WEST BENGAL COMMISSION FOR BACKWARD CLASSES

REPORT ON MAHALDAR

The West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes received a mass petition over the signatures of as many as 50 petitioners from different villages of Samsergang Block under Jangipur subdivision of Murshidabad district for consideration of inclusion of Mahaldar class of people of Muslim community in the list of Backward Classes for the State of West Bengal in view of their alleged social, educational and economic backwardness. They also based their prayer for such inclusion on the ground that their Hindu counterparts i.e. Hindu fishermen class of people have been included in the State List of Scheduled Castes. The petition was followed by so many petitions over the signatures of large number of applicants belonging to the Mahaldar class of people living in different villages of different blocks of the district of Murshidabad. However, the petitions did not have anything in the nature of enclosures or annexures that would facilitate formation of any concrete idea as to the social, educational or economic background of the Mahaldar class of people. Therefore, on the instruction of the Commission the representatives of the community were requested to furnish their applications in filled-in Proforma of the Commission. Though the Proforma was properly and rather elaborately filled in, the Commission deemed it proper to ascertain and verify the veracity of the statements contained therein. Accordingly, Dr. Parimal Karmakar and Syed Masudal Hossain, Members of the Commission went on a visit to the districts of Murshidabad and Malda for an on-the-spot study on the social and educational background of Mahaldar class of people. The Members submitted their study report before the Commission and shared their overall impression with other Members of the Commission. The Commission, thereafter, decided to give a hearing to the Mahaldar class of people. The hearing was held at Farakka on 10 th February 2010 with S. M. Chakraborty, Director, C.R.I remaining present on behalf of the State Government. The people of Mahaldar community turned up in great numbers in the hearing. However, a few of their representatives made their submissions on oath before the Commission about the community and their social, educational and economic background. The Mahaldar class of people mostly reside in the districts of Murshidabad and Malda. They have also some representation in the district of Nadia. Their representation in other districts of the State, if any, is quite negligible. The traditional occupation of Mahaldar class of people was catching and selling of fish. In the past they took on lease water bodies from the Zamindars on payment of some tax. The name of their class ‘Mahaldar’ has been derived from water bodies or ‘Mahal’. However fish trade 2 becoming less profitable for petty traders like them, they have taken recourse to other petty business like vegetables, betel, bidi and mediocre business like grocery, stationery and sweets etc. No substantial income, however, accrues to them from such trade or business. The earning varies from Rs. 2500 to Rs. 5000 per month per family, always a large one, leaving them wallowing in abject penury. The representation of Mahaldar class of people in services, Government or non- Government, or any other kind for that matter is quite negligible. There is no high-ranking officer in the community. None among the Community is in the employment of the Central Government irrespective of rank and category. In some unorganized sector there are some Mahaldar class of people and that too, however, in the lowest category of official hierarchy. The Mahaldar class of people for their subsistence has also to perform manual jobs like pulling of rickshaws and vans or carrying of luggage as porters do. The educational status of Mahaldar class of people is very low. Though the literacy rate in the urban area is tolerably fair the scenario gets worse and worse as the level of education goes higher and higher. Thus when about 70% boys & girls attend school upto Primary level, the attendance level nose-dives very low at the Secondary level and almost to nil in the Graduation level. And the less is said about rural areas the better. A large number of children belonging to the age group of 5-15 never attend schools. And among those who do the drop out rate is very high. This sorry state of affairs according to the representatives making their submissions before the Commission is attributable to poverty and lack of consciousness among them. Poverty motivates the parents to have their children engaged in any job for earning so as to supplement their paltry income. The economic status of the Community is miserable. More than 50% of all the families have incomes of lower than Rs. 2000 per month. Only a few families have an income above Rs. 5000 a month. One of the determining factors for the appraisal of the extent of backwardness of a Community is their standing on some particular front vis-à-vis other Classes of people of the particular area. Here the Mahaldars also cut a sorry figure in respect of dwelling status as was evident from the comparative statements furnished by the community in the prescribed Proforma. Then the study report as already mentioned earlier was factored into arriving at a decision as to the prayer of the Mahaldar class of people for their inclusion in the list of Backward Classes for the State of West Bengal. The study covered more than 2200 families in Ward No. 4 of Dhuliyan Municipality and some villages of Suti-II Block in Murshidabad district and Kaliachak Block in Malda district.

3 The study shows that Mahaldar class of people who mostly live in the districts of Malda & Murshidabad constitutes a distinct, separate, endogamous group of people. They eke out a living by fishing, working as fishmongers, bidi-binders, brickfield labourers, masons, working on others’ land as daily labours etc. Some families have petty business. Even most of the women folk of the community have to work outdoors for their subsistence. Very few people of this class have their own land. Most of the people studied have their income between Rs. 1000/- and Rs. 1500/- a month. The academic standard of the Mahaldar class of people is very dismal. Though a large number of children enroll their names in school in Primary stage, the dropout rate at the Primary level itself and subsequent Secondary level is very high. It also transpired from the study report that of more than 15000 people covered very few were Madhyamik qualifiers and only very few persons were educated up to Higher Secondary level. Normally marriage outside their own community is not in practice. Women are married in the age of 13-16 and become mothers at a premature age much to the detriment of their health. The living condition of Mahaldar class of people is very sub-standard. Most of the people of this class live in thatched hutments and mud wall kuchcha houses. Recently some semi-pucca houses have been built by the Panchayat Bodies with the financial assistance of the State Government. In point of sanitation and health consciousness they are very backward even by unsatisfactory rural standard. Majority of the people attend nature’s call in the open air. Though people collect drinking water from tubewells of Gram Panchayats they use untreated river water for other purposes.

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 Mahaldar 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