NRC in Assam, fear in Bengal tea belt

AVIJIT SINHA AND ANIRBAN CHOUDHURY , TT, 19 Sep 2019, Siliguri/Alipurduar: The National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam has sparked worries in the tea belt of north Bengal as most of the three lakh-odd garden workers and their families do not have any land rights that can serve as proof of citizenship.

In the tea industry of north Bengal -- right from the hills to the Terai and the Dooars -- it is the Gorkhas and tribals who have been working for generations as workers. Both communities were inducted into the sector by the British around 140 years back when they set up tea gardens in Darjeeling hills and in the foothills.

"Most of the workers in our garden are worried as none have any land rights or documents of land. We are feeling insecure and can con- strue the probable consequences which we might have to face if NRC is introduced in Bengal," said Om Lohar, a worker of Kalchini tea estate located in Alipurduar district.

He mentioned that one of the options they have to prove that their families have been staying here prior to 1971 is the records of their parents and grandparents at the garden's office.

"Some of us have thought of approaching the managerial staff and the office employees and ask them to find out such records carrying names of our fathers and forefathers. No land records are available with us," the worker added.

A similar situation prevails in the tea gardens of Terai. Here, some workers are planning to approach the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation -- provident fund was introduced in tea industry several years back -- to prove that their parents have been staying in India ahead of 1971. "This is one of the documents which can help us in proving that we have been staying here for long. NRC has left us pan- icky as we do not have any property in our own name," said a worker at Motidhar, an estate near Siliguri.

"It is true that workers and their families are tensed as they are aware of the problems faced by those 19 lakh people of Assam whose names are not there in the final list," said Bidyut Gun, a leader of the Citu-backed Cha Bagan Mazdoor Union.

"Years have passed and nothing has been done to address their issue. We understand the concerns of tea workers and once the festivities are over, we will again launch movement on the issue of land rights," Gun added..