Case of Dipali Das [Women in NRC]
Translation of Kamal Chakraborty's article on Dipali Das, originally published on Versatile Story blog in Bangla. Link to the original at the end of the post.
My fight to be free and liberated from the 'camp': It is tough to prove that we are Indian at the Foreigners' Tribunal
By Kamal Chakraborty
Dipali Das. Husband's name, Abhimanyu Das. Age 56 years old. The family of seven is currently residing in the village, Ramgarh, on Silchar Ashram Road. One son and two daughters work in a private office in Bangalore; they live off some of their earnings. The eldest daughter Arpita does tuition to earn some on the side to help out the family. Arpita's father is not well; often, he gets dizzy and unconscious.
My only point of contact is Arpita. Arpita's mother has been in the Silchar Detention Camp since May 2019; this made Arpita responsible for taking care of the family, running the household and working on the side, leaving her under immense pressure.
On April 2, 2021, I met Arpita and her mother, Dipali Das, for the first time at the Detention Camp. We were discussing Dipali's release in May when she said, "My daughter has suddenly become very lonely and alone, handling everything. Please help her a little."
Dipali Das. Father's name: Late Suresh Chandra Das.
She received the notice issued by the 6th Foreigners’ Tribunals of Silchar on October 10, 2017. At that time, Dipali Das was living in Sinagua village, Lalchhara. Post Office - Dhalai. Cachar District.
[translator's note: Dipali's family moved to Ramnagar, Silchar, to be closer to the detention centre]
Dipali Das was born on December 3, 1966. Father Suresh Chandra Das's name is also on the 1965 voter's list. At that time, her father lived in the village Kotirail of Katigorah, Cachar District. Dipali Das has her voter card and PAN Card in place. So what was missing? No documents proving her relationship with her parents. The documents that can prove this is either the birth certificate or school certificate. Birth certificates have been issued in Assam since 1978; Dipali was born in 1966, years before this came into effect. Not everyone in our country can afford to go to school, so she doesn't have a school-leaving certificate either. So based on the PAN card (where his father's name is present), it is challenging and next to impossible to prove that she is her father's daughter at the Indian through Foreigners’ Tribunal of Assam.
Moreover, in the case of Dipali, she lost both her parents at a very young age. She lost her mother at the age of seven and her father at the age of fourteen. This right here has been why many women's names did not appear in the NRC of Assam! Many married women, who did not go to school, could not show any official documents of their relationship with their father at the NRC Verifications in Assam.
Finally, on February 5, 2019, an order came out from the Foreigners’ Tribunal, stating the following:
"She (Dipali Das) is an illegal migrant of post 25/03/1971 stream. So, O.P has no right to live within the territory of India and be sent back from India within an early date."
Here O.P means opposite party, i.e. Dipali Das.
On May 5, 2019, she had to move to Silchar Detention Camp based on that order.
Dipali Das's stay in the detention camp was completed two years in May this year. She was supposed to get bail that very day, i.e. May 5 2021. However, due to some issues, Arpita couldn't procure the bail amount at the right time; the people who were supposed to help her also couldn't help. Meanwhile, two siblings in Bangalore are COVID Positive during the second wave of the pandemic in India. Arpita broke down in tears and said, "Let it be now. I do not have any money. I also need to send money to my siblings in Bangalore for treatment. On top of all this, I don't have the money to get my mother out of the detention camp!" I said, "Don't give up, Arpita! I promised your mother that she would be released from the detention camp. Let me try."
I went out in search of a guarantor for her bail. I went down with papers of my flat, the lawyer said, no, this would not be enough for you to be a guarantor. Then I kept sending requests to various WhatsApp groups and was constantly disappointed when nothing was coming out of it.
Eventually, Malay Das, a devoted activist from "Bikkhan Cine Commune" of Silchar, came forward and became the guarantor himself for Dipali Das. After informing Arpita, Arpita rushed to get another guarantor for the bail and even found someone. However, the current Guwahati High Court has ruled that one guarantor is enough for bail in such cases now.
Monday, May 18, 2021. Dipali Das was released on bail. Today, everyone in her family, including Arpita, are pleased, happy and relieved to her with them.
Sincere congratulations to Malay Das. We as a society will remember his sincere cooperation under these circumstances.
[P.S. "Socio-economically marginalised, poverty-ridden, illiterate married women will be one of the biggest victims of NRC all over India, including West Bengal. In no way will they be able to show any official documents proving their relationship with the father before marriage because many got married before the age of 18. They do not have a birth certificate because there were no birth certificates back then, and they could not afford to go to school. The case of Dipali Das is representative of what has been happening to numerous women all over Assam and can happen all over India"]
Link to Original Post : আমার 'ক্যাম্প' থেকে মুক্তি লড়াই: ফরেনার্স ট্রাইব্যুনালে ভারতীয় প্রমাণ করা খুব মুশকিল