Freedom at midnight yet again

Cooch Behar (WB), August 1

At the stroke of midnight on Saturday, India and Bangladesh ended more than seven decade of battle over land to exchange 162 adversely possessed, ending the statelessness and uncertainty for 51,000 people of the two countries.

Seconds past midnight, hundreds of people in the Indian-held enclaves, including Madhya Masaldanga, came out of their homes to hoist the tricolour and dance in joy as the much-awaited exchange of enclaves—111 of India and 51 of Bangladesh— came into effect.

The exchange of enclaves, made possible under the Land Boundary Agreement signed between the two countries recently, means 14,000 people living in Bangladeshi enclaves that India had adversely possessed have become Indian citizens. All Indian enclaves were located in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district.

Except less than 1,000 people, those living in Indian enclaves in Bangladesh have become Bangladeshi citizens.

As a result of the exchange, 111 Indian enclaves measuring 17,160 acres became Bangladesh territory. Likewise, 51 Bangladeshi enclaves measuring 7,110 acres became part of India.

Although no official ceremony was held, an organisation named Bharat-Bangladesh Enclave Exchange Co-ordination Committee (BBEECC) organised a ceremony at Madhya Masaldanga adjacent to Dinhata sub-division of Cooch Behar — previously a Bangladeshi enclave encircled by Indian territory.

The exchange will mean that residents of the enclaves can finally secure identity papers and land in their own names, legitimately admit their children to schools without having to forge identity or make false claims of citizenship: an end to agony that these people have suffered since India’s partition in 1947.

"For us this is nothing but second freedom. India might have got freedom in 1947. But we got our freedom today as from now on we will be citizen of a country. We will also be called Indians," said a 18-year-old enclave dweller, while waving the tricolour.

The LBA was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina under which the two countries swapped the enclaves dotted around the border. Their inhabitants were deprived of public services like health care, electricity and living in squalid conditions.

"This is not just a historic day for the enclave dwellers on both sides but also a day when our years of toiling and hard work, movements have bore a fruitful result," Chief Coordinator of Bharat Bangladesh Enclave Exchange Coordination Committee Diptiman Sengupta said.

 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who herself was present during the signing of Land Boundary Agreement (LBA), congratulated the enclave dwellers on the exchange.

"Historic Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) comes into effect at midnight. Thousands of people will get new identities. Congratulations to them," Banerjee tweeted.

Although the official exchange of enclaves has begun, the exchange of residents is supposed to end by November.

"The exchange of residents who wish to come this side will begin from November. In between we will be building small dwelling units for those who will be coming from that side," ADM (Cooch Behar) Chiranjib Ghosh said.     

The land accord was originally agreed in 1974 by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

However, the land deal did not more forward after Mujibur was assassinated in 1975 as subsequent governments failed to broker a deal on the transfer of enclaves. — PTI