Would CAA have helped the victims of Sandeshkhali?

Horrifying allegations of socio-economic and sexual exploitation against local Trinamool leaders in Sandeshkhali have come out. The victims are mostly Hindus from Bangladesh with illegal citizenship status. Is it their status that helped in their victimisation? Would the CAA have helped?

People participate in a rally in support of Citizenship Amended Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Bhopal, January, 2020. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 19, 2024 11:10 IST

People in Sandeshkhali have been victims of socio-economic and sexual exploitation for years. If poverty was one reason, being Hindu refugees from Bangladesh was another.

Several pundits on social media questioned why the women of Sandehkhali didn’t speak out about the alleged sexual exploitation earlier.

“If you ask why have the villagers not raised their voices yet? I would say, many of these villagers, never enfranchised, may not have seen a voter card. Do you think they would know about your rights,” asked Bangla author Diptasya Jash, referring to the illegal citizenship status of the Hindu residents of Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas of West Bengal.

Diptasya Jash pointed out that many of these Hindu women in the Sundarbans might not even be legitimate citizens of India.

The women alleged that Trinamool Zila Parishad member Sheikh Shahjahan, along with his henchmen, encroached upon their land and sexually assaulted them. The BJP says that Sheikh Shahjahan created an army of Bangladeshi Muslim youths.

Women of Sandeshkhali have been seeing protesting since February 8. They were emboldened by Sheikh Shahjahan’s absence since the recent raid by the Enforcement Directorate on his premises.

WOULD CAA HAVE HELPED VICTIMS OF SANDESHKHALI?

BJP executive committee member Anirban Ganguly explained to IndiaToday.In how it was a pull and push factor at work for Bangladeshi immigrants. While Bangladeshi Muslims crossed over into India, attracted by economic prospects, the Hindus escaped into India due to religious persecution.

Would the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) have helped empower the Hindu victims of Sandeshkhali?

“The Citizenship Amendment Act will certainly help the persecuted Hindus, because West Bengal is their natural home,” an optimistic Anirban Ganguly told IndiaToday.In.

Ganguly also says that the other reason for not reporting to the police was the distrust for the force in Bengal. “A large section of the police on the ground and a section of officers at the top are subservient to the Trinamool leadership and function as Trinamool partymen,” said Anirban Ganguly.

The implementation of the CAA will benefit approximately 2-3 crore people in Bengal, author Diptasya Jash told IndiaToday.In.

HOW CAA WILL HELP PEOPLE IN BENGAL

The people who inhabit the Sundarban area predominantly belong to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, who might not have an idea of the social contract, ie, their relation with the state.

Thousands, if not lakhs of them have crossed over to India at different times, since the creation of East Pakistan, and later Bangladesh, according to Diptasya Jash.

Hindus and other minorities have long-faced religious persecution in Bangladesh.

It is these religious persecuted people that the CAA will grant Indian citizenship to. Those who have entered India on or before the cut-off date of December 31, 2014, will be eligible for Indian citizenship.

The CAA, after its parliamentary passage and presidential assent in 2019, still awaits implementation.

The law, when implemented, will grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants who faced religious persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

CAA BEFORE LOK SABHA POLLS, SAYS AMIT SHAH

“The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is a law of the country and its notification will definitely be issued. It will be issued before the polls. The CAA will be implemented before the elections. No one should have any confusion about it,” Home Minister Amit Shah said at the ET NOW Global Business Summit, on Saturday (February 10).

Months before the crucial Lok Sabha elections this year, the implementation of the CAA is being seen as an important pitch by the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).

Especially, West Bengal, which has been flagged by the BJP, as a state infested by illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

“A Bharatiya Janata Party government will pick up infiltrators one by one and throw them into the Bay of Bengal,” Home Minister Amit Shah said in 2019.

Whether the CAA is implemented in the coming days or not, the protests by the women of Sandeshkhali will surely ensure the voices of exploitation come out loud and be heard. But, after the Citizen Act gets to act, such voices will be emboldened against goons like Sheikh Shahjahan and the system of which they are an integral part.

Published By:

Sushim Mukul

Published On:

Feb 19, 2024

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