ছিপাঝাৰৰ ধলপুৰৰ উচ্ছেদ: সমাজকৰ্মী দলৰ ক্ষেত্ৰ অধ্যয়ন প্ৰতিবেদন

ভূমি বেদখল, উচ্ছেদিত লোকৰ অধিকাৰ-সংস্থাপন আদি বিষয়ৰ ক্ষেত্ৰভিত্তিক অনুসন্ধান - --উচ্ছেদিত লোকৰ অধিকাৰ-সংস্থাপন আদি বিষয়ৰ ক্ষেত্ৰভিত্তিক অধ্য...

ভূমি বেদখল, উচ্ছেদিত লোকৰ অধিকাৰ-সংস্থাপন আদি বিষয়ৰ ক্ষেত্ৰভিত্তিক অনুসন্ধান

---উচ্ছেদিত লোকৰ অধিকাৰ-সংস্থাপন আদি বিষয়ৰ ক্ষেত্ৰভিত্তিক অধ্যয়ণকাৰী দলত আছিল মানৱ অধিকিাৰ কৰ্মী, সামাজিক কৰ্মী, অধিবক্তা আদি

প্ৰতিবেদন: 

এফালে ক'ভিড মহামাৰীৰ ব‌বে মানুহক ঘৰত সোমাই থকাৰ নিৰ্দেশ চৰকাৰৰ, আনপিনে একেই চৰকাৰে  বিকল্প সংস্থাপন অবিহনে এফালৰ পৰা  উচ্ছেদ কৰি গৈছে। মহানগৰী হওক বা চৰ-চাপৰি হওক... কৰি গৈছে উচ্ছেদ...  দৰং জিলাৰ ছিপাঝাৰৰ ধলপুৰত ৭ জুন, ২০২১ তাৰিখে প্ৰশাসনে চলোৱা উচ্ছেদ আৰু ভূমি বেদখল, উচ্ছেদিত লোকৰ অধিকাৰ-সংস্থাপন আদি বিষয়ৰ ক্ষেত্ৰভিত্তিক অনুসন্ধান কৰিছিল এটি সমাজকৰ্মী গোটে। ছিপাঝাৰৰ অন্তৰ্গত ধলপুৰ ৩-ৰ উচ্ছেদ সম্পৰ্কীয় ক্ষেত্ৰ অধ্যয়ণকাৰী দলত আছিল মানৱ অধিকিাৰ কৰ্মী, সামাজিক কৰ্মী, অধিবক্তা আদি। 

অনুসন্ধানকাৰী (Fact Finding  Team) দলটোৰ সদস্য সকল আছিল--'Anti Eviction Forum'-ৰ পৰা পূজা নিৰালা, মেহজেবিন ৰহমান, কাশ্যপ চৌধুৰী, প্ৰসুন গোস্বামী আৰু 'Human Rights Law Network'-ৰ পৰা সৌৰদীপ দে। দলটোৰ সহযোগী আছিল: স্থানীয় যুৱক-ছাদ্দাম হুছেইন আৰু মোজাম্মিল হক। দলটোয়ে ক্ষেত্ৰ অধ্যয়নৰ পিছত যুগুত কৰিছিল এই প্ৰতিবেদন:

Findings of the fact-finding committee on Dhalpur Eviction

Fact Finding  Team: Mehzeibin Rehman (Social Activist), Pooja Nirala (Social Activist), Kashyap Choudhury (Social Activist), Souradeep Dey (Lawyer, HRLN) and Prasun Goswami ( Human Rights Activist)

Dhalpur is a village situated in the Char-Chapori area (area flooded by river) in Sipajhar of Darrang district in Assam. The area is mostly inhabited by Miya-Bengali speaking Muslim population, In the evening of 6th June, 2021, 49 families residing in the area received a notice to vacate their houses as soon as possible. The very next day the district administration approached the area with JCB excavator and evicted all the 49 households and marked them out of a boundary allegedly belonging to the Dhalpur Temple. The eviction was carried out under the supervision of SP, Sushanta Biswa Sharma, biological brother of the seating CM of Assam. All these happened when the country is combating the second wave of Corona and after the Honourable High Court had directed that no eviction can be made during the time of pandemic.

We visited the region as a part of an independent fact-finding committee to unearth the facts which were otherwise not reported by any media house. 

The version of the villagers

As we approached the evicted families, 45-year-old Reshma Khatun (name changed) narrated that on the very day as she saw her home being demolished by the JCB excavator, she somehow managed to run away with her goats. She bruised her leg and it took ten stitches to repair the wound. As she was out of money, she had to sell one of her goats to manage a sum of three thousand Rs which she has spent on her first aid. She was also advised to take an injection worth two hundred Rs but she denied as that was out of her budget. Presently she is distressed as she is overthrown of her agricultural land.

As we called the victims for a meeting, all of them walked to the venue holding plastic bags containing their Voter ID cards, NRC papers and revenue receipts of the lands they were dwelling in.

The epicenter of the conflict

The villagers had settled in that part of land back in early 80s. There were three Hindu families among them and others belong to Miya-Bengali speaking community. The members of the Hindu families had established a temple there. Out of the three Hindu families, two have migrated to nearby villages in the early 2000s and the remaining family of Karna Das took care of the temple. 

The temple evolved over time and eventually a committee to take care of the temple was formed. After the advent of BJP Government in Assam at the year 2016, conflict developed between the temple authorities and the villagers. The temple authorities claimed that around 180 Bighas of agricultural land in Dhalpur belonged to the temple and hence the Muslim families residing in that 180 Bighas should vacate their lands.

Since the year 2016, the villagers have been evicted for three times, first in November 2016, second in January 2021 and for the third time in June, 2021. The conflict between both the groups have intensified over the time and as a part of settlement a boundary of the temple land (120 Bighas) was marked by the Circle Officer in the presence of villagers (as informed to us, no documentation was done of the process) in the year 2016. After being evicted for the second time in January, 2021, the villagers were consoled by the SP with assurance of rehabilitation. But then again, they are evicted for the third time recently. 

After Himanta Biswa Sharma sworn in as the CM of Assam, the temple authorities intensified their demand of allocation of 180 Bighas of agricultural land to the temple and eviction of the intruders. 

On 7th June the eviction happened, a new boundary for the temple land including the lands of the 49 families have been drawn, 49 families thrown out of the boundary and on 8th June a meeting was conducted on the site of Dhalpur Temple by the seating CM. The highlights of the meeting were that the Assam Government will intensify its drive against encroachment, it has demolished 74 homes in Hojai district of Assam and it has ‘freed’ 120 Bighas of land to be allotted to the Dhalpur Temple (not once did he mention that by the word ‘freed’ he meant eviction of 49 homes for the third time in a row).

The spectrum of the victims

Along with the Muslim families who lost their lands to the temple, Parvati Das, wife of Late. Kanak Das, caretaker of the temple also lost her land in the eviction process. Kanak Das was the first care taker of this temple and had migrated to the region in early 80s. 

The version of the temple authorities

We met Mr. Dharmakanta Nath, secretary of the Temple association. He has informed us that the temple is present in the region from the times of Narakasur (some mythological creature). The temple doesn’t have any paper to substantiate its claim over 180 Bighas of land and he produced a pamphlet to us claiming the authority over the land. He said, “Miyas have been eyeing our temple for a long time now and hence they need to be evicted. They (referring to the minorities) have encroached our lands and now they have audacity to say that they will approach high court. The Government is with us and I will request you all not to interfere in this dispute. The temple will no way leave its land to the Miyas.” As we were heading back to our vehicle, he said, “All of you look so anti-Modi”.

Findings of the fact-finding committee 

The independent fact-finding committee consists of Mehzeibin Rehman (activist), Pooja Nirala (activist), Kashyap Choudhury,  Souradeep Dey (Lawyer, HRLN) and Prasun Goswami. The independent fact-finding committee were assisted by the local AAMSU and KMSS activists. Investigation shows that the 49 evicted families have been living there for more than 40 years now. They must have shifted to this place after the Assam agitation in 1983. As per the present narratives of the dwellers, the temple was built in the year 1984 and Kanak Das was appointed as the caretaker of the temple. For decades the communities over there have lived in harmony.

After 2016, a sudden urge of land grabbing has been instilled in the temple authorities. Even though the communities over there had no problem in the temple being allotted lands in the region, the temple authorities have been eyeing the fertile lands so that they can generate income by offering the land over contract (the temple is practicing it presently and wants to amplify its income generation). 

A sharp rise of anti-sentiments against each other have been noted in both the communities. 

It is also to be noted that in the second week of June (after the eviction), the State Government of Assam had a Cabinet meeting where it has decide that, “With a view to utilize 77 thousand bighas of Government land freed from encroachers at Gorukhuti, Sipajhar in Darrang for agricultural purposes, a committee is formed under chairmanship of MLA Padma Hazarika, MP Dilip Saikia, MLAs Mrinal Saikia and Parmananda Rajbangshi will be other members of the Committee while Secretary and Director, Agriculture Vinod Seshan will act as Member Secretary.”

It is now crystal clear that to unleash its pro-corporate agendas in terms of the Farm Bills, the BJP Government in the state have been playing a shrewd communal agenda to divide the people. Attaching the sentiments of a temple will enable the State Government to generate support of the majority in the state which will smoothen its facilitation of corporate loot in terms of evicting the Muslim dwellers of the Char-Chapori region and then handing over them to the corporates. 

This eviction was very cunningly carried by the State Government without any hue or cry in the media. It was presented as allocation of land to a temple whereas the eviction part was totally covered. This issue lays as a dangerous communal bomb which upon exploding may cause communal riots in the state. 

The only way out of it is a long legal battle. As informed to us the Minority dwellers of the region have formed an anti-eviction font and is planning to register a case in the High Court. 

While the country is witnessing new lows in terms of Islamophobia, this eviction adds one more feather to it. 

[The views expressed in this report is committee's views, it may not in any way represent of versatile story.]