KOLKATA: When autumn sets in they cross the border every year, carrying dhaks on their backs. In the the next few days, they work up a traditional rhythm at Puja pandals on this side of the border, earning a few extra bucks and, more importantly, lending an emotional touch to Bengal’s biggest festival. Police and guards at the border usually relax a bit and the dhakis would go back after the Pujas, only to return next year. But all that may change as then Islamic State (IS) was an unknown commodity in Bangladesh. Now, this year, after the Holy Artisan Bakery massacre and the gradual proliferation of the IS on the soil of the eastern neighbour, Bangladeshi dhakis will be missed at the Puja pandals. There are many dhakis in Bengal, especially in the districts of Bankura, Purulia, Hooghly, but those from the neighbouring country, too, are hired during the Pujas in many districts of south Bengal. Mr. Bhaskar Mukherjee, Superintendent of Police (SP), North 24 Parganas that shares a long unfenced border with Bangladesh, said, “Durga Puja is incomplete without dhakis, but at the same time we have to ensure that everything is done according to the law”. Every year, several dhakis living in Bangladesh cross over to play in the Puja pandals. They are mostly poor village folks and don’t have the wherewithal to obtain passports and enter the legal way. Police officers from bordering districts said, the flow will be reduced to a trickle, only limited to those who can afford to obtain a passport and enter the legal way.]]>
