The Odisha government has granted citizenship certificates to 35 people under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, even as tensions simmer between Bangladeshi-origin settlers and local tribals in Malkangiri district.
All 35 beneficiaries are Hindus, most of whom fled Bangladesh following persecution in the 1960s and 1990s, official sources said.
Handing over the certificates on Thursday, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi said: “By availing these certificates, all of you are now a part and parcel of Indian society. You are now eligible to enjoy the rights and benefits like any other citizen of this country.” He added that the state government would ensure their safety and create a conducive atmosphere for their development.
The 35 individuals were granted citizenship after completing the legal formalities under the CAA, which allows persecuted minorities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, to obtain Indian citizenship and exempts them from being treated as “illegal migrants”.
Majhi said the conferment “reflects India’s timeless values of humanity and shelter, reaffirming the nation’s commitment to compassion and dignity for all.” With this, a total of 51 people have been granted citizenship in Odisha, while 1,100 applications remain under process.
Large numbers of Bengali-Hindus migrated from East Pakistan in the 1960s following targeted harassment. The sparsely populated Dandakaranya region, spanning present-day Chhattisgarh and Odisha, was earmarked for their rehabilitation, with 281 villages set up in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur and smaller settlements in Jagatsinghpur and Khurda. Another wave arrived after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992.
However, relations between Bengali settlers and local tribals have deteriorated in recent years, with the latter accusing the settlers of encroaching on their land. Malkangiri district has been tense since tribals attacked Bengali settlers following the murder of a 52-year-old tribal woman, Lake Podiami.
Deputy chief minister K.V. Singh Deo and animal resources development minister Gokulananda Mallik visited Malkangiri on Thursday, meeting leaders of both communities — the Malkangiri Adivasi Samaj and Malkangiri Bengali Samaj. The ministers submitted a detailed report to chief minister Majhi
on Friday.
“We were asked to submit a report and we did it. Now the chief minister will take a call. We have appealed to people not to take the law into their hands,” Singh Deo told The Telegraph.
Sources said the Bengali-Hindu settlers suffered losses worth around ₹5 crore in
the violence.
