UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM OF RAJBANSHI SPEAKING PEOPLE OF NORTH BENGAL, ASSAM AND THEIR ADJOINING AREAS

UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM OF RAJBANSHI SPEAKING PEOPLE OF NORTH BENGAL, ASSAM AND THEIR ADJOINING AREAS

While they are still a majority in rural areas but in urban areas, presence of Rajbanshi speaking ethnic population of present day North Bengal, Assam and its adjoining states in India are very low. In whatever number, their presence in the towns or cities like Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Raiganj, Maldah etc. in North Bengal and Guwahati, Tezpur, Barpeta, Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Sonitpur etc. in Assam may be, their presence is hardly felt. Their existence is not projected in the media. The literate lots of these people seem be shy of exhibiting their Rajbanshi identity due to low social status given to them despite most of them belong to higher caste i.e. Kshatriya or Kayastha. In North Bengal, they are given ‘SC’ status; In Assam for a short period they were given ‘ST’ status but now, it is not so. Most of the literate, elite or officials placed at higher position refuse to introduce themselves as ‘SC’ or ‘ST’ in the society lest they are graded as second class citizens.

These people find it non-sustainable to compete with the settlers from erstwhile East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, who came to India after selling their properties and bought lands in low prices in upcoming towns, on road heads and places which had potential to develop into urban areas, from these ethnic people. Most of the settlers were educated and cash rich which made it easier for them to dominate in the urban areas in population.

Although, influx of Bengali speaking people that started during pre-Independence days from East Bengal into the North Bengal and Assam are on decline for last few years but, damage is already caused to the indigenous people. The influx is continuing even today and increasing the number of vote bank of some political parties. Thus, while the settlers from erstwhile East Bengal have been gaining all the way in all fields, ethnic Rajbanshi speaking people are not only becoming minority in urban areas, they are already looser as far as employment is concerned.

In following manner we can explain as to how the monster of unemployment has overwhelmed the Rajbanshi speaking over the years with the solid reasons that should raise eyebrows of many:

v  Controversial and confusing Bengali or Assamese identity of Rajbanshi speaking ethnic people has done immense damage to them. As the area came under Bengal Province during British period, it served the purpose of the British rulers to consider Rajbanshi speaking people as part of the mainstream Bengali for their administrative convenience and govern the large areas as a cohesive region. Taking advantage of this misnomer, the central leadership of the nation believed that Bengali refugees should settle in North Bengal and Assam where ethnic population was Rajbanshi speaking ethnic people. The fact was that, this area under discussion is none but erstwhile Koch Kingdom.

v  Today, Rajbanshi speaking people are in majority in rural areas only; in urban areas their numbers are much less than the mainstream people who hailed from either erstwhile East Bengal/Pakistan or some other parts of the country. In business, trade or commerce, participation of Rajbanshi speaking people is hardly anything. Opportunities of livelihood in urban areas such as shops and establishments, transportation, airports, government jobs, schools, colleges, universities or any other field, have always been eluding these hapless people. To my mind, main reason for their downfall is again the misnomer i.e. Bengali or Assamese identity; in reality, mainstream Bengalis or Assamese do not consider them as Bengali or Assamese. They have not been accepted in the modern Bengali ‘Bhadralok’ society. Marriages between mainstream Bengali and Rajbanshi people are not generally solemnized.

  

v  On paper, Rajbanshi speaking ethnic people are either Bengali or Assamese. This is a myth, indeed. In reality, these people are deprived of actual political rights and as such, they do cast vote but cannot exercise political power in true sense. Mainstream people would never like to have a person in political power who desires to give political power to Rajbanshi speaking ethnic population. The harsh reality is that Rajbanshi speaking ethnic people play the role of vote Bank for the people at the corridor of powers in Kolkata in West Bengal or Dispur (Guwahati) in Assam.

v  Rajbanshi leaders do get party tickets and get elected to become ministers; but, they have to follow the dictates of their party high commands. They cannot speak for betterment of Rajbanshi speaking alone as doing so would attract ire from their party bosses. This is the saddest part of their downfall in every field. They do vote and get elected but never govern; real political power rests with mainstream Bengali people in West Bengal and Assamese in Assam. 

v  Constitutional status of ‘SC’, ‘ST’ or OBC given to a majority population giving them the political power to rule themselves, is suicidal in a democratic setup. This has to be understood in right earnest. For example, we take the case of Cooch Behar district in North Bengal. During its merger with Indian Dominion in 1949, its population consisted of almost 90% of ethnic Rajbanshi speaking people. Logic goes that majority of jobs should have been given to them (i.e. They should have given job reservation up to 90%) but due to their ‘SC’ status, their opportunities for jobs were straightway cut down to within limits of 15% as per reservation policy. To make the things for worst, this part of 15% reservation was also subdivided among ‘SC’ people belonging to present day mainstream people of Bengal and not certainly to the ethnic Rajbanshi speaking people. On actual ground, Rajbanshi speaking people get only half of the 15% reservation i.e. 7.5%. This is the harsh reality.

v  Considering illiteracy and most drop outs among these hapless people, their employability is negligible. That is why, no wonder that one finds, Rajbanshi man running away to industrial towns of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi-NCR in search of labourers’ jobs or for a work in the agricultural fields doing cultivation.

v  Hope, I could bring out the harsh reality that is haunting the poor, socio-economically, linguistically and more importantly, politically deprived population of Rajbanshi speaking people of North Bengal, Assam and their adjoining areas. Strong political will is required to solve the unemployment problem of these people.