Rush for birth certificates in Bengal’s minority-dominated districts amid SIR fears

With the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar by the Election Commission making relentless headlines, residents belonging to minority communities in West Bengal have been forced to approach various offices to collect documents showing their birthplace and date of birth.

Minorities in the two border districts, Malda and Murshidabad, have been reaching out to municipal offices, gram panchayats, and local courts to collect documents having proof of their birthplace, as the fear of exclusion from the electoral rolls and of being deported to Bangladesh looms large.

In Malda, middlemen are charging Rs 1,900 to help residents prepare affidavits and submit them online for birth certificates. They are taking groups of 50-80 people to local courts, an advocate told news agency PTI.

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Demand for documents spikes

Officials told PTI that the demand for documents with birthplace and date has increased in the last few weeks, which has increased the workload of civic bodies in the said districts. Respective offices have set up a special cell to manage the crowd and help them navigate the issue.

"The majority of those seeking these documents are from the minority community, and this trend has intensified in the last 15-20 days," the advocate added.

Subhamay Basu, chairman-in-council and TMC councillor of English Bazar Municipality, lamented that over the past two weeks, the trend has intensified, increasing the workload of civic body staff.

According to him, there has been growing pressure from residents to obtain certificates proving their birth year and place by submitting other relevant documents.

"Long queues are seen at the designated counters, and they keep growing every day. We are assigning more staff to manage the queues, and the civic body has set up a special cell to handle the rush. However, we are ensuring that no case goes unattended," Basu said.

A district official said people are coming from 146 gram panchayat areas of Malda, including Ratua, Kaliachak, and Sujapur, as well as other minority-dominated regions in the district.

"Affidavits issued by a notary public are no longer sufficient. Now, they must be verified by the municipality chairman, panchayat pradhan, and judicial magistrate. People are eager to get this done quickly, despite their daily tasks. Addressing the SIR issue and ensuring their cases are foolproof has become a top priority for them," a panchayat official said.

However, Sulekha Choudhury, the former gram panchayat pradhan of Pardeonapur Sobhapur, said that there isn't as much stress or pressure in her area.

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Voter IDs, Aadhaar not enough

In Murshidabad district's Jalangi, Raninagar, Domkal, Beldanga, Hariharpara, Suti, Samsherganj, and Farakka, the rush to "correct and procure" birth certificates had intensified, a district official said.

"Yes, in the past 15-20 days, there has been a rush at the offices of BLO, BDO, municipalities, and panchayats to get the necessary papers. These people already have voter IDs, Aadhaar cards, and other documents, but they want to be absolutely certain that their names are not removed from the updated voter list," said Amirul Islam, a Congress panchayat member from Beldanga.

If they have the required documents, we are guiding them, but there is no leniency, he added.

"They fear being deported to Bangladesh, even though they've lived here for generations. That's why there's this frantic rush for papers. Conversations at local tea stalls and news on social media also fuel their anxiety," Islam said.

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Anxiety among people

Striking a different note, TMC Murshidabad district president and MP Abu Taher said, "While people, particularly minorities, were anxious about SIR previously, but now after the SC's order, they are not scared any more about losing the right to vote."

"We are also making people aware not to panic, but keep their documents in order. We will not allow SIR in West Bengal. This is BJP's divisive policy using the EC," he added.

He, however, admitted that "a small section of people in villages, mostly elderly, may be still under fear. But we are regularly undertaking outreach programmes to dispel any fear."

The Election Commission (EC) sent a letter to the chief secretary and district authorities on August 27 regarding the revision of electoral rolls. Assembly elections in the state are scheduled to be held next year.