Behrampore (Murshidabad): Moyna Khatun clutched her 11-year-old son’s birth certificate like a lifeline as she jostled in a long queue outside Behrampore municipality office in Bengal’s Murshidabad district. Neighbours had told her even digital records must be “updated”. Only after officials assured her that Asif’s certificate was valid did she leave.Khatun’s anxiety mirrors a wave of panic sweeping Murshidabad and beyond in Bengal. For two weeks now, villagers have been lining up from before dawn until late evening to supplement manual certificates with digital ones, fearing Bengal could face a Bihar-style revision of voter rolls before the 2026 assembly polls. In Bihar, lakhs of names vanished – a purge echoing across Bengal’s villages, especially among minorities.The panic driven by rumours and social media has two more triggers: dread of a possible NRC count that could strip citizenship if documents don’t match, and reports of migrant workers from Bengal being expelled as “Bangladeshis” for lack of papers. Parents don’t want their children to become collateral during crackdowns on illegal immigrants. Numbers tell the story. Till mid-Aug, Behrampore issued 50-60 digital certificates daily. Now demand is 10-20 times higher. On Sept 2 alone, staff handed out 1,000. Lines still snaked outside.Municipal chairperson Naru Gopal Mukherjee said the rush has overwhelmed the office. Twenty extra staff and camps have been deployed “but the crowd is relentless”. Nearly 98% of applicants are from minority families, more than 99% from rural areas.Many arrive before sunrise. Sahabuddin Biswas of Durlavpur village set out at 3.30am, reaching the counter by 5.30. “I have two daughters. The elder has a Madhyamik admit card, authentic proof. I am worried about my younger daughter, Tuhina. She has only a manual certificate. If SIR or NRC happens, she must be safe.”Farmer Asibur Rahaman came with his son and daughter after hearing “manual certificates could be scrapped”. Safikul Islam, a teacher from Basantapur, said: “Even driving licences are digital now. I wanted my children’s certificates updated for the future.” Jyotsna Bibi of Dadpur worried mismatched surnames could create trouble. “Our children’s certificates say their father’s surname is Ali. But on his documents, the surname is Sheikh.”Registrar of births and deaths Partha Sarathi Roy said the surge has pushed staff beyond capacity. “We are unable to convince people that if anyone has an errorless certificate – even if it is manual – it is not mandatory to make them digital. We are ready to provide them in emergency cases like passport or job verification.”But the rush has spread. In Lalbag, Murshidabad municipality chairperson Indrajit Dhar reported a 30% spike in applications. “Crowd for digital birth certificates has increased due to the SIR/NRC panic. Even the subdivision hospital counter is feeling it,” he said.Officials insist the fears are baseless. “There is no govt order that manual certificates are invalid. People may apply for digital ones, but it should not be fuelled by rumours or anxiety,” district magistrate Rajarshi Mitra said. But reassurance travels slower than rumour.
