August 1 came into force an agreement between India and Bangladesh that provides for the exchange of more than one hundred enclaves between the two countries. Of the 162 territories including the agreement highlights an enclave that until now held the world record of geopolitical complications. And the enclave of Dahala Khagrabari is a unique case, as described by The Washington Post. This Indian territory is surrounded by an area of Bangladesh which in turn is inserted in an Indian enclave in the territory of Bangladesh. Everything a mess in one of the longest and border disputes absurd world.
"It's a very important moment. As of today we are Bangladeshis and our situation will improve," said the secretary of the Coordination Committee of Enclaves, Mainul Haq, from Dashiar chhara, until yesterday Indian Territory in Bangladesh and now part of the Bangladeshi district Kurigram.
The territorial dispute between India and Bangladesh began several decades ago, long before Bangladesh was formed as an independent state in 1971. The history of the enclaves goes back to more ancient times, in the early eighteenth century.
In 1713, the Mughal Empire conquered some lands of the principality of Koch Bihar but failed to evict all the feudal lords of the area. Historians believe that the formation of enclaves is the result of this error of the Mughal Empire in its expansion effort in the principality. From a formal point of view the lives of the citizens of these separate territories was never easy, but the difficulties became more apparent in 1947 when British India was divided into several countries. One difficulty was that, to enter the territory of the neighboring state (with the aim of 'return' to enter his own country), residents of an enclave needed a visa. This could only be achieved in one of the major cities in their own country, and to get there you had to cross the border. Then the people of India and Bangladesh living in these enclaves was 50,000 people.
The first agreement on the exchange of territories between India and Bangladesh was signed in 1974 but was not ratified by the Parliament of India. The new document was signed in 2011 and led to the initializing in June 2015 in an agreement on land border.
Under the agreement, India will deliver 111 enclaves to Bangladesh a total area of 70 square kilometers. Bangladesh in turn yield to India 51 sites with a total area of about 28 square kilometers. The inhabitants of these territories must choose their nationality. Those who decide to change it will stay, but those who want to keep will have to relocate.
979 people from the more than 37,000 residents of the 111 Indian plots in Bangladesh have decided to relocate in India, while the rest have opted to stay as new Bangladeshi citizens. For its part, the 14,000 inhabitants of the 51 Bangladeshi enclaves on Indian soil have decided to remain in India and acquire that nationality.
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