Headlines
Rejoicing for 50,000 people on India-Bangla border at end to stateless existence
Kolkata/Dhaka, Aug 1
Cheers went up, national
flags were hoisted and candles lit, but there were some tears too, as
India and Bangladesh swapped 162 small enclaves of land in each other's
possession at the midnight hour - ending nearly 70 years of
statelessness for over 50,000 people residing there.
The 111
Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in India were
swapped as per the Land Boundary Agreement and the 2011 Protocol,
instruments of ratification of which were exchanged during Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Dhaka in May.
For the around
14,000 people living in 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in Indian territory, and
the 37,000 residing in 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh, they now have
a country of their own.
As the clock struck the midnight hour on
Friday night, the 51 Bangladeshi land enclaves in Coochbehar district
of West Bengal, and the 111 Indian enclaves located in the Bangladesh
districts of Lalmonirhat (59), Panchagarh (36), Kurigram 12 and
Nilphamari (4) were amalgamated with the main land.
Since
partition in 1947, the inhabitants of the enclaves remained where they
were - residents of one country but located in pockets in the other.
The
small pockets of land had been isolated from the Indian and Bangladeshi
mainlands for many decades now, and the people residing there had led a
stateless existence - unrecognised by India or Bangladesh.
The
ratification and implementation of the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement, and
the 2011 protocol has sorted out the land border dispute.
In
Mosaldanga enclave of West Bengal's Cooch Behar district, as the clock
struck 12, the Bharat Bangladesh Enclave Exchange Co-ordination
Committee (BBEECC) that has been fighting for the rights of the enclave
dwellers lighted candles and celebrated the occasion.
Sixty-eight
candles were lit, marking the years the enclave dwellers have remained
stateless. A documentary was also screened highlighting their struggle.
National flags were hoisted in the enclaves on both sides of the border.
The
people on either side will now get citizenship - and the rights that go
along with it. The 51 enclaves in Coochbehar will now get a pin code,
the people Aadhar cards and ration cards
On the Bangladesh side,
the residents of the enclaves took out processions carrying the red and
green flag of Bangladesh, and chanted slogans like: "Noi ar chhit basi,
amra ekhon Bangladeshi" (We're no more enclave people, we're
Bangladeshis)."
"We are Bangladesh nationals now. I cannot
describe in words how happy I am," said 65-year-old Hashem Ali, an
inhabitant of Bhitarkuti enclave in Lalmonirhat, the district that had
59 enclaves.
Following Modi's visit in May and the historic LBA
ratification, both sides have been busy working out the modalities for
exchange. The first step was to ascertain the nationality options of the
enclave residents.
The office of the Registrar General of
India, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and district magistrate, Cooch
Behar (India) and deputy commissioners of Lalmonirhat, Panchagarh,
Kurigram and Nilphamari (Bangladesh) worked in coordination to collect
the options from the residents.
The actual option taking exercise was carried out by 75 teams operating in the enclaves in India and Bangladesh from July 6-16.
Thirty
observers from both sides were present in the enclaves during this
survey period. Data from this joint exercise is now being verified by
the India's registrar general and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics,
said an official statement.
For the residents, it has meant
choosing between staying put in the enclaves and adopting a new
nationality, or leaving the homes where their families have lived for
generations and moving to the country of their choice.
In some
cases, families have been split, with some members choosing to stay put
in the enclaves and others moving out to the country of choice.
Around
1,000 of the 37,369 people living in the Indian enclaves in Bangladesh
have opted for Indian citizenship, and none of the 14,856 people in the
Bangladeshi enclaves in India want to go back to their country.
For those choosing to move to either country, the last date is November 30.
After
successfully completing the exercise of ascertaining nationality
options, the ground has been prepared for the movement of residents who
want to move from an Indian enclave to the Indian mainland.
Both
governments are working closely together to facilitate trouble-free
movement of these residents before the stipulated date of November 30,
said a statement.
"July 31, 2015 will thus be a historic day for
both India and Bangladesh. The day marks the resolution of a complex
issue that has lingered since independence. It also marks the day from
which enclave residents on both sides of the border will enjoy the
benefits of nationality of India or Bangladesh, as the case may be, and
thus access to civic services, education, healthcare and other
facilities provided by the two governments to their respective
nationals," said the statement.
Other steps with regard to
implementation of the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement and 2011 Protocol are
underway in accordance with agreed modalities between the Indian and
Bangladeshi governments, it said.