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Uttarakhand not to stamp ‘East Pakistan’ on certificates of displaced Bengalis
Sitarganj MLA Saurabh Bahuguna told chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami that there are around 2 lakh Bengalis in US Nagar and the ‘Poorvi Pakistan’ stamp on their certificates were considered a disgrace.
Dehradun/Rudrapur: The Uttarakhand government will stop mentioning the phrase, “Poorvi Pakistan” from caste certificates issued in Udham Singh Nagar to members of the displaced Bengali community who migrated from erstwhile East Pakistan, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Thursday.
Dhami told a delegation of the Bengali community from the district, also referred to as US Nagar on Thursday, that a formal proposal will be placed before the state cabinet soon.
At the meeting, Bengalis from Shakti Farm, where most of the displaced Bengalis were settled, earlier asked the chief minister to consider their demand to remove the two words from their certificates.
Sitarganj MLA Saurabh Bahuguna said there are around 2 lakh Bengalis in US Nagar and the two words on their certificates were considered a disgrace.
“They have been living here, working here, they have voting rights, many of them work in government jobs. But when they go to get caste certificates, ‘Poorvi Pakistan’ word is written on them. It is a disgrace for them,” he said, adding that it was a question of their identity.
Members of the Bengali community living in the district said they migrated from Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan) after Partition and were settled in the district by the central government in 1951-52.
More people came later, in the 1960s and later in 1971 when Bangladesh was created, due to religious persecution and harassment. They were brought here to the Transit Camp area in Rudrapur and were settled in the Rudrapur and Shakti Farm area of the district. At present they live in Khatima, Nanakmatta, Sitarganj, Gadarpur, Bazpur also of US Nagar.
Premanand Mahajan, a former two-time MLA from Gadarpur and a member of the Bengali community in US Nagar said the phrase on the certificates was considered “a blot” on the community.
“Our ancestors came here just after Independence. We have been living here for decades but even then ‘Poorvi Pakastani’ word is mentioned on our certificates issued by the local administration. The chief minister’s announcement that the words will be removed from certificates is really appreciated and it has been our long-pending demand.”
