The Transfer Area Suryapur Organisation (TASO), based in Islampur under West Bengal’s North Dinajpur district, has strongly protested the state government’s decision to place Karandighi police station under the jurisdiction of the Raiganj Civil and Criminal Court.
In a letter addressed to the principal secretary of the judicial department of the government of West Bengal on 13 May, TASO responded to a government notification (No. 101-JD/X/16M-07/23) dated 2 May, expressing “deep concern and strong objection” to the move.
Quoting from the letter, TASO reminded the state authorities of a historic decision by the central government on November 1, 1956, under which a 749-square-mile area was transferred from Bihar to West Bengal on the basis of linguistic and cultural affinity. “This region, preserving the Suryapuri language and culture, comprises five police stations—Chopra, Islampur, Goalpokhar, Chakulia, and Karandighi—along with 19 mouzas from Phansidewa police station,” the letter stated. “Together, they form a culturally and linguistically cohesive unit.”
The TASO spokesperson Pasharul Alam emphasised that this region has long been demanding recognition as a separate district with Islampur as its administrative centre. “The proposal to bring Karandighi under Raiganj Court jurisdiction risks fragmenting this historically united region and pushing it toward administrative and cultural marginalisation,” he said. “The linguistic, cultural, and environmental realities of this area are entirely distinct from those of Raiganj.”
Alam further warned that implementing this decision would amount to “a mark of disrespect to the historic and cultural identity of the transferred area” and could provoke widespread public dissatisfaction and social division.
The TASO has put forward three key demands: Official recognition of the transferred area as a distinct administrative and cultural unit; Retention of Karandighi and surrounding areas under the jurisdiction of the Islampur Court; A comprehensive development and governance plan that respects the region’s linguistic and cultural uniqueness, including a demand for district status.
Mr Alam expressed hope that the state government would uphold democratic values and administrative fairness by reconsidering the proposal and withdrawing it without delay.