Citizenship Crisis, Migration, and Refugee Identity: The Political Transformation of the Matua Community in West Bengal

Abstract: The Matua community in West Bengal, a marginalized Scheduled Caste group with a history of cross-border migration, is the focus of this study, which at first looks into their essential political transformation. The Matuas are from East Bengal (now Bangladesh), and their long-standing "refugee" identity has been re-politicized by the current Indian citizenship crisis, which is centered on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The study explores how the community's development from a socio-religious movement into a strong, self-conscious political collective has been caused by this continuing legal and existential uncertainty over belonging. It examines, via qualitative analysis, how the Matuas have been strategically placed as essential electoral stakeholders through their engagement of narratives of displacement and faith-based solidarity, as well as demands for legal recognition. In the final analysis, the thesis contends that the Matua case provides an example of how citizenship anxieties in a borderland state may profoundly change subaltern identity and lead to subsequent political realignment. The study emphasizes how marginalized refugee communities negotiate rights, belonging, and representation throughout contemporary India by situating the Matua experience within larger theories of identity politics and citizenship.