Jaipur: Revenue minister Hemant Meena told Rajasthan Assembly Monday that the state will constitute a committee to address issues related to caste entries in revenue records of displaced Bengali-speaking families in the Kishanganj constituency, many of whom migrated in 1971 from West Pakistan (now Bangladesh) due to persecution.Replying during Question Hour to supplementary queries raised by MLA Lalit Meena, the minister said several displaced families were unable to obtain Scheduled Caste (SC) certificates and were being deprived of benefits under welfare schemes meant for the SC category.Meena said a committee comprising district collector, SDO and tehsildar will be formed to examine the issue. Through due process, the term “Bengali” recorded in revenue records will be reviewed and necessary corrections made to reflect the actual caste of the families concerned.The minister clarified that “Bengali” is a linguistic identity and not a specific caste. If old revenue records indicate the families belong to castes listed under Rajasthan’s Scheduled Caste category, corrections will be carried out as per rules. “Directions in this regard will be issued to district collectors,” he added.In his written reply to the original question, Meena said that in Paraniya and Ghatti Nehrupara villages of Kishanganj tehsil, agricultural land allotted to displaced Bengali families by the Rehabilitation Department was recorded in revenue documents (Jamabandi) under the caste entry “Bengali”.He told the House that the families sought inclusion of their caste, “Namoshudra”, in the SC category, citing similarities with castes such as Chandal, Shikari and Dhobi listed under the SC category. However, the social justice and empowerment department’s official SC list in Rajasthan does not include the Namoshudra caste.Since Namoshudra is not part of the state’s SC list, SC certificates cannot currently be issued to members of the community, the minister said, adding that no proposal for inclusion is presently under consideration.
