If he hadn’t left Bengal for Gujarat in search of work, he would never have been forced into deep-sea fishing, crossed into Pakistani waters, or died in a foreign jail. That is the sentiment echoing through South Paikbad village in Kanthi after news broke on Saturday that fisherman Swapan Rana had died in Pakistani custody.
The East Midnapore district fisheries department confirmed the information, triggering fresh debate over a growing trend: the rise of migrant fishermen from Bengal.
Fishermen’s organisations across the Kanthi coast admit that since the Covid pandemic, more small and marginal fishermen from East Midnapore have been travelling to other states for better earnings.
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Falling fish stocks in the Bay of Bengal have pushed many trawlers and small boats to reduce operations. Meanwhile, states like Kerala, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu promise significantly higher wages. Swapan first migrated to Kerala in 2023 and later moved to Gujarat. But his family stopped hearing from him after January 2024. Soon, they learned that a Gujarat-based trawler carrying Swapan and six others had accidentally entered Pakistani waters. All seven were arrested.
Swapan’s son, Chandrakanta, said on Sunday, “I have heard that the other six who were jailed with my father are also Bengalis.” The East Midnapore administration, however, has no official confirmation. Local fishermen’s unions say the wage gap explains the exodus. In East Midnapore, small fishermen earn only 8,000–10,000 a month, and trawler fishermen 12,000–15,000. But in Kerala, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, trawler workers earn 17,000–18,000.
At the start of the fishing season, they also receive advances of one to one-and-a-half lakh rupees. Most importantly, dried fish caught at sea is shared among the fishermen, an additional earning they don’t get back home.
The death of Swapan Rana has now amplified the harsh reality: Bengal’s fishermen, living in a state proud of its “fish and rice” identity, are increasingly being pushed out in search of survival.
