Beyond the Veil of Numbers: Understanding the Social Reality of SC and ST Women in Bakalir Chhara Enclave Authors Dr. Prosenjit Ray State Aided College Teacher, Dept. of History, Sitalkuchi College, Cooch Behar, WB, India https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3971-8282 Dr. Minal Ali Mia Assistant Professor, Dept. of Bengali, Alipurduar Mahila Mahavidhyalaya, Alipurduar, WB, India Dr. Samaresh Barman State Aided College Teacher, Dept. of Political Science, Bagnan College, Hawrah, WB, India Dr. Sumita Sinha Dept. of Political Science, Raiganj University, Uttar Dinajpur, WB, India DOI: https://doi.org/10.47505/IJRSS.2025.9.2 Keywords: Chhitmahal, Enclaves, Education, Health, SC-ST Abstract Paschim Bakalir Chhara (enclave) was one of the 51 Bangladeshi chhits /chits (enclaves) in India geographically located in Dinhata Sub-division, Cooch Behar district prior to the ratification of the India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) in 2015. This article examines the social status of SC and ST women in Paschim Bakalir Chhara, tracing its demographic characteristics, and the challenges faced by its concerned Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) women residents under a stateless existence and after enclave exchange in 2015. It also highlights the impact of the 2015 enclave exchange on the social condition after this enclave became an integral part of the Indian state. Author Biographies Dr. Minal Ali Mia, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Bengali, Alipurduar Mahila Mahavidhyalaya, Alipurduar, WB, India Assistant Professor, Dept. of Bengali, Alipurduar Mahila Mahavidhyalaya, Alipurduar, WB, India Dr. Samaresh Barman, State Aided College Teacher, Dept. of Political Science, Bagnan College, Hawrah, WB, India State Aided College Teacher, Dept. of Political Science, Bagnan College, Hawrah, WB, India Dr. Sumita Sinha, Dept. of Political Science, Raiganj University, Uttar Dinajpur, WB, India Dept. of Political Science, Raiganj University, Uttar Dinajpur, WB, India Downloads Download PDF How to Cite Ray, D. P., Dr. Minal Ali Mia, Dr. Samaresh Barman, & Dr. Sumita Sinha. (2025). Beyond the Veil of Numbers: Understanding the Social Reality of SC and ST Women in Bakalir Chhara Enclave. International Journal of Research in Social Science and Humanities (IJRSS) ISSN:2582-6220, DOI: 10.47505/IJRSS, 6(9), 10–22. https://doi.org/10.47505/IJRSS.2025.9.2 More Citation Formats ACM ACS APA ABNT Chicago Harvard IEEE MLA Turabian Vancouver Download Citation Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX Issue Vol. 6 No. 9: IJRSS September-2025 Section Articles License Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Prosenjit Ray, Dr. Minal Ali Mia, Dr. Samaresh Barman, Dr. Sumita Sinha This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.