matters for the BJP, a prominent leader of the community, the BJP’s sitting MLA Mukutmoni Adhikari, switched over to the TMC and bagged the TMC’s nomination for Ranaghat Lok Sabha, where the BJP has renominated the incumbent, Jagannath Sarkar.

Along with Adhikary, a group of Nadia district leaders of the Matua Mahasangha’s Shantanu Thakur faction have also started campaigning against the CAA rules.

“Minimal documents have been sought as a formality. The TMC is trying to mislead people but no Matuas will be deprived of citizenship even if they fail to produce documents,” Sarkar asserts.

Mahitosh Bidya, the general secretary of the pro-BJP faction of Matua Mahasangha, said that he expects some people to get citizenship certificates before the elections. "Earlier people could not complete the application because of the need to upload documents related to their country of origin. Now that it has been bypassed, people have started applying. We are planning to operate some assistance camps to expedite the process," he said.