Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) has submitted an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), highlighting the severe restrictions and deplorable living conditions imposed on the residents of Paschim Sahebganj, a border village in Cooch Behar district, West Bengal. The Border Security Force (BSF) has subjected the villagers to continuous harassment and control, depriving them of their fundamental human rights and making their daily lives a struggle for survival.
The village is enclosed within barbed wire fencing, and access is controlled through a single gate (Gate No. 7), opened only for limited hours daily. This severely hampers their access to essential services such as healthcare, education, and markets. The villagers, primarily dependent on agriculture, face arbitrary restrictions from the BSF on farming activities. They are prohibited from transporting fertilizers and pesticides and require BSF permission to sell their harvested crops. The village lacks roads, healthcare centers, drinking water facilities, and electricity. Children have minimal access to education due to movement restrictions imposed by the BSF.
Any social or religious gathering, including marriages and burials, requires prior approval from the BSF. The forced isolation has led to a rise in inbreeding as villagers cannot seek alliances from outside. The situation violates multiple constitutional rights, including the right to life and dignity (Article 21), the right to education (Article 21A), and the right to equality (Article 14). The restrictions also contradict India’s commitments under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
MASUM has urged the NHRC to conduct an independent investigation into human rights violations in Paschim Sahebganj, direct the central and state governments to provide essential services, including healthcare, education, electricity, and road infrastructure, instruct the BSF to cease arbitrary harassment and remove movement restrictions that violate constitutional rights, and recommend alternative border security measures that do not infringe upon the rights of Indian citizens.
Kirity Roy, Secretary of MASUM, stated, "The excessive control by the BSF has turned Paschim Sahebganj into an open-air prison, stripping Indian citizens of their fundamental rights. These families have been reduced to second-class citizens in their own country, trapped within barbed wire fences. We urge the NHRC to take immediate action to restore their dignity and ensure their constitutional rights are upheld."
Comments