Kolkata, 13 August (H.S.)
After the political uproar over SIR in Bihar, now this process is going to start in West Bengal as well. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is repeatedly assuring that if any resident of the state is declared non-Indian, the government will agitate in their favour. Meanwhile, a figure from the state health department has raised concerns in administrative circles. There has been an unexpected increase in the number of birth certificates approved by various gram panchayats, especially in the districts bordering Bangladesh.
Malda tops the list, followed by Murshidabad and Birbhum. According to the data, 44229 birth certificates were approved by gram panchayats across the state in 2023, which increased to 55921 in 2024. In 2025, till July 15, 23026 certificates have been approved. In Malda district alone, the growth rate has reached hundreds of percent in many panchayats. For example, 273 percent increase has been registered in North Chandipur Panchayat of Manikchak and 383 percent increase has been registered in Bakharabad Panchayat of Kaliachak-3.
Similarly, there has been a huge increase in birth certificate registration in many panchayats of Murshidabad, Birbhum, Bankura, North Dinajpur, South 24 Parganas, Jhargram and Howrah. This increase reached 407 percent in Baniban Panchayat of Howrah. Nabanna has ordered all the District Magistrates to investigate these cases.
The District Health Department says that people are afraid of SIR, due to which old paper certificates are being converted into digital certificates. In many cases, the registration number remains the same, but the approval number increases at the Panchayat level. Also, the increasing number of nursing homes in rural areas is also being considered a reason behind this. However, administrative officials believe that the truth of these claims will be revealed in the investigation. Political rhetoric has intensified on this issue. BJP leaders have again reiterated the allegation that the Bengal government is promoting Bangladeshi infiltration and these people are the vote bank of Trinamool Congress. BJP says that implementation of SIR will identify the infiltrators, that is why the ruling party is opposing it.
Congress MP Isha Khan Choudhary has warned that legitimate Indian citizens should not be harassed in the name of SIR, as has been seen in Assam and Bihar. Malda district president and Maltipur Trinamool MLA Abdur Rahim Bakshi rejected the allegations and said that certificates are issued with transparency in all panchayats and it has nothing to do with infiltration.
However, only after the investigation report comes, the mystery will be revealed whether this sudden surge in birth certificates is just a coincidence or some preparation before SIR.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey
