Educational and Identity Crisis in the Face of Riverbank Erosion: A Sense of Social Exclusion among the affected Mass

The purpose of this study is to assess the educational and identity crises faced by people in displaced households due to the eastward shifting of the Ganges River in the Malda district. Household Surveys (HS) involving structured and pre-tested questionnaires, Key Informant Interviews (KII), and Focused Group Discussions (FGD) were employed to collect relevant data. Satellite images were analyzed to detect the left bank (LB) shifting of the Ganges River and resultant human eviction. Descriptive statistical and cartographic techniques have been applied to draw proper inferences. It has been observed that hundreds of inhabited villages, thousands of acres of multi-cropping fertile agricultural land, business establishments, educational institutions, etc., have been engulfed by the massive left bank erosion (LBE) and resultant shifting of the course of the mighty Ganges during the last 70-80 years of the properly documented hydro-geomorphic history of the district. Thousands of riverbank dwellers in the study area have lost their lives and livelihoods and become 'Ecological Refugees' (ERs) in their homeland. They are facing multi-dimensional socio-economic difficulties in general and educational and identity crises in particular.