Marichjhapi massacre

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Marichjhapi massacre (Bengali: মরিচঝাঁপি হত্যাকান্ড) refers to the forcible eviction of Bengali Hindu refugees and their subsequent death by starvation, exhaustion and police firing in the period between January to June, 1979. The Hindu refugees who had fled East Pakistan in the sixties, had settled in Dandakaranya. In the seventies, the Left Front leaders launched a campaign for the return of theBengali Hindu refugees to their native land. By April, 1978, around 30,000 Bengali Hindu refugees had settled in the island ofMarichjhapi in the Sundarbans. The Left Front government imposed economic sanctions on Marichjhapi and cordoned off the island with police. When the inhabitants tried to swim across to other islands, they were shot dead. Out of the 14,388 families that had settled in the island 4,128 died of starvation, exhaustion and police firing.

Contents

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• 1 Background
• 2 Events
• 3 Investigation
• 4 See also
• 5 References
• 6 Further reading

Background[edit]

During and after the 1964 East Pakistan genocide, thousands of Bengali Hindus fled to India, especially to the Indian state of West Bengal. The Government of West Bengal sought the help of the Government of India in the rehabilitation of the refugees, as West Bengal was already reeling under the pressure of population explosion. The latter arranged for the rehabilitation of the refugees to the forests of Dandakaranya, presently in the state of Chattisgarh. The Left Front leadership, who at the time were at the Opposition in West Bengal opposed the resettlement of the refugees in other states and claimed that West Bengal had adequate space and resources to accommodate the refugees.

Events[edit]

On 24 January 1979, the Government of West Bengal clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC around the island of Marichjhapi. The police and the district administration started an economic blockade. Thirty police launches started patrolling the island,^[1] preventing anyone from providing food or water to the residents of the island.

On 31 January, the police opened fire on the settlers of the island who refused to leave.^[2] The media were barred from entering the area on that day. It has been alleged that the police launches dumped the dead bodies in water, while many others drowned while they were trying to flee.^[2] The survivors were then sent back to Dandakaranya. Some of them were settled in Marichjhapi Colony near Barasat while others rehabilitated themselves in the shanties near railway tracks in Sealdah.^[3] Some of the survivors resettled themselves inHingalganj, Canning and nearby areas.^[4]

Investigation[edit]

In 2011, after the co-alition government of Trinamul Congress and Indian National Congress came to power in West Bengal, Adhir Chowdhury, the Congress MP from Berhampore demanded a high-level enquiry into the police firing at Marichjhapi.^[5]

See also[edit]

• 1964 East Pakistan genocide
• Marichjhapi

References[edit]

1. ^ Mallick, Ross (February 1999). "Refugee Resettlement in Forest Reserves: West Bengal Policy Reversal and the Marichjhapi Massacre". The Journal of Asian Studies (The Association for Asian Studies) 58 (1): 108. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
2. ^ ^a b "Controversies that dogged the pragmatic chief minister". The Telegraph. January 18, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
3. ^ Mitra, Sukumar (July 6, 2011). "গণহত্যার সুবিচার হবে!". The Sunday Indian. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
4. ^ Mitra, Shyamalendu (August 3, 2011). "তিন দশক পরে মরিচঝাঁপির ফাইল ফের খুলল রাজ্য". Anandabazar Patrika. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
5. ^ "Adhir demands inquiry into Marichjhapi killing". The Statesman. June 16, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2012.

Further reading