The Nasya Sheikh Unnayan Parishad, an association of Rajbanshi Muslims, used the occasion of its seventh foundation day in Cooch Behar on Saturday to make the community aware on the proposed special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls poll-bound Bengal.

Parishad leaders alerted the community to keep all identity proofs ready in view of what it described as an attempt to disenfranchise minorities in Bengal.

The daylong programme at Rabindra Bhavan turned into a celebration of the Parishad’s anniversary as well as a platform for sharp political statements.

Those present at the event accused the BJP-led Centre of pushing an agenda of religious polarisation and linguistic division through the SIR.

“The speakers alleged that the Centre wanted to portray large sections of Bengali-speaking Muslims as illegal Bangladeshis and strip them of their citizenship rights in the name of revising electoral rolls,” said a source.

Aminul Haque, central secretary of the Parishad, warned against what he called a “conspiracy” to brand Rajbanshi Muslims as outsiders.

“The BJP government in Delhi is trying to divide people based on religion and language. They want to render our community stateless. The Nasya Sheikhs across north Bengal are sons of the soil. They are Rajbanshi Muslims. We will not allow this conspiracy to succeed. We will fight politically and make our people aware of the kind of documents they must have with them to safeguard their rights,” said Haque.

“The Parishad also used the occasion to run an awareness camp where members of the community were told about different welfare schemes of the state and central governments, and how they could access their benefits. Our duty is to keep our people aware and ready. If the SIR is enforced, they must know which papers they require,” he added.

Throughout the day, speeches and cultural events ran alongside the awareness camp. Girindranath Barman, a prominent Rajbanshi face and the Cooch Behar Trinamool district chairman, was also present.

Barman said he was there not as a party leader but as a social worker invited by the Parishad. He echoed the concern of the Parishad, saying: “The BJP government is targeting minority communities and trying to drop their names from the voter list in the name of the SIR. This is a clear conspiracy. People must be vigilant. We need to stand united and launch a movement if needed.”