Marichjhapi Massacre: A Forgotten Tragedy
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After decades of being refugees, the Bengali Hindu migrants from East Pakistan found their last refuge in Marichjhapi, a remote island in the Sundarbans. Before coming to power, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), led by Jyoti Basu, had assured these refugees that they would be welcomed back to West Bengal. In 1975, at a rally in Bhilai, Basu himself declared that if the Left Front came to power, they would rehabilitate the refugees in West Bengal. Encouraged by these promises, around 150,000 refugees left their government-designated camps in Dandakaranya and began their journey to West Bengal in 1978. However, after coming to power in 1977, the Left Front completely changed its stance. Instead of welcoming them, the government used force to drive them away. Many were arrested, beaten, and forced back. Yet, about 40,000 determined refugees refused to leave and settled in Marichjhapi, turning the desolate island into a thriving community.
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Despite initial assurances that they could stay without government aid, the refugees quickly transformed Marichjhapi into a self-sufficient settlement. They built roads, cultivated land, started fisheries, and even established schools. Their resilience and success, however, seemed to challenge the Left Front government’s ideology. Seeing that these marginalized, poor people could thrive independently, Jyoti Basu’s administration decided to evict them. The government falsely claimed that the refugees were destroying the environment and encroaching on a protected tiger reserve. In reality, Marichjhapi was not part of any reserved forest, and these claims were just an excuse to remove them. By July 1978, the Communist Party formally decided to use force to send all refugees back, marking the beginning of a horrific crackdown.