Borderland Mess
- Around 50,000 enclave dwellers living in Bangladesh will be deprived of Indian citizenship because of Dhaka’s anxiety
- Sources tell The Quint, stalling the relocation of enclave dwellers part of Sheikh Hasina government’s scheme of things
- Official figures show only 980 people willing to relocate to India
- Rubel Sheikh, one such enclave dweller speaks to The Quint, urges the Indian government to provide him citizenship
Over 50,000 enclave dwellers living in 111 of these geographical curiosities on the Bangladesh side of the border will not have the privilege of acquiring Indian citizenship because of a diplomatic sleight of hand on the part of the Awami League government in Dhaka.
Bangladesh’s action borders on the selfish. Sources familiar with the joint India-Bangladesh survey, held between July 6 and 16 to assess the number of enclave dwellers willing to relocate to either country after July 31, said that by “stalling” the desire of the 51,000 people living in the 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh, the Sheikh Hasina government seeks to project India’s eastern neighbour as a land of communal harmony.
What is tragic is that despite being Indians by birth, the people living in enclaves within Bangladesh have been deprived of making a rational choice of physically moving to the Indian landmass and enjoying all the advantages and rights of bonafide citizens.
Bangladeshis’ Desire
Not a single resident of the 51 Bangladeshi enclaves that would conjoin India has opted for Bangladeshi citizenship although they are Bangladeshis by birth. Their collective argument is simple: “We have always depended on India for our existence and now wish to avail of Indian citizenship.” Welcome!
India and Bangladesh signed the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka on June 6. By the agreement, 111 Indian enclaves would merge with Bangladesh while 51 Bangladeshi enclaves would assimilate in India. On July 31, the Indian enclaves commanding an area of about 17,160 acres would go to Bangladesh and the Bangladeshi enclaves spread over an area of roughly 7,110 acres would be absorbed in India.
The 10,000 acre (approximately) land loss, however, is not the most contentious issue of the exchange exercise. The human angle is, and all does not seem right on ground zero. Besides, Dhaka’s deception, there is serious concern that the fundamentalist group Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, is behind the intrigue that is preventing Indians from opting to relocate to the Indian mainland.
Land Sharks at Work
Both countries have decided to treat a joint census held in the enclaves in 2011 as the cutoff date for the relocation option. Curiously, only 980 Indians have opted to relocate to the Indian mainland and that is where many smell a rat.
“The figure 980 is absurd. We have specific information that Bangladeshi authorities and land sharks are scaring away Indian enclave dwellers from opting to come to India. The buzz is they want to project that the Hindu minorities are safe in Bangladesh. I have drawn Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s attention to the problem. Except an obscure reply from Singh, none replied,” Cooch Behar Trinamool Congress MP Renuka Sinha said.
Pradip Bhattacharya, chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs and a Congress Rajya Sabha MP endorses Sinha’s view. “The issue is serious. A powerful coterie is at work in the Indian enclaves. It is preventing the Indians from opting to relocate to India. The issue would be taken up in Parliament and other institutions in New Delhi,” Bhattacharya said.
Farcical Survey
“Unless the relocation option exercise in the Indian enclaves is held in presence of Indian security forces, the farce of 980 would get established,” says Debabrata Chaki, a senior fellow on the enclave subject sponsored by the Union Ministry of Culture. “However, there is indication that central intelligence agencies, the Border Security Force and other relevant wings have taken notice of the situation and have reported to New Delhi,” informed Chaki, a Cooch Behar resident.
The Bharat Bangladesh Enclaves Exchange Coordination Committee (BBEECC), which had originally prescribed the currently accepted formula for exchange of enclaves and their residents, however, disagrees with the above contention.
“In our assessment, the figure 980 is realistic. Although Indians by birth, the dwellers of Indian enclaves have been dependent on Bangladesh for everything as had been the dwellers of Bangladeshi enclaves on India. It is a matter of locational compulsion. As all 14,854 residents of the Bangladeshi enclaves have opted for Indian citizenship, most of the 41,449 residents of Indian enclaves naturally wish to integrate with Bangladesh. Why would they leave home and hearth for uncertainty?” reasons BBEECC assistant secretary Diptiman Sengupta.
Varied Accounts
The account of residents of the Indian enclaves vary. “I am willing to relocate to India, but cannot since I could not register my name in the 2011 joint census. The census was not publicised, as it should have been, given the gravity of the objective and many like me are paying the price. Given half a chance I would opt for Indian citizenship,” wails Gobinda Roy, who has 57 bigha land in Dahala Khagrabari I, an Indian enclave.
But the story of Mofijuddin, a resident of Dashiarchara, an Indian enclave, is different. He along with his wife and four children shuttle between a brick kiln in Rajasthan and home to eke a living. The family members had enrolled their names in the 2011 census, but still cannot opt for Indian nationality.
“On July 16, I met the joint survey team to enlist our names for relocation to India, but to my horror found my children’s names had already been listed for Bangladeshi citizenship. When I tried to rectify the error and opt for Indian citizenship, I was threatened and was forced to opt for Bangladeshi citizenship. I have written to the Cooch Behar district magistrate about it and would hang myself from the border fencing if disallowed,” threatened a desperate Mofijuddin.
Another Dashiarchara resident, Rubel Sheikh, is also in a bind. The 19-year-old student has four brothers. All have opted for Bangladeshi citizenship, but not Rubel. He wants to relocate to India. “I am an Indian and wish to relocate, but my brothers and some locals are preventing me from doing so. I urge the Indian government to help me and provide me Indian citizenship,” pleads Rubel.
(The writer is a Siliguri-based senior journalist)
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