A delegation of the Malkangiri Bangali Samaj (MBS), representing around four lakh displaced Hindu Bengalis resettled in Malkangiri district, met several central leaders, alleging attempts to portray them as temporary settlers, land encroachers and “Bangladeshi anuprabeshkari” (infiltrators).
The delegation met Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Jual Oram, BJP national general secretary B.L. Santosh and MP Sambit Patra in New Delhi, urging intervention against what they termed as “false narratives” targeting the Bengali settlers.
They also told the leaders that tribal youth were being influenced against Bengalis who were settled in the district under the Dandakaranya Development Authority (DDA) project between 1958 and 1971 by the Government of India.
MBS president Gouranga Karmakar said: “We are settled across 214 villages in the backward Malkangiri district. We have transformed barren and infertile land into productive agricultural fields through decades of hard work. This development has not only sustained us but has also benefited local tribal communities, particularly the Koya tribe, who have learned modern cultivation techniques, business practices and traditional crafts from us. For generations, we have coexisted peacefully, fostering mutual growth and brotherhood. Malkangiri is our birthplace and motherland.”
He alleged that over the past six to seven years, certain political and tribal leaders have instigated anti-Bengali sentiments for electoral advantage, financial benefits through NGOs and personal popularity by projecting themselves as saviours of tribal communities.
“They have spread false narratives portraying us as temporary settlers, land encroachers and ‘Bangladeshi anuprabeshkari’ who must be driven out, poisoning the minds of tribal youth despite long-standing harmonious relations,” he said.
In a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, copies of which were submitted to the leaders, the MBS cited the murder of a tribal woman, Lake Podiami, in Rakhalguda village by an unknown mob on December 1, 2025. It alleged that the incident triggered a large-scale, organised, one-sided violent attack on the Bengali community in MV-26 village on December 7 and 8, 2025.
The memorandum alleged that more than 5,000 attackers, including people from neighbouring Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, used dynamite, gelatine sticks, firebombs, axes, arrows and other weapons.
Nearly 200 houses, shops, crops, trees and household belongings were burnt and destroyed, it claimed.
“All our savings were reduced to ashes. Importantly, no counter-attack was made by the Bengali villagers and peace was maintained as per MBS guidance. Otherwise, riots could have erupted and many lives would have been lost. However, the compensation announced by the Odisha Chief Minister’s Office is completely inadequate,” Karmakar said.
The Odisha government has announced assistance of up to ₹75,000 per burnt house.
In the memorandum, the MBS urged the Centre to constitute a high-level independent enquiry team to identify and arrest those responsible, expose alleged external and Maoist links and dismantle the larger nexus operating in the region.
It also demanded enhanced compensation of ₹5-7 lakh per fully burnt house and ₹1 lakh per burnt shop, along with permanent pucca houses for affected families.
“We also demand a high-level review to consider modification of the Fifth Schedule status for Malkangiri district so that balanced development, employment generation and industrialisation can take place without discrimination. Ensure fair political representation, remove barriers for the SC community in local and Assembly elections, and resolve long-pending issues related to revenue village status, renaming of villages, Bengali education and equal access to welfare schemes,” the MBS said.
