West Bengal and Murshidabad District

West Bengal is the most densely populated state in all of India, having an area of 88,752 square kilometers and a population of 80.2 million. The population density is 904 per square kilometer. One of the major factors contributing to poverty in West Bengal is dense population and increasingly small plots of land being divided among subsequent generations of farmers. This has led toward increasing underemployment and unemployment. West Bengal’s unique geographical position at the intersection of Jharkhand, Bihar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and the Bay of Bengal, often makes smuggling a profitable and accessible line of work for underemployed citizens of the region. The Marxist Communist Party of India–CPI(M)–has ruled West Bengal for the past three decades, making it the longest-running democratically-elected communist government in the world.

West Bengal is the most densely populated state in India, and within West Bengal, Murshidabad is the most densely populated district, with a population of about 6 million and an average density of 1101 per square kilometer (Murshidabad District Statistical Handbook 2002). According to 2001 census data, 88% of the population lives rurally, while 12% lives in urban or semi-urban settings. Of the rural population, the reported literacy rate is 59% for men and 46% for women. However, literacy by this measure means only the ability to sign one’s name. The NGO Street Survivors India’s own estimate, based on their experience working in the locality, would be that only about 25% of men and 10% of women are functionally literate in any economically-applicable sense.

Another notable feature of Murshidabad is its high Muslim population. Murshidabad district is one of the few regions in India that can claim a Muslim majority. While India is 13 percent Muslim, and West Bengal 25 percent Muslim, Murshidabad is 65 percent Muslim. Despite being in the majority, Muslims in Murshidabad, as in all of India, face disadvantages and discrimination. According to the 2006 Sachar Report on the Status of the Muslim Community in India, “In no state does the representation of Muslims in the government departments match their population’s share (171). This is especially true in West Bengal, where the state government has provided only 2.1 percent of government jobs to Muslims (Sachar 170). Other factors cited in the report as contributing to Muslim marginalization and backwardness are: insufficient primary educational institutions in Muslim concentration villages, under-representation of Muslims in higher education, lower than averages percentages of Muslim women involved in economic activity, and higher than average percentages of Muslim men involved in self-employment (Sachar).

Burwan Block – Katna Village

Burwan Block is located in the southwest part of Murshidabad District, within Kandi Subdivision. A largely rural block, it is composed of approximately 210 villages, one of which is Katna village. Katna village has a population of about 2,000 and it is 99.9 percent Muslim. It is especially backward in terms of educational and economic opportunities. The main livelihood activity is agriculture, however, plots of land are increasingly smaller from generation to generation and much of the population is landless. Furthermore, the area floods twice per year—once in July, due to the monsoon, and once in September/October, due to the government releasing the water from a large upstream dam. These floods cause substantial damage to crops and may destroy a farmer’s livelihood for an entire season. A large number of families send members to bigger towns or cities to work as day laborers. Before the NGO Street Survivors India’s entry into the area, Katna was notorious for its gangs of frustrated youth and their anti-social behavior and extortion activities along the main road. Access to alternative livelihood options and opportunities is essential in order for Katna’s next generations to sustain themselves with dignity and security.
Katna has been the field base of the Street Survivors India (SSI) since 1998 and it is the ancestral village of Shabnam Ramaswamy, SSI’s co-founder.

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