Their count now down to barely 1,000, members of the community say it’s not just religion, but economic factors, too, which compound the challenge of continuing in the country. Amid a spate of attacks against minorities, they are looking to India for a helping hand
In a modest Dhaka office, Jitendra Jalan absently stirs his tea and speaks like a man carrying two countries in one passport. His ancestors left Rajasthan’s Churu district generations ago, drawn to the trading towns of undivided Bengal. Yet at 58, Jalan says his community — Bangladesh’s Marwaris — has never felt fully at home.
“Our forefathers stayed back at the time of Partition in 1947. Even in 1971, we stayed back in the newly born Bangladesh,” he said. “But, despite holding citizenship, we never felt we were part of this country — ‘ na ghar ka na ghat ka ’ is a description that fits us.”
“Our forefathers stayed back at the time of Partition in 1947. Even in 1971, we stayed back in the newly born Bangladesh,” he said. “But, despite holding citizenship, we never felt we were part of this country — ‘ na ghar ka na ghat ka ’ is a description that fits us.”