LOPSIDED DEVELOPMENT FOR RAJBANSHI COMMUNITIES

More than six decades after independence, India has made lot of progress economically. So, have done its neighbours Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. But, a question arises as to whether all ethnic groups of Koch-Kamata-Rajbanshi people have really made progress in real sense? While mainstream people of the respective States / Countries have made lot of progress such as Assamese in Assam, Bengali mainstream people in West Bengal, Biharis in Bihar and Nepalese in Nepal, indigenous Koch-Kamata-Rajbanshi people have lagged behind in all fields i.e. socio-economic, cultural, linguistic and most importantly, in political field. Actually, these ethnic people residing in these States from time immemorial and constitute majority, but, when question comes on their development, the answer is in negative, baffling and pathetic. 

       The position of these people looks paradoxical at times. While states/countries are developing, these ethnic people are moving backwards. After India’s independence and merger of downsized princely state of Cooch Behar, these people of the whole area (Greater Cooch Behar) had aspired for better future in democratic India. But, their hopes have been dashed and their socio-economic, cultural, linguistic and political aspirations remained distant dreams. Today, most of well-to-do or the educated Rajbanshi people shy away from disclosing their Rajbanshi identity. Dropouts from schools due to poverty are at the peak among rural Rajbanshis. There are hardly any business man among them and not a single industrialist yet to be identified. Neither any civil servant nor a political leader in power talks about true welfare of Rajbanshi and media is shying away too, from bringing out ground realities. One can easily find less educated Rajbanshi left their homeland and working elsewhere in India as labourers, especially in  distant states of Punjab, Delhi, UP and Haryana.    

To please the different groups of Rajbanshi communities and to show to the world that they care for these people, the word of ‘Development’ became a politically fashionable word in North Bengal and echoing in the neighbourhood of Assam and Bihar. In Nepal, it is no different than its counterpart states in India. In Bangladesh and Bhutan, their position is little cool as number of people of Rajbanshi origin are in minority.

Development is taking place in all areas where ethnic groups of Rajbanshi people are ordinarily residing from time immemorial including fast developing North Bengal; and, there is no denying on it but it is lopsided. Lots of construction works are taking place and urban areas are growing in leaps and bounds. Airports, roads, schools, colleges, universities and various governmental as well as nongovernmental institutions are being established in these areas. But, all these developments are taking place at enormous cost to these hapless and poor people. All the development works are beneficial to the mainstream people of the state and certainly not for the Rajbanshi people who form the majority in rural North Bengal. Same is the case for Assam. 
      The factors for lopsided development for these unfortunate and hapless people or their downfall in socio-economic, cultural, linguistic and political spheres are:

• Ethnic, indigenous and majority in population, the Rajbanshi communities are getting displaced from urban areas due to lopsided development that is taking place. Reasons are clear – poverty, identity crisis, lack of education and ‘party compulsion’ of those Rajbanshi party workers and leaders who are affiliated to those parties who do not talk about true development of Kamata-Rajbanshi speaking people. Truly, speaking, party compulsion is such a powerful tool for the ruling parties that they succeed in keeping the mouth of Rajbanshi people shut, completely and absolutely.
• More is the lopsided development, faster it becomes for these indigenous people to get extinct. Reasons are obvious as cited above.
• More universities and colleges have opened where children of these people study but they do not study in their mother tongue. More than two crores in population spread across four countries, i.e. India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan but they have no right to get their age-old language – Kamata-Rajbanshi recognized as official language. Nothing sadder story can be made out than such kind of maltreatment to a historic language can be meted out in a civilized world where people cannot officially communicate in their mother tongue.
• British type Colonialism is clearly visible in all these areas where indigenous Rajbanshi communities ordinarily reside from time immemorial. They do not have political rights in true sense. Party compulsion is one reason and other reason is backwardness of these people. The ruling governments dominated by mainstream people do not like to get these indigenous people really to come in the forefront of political scene and have a say in governance. Mainstream people i.e. Bengalis in West Bengal, Assamese in Assam, Biharis in Bihar, Nepalese in Nepal like to rule the Rajbanshi speaking people as these people are docile and peace loving. True political powers do not rest with these people where they are in majority. They may get seats in state assemblies but do not have say in the governance due to aforesaid reason i.e. party compulsion. A kind of colonialism that had existed during British in undivided India can be seen in Bengal and Assam over these groups of indigenous people. 

True mantra of democracy i.e. ‘Power to the People’ or the democratic dictum ‘People like to be ruled by their own leaders’ have been simply given a go by for Kamata-Koch-Rajbanshi people.

      Another politically charged budge word (buzzword) in Bengal-‘Maa Mati O Manush’ meaning ‘Service to the Motherland and Welfare of its People’ come first and always. This budge word has a confusing and double meaning for the Kamata-Koch-Rajbanshi people. If we go by the true history (not those histories written by self-serving historians), indigenous Kamrup-Kamata-Koch-Rajbanshi inhabited areas had a distinct geographical identity, culture, language and an empire. It was a big and powerful empire that unified the whole of North East with India.  During the great decade long military campaign in sixteenth century (1562 to 1572 AD), great Kamata-Koch kings with their mighty army comprising of Rajbanshi speaking people of different caste and creed, unified present day Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya with mainland India.
      Going by this historical background, ‘Maa’ means Kamata-Koch land and not West Bengal or Assam and so on. ‘Manush’ means people of all Kamata-Rajbanshi speaking people such as Koch-Rajbongshis(both tribal and non-tribal) of Assam, Rajbanshi Kshatriyas/Musalmans of Bengal, Bihar, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.  These people need to be cared and their welfare to be looked after.

      Solutions to the issues and problems of these unfortunate people can only be resolved through political will.  These people are the most docile and patriot people; strong nationalism is in their blood and as such, they should not be branded as terrorists. India, setting up a second state reorganization commission (SRC) is the need of the hour. True political rights should be given to these people as I always say ‘PEOPLE LIKE TO BE GOVERNED BY THEIR OWN PEOPLE’. Then only, real development will take place, peace will prevail, true democracy will triumph and newly revived political buzzword ‘Swaraj’(Self-rule) will be established. India and its neighbours-Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan will prosper.