Blood Island: An Oral History of the Mirichjhapi Massacre
I don’t know in which WhatsApp group this book ‘Blood Island: An Oral History of the Mirichjhapi Massacre’ by Journalist Deep Halder was discussed or recommended. It does not matter. It did intrigue me. The book is a narration about 10,000 people brutally mascaraed by the state-sponsored Police force in Bengal in 1979; all in the name of saving Island in Sundarban delta from encroachment and environmental damage. It was something I had never even heard of. No mention.
The book reflects on the events leading to the Marichjhapi Massacre and eyewitness account of the day by the survivors. Justice was never served to these people. And most likely will never be served.
No Ownership.
For all practical purpose, people ( the refugees) have moved on. There is a generation gap of memory that no one wants to bridge. No one has the will and the intent to discuss it; including Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee, who had promised to re-open the case when she comes to power.
These people were the some 1.5 Lakh Hindu refugees. They had been to various transit refugee camps. Somehow in 1978, they zeroed on to Marichjhapi, an island in the Sundarbans, just 75 KM east of Kolkatta. They started afresh and even set up a decent infrastructure. They wanted nothing from the Government and were living the way they were. In May 1979, the island was cleared by the West Bengal government. All tactics were used, leading to huge deaths. Some say around 10,000 plus, but the Government does not accept a figure if more than 10.
Not the best of the read unless you are a stakeholder in this past. Or maybe just like me, perhaps you want to know of the hidden almost forgotten part of our history. The wish to learn of the Marichjhapi Massacre. One of the few massacres in the history of free India!
Book: Blood Island: An Oral History of the Marichjhapi Massacre | Author: Deep Halder | Publisher: HarperCollins | Pages: 176 | Price: INR 399/-
BOOK COVER
‘It is the nature of power. The strange thing is, even today, if you try to go to Marichjhapi, you will see policeman keeping a close watch on the island. What or who is being guarded is a mystery. Humanity died on that island in 1979.
In 1978, around 1.5 lakh Hindu refugees, mostly belonging to the lower castes, settled in Marichjhapi an island in the Sundarbans, in West Bengal. By May 1979, the island was cleared of all refugees by Jyoti Basu’s Left Front government. Most of the refugees were sent back to the central India camps they came from, but there were many deaths: of diseases, malnutrition resulting from an economic blockade, as well as from violence unleashed by the police on the orders of the Government. Some of the refugees who survived Marichjhapi say the number of those who lost their lives could be as high as 10,000, while the-then.
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