Hindus are in the majority in Abhoynagar’s Maloparha and Monirampur’s Rishiparha and Dasparha but what is more conspicuous is their abject poverty.
Some 30 km away from Jessore Sadar, the location of Maloparha in Chapatola village is quite attractive. There are some jute mills and leather processing factories nearby.
Many are hungrily eyeing the land of the area.
The poor residents of the ‘pricey land’ of Maloparha live by catching and selling fish. Most of their dwellings are made of of CI sheets. There are a few brick houses, too, but they are neither plastered nor painted.
All that Maya Rani has in her one-room hutment is a cot, some utensils, and a box. When the village was attacked a few days back, assailants had damaged the CI sheet that gave her shelter.
Some people have TVs, but the common thing most people possess is fishing nets.
Dulal Biswas’ fishing net was burnt down during the communal attack after Jan 5 polls.
There are some clay houses in Maloparha. There is no legal power connection here, though the surrounding areas have power supply.
Purnima Sarker, a resident, said they had been promised power supply before each election.
They cast their vote last time hoping to get electricity, but the place is still without legal connections.
The residents were being given power supply for Tk 300 per month, she said.
However, the location of Rishiparha and Dasparha in Monirampur is not as attractive as Maloprha’s. They are situated in Hajrail village of Haaridaskathi Union.
The people here are worse off than the residents of Maloparha. Most houses are built with reed or clay.
Extreme poverty is evident in everywhere – in the clothes the people wear and the utensils they use.
The mother-in-law of a rape victim in Dasparha said, “The rapists entered the house by breaking the fence. They ran away her clothes after violating her. She had only two to wear.”
A Monirampur college teacher, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “They raped women in Dasparha to create panic among Hindu families. We are passing our days in fear.”
Hindus live in 96 villages on the east of Abhoynagar and west of Monirampur in Jessore. The region is known as ‘Chhiyanabbaikhan Gram’ (96 villages).
Maloprha is a bit far from Rishiparha and Dasparha.
The assailants had chosen the areas for attack because of their isolation, local businessman Pappy Bhattachariya said.
Maloparha villagers do not own much land. Only a handful of people own a few bighas on the banks of the Burhi Bhairab river.
There is hardly anyone who has not taken a loan from a lending association.
Noaparha River Port, seven kilometres away from Maloparha, is a bustling settlement, said Noaparha Municipality Awami League General Secretary Abu Taleb.
Fertilisers, cement, sand, zinc, stone, rice, coconuts are brought here and then taken to other parts of the country, he said.
Quite a number of jute mills and leather processing factories have been set up nearby, pushing up land prices by 12 times in the past 10 years, said the Awami League leader.
“It is unfortunate that have homes in Maloparha,” said Bikash Biswas, husband of Ujjwala Biswas.
The 23-year-old Ujjwala Biswas said, “I want to stay here. My father’s house is at Shyamnagar in Satkhira. I won’t go anywhere leaving my husband’s homestead.”
The India-Bangladesh border is just 50-55 km away from Abhoynagar.
Local businessperson Tulshi Sarkar said, “It is a frontier region; so arms and narcotics are smuggled and traded here on a large scale.”
“Most people own cash here. Though there is leather procession factory at Maloparha now, another might be set up soon. We do not know where we will go then.”
Those who have a slender chance to leave Bangladesh are planning to go. Of the 96 villages, one village falls under Fulergati Union.
Hailing from that village, a school teacher, Taposh Roy, said there had been violence after the 2001 elections, too. His relatives in India’s West Bengal had asked him to join them.
But he did not go then. Now, he said, “There is no option left now but to go and live there (India).” He will convince his relatives go over to India. He said he hoped to get visa within a few days and leave for India.
He did not for a moment pause to say this all. There was no trace of any emotion on his face.
Bhabadah Movement Committee against Water logging leader Iqbal Kabir Jahid said, “Hindus are living here somehow by selling their homesteads either at right price or below price.”
He said Hindus had never been allowed to live in peace, be it under the Awami League or the BNP-Jamaat regime.
“Fate of Hindus never changes here. They are oppressed whether their candidate wins or loses. They are given suspicious look whenever election time comes,” he said.
“Where can this take them psychologically, you can easily imagine. I have seen for myself that Asit Boron Pal of Sddhipasha Union Parisad has left for West Bengal.”
Maloparha is on one side and Diyaparha on the other side of the Burhi Bhairab river.
Sunish Ghosh of Diyaparha village said, “We demand the trial of all the attacks that have taken place so far. Otherwise, we do not know how long we will be able to stay here.”
He said he would not like to leave. “But can I stop my son from leaving the country? He has planned to go.”
Source: Bd news24