God made us Santals: Their sad saga
This barbed wire boundary is being built so that the Santals can not come back. The photo is taken on November 12, 2016. Photo Courtesy: Sanjida Jui
After the rampage and arson they faced, how are the Santals passing their days in Gaibandha? What are their mental traumas? How can they forget the flames and marauding crowd plundering their homes? How can they forget the dark night full of horrors?
Here is a pictorial account of their experience as captured by photographer Sanjida Jui.
In 1952, these 1844 acres of land was requisitioned for Rangpur sugar mill to cultivate sugarcane. The deal was if the mill authority doesn’t use this land for sugarcane cultivation anymore, they would return the land to the owners. Photo: Collected
The Santals are too tired to talk or answer questions. They are staying under the open sky since November 6. The photo taken on November 12, 2016. Photo: Sanjida Jui
Two Santal women -- Mina and Provati – are seen in the photo taken on November 12, 2016. Photo: Sanjida Jui
On 6th November evening, the bullets were coming like the days of 1971, according to the Santal people in Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha. The photo is taken on November 12, 2016. Photo: Sanjida Jui
A Santal woman is searching for her home, her belongings. Photo: Sanjida Jui
Joshna Murmu, a Santal woman who was a victim of the incident, said, “It was the time when I was cooking rice for dinner. Suddenly it was fire around. And it burned everything. Police fired the bullets, people of nearby villages looted whatever was left. Now I don’t have anything. My husband went to Bogra. He wants to come back but he can’t. Police are not allowing them to come back here”. Photo: Sanjida Sharmin
The Santal community people are now living under the open sky after the clash took place on November 6, 2016. Photo: Sanjida Sharmin
A Santal woman is seen on a land where she had a hut. The photo is taken on November 12, 2016. Photo Courtesy: Sanjida Jui
This is what they have left for the Santal people. Photo: Sanjida Sharmin
Another Santal woman said, “I had two sons and one daughter. I even don’t know their whereabouts”. Photo Courtesy: Sanjida Sharmin
Everything is burnt. Photo: Sanjida Sharmin
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