KOLKATA: Amid rumblings in former Bangladeshi enclaves in West Bengal, the Election Commission (EC) has decided to distribute enumeration forms marked with ‘Chhitmahal’ or ‘Enclaves’ status to thousands of enclave dwellers in Cooch Behar district during the ongoing SIR.
“Our names figured in the 2015 voter list when 51 Bangladeshi enclaves became Indian villages under the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) signed between India and Bangladesh the same year. We became the Indian citizens and close to 16,000 residents were recorded in the 51 enclaves during the LBA,” said Saddam Hossain, a resident of Puatur Kuthi enclave in Cooch Behar.
“How can we provide details of our Indian documents like Aadhaar or our parents’ names from the voter list of the last SIR in 2002? None of us had such records since we were Bangladeshis at that time,” he added.
“We have Aadhaar, PAN, voter IDs and ration cards, but all these documents were issued after July in 2015. But these are not valid enough for our Indian citizenship,” said Jainal Abedin of Madhya Masaldanga.
“Demanding inclusion of voters’ details from 2015 rolls, the residents of several enclaves have already sent back booth level officers (BLOs) engaged by the EC. With assurance of the commission we have decided to fill up enumeration forms, which are marked with ‘Chhitmahal’ and duly signed by BLOs during the exercise,” said Noor Nabi (26), a Toto operator of Masaldanga enclave.
“With instructions from the DEO office, we have assured the voters that enumeration forms would be marked with ‘Chhitmahal’ to avoid problems in inclusion of their names in the electoral rolls,” Susama Burman, a BLO said.
A new chapter
A special move for enclave residents: The EC has decided to distribute special enumeration forms marked ‘Chhitmahal’ (enclaves) in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district amid the SIR of electoral rolls that started on November 4
How it started: After the 2015 India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement, 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in Cooch Behar became Indian territory, granting citizenship to about 16,000 residents
Residents’ demand: Enclave dwellers have been demanding that 2015 electoral roll details—the year they were first recognised as Indian voters—be included in current SIR enumeration forms instead of outdated records from 2002
Cause for concern: Residents argue they lacked Indian identity documents before 2015, making older references invalid for updating their details in the voter list
Protest and resolution: Several residents initially refused to fill enumeration forms, sending back BLOs in protest; they resumed participation after ECI assured that forms would be marked ‘Chhitmahal’