West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes Report on Chhutor Mistri
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
WEST BENGAL COMMISSION FOR BACKWARD CLASSES REPORT ON CHHUTOR MISTRI The West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes received four applications in prescribed proformae supported by mass petitions, two from Panskura-I Block in Purba Medinipur district, one from Beldanga-I Block and one from Naoda Block in Mursidabad district for the inclusion of Chhutor Mistri class of people in the list of Backward Classes for the State of West Bengal in view of their social, educational and economic backwardness. After taking note of the contents of the proformae and mass petitions, the Commission decided to have done two other usual courses i.e. to conduct a study of its own and give a hearing to the concerned community. The hearing was held on 06-05-2010 in the Meeting Hall of the Commission being attended by Shri S.M.Chakraborty, Director, C.R.I. as the Government representative. A good number of people attended the hearing. Of them Mr. Riajul Mistri, Mr. Mizam Siddik Molla Mistri, Mr. Abul Hassan Molla Mistri, Mr. Majet Molla Mistri, Mr. Jaynal Abedin Molla Mistri among others made their submissions before the Commission on oath. But as nothing much emerged from the statements made by the representatives mentioned above a summative examination of the contents of the proformae and hearing is attempted as follows: The Chhutor Mistri class of people mostly reside in the districts of Nadia, Murshidabad, North and South 24-Parganas and Purba Medinipur. It was also stated that they have habitational representation in varying numbers in all the districts of the State. As to the total population of the Chhutor Mistri class of people in the State there are two versions in the proformae. While in one proforma from Panskura-1 Block in the district of Purba Medinipur submitted by Mr. Asaque Hossain the total population is claimed to be 15 lakhs. In the other proforma from Beldanga-1 Block in the distrsict of Murshidabad submitted by Mr. Abu Bakur Sheikh the total population is claimed to be 6 lakhs. The traditional occupation of the Chhutor Mistri class of people was, is and going by the statements by the representatives of Community is likely to remain Carpentry. The people of the community cannot think in terms of any other source of livelihood than that of 2 a Carpenter. They appear to cling to the profession steadfastly though it does not always provide adequate means of subsistence to them as the profession of Carpentry is not very profitable in the absence of capital owned by them. They are always at the receiving end of the bargaining. They prepare a furniture by the sweat of their brow purchasing the raw material i.e. wood on borrowed money and sell it to the wholesalers. What they sell at Rs.2000/- or so to the wholesalers the latter sell to the customers at a price of Rs.3500/- or 4000/-, reaping the harvest of the Carpenters’ labour. For polishing and burnishing a furniture they are paid just Rs.250/ or Rs.300/-. The price is hardly commensurate with the time and labour and care that it demands. For all these the per family monthly income of the people of the community does not exceed Rs.2500/- only which is hardly sufficient to make both ends meet for a family consisting of 9 or 10 members. To make matters worse for them the people of the community being very indigent as they are, can never enjoy the benefit of bank loans. They have to borrow money for local money lenders at a high rate of interest which in its turn impoverish them further. They are thus victims of a vicious circle. Very few people of the Chhutor Mistri class of people have their own land and that too of very small area of a few Kathas. An insignificant number has holdings of land of a few bighas. The Chhutor Mistri class of people constitutes an endogamous society living as a social unit. Regarding their mother tongue two versions are available in the proformae. While according to proformae from the district of Purba Medinipur their mother tongue is Khotta, the other from the district of Murshidabad mention it as Bengali. They have Chowdhuri, Seikh, Khan, Khotta, Tanti, Malakar, Muchi, Poundra classes of people as their neighbours. Most of those classes of people are beneficiaries of reservation. Therefore their condition is better than that of the Chhutor Mistri class of people. Again there are two opinions recorded in the two sets of proformae as to the treatment meted out to the people of the community by their neighbours. While the one set of proformae from the district of Murshidabad indicate that the Chhutor Mistri class of people are despicapably looked upon by their neighbours as those belonging to S.C. and S.T community the other set of proforma from Purba Medinipur mention no such discrimination in the social interaction. Other Muslim communities like Syed, Molla, Sai, Zolah, Hajjam treat the Chhutor Mistri class of people with contempt as was mentioned in the hearing. But now-a-days there are cases, 3 though very few and far between, when matrimonial relationship with other communities like Molla etc. is taking place. The educational status of the Chhutor Mistri class of people is very doleful. May be with the introduction of mid-day meal and other schemes like that launched by the Government many children belonging to the age group of 5 to15 attend school. But as the process of education and learning progresses the enthusiasm peters out. By the time the upper primary level comes and the boys and the girls are grown up enough to become helping hands in adding to the paltry income of the family, the drop out sets in on a massive scale. Consequently a very insignificant numbers of people of the community are even Madhyamik qualifiers and the number of Higher Secondary pass outs or Graduates verges almost on the nil. This is hardly mentionable in the perspective of what has been stated that there is no representation from the Chhutor Mistri class of people in the disciplines of Medicine, Engineering and Law. In the backdrop of such poor academic standard it is hardly mentionable that there is no representation from the community on any service sector, be it Government or non-Government or any concern whatsoever. The dwelling status of the Chhutor Mistri class of people is very lamentable. Majority of them live in the thatched hutments and mud wall Kuchcha houses and only a very insignificant number of person possess their own house. Now some semi-pucca houses have been built with the help of Panchayat Bodies. A considerable percentage of the people of the community have no family property and those having family property worth the name constitute only an insignificant percentage of the total. There is, nevertheless, one or two silver linings in the otherwise gloomy backdrop of their living condition. They have adequate supply of drinking water from the tube wells sunk by the Panchayat Bodies with the financial assistance of the State Government. On the contrary to the usual practice of poor people living in rural areas, they have makeshift latrines made of mud wall and thatched roof. Next, the Commission took up for consideration the study report submitted by the study team comprising Syed Masudal Hossain and Dr. P. Karmakar who undertook a stock- taking tour in the districts of Purba Medinipur, Nadia, Murshidabad and North 24-Parganas 4 in areas with habitational concentration of the Chhutor Mistri class of people for the purpose. The overall impression which they shared with other Members of the Commission while conducting the study was also taken into account in appreciating the prayer of the representatives of the community. The study covered more than 750 families spread over different villages in Panskura Block in the district of Purba Medinipur, Karimpur Block in the district of Nadia, Rajarhat Municipality in the district of North 24-Parganas, Beldanga-1 and Naoda Blocks in the district of Murshidabad. It appeared from the study report that there is nothing much more available in it beyond what have already been mentioned in the proformae and stated in course of the hearing as to the social, educational and economic status of the Chhutor Mistri class of people. But one striking feature deserving of mention and reflected in the study report is in point of sanitation. In the habitats of the Chhutor Mistri class of people there are Sulabh Souchagar constructed by Gram Panchayat Bodies with the financial assistance of the State Government. The identifiable feature of the Chhutor Mistri class of people is the perpetuation of the traditional occupation of Carpentry carried on from generation to generation. Therefore, taking into consideration all the facts stated, materials on record and submissions made and applying all the factors and parameters for determination of social and educational backwardness of a community in the State of West Bengal the Commission decided to recommend to the State Government that the Chhutor Mistri class of people be included in the list of Backward Classes for the State of West Bengal. Sd/- Sd/- ...........................……….. …………………………… Shri S. B. Mandal Justice Malay Sengupta Member Secretary Chairman Sd/- Sd/- Sd/- …….……………………. …………………….…… ………………………… Dr. Parimal Karmakar Dr. Debjani Sengupta Syed Masudal Hossain Member Member Member .