There are reports that the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) is going to be placed in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian parliament, very soon. The parliamentary standing committee submitted its report to the legislature on December 01, 2014. The committee recommended that the accord should be passed as the 119th amendment to the Indian Constitution considering humanitarian aspects and good relations between Bangladesh and India. The External Affairs Ministry of India will examine the report.
The recommendations contained in the report might be verified with a similar bill placed earlier at the Rajya Sabha during the fag end of the 15th Lok Sabha. The committee suggested rehabilitation and restoration works after ratification of the agreement in consultation with the concerned state governments.
The Land Boundary Agreement between Bangladesh and India was signed on May 16, 1974 giving a solution to the complex nature of demarcation made by the Radcliffe Award of 1947. It was a historic agreement to exchange enclaves numbering 162. Of these 111 are in Bangladesh with 17,160.63 acres of land which are to be transferred to India. There are 51 enclaves of Bangladesh in India having only 7,110 acres of land. The population of all these enclaves is more than 51 thousand. The population of Indian enclaves in Bangladesh is above 37 thousand.
As per the LBA, half of the Berubari Union no. 12 was to be retained by India in exchange of which Bangladesh would retain Dahagram and Angorpota enclaves. It was agreed that the Tin Bigha Corridor would be leased in perpetuity to Bangladesh for connecting Dahagram and Angorpota with the Bangladesh mainland. Although Berubari was handed over to India immediately after the agreement, Bangladesh has not got the Tin Bigha Corridor until today.
Besides enclaves, there was an agreement on exchange of lands in adverse possession. These areas are legally part of Bangladesh but contiguous to the Indian border and controlled by India. The residents are Indian citizens. Here again, Bangladesh would get 2,267.038 acres of land. The agreement, however, did not resolve disputes over three other border areas, e.g. the Muhuri River (Belonia), the undemarcated land boundary of Diakhata-56 with West Bengal and Dumabari with Assam.
There has always been resentment in Bangladesh over the non-transfer of the Tin Bigha Corridor. Now, there is a hope that the Land Boundary Agreement will be ratified in the Indian parliament. The latest development in this regard could be observed following a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the sidelines of the 18th SAARC summit held in Kathmandu.
It was reported that the Indian Prime Minister gave a positive signal of ratifying the Land Boundary Agreement and signing the Teesta agreement. He also wanted Chief Minister of West Bengal Ms Mamata Banerjee to be invited to Bangladesh and she should make the visit before him.
In a public meeting held at Guwahati, Assam, the Indian Prime Minister again voiced the necessity of ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement by saying that solution to the enclave problem would protect the interests of Assam. It would, in his words, resist the entry of illegal Bangladeshis into Assam and curb terrorism there.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal Chief Minister is reported to have consented to the signing of the Teesta agreement and ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement. Analysts suggest that the ensuing election of Paschimbangla's Bidhan Sabha and the recent Burdwan explosion helped change the attitude of Mamata.
Now, what will be the fate of the residents of the enclaves if the Indian parliament ratifies the Land Boundary Agreement by amending the Indian constitution? A protocol was signed between India and Bangladesh on September 06, 2011 which assured that people living in the border areas were not to be dislodged. Residents will be asked to express their opinion as to whether they would reside in enclaves or move to the mainland. They are free to decide their citizenship.
The parliamentary standing committee of the Lok Sabha suggested proper verification of those who would get Indian citizenship and proper protection should be arranged for those Indian citizens who would reside in Bangladesh. The committee also suggested preparation of a blueprint for development of those enclaves which would come to India's possession. Bangladesh can also make arrangements on this line. However, reports suggest that the residents are unwilling to leave the places where they have been living throughout their life.
The move of the Modi government to amend the Indian Constitution for ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement is laudable. There are many issues of discontent between India and Bangladesh. The land boundary dispute is one of them. The probable ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement by India will reduce, to some extent, the strain in Bangladesh-India relations.
The writer is an economist and columnist.
chowdhuryjafar@ymail.com