CAA ‘Jumla’: Bengal BJP Contesting Candidate, Too, Caught In Maze Of Documents

“They have fooled us and we have allowed them to…” said Biswajit Bain, one of the Matuas in West Bengal’s Bongaon in North 24 Paraganas district, three weeks after CAA became the law of the land. In the state of West Bengal, principally to the people belonging to Matua community, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has been an emotive issue, clinging on which the marginalised Hindu community that had migrated from Bangladesh during the Liberation war and even after that, had hoped for citizenship to satiate their existential dilemma. Matuas are mostly Namasudras, with a strong strength of 3 crore population in West Bengal alone and enjoys influence over 60 assembly constituencies in the state. The Matua community has been divided over the need for fresh citizenship on the basis of the political debate that ensued between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bhartiya Janata Party that had promised CAA in their 2019 election manifesto. Both parties had triedpl patronising this strong vote bank. But after the CAA rules were commissioned, finally making it a law of the land, there has been an all encompassing euphoria amongst the Matua community but sadly that didn’t last for even a fortnight.

CAA Rule Book

CAA rules have mandated submission of documents to prove the applicants tangible link with the country they originally belonged to. The rule books also demands the proof of nationality of the parents of the applicant. For example, the applicant can give copy of his parents’ passport or any document that proves their date of birth but in case the applicant lacks such a document then the birth certificate of the applicant which clearly mentions the name of the mother and the father, becomes a must.

Story of a BJP Contesting Candidate

“We came from Bangladesh under trying times. We somehow saved our lives and came to India. We had entered into India illegally and had we deposed ourselves before the police then, there was no guarantee that we wouldn’t be deported back to Bangladesh. We didn’t have our own birth certificate, how can they even think we will have birth certificate of our parents who were born in a different era all together, where hospital births were a luxury and the society had no birth certificate culture. This is hilarious but I am sorry, it feels like we have been played around”, said Suman Kanti Biswas, 48, a BJP worker and also a contesting candidate of the party in the 2023 Panchayat elections in West Bengal. A resident of Uttar Simulpara in North 24 Paraganas, Biswas isn’t the only one who is caught in this maze of documents that they don’t possess. Biswas has all Indian credentials including a passport. He has been a voter for over two decades now. He also has the Aadhaar card which is linked to his bank accounts and everywhere else needed. But he was one of the first few who had tried applying for CAA on the government portal. “We went to a nearby cyber cafe and after multiple attempts we could finally make some progress on the website. But the website wanted documents showing my relation with Bangladesh. I had to retreat from there and never submitted the final application. I feel like asking they who designed the rules, if they have the birth certificate of their parents and if this was a brutal joke to our emotions”, added Biswas.

Disgust and Dismay

An ardent follower of BJP MP Santanu Thakur who is also the dynast of the holy Harichand Thakur family, Biswas and several other BJP workers from the Bongaon region expressed dismay at the conspicuous silence from their member of parliament who rode to success playing the CAA card. “We had approached the MP. But the MP asked us to stay quiet for now. He said the rules were framed by a non-Bengali and thus the Matua interests are skipped. He told us to stay silent now and he would do something afterwards, what he never said much”, said Sachindra Mondal. Mondal was one of the many protesters who had participated in rallies demanding CAA. “We understand without verification nothing can happen. One has to prove whether I am a Matua from Bangladesh or any other illegal migrant from another nation trying to take advantage of CAA. If verification is unavoidable then why was this CAA carrot dangled before us for this long. We have all Indian credentials and might as well start feeling like complete citizen of India”, Mondal added with a sense of disgust on his face.

“BJP leaders told us we will be given citizenship card under CAA and that will be the number one proof of being an Indian. I have my passport too. Others have faced a challenge in getting their passport done. According to our BJP leaders, if we have the CAA card then no one will be able to throw us out from India, ever. But after seeing the rules I will not apply for CAA anymore. I am happy with the Indian documents. Let me see how they throw me out. If I have to be deported then Santanu Thakur too has to be deported”, said Mahua Mondal, another resident of Bongaon and a BJP worker. She enjoys every social security schemes including free ration and wonders if applying for CAA will bring any temporary halt to those services.

Citizenship Amendment Act (2019) that ensures citizenship to people from three specific countries- Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan and only to people belonging to six religions excluding Islam, had been at the heart of the political debate even before the bill was passed in December 2019. Four years later, on March 11, 2024, the rules of CAA were finally commissioned by Union Ministry of Home Affairs. And the debate continues, this time it’s both political and social.