In murder of Odisha’s tribal woman, role of long-standing community tensions with Bengali settlers

Days after the discovery and the detention of a youth from the nearby MV-26 village, over a thousand tribals armed themselves with traditional weapons and vandalised the village’s vehicles, shops and other structures. Notably, the village has a significant refugee Bengali settler population. More than a hundred houses of MV-26 were set on fire, and several residents fled the area.

With continued violence, armed police forces, including the Border Security Forces (BSF), were deployed to bring the situation under control and internet suspension was ordered. The district administration also held peace talks with leaders from both sides, who agreed to maintain law and order.

What is the region’s history?

Problems between the tribals and Bengali settlers have persisted for a long time, with deep-rooted grievances over land and economic marginalisation.

The Malkangiri Villages (MVs) were created under the Central government’s Dandakaranya project, launched for the rehabilitation of Bengali refugees who fled what was then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) for India.

Approved by the National Development Council in June 1957, it led to vast stretches of the Dandakaranya region in central-east India being selected as an official rehabilitation site for the refugees. Approximately 30,000 square miles of land were covered under the project, which began functioning in 1958. An autonomous body called the Dandakaranya Development Authority was responsible for maintaining it.

According to officials, parts of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (present-day Chhattisgarh) were initially considered, but areas of Andhra were excluded following resistance from the state. The project was thus implemented in four major zones – Malkangiri and Umerkote (then under the undivided Koraput district) and Paralkote and Kondagaon in then Madhya Pradesh. The Dandakaranya project was finally wrapped up in 1988.

Over time, however, the resettlement impacted regional dynamics. Tribals, who comprise more than a fifth of Odisha’s population, alleged cases of encroachment upon tribal resources and autonomy. Bengali settlers were seen as encroaching upon their land by fraudulent means and engaging in their exploitation, while the tribals continued to lack access to education and other resources. The settlers, who have acquired Indian citizenship for decades, argue that they possess valid land documents for their claims.

According to the police, a dispute over land ownership — an often contentious issue given these underlying factors —- was the motive behind the recent murder.

Previous incidents of violence

Land disputes have led to violence in the region in the past as well.

In 2001, tribal villagers of the Raighar area in the Nabarangpur district demanded the return of their land, claiming it was allegedly illegally taken over by the Bengali settlers. The situation escalated, leading to police firing that resulted in the killing of three tribals in October and two more in November, while several others sustained injuries. The protesting tribals ransacked the block office and set it on fire.

An inquiry Commission was set up in the aftermath, and a few arrests were made for the violence, but the larger land-related issues were not officially addressed.

In the recent case, Malkangiri district collector Somesh Kumar Upadhyay said the residents of MV-26 have started returning home as the region slowly returns to normalcy. The administration is also taking action against those who participated in the violence.

A high-level meeting was held at the district level to resolve the land dispute and revenue-related matters. Deputy Chief Minister KV Singh Deo led a two-member team of ministers to visit the area and submit a report to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.

Trinamool Congress has raised the incident in the last few days, as well, claiming that the ruling BJP’s “contempt for Bengalis” was its “core ideological principle.” The statement assumes significance ahead of the Legislative Assembly elections in West Bengal next year.

The BJP, for its part, has increasingly raised issues of illegal immigration in relation to the state, while targeting the Mamata Banerjee-led government for alleged misgovernance. Odisha’s Revenue and Disaster Management Minister, Suresh Pujari, said the situation in the region was largely normal before this incident.

“Ethnic violence in Malkangiri was a day-to-day incident in the past. The recent clash is very unfortunate, as a valuable life was lost and several houses were burnt down. The issue has been resolved to a larger extent. Senior officers are on the ground to monitor the situation,” Pujari told reporters.