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<p>In 1947, India attained independence through partition, leaving millions of refugees still struggling to find their rightful place. The partition boundaries were not drawn along ethnic or religious lines, disproportionately affecting the disadvantaged minority communities already debilitated by resource scarcity and famine. These communities’ emotional attachment to their ancestral lands intensified the stakes for these marginalized groups. This research traces the spatio-temporal reconfiguration from 1881 to 2011 of West Bengal’s five largest Scheduled Castes (SCs), viz., Rajbangshi, Namasudra, Bagdi, Poundra and Bauri (as per the 2011 census). By analysing the Location Quotient (LQ) and Average Annual Growth Rate (AAGR) of each caste’s population, across census years: 1881, 1941, 1951 and 2011, the study maps the patterns of caste dominance, displacement and Territorial fragmentation among these marginalized peoples. Complete spatial disintegration occurred within the Namasudra, Rajbangshi and Pod communities, previously concentrated in the Eastern Districts of Undivided Bengal before 1947 and displaced into West Bengal, India. Conversely, the Bagdi and Bauri historically dominated in the western part of Bengal, retained territorial continuity but endured severe losses due to famines and epidemics. The study contributes to the understanding of caste-territory dynamics, migration asymmetries and socio-spatial marginalization within South Asia’s postcolonial landscape.</p>

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Fragmented territory: a spatial reorganization of scheduled castes in Bengal from 1881 to 2011

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月30日

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  • Nayan Roy,
  • Rolee Kanchan

摘要

In 1947, India attained independence through partition, leaving millions of refugees still struggling to find their rightful place. The partition boundaries were not drawn along ethnic or religious lines, disproportionately affecting the disadvantaged minority communities already debilitated by resource scarcity and famine. These communities’ emotional attachment to their ancestral lands intensified the stakes for these marginalized groups. This research traces the spatio-temporal reconfiguration from 1881 to 2011 of West Bengal’s five largest Scheduled Castes (SCs), viz., Rajbangshi, Namasudra, Bagdi, Poundra and Bauri (as per the 2011 census). By analysing the Location Quotient (LQ) and Average Annual Growth Rate (AAGR) of each caste’s population, across census years: 1881, 1941, 1951 and 2011, the study maps the patterns of caste dominance, displacement and Territorial fragmentation among these marginalized peoples. Complete spatial disintegration occurred within the Namasudra, Rajbangshi and Pod communities, previously concentrated in the Eastern Districts of Undivided Bengal before 1947 and displaced into West Bengal, India. Conversely, the Bagdi and Bauri historically dominated in the western part of Bengal, retained territorial continuity but endured severe losses due to famines and epidemics. The study contributes to the understanding of caste-territory dynamics, migration asymmetries and socio-spatial marginalization within South Asia’s postcolonial landscape.