“From the coal mines of Raniganj to the forests of Jhargram to the wiped out voters of Murshidabad (pictured) to the violently affected people of Malda, there was anger from the people over the failed promises.” | Photo credit: PTI
I stood inside India’s oldest coal mine in Raniganj, West Bengal, amidst the black dust, and felt a song reach my ears. The women sang in synchronized voices as they continued to dig coal. It was a comfort, one that endures. As Bertolt Brecht once wrote: Will there be singing in dark times? Yes, there will be singing. About dark times.
The song was often interrupted by a mining explosion, and thick black smoke replaced the synchronization in the air. As a lone reporter unaccompanied by a photographer, it was intimidating for me to navigate the coal belts and talk to villagers in an area suffering from land subsidence due to mining. When friends messaged me to be careful, I was worried.
The road led to abandoned houses, broken walls and soft soil, where over 160 families still live, refusing to allow the government to cram them into one-room pigeon flats as part of its rehabilitation programme. “What about our country? Who will replace our uprooted lives?” – these are the main questions in their minds.
As the wave of state elections recedes and electoral parties bounce back, a common refrain in these parts is that they “didn’t deliver on their poll promises”. From the coal mines of Raniganj to the forests of Jhargram to the wiped out electorate of Murshidabad to the violence-hit people of Malda, there was anger from the people over the failed promises.
Even as the landscape changes beyond Raniganj, the discontent is the same in Murshidabad. In a district where some of the area’s wealthiest beedi barons are contesting elections to represent the poorest voters, the gulf between political wealth and everyday poverty is extremely wide.
These Muslim-majority areas were among the worst affected in the Special Intensive Review (SIR) process. People say that political parties sought their votes but did not restore their names in the electoral rolls. Over 74,000 voters were struck out in the Samserganj constituency, one of the highest in the state. The surveys are over, but their sense of betrayal continues to simmer. These are some of the most out-of-state migrant populations, as meaningful work is scarce in these parts.
In these parts, it is a life of uncertainty for many. Parts of their homes were lost to the erosion of the Ganges; what remains stands precariously, yet continues to be inhabited. Several residents claim that their names no longer appear on the electoral rolls. Between the loss of land and the absence of documentation, their security and identity remain unsettled, with compensation still not forthcoming despite repeated efforts.
On the other side of the river lies Malda. Although constituencies are changing, river erosion, job shortages and voter suppression remain common crises. The tension in the bylanes of Mothabari constituency in Malda was palpable and the local people were largely cowed. Many of them were arrested for laying siege to seven court officials in protest against the SIR process and their names were brought before the court. He now spends sleepless nights in fear of harassment and arrest by the National Investigation Agency. No amount of reassurance seems to get them to talk to reporters.
When access becomes uncertain in such volatile situations, silence sometimes reads as a reaction because conversations don’t flow organically.
Many districts away, in Purba Bardhaman’s Kalna area, hundreds of potato farmers have suffered huge losses due to overproduction and a collapse in market prices. “What’s the point of all this talk? You can’t bring back the person I’ve lost. Drink some water and go,” the grieving son of a potato farmer who died by suicide told me. Political parties gave assurances, but that was it.
The parties have made lofty promises of upliftment even for the marginalized in Jhargram. But people say surveys come and go but their lives haven’t changed.
There are no complaints against any political party or government in the communities and districts. The frustration that the system has failed runs deeper, sometimes generational.
Sometimes such meetings in the villages go beyond the script where the reporter’s presence makes them feel that some help will follow, with many bringing documents and asking if their names can be restored to the electoral roll, and some asking if compensation can be arranged for the loss of crops or their homes. Many even wonder if they will be detained or deported if their names are not on the electoral rolls. You sit in silence. The questions don’t stop, even if clarity doesn’t necessarily follow.
Published – 08 May 2026 01:07 IST
