In A Migratory State

A long with its luscious mangoes, human capital is also a highly exportable commodity in this district of West Bengal. 바카라�You will not find a single household in the district which doesn바카라�t have at least one member who has migrated to another state for livelihood,바카라� says Abdul Matin, a neighbour of Mohammad Afrazul, the migrant lab­ourer from Malda, who was butchered, then burnt to death in Rajasthan. Matin, 41, who has been working as an 바카라�agent바카라� who supplies workers from the district since he was 17, explains, 바카라�There are no jobs in Malda. The district doesn바카라�t have any industries and unlike other districts in West Bengal, agriculture is not an option either.바카라�

Not part of the rice bowl of Bengal and with few cultivatable fields, Malda is known for its mango and lichi groves, but which can only employ a limited number of people. A 173-km long border with East Pakistan/Bangladesh was, according to local administrators, one of the worst aff­ected regions in Bengal in terms of refugee influx at the time of Partition and later during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. 바카라�Malda is still reeling under that weight of the influx of refugees,바카라� says a politician who doesn바카라�t see any easy sol­ution to this 바카라�chronic problem바카라�. He cla­ims that 바카라�Malda has resisted traditional attempts at development because of several factors.바카라� These include proximity to the border, which makes it a hub of smu­ggling and other cross-border crimes like human trafficking, money-­laundering and unchecked infiltration. The illegal job market is a thriving parallel economy in Malda, which in 2015 was declared by the National Invest­igative Agency as the main centre of the illicit currency racket in the country, acc­ount­ing for a staggering 90 per cent of India바카라�s fake currency. A mia­­sma of illegality seems to have spread and disabled, or infected, other economic activity.

바카라�There is no denying that there is a politician-police-criminal nexus, which is too deep-rooted to be shaken up,바카라� the politician admits. 바카라�Even if we want to make an honest attempt to 바카라�clean up바카라� Malda, we face stiff resistance.바카라� The formidable Congress leader and MP from Malda, the late A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chowdhury, was relentless in his efforts for the development of Malda. When he became the Union Railways minister, he established the Malda Town station. 바카라�He tried to turn the region into an important port of trade by improving rail connectivity, but it was an uphill task, even for a leader like him. It fizzled out after his death,바카라� says the politician. Malda바카라�s old industries, jute and silk, would have yielded revenue and created jobs if it had not been gradually corralled away since Independence by powerful traders with links to the black markets. 바카라�The employment scenario is very bleak. The resultant poverty drives youth either into joining, or being dragged into, crime or to flee to other cities and states with a demand for cheap, unskilled labour. That바카라�s their only escape,바카라� says a local resident.

Mohammad Afrazul, who was killed in Rajasthan바카라�s Rajsamand on December 6, was one such escapee. All that the father of three doting daughters wanted to do, say relatives and neighbours, was to ensure that his wife and children didn바카라�t go hungry, to secure for them a 바카라�respectable바카라� life. A dung-splattered narrow alley lined by cowsheds leads to a tiny brick house in the decaying town of Jallalpur. His wife, three daughters and sisters are huddled on the bed, their eyes puffy from weeping and lack of sleep. 바카라�He used to come home regularly, because he couldn바카라�t bear to be away from his daughters for long,바카라� says Gul Bahar Bibi, his wife, in a faint, barely audible voice. 바카라�They are all hoarse from screaming and crying,바카라� explains one of the many neighbours who have been keeping watch over them since news of Afrazul바카라�s death arrived. Gul Bahar continues as tho­­ugh in a trance, 바카라�We don바카라�t have a son, so he was the only bread-winner. But now I thank Allah that we don바카라�t, as I would have had to send him to a distant land and who knows what would have happened.바카라� She breaks down again. Her eldest daughter, Jyotsna Bibi, 26, looks dazed as she consoles her. Her husband too works in Rajasthan. 바카라�I spoke to him and he told me he doesn바카라�t want to live there anymore. I have two small children. I don바카라�t know what will happen to them if anything happens to him.바카라�

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has assured the family of a government job and has provided a Rs 3 lakh compensation package. The state government, which sent its representatives to the family after the incident, has apparently assured locals that 바카라�Bengal has a place for everyone바카라�. According to Moha­mmad Rahman, a local strongman, this has allayed fears in Malda바카라�s families that if there is a reverse exodus of Malda바카라�s men from Rajasthan and Gujarat, where communal violence is rife, they will not be unwelcome at home. 바카라�In West Bengal, minorities are treated very well. It is a shame that the state doesn바카라�t have enough jobs. Otherwise no one from our community would leave,바카라� says Rahman.

However, Rahman points out that 바카라�it is highly unlikely that everyone would want to come back to Malda. Where is the money? While dignity and safety is important, one cannot survive on that alone. Everyone needs a livelihood.바카라� He further notes, 바카라�The initial scare triggered by the incident has now died down considerably. When the video of the ghastly murder went viral, everyone panicked. Some imm­ediately boarded trains back home. Others couldn바카라�t get tickets, but are now on waiting lists. A few decided to wait and watch.바카라� He says that since the incident, and 바카라�possibly inspired by Mamata Banerjee바카라�s gesture,바카라� the Rajasthan government too has provided compensation to the victim바카라�s fam­ily and has reassured the community that they are safe in the state. So, he hints, people are likely to regard the incident as an aberration. 바카라�I have friends working in Rajasthan who were thinking of taking the next train home, but are now less worried.바카라� Rahman also claims that he has heard from acquaintances in Raj­asthan that the 바카라�incident was related to money, and that it was not a communal incident related to love-jehad, as proj­ected.바카라� He adds, 바카라�Afrazul was a committed man who loved his wife and daughters and he wouldn바카라�t cheat. Some people told me that after the man바카라�Shambhulal Regar바카라�committed the murder he tried to turn it into a communal killing, thinking that he would get the support of some Hindutva groups. So he posted the video.바카라�

Such explanations provide an uneasy comfort to some. 바카라� I am trying to convince myself of such stories,바카라� says ano­­­ther con­struction labourer from Malda who wat­ched the video, packed his belongings and left Rajasthan. 바카라�I was earning Rs 400 a day and was trying to move up in life. I was thinking of moving my wife and children to Raj­asthan,바카라� he says. 바카라�I definitely will not do that. But I will go back. After being here since the incident has occurred, I realise there is nothing to do in Malda.바카라� From the parched frying pan in Malda to an ever-­lurking communal fire in Rajasthan is a journey they are condemned to make.

By Dola Mitra in Malda