Fixing the Border

The Indian parliament passed the bill on May 7 to heal a political wound festering between Bangladesh and India for four decades, thus spinning hope for the people in those enclaves who effectively lived in both countries but in neither

| Khondoker Tazuddin |

On May 7, 2015, a long festering wound in the Bangladesh- India relationship finally showed the chance of healing. That moment of truth arrived when the Indian parliament passed the 119th Amendment to the Indian Constitution. It not only is going to remove the thorn on the sides of two countries but also ring to closure a historical blunder that took place more than three hundred years ago. The unanimous passing of the amendment by the Indian lawmakers has made the good news even better. It shows that after long four decades of dillydallying, the Indian politicians have eventually realized that this cantankerous issue should no longer be left in abeyance. It has been welcome news for the people of both countries, in particular the residents of the enclaves who were struggling for many generations to sort out their political and national belongingness.

– Md Shahriar Alam
State minister for Foreign Affairs

With the passing of the border bill in the Indian Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, the 41-year old border sharing issue between Bangladesh and India is finally going to be resolved. This is definitely one of the greatest diplomatic achievements of the current AL-led government. Through the border bill the long unresolved land disputes on the border, the complexities that arose with purchase and sale of lands and the 6.5 kilometer-long border will be identified. As a result the 111 Indian enclaves on our side of the border will go to India and our 51 enclaves on the Indian side of the border will come to us.
During the current regime, bilateral issues with India have gone through landmark developments. The sea borders have also been demarcated. The power treaty has been implemented. Earlier in 1996, the then AL led government had signed the Ganges treaty with India and we are reaping its benefits at present. The Indian prime minister is going to visit Bangladesh in mid-June and we are trying our best to remove all existing glitches in our bilateral ties. In other words, issues such as, border killings, Teesta water sharing agreement, Feni river treaty among others, are on our agenda and the Indian government has shown genuine sincerity to resolve these issues.
Because of the diplomatic success of the current regime, the people of the enclaves on both sides have achieved freedom after long 68 years. We are trying our best to resolve all issues of dispute during this regime and the monetary involvement of implementing the land border treaties will be final once the paper works from the Indian side on the bill is completed. The law enforcement agencies are already at work to ensure the safety of the residents of the enclaves who are starting to dream anew.

This land border dispute dates back to the days of the Mughal Empire, which had pitched a battle against the princely state of Cooch Behar way back in 1713. Eventhough the Mughals army had won that battle the territories captured by both sides had a peculiar twist to them. The Mughals had taken over land which was surrounded by land occupied by the princely state and vice versa. Many small pockets were thus created which were Mughal land within the land of the princely state and the other way around.
Interestingly, the British Empire inherited this anomaly when it took over the Mughal Empire in India. The matter was passed on to India and Pakistan after the Indian subcontinent split into two countries in 1947. The governments of both countries had taken up the subject several times but the hostility and suspicion created by the war of 1965 virtually put this border problem on the back burner. After Bangladesh came into existence in 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Indira Gandhi had signed an agreement in 1974 announcing the swap of 162 enclaves. Under the agreement, India agreed to receive 51 out of the 71 Bangladeshi enclaves that are inside India proper measuring 7,110.2 acres, while Bangladesh agreed to for 95 to 101 of the 103 Indian enclaves that are inside Bangladesh measuring 17,160.63 acres. It was further agreed that India will also acquire 2777.038 acres adverse possession areas and transfer 2267.682 acres adverse possession areas to Bangladesh. Bangladesh, as per the spirit of that agreement, had promptly handed over Berubari to India hoping that India was going to reciprocate at the same speed.

Since then Bangladeshis have been harboring a sense of being cheated by India, which gave enough fuel to fire anti-Indian sentiments in the country. India being its largest neighbor, Bangladesh has numerous economic and political issues with that country, most of which have remained unresolved. These unresolved issues are not quite getting resolved despite efforts from both sides and every time the border and water sharing issues triggered concern over the Indian intransigence. As a result, the relation between the two countries was hardly relaxed, but looked vulnerable to doubts and misgivings instead. What added irritations to the already sensitive relationship are border killing, transit, and trade deficits besides the growing discomfort that India may be meddling in the internal politics of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh shares a land border of 4098 kilometer with India, which has remained fraught with controversies ever since the official demarcation of India-Pakistan borders took place in 1947. After almost three quarters of a century, allegations of innocent Bangladeshis getting shot by Border Security Force (BSF) of India almost on a daily basis are reported and appeals from Bangladesh to stop the killings have largely gone unheeded on the Indian side. As per the signed agreement with India, Bangladesh handed over South Berubari to India in exchange of having the Tin Bigha corridor in Dahagram-Angorpota open 24 hours

– Notable Enclaves

Dahagram–Angarpota, the largest Bangladeshi composite enclave (combining the first- and third-largest Bangladeshi chhits by area), administered as part of Patgram upazila in Lalmonirhat district, lies within the Indian province of West Bengal. It is separated from the contiguous area of Bangladesh at its closest point by less than 200 meters. The enclave has an area of 10 square miles with a resident population of 20,000 people. The enclave lacks all facilities. The lone health complex remains virtually useless for lack of power supply, as India refused to allow Bangladesh to run power lines to the enclave. The Tin Bigha Corridor, the 178 x 85 meter strip of Indian territory separating the Dahagram–Angarpota composite enclave from Bangladeshi territory, was leased to Bangladesh for 99 years for access to the enclave. It is available for use by the residents of Dahagram–Angarpota during specified hours of the day.

– India

Dasiar Chhara, the fourth largest Indian chhit by area, is the largest standalone Indian enclave (i.e., not a composite of adjoining chhits). It lies 2 miles from the main part of India and has an area of 3 square miles. According to the Census Report issued by Bharat Bangladesh Enclave Exchange Co-ordination Committee on July 31, 2010, the total population is 9,510. Dahala Khagrabari is the world's only third-order enclave, being Indian territory inside a Bangladeshi territory which is itself inside an enclave of India in Bangladesh.

for commuters. But India opened it initially only for 6 hours and later for 12 hours. Following the visit by its premier, Manmohan Singh in 2011, India declared to keep it open for 24 hours as per the agreement, which Bangladesh had been deprived of for years. The issue of enclaves also had remained unresolved between the two countries for decades. There are 111 enclaves of India covering 17,160 acres within Bangladesh and there are in total 51 enclaves of Bangladesh with 7,110 acres inside the Indian border. People from these enclaves, in a way, have lived like intruders in their own countries for the last 67 years, deprived of their rights and benefits. The enclave exchange agreement failed to get a clearance during the rule of UPA government in India due to objections raised by West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee. However, in a recent move in the Indian Rajya Sabha the enclave treaty was approved. In addition to the enclave issue, the sharing of water between the two countries is also becoming a major problem of bilateral concern. There are 54 rivers that flow on both sides of the border. But India controls the flow of these rivers as a result of which Bangladesh is not getting its fair share of water.
signed by both the countries under the leadership of the then Indian prime minister, Deve Gowda, and the then Bangladesh prime minister, Sheikh Hasina. But India refused to share water as per the spirit of that treaty. Instead India decided to build the Tipaimukh Dam to implement its ambitious power project on the Borak River, which will further impede water flow into Bangladesh. It is feared that the entire Sylhet area will experience severe water crisis after the implementation of this project. Similarly, India has built dams on Teesta River to implement several irrigation and power projects, which is further depriving Bangladesh of its due share of water. At the root of all bilateral problems is the fact that India consistently fails to live up to the promises it makes in the bilateral treaties with Bangladesh. Even if treaties are signed, India remains reluctant to give any effect to them. However, after 41 years, on May 7, the amended bill of India-Bangladesh Land Swap deal was cleared by the Indian Lok Sabha, which is now going to follow several steps of formality before reaching the final stage of exchanging the enclaves and adverse lands, as well as demarcating undemarcated borders.

Facts on Enclaves

According to various sources, enclaves are scattered pieces of land belonging to one country outside its geographic borders within the boundaries of another country, usually a neighboring country, which must allow provisions of access. A Bangladesh-India border conference was held between BSF and BDR in Kolkata in October 1996 followed by a visit to the enclaves by the representatives in November. And in April 1997, the official total number and areas of the enclaves were finalized where it was declared that the total number of enclaves were 162 with 51 enclaves of Bangladesh inside India and 111 swappable Indian enclaves inside Bangladesh covering an area of 17,160 acres were identified. Another 51 Indian swappable enclaves inside Bangladesh were identified with an area of 7,110 acres. The enclaves inside Bangladesh include 27 under the administration of Lalmonirhat and Kurigram authorities with an area of 4,409 acres. Of these, 11 are located in Mekliganj of India covering an area of 629 acres. And another 12 are located in Mathabhanga thana covering an area of 850 acres. Another 6 are located in Kuchlibari and Shitolkuchi thana covering 2,113 acres and 18 more in Fulbari and Bharungamari of Kurigram. From a geographic angle, 47 enclaves are located in the West Bengal state of India with 4 in Jalpaiguri district.
Of the 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh, 36 are in Panchgarh Sadar, Boda and Debiganj upazila, 4 in Dimla of Nilphamari, 59 in Hatibandha of Lalmonirhat and Patgram and 12 in Fulbari and Bharungamari of Kurigram. From the administrative point of view they are all falling under the district of Cooch Behar of India. According to the consensus of 2011, the total population of the 111 Indian enclaves was 37,334, and 1,215 in the 51 Bangladeshi enclaves with no human habitation in 19 of them.

– Dr. A K Azad Chowdhury
President, India-Bangladesh Moitree Samity

Bangladesh and India are a part of the South Asia region. Both are members of SAARC, BIMSTEC, IORA and the Commonwealth. India played a great role during the liberation war of Bangladesh and since then India is not only our biggest neighbor but also our friend. The Indo- Bangla ties were extremely good between 1971 and 1975 and cracks started to appear since the killing of the Father of the Nation. When the Awami League-led government came to power in 1996, bilateral relations started to improve once again with the signing of the historic Ganges treaty.
The relations further improved in 2014 when Bangladesh got its sea borders identified with the support of international tribunal. The recent land border treaty came as a follow-up to that. If the good relations continue then disputed issues including Farakka Dam, Tin Bigha Corridor, Shiliguri Corridor, economic transit, border killings, etc would be resolved soon. The land border agreement is a diplomatic triumph of this government and it indicates the foresight of both governments.

The Birth of the Enclaves

The British Parliament passed the India Independent Act 1947 on July 15, 1947 and after almost a month on August 14 the British Raj was abolished forming the two states of India and Pakistan. The laws enacted stated that the independent estates will have the right to join India or Pakistan at their own free will or they could retain their status as independent entities. This is how Ramgarh and Bandarban in Rangamati was appended to the erstwhile East Pakistan and the hilly Tripura on the eastern side and Cooch Behar on the northern side were attached to India.

While there were no problems regarding land in any other estates, there arose disputes in Cooch Behar where its king, Jagaddishpendra Narayan, had some ownership of land in greater Rangpur and Dinajpur districts. Similarly, the landed gentries of Rangpur and Dinajpur also had some land ownership within the borders of Cooch Behar. But the owners of these lands failed to come to a mutual understanding, which led to the formation of the Radcliffe Commission in 1947. President of the commission, Cyril Radcliffe, had little knowledge and experience in matters of estates, but submitted his report on border demarcation within 6 weeks of his visit to India on August 13 and it was finalized and published on the 16th, after three days. The demarcation was determined under the influence of nawabs, local politicians and tea estate owners serving their own personal interests and the passive role of the commission members. Therefore, the British took the decision rather hastily with-out due considerations and foresight leading to the ownership of enclaves remaining as a gnawing problem eversince. The commission failed to resolve the disputes of enclaves in Cooch Behar and Rangpur, and the corelands of the Indiam subcontinent got divided as per the Radcliffe map.

– Abul Hasan Chowdhury
Former state minister for Foreign Affairs

One of the major problems of the Indo-Bangla relation is the fact that India fails to keep its promises, which has been tested at various points of time. Moreover, India has also shown reluctance to keep its side of the bargain in bilateral agreements at the implementation stage. India is showing reluctance in implementing SAFTA leading to trade deficit in Bangladesh in favor of India.
However, in the last few years there have been some commendable developments in our bilateral trade ties. Rail links have been established between India’s Tripura and Bangladesh’s Akhaura. Bangladeshi exports have increased in seven northeastern states of India in the last two years. Of course, both countries still have many unresolved issues, which are underplaying potentials of strengthening bilateral ties. The unresolved issues include, border problems, enclave problems, water sharing, transit issue, and trade deficit among others, which we can hope will be solved once the land border is fully solved.

Efforts to Resolve

The Nehru-Noon treaty of September 1958 stipulated that the northern half of Berubari would be owned by India and southern half and its adjacent areas by the then Pakistan. But efforts to demarcate the southern half of Berubari as per the treaty failed miserably later on. Despite the treaty the then Indian prime minister asked for the opinion of the Supreme Court as per Section 143 of the Indian constitution and the Court ordained that it could only be resolved through constitutional amendment. Later on, any efforts towards constitutional amendment in this regard gained little mileage in India. After the war of liberation, Bangladesh president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Indian prime minister 5, 1974 as a way of solving the enclave issue. It was agreed that Bangladesh would get the Tin Bigha corridor to get connected to the Dahagram- Angarpota enclaves on the Indian side in exchange of giving ownership of Berubari to India. While Bangladesh had promptly handed over Berubari to India, the latter failed to keep its side of the deal by opening the Tin Bigha corridor for Bangladesh. It was understood at the signing of the agreement that each country would be responsible for getting the treaty approved in its own parliament. While Bangladesh got it done, India failed in its commitment. In 1990, the Indian Supreme Court sanctioned the use of the Tin Bigha corridor to Indian government and yet the enclave issue remained unresolved even after that.

– Dr. Amena Mohosin
Professor, Department of International Relations,
Dhaka University

Indo-Bangla relations went through a cold phase for a long time, which started to thaw when the current AL government came to power. We can see the results in the government’s success in terms of demarcating sea and land borders. However, India has always failed to fully implement the treaties it signed with Bangladesh in the past. Despite the Ganges agreement, we are yet to get our fair share of water. The same is the case with the treaties of Feni River and Teesta River treaties. We are trying to control the border killings. India does not act like a friendly neighbor as it should have as per the treaties signed between the two countries. The land border treaty bill has been passed in the Indian parliament after 41 years. It is definitely a positive development but we are yet to see the benefits of its implementation. These problems would soon be solved if leaders on both sides are responsible and sincere. A lot rests on the intent of India; if it wants a lot can be

Dahagram-Angorpota enclave, which is adjacent to Patgram upazila of Lalmonirhaat but within the Indian boundary, is the largest Bangladeshi enclave. Since 1985, the enclave was declared Dahagram union of Patgram upazila and on August 19, 1989, it was recognized as a union parishad. The Dahagram union with an unofficial population of 15,000 is 10 kilometers away from Patgram upazila and has a corridor 178.85 meters wide. In 1992, the then Bangladesh prime minister, Begum Khaleda Zia and Indian prime minister Narasimha Rao signed an agreement which stipulates that starting from June 26, 1992, the Tin Bigha corridor would remain open for commuters from Bangladesh for 6 hours a day. And from 2001, the corridor would be open for 12 hours a day between 7:30am and 7:30pm. However, in September 2011, another agreement was signed between Hasina and Manmohan where it was agreed that the corridor would remain open for 24 hours.

A Joint Border Working Group was formed in 2000 with the aim to resolve all land border issues between India and Bangladesh. The responsibility of the group was mainly to ensure the implementation of the Mujib-Indira treaty by exchanging the enclaves. In November 2014, a final meeting of the group was held in New Delhi and it was decided that the unresolved issues of the 1974 treaty would be resolved once and for all. Meanwhile in 2008, the AL government and the Indian Congress government had started sincerely working towards resolving the land border issues. With that in mind, the Bangladesh prime minister, Sheikh Hasina visited India in 2010 and on September 6, 2011 the then Indian prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, also visited Bangladesh to sign the protocols that officially identified the 111 enclaves of India and 51 of Bangladesh and the 6.1-kilometer disputed corridor on the border. The matter had still remained unresolved as it rested on the amendment of the Indian constitution for implementation. Despite several efforts made by the Congress government, including one in September 6, 2013, in the face of objections from Mamata Banerjee, the constitutional amendment bill failed to be passed in the Indian parliament. Then, after the present BJP government came to power, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi assured Sheikh Hasina about sorting out the issue in a short meeting between them during the SAARC summit in Kathmandu on November 26, 2014.

– Dr. Asaduzzaman Ripon
International affairs secretary, BNP

The Bangladesh-India relation at present is very good. The land border agreement can be implemented if India does not play any bluffing game. None of the neighbors of India has a good relation with it, especially Pakistan and China. India could never improve its relations with these two nations. India should play a more responsible role to improve its ties with its neighbors.
India should not only focus on improving its ties with the Awami League but with the people of Bangladesh so that the relation does not suffer if a particular political party is not in power in future. If the relation is with the people then it would be a stronger and a long-term one. Of course we want good relations with India but we do not want it at the cost of weakening our sovereignty, freedom and security. India must come forward in the sharing of the waters of Teesta and Feni rivers. The treaties signed in the past must see the light of implementation. Issues such as, border, transit, trade, etc., must be dealt with more positively. India should stop the construction of the Tipaimukh Dam to produce electricity at the expense of Bangladesh. In other words, we want friendship and good relations with India but not at the cost of negotiating our existence.

Public Protests

Bharat Bangladesh Enclave Exchange Coordination Committee was formed by the residents of the enclaves as a platform to voice their demands and protests after the 1974 Indira-Mujib and the 2011 Manmohan- Hasina treaties. But all is festive at the enclaves after the recent constitutional amendment in India. However, another body called the Bharat Bangladesh Enclave United Council is also active on making demands for registration of lands in the enclaves in the respective countries. It has also raised demands for rehabilitation and compensation for those who wish to repatriate to Bangladesh and vice versa. Mizanur Rahman, president of the council of Kalirhaat of Dashiarchara, informed that people of the Coordination Committee have removed the Indian flag from the Dashiarchara office already with threats of vandalizing and setting the office on fire.
On a visit to the Dashirchara enclave on May 10, Indian high commissioner Pankaj Sharan informed the people that both the governments would soon undertake development activities in the enclaves. Addressing the audience at an opinion sharing meeting, he said, “The people of the enclaves can now start a new life. The friendship between the two nations will take on a new level as a means of implementation of the Indira- Mujib treaty. I believe the land issues between the two countries will be peacefully resolved.”

Demarcation Fraught with Hitches

There are some Indian enclaves in Bangladesh, and Bangladesh has its enclaves inside the Indian territory. For instance, Chandrakhana with a total area of 120 acres and a population of 333 of 66 families, is within the Indian enclave of Dashiarchara in Kurigram (Enclave no. 150), which has an area of 1.943 acres. The inhabitants of the enclaves suffer from an acute identity crisis. They live like expatriates in their own land and are deprived of the basic human and political rights. They are often victims of tragic human rights violation. It is almost impossible to commute to and from enclaves lying on the other side of the border under the round-the-clock watch of Indian Border Security Force. The residents of the enclaves on the other side do not have access to Bangladeshi schools and the handful of those that are there are not allowed to hoist Bangladeshi flag and are forced to hoist the Indian flag only. They have scant orientation with the political process in Bangladesh and often cannot tell the difference between the Indiana and Bangladeshi governments. They do not have the right to vote either in India or in Bangladesh. There are also no poverty alleviation initiatives are undertaken to help these people. Neither of the two governments have any programs or allocations in their respective country budgets keeping these neglected people in mind.

Border Killing Should Stop

Now that the longdrawn border dispute is on the verge of getting resolved, the governments of Bangladesh and India should work together to sort out the remaining border problems that continue to strain the relationship between two countries. The border is used as a route for smuggling livestock, food items, medicines and drugs between Bangladesh and India. Moreover, India alleged that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh cross the border to India before it enforced a controversial shoot-onsight policy. Since this policy was initiated, the border has also witnessed occasional skirmishes between the Indian Border Security Force and the Border Guards Bangladesh, most notably in 2001.
According to Channel 4 News in July 2009, hundreds of Bangladeshis were killed by the Indian border security force along the shared barbed wire barrier India has installed on the border. The BSF claims that the barrier's main purpose is to check illegal immigration and to prevent crossborder terrorism. In 2010, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued an 81-page report which brought up uncountable abuses of the BSF. The report was compiled from the interviews taken from the victims of BSF torments, witnesses, members of the BSF and its Bangladeshi counterpart. The report stated that over 1000 Bangladeshi citizens were killed during the first decade of the 21st century. According to HRW, BSF did not only shoot illegal migrants or smugglers but even innocents who were seen near, sometimes even people working in fields near the border.
These atrocities continue till today when the news of BSF killing Bangladeshis hit the Bangladeshi media almost on a daily basis. BSF has made a number of incursions into Bangladesh territory, and indiscriminately shot civilians along the India-Bangladesh borders. In a news conference in August 2008, Indian BSF officials admitted that they killed 59 illegals (34 Bangladeshis, 21 Indians, rest unidentified) who were trying to cross the border during the prior six months.
Bangladeshi media accused the BSF of abducting 5 Bangladeshi children, aged between 8 and 15, from the Haripur Upazila in Thakurgaon District of Bangladesh, in 2010. Those children were setting fishing nets near the border. In 2010, Human Rights Watch has accused the BSF for the indiscriminate killings. BSF forces badly beaten, physically abused, raped 15-year-old Bangladesh girl Felani on 7 January 2011 and left her body hanging from the barbed wire fence. That incident triggered international condemnation and remains etched in the memories of Bangladeshis as an iconic act of BSF atrocities along the Bangladesh-India border.

The residents of these enclaves always suffer from a lack of security. They fear for life even when they step out of their homes to buy groceries. The farmers have little knowledge of modern agricultural tools, such as, power tiller and shallow machine. They have no choice but to sell their produce at low prices to Indian buyers. The Bangladeshi law is not effective in the enclaves, nor is there any legal system. The population also suffers to find appropriate partners for matrimony and it is common to marry within the family in odd relations. There are no registry facilities and, therefore, land is purchased and sold on the basis of word of honor and trust. There are no hospitals inside the enclaves. Anybody who gets seriously ill cannot even seek medical help in India or Bangladesh. Hence, they have to suffice with home remedies or quacks even during critical illnesses. The enclaves are also safe havens for criminals. Due to the legal complications, the police on both sides are ineffective in their respective enclaves. As a result, they have turned into a smuggling route for gold, drugs and human trafficking. The hapless residents are at the mercy of thugs who steal their cattle and crops. Local administrations also have little power over the enclaves. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has recently given directives to undertake necessary steps to ensure safety and security of the citizens in the enclaves.■