India-Bangladesh Land Swap Deal

India and Bangladesh shares a common land boundary of approx 4000 km. The flawed nature of the Partition left 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 Bangladesh enclaves in India. In 1974, a Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) between India and Bangladesh was signed to solve border and enclave issues. As the agreement was not ratified by India, following three issues remained unsolved: un-demarcated boundary of approx 6.1 km; exchange of enclaves; and surrender of adverse possessions. The current India-Bangladesh land swap deal proposes to solve those problems.

2011 Protocol and Constitutional Amendment:

In 2011, a protocol concerning the demarcation of land boundary between India and Bangladesh was signed between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina. The protocol involves exchange of 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in India. According to it, India would get 7110 acres of land from Bangladesh, but in return it would have to transfer 17160 acres of it’s own land. The borders of Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura will be affected by this exchange of territory.

The Constitution (119th Amendment) Bill, 2013 was introduced in Rajya Sabha to give effect to this proposed land exchange. The parliament panel, Standing Committee on External Affairs, approved the bill in November 2014. But the Bill has met with opposition on the grounds that – (a) the proposed exchange will result in a national loss of 10,000 acres of land; (b) it will fuel secessionist tendencies in other parts; (c) The people of Assam and West Bengal are protesting because they fear that it would legitimise encroachment of Indian territories by Bangladesh.

Enclaves and adverse possessions:

An enclave is any portion of a state that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state. There are 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 Bangladesh enclaves in India. Their inhabitants misses legal rights as citizens of either country or proper facilities such as electricity, schools and health services. Even law and order agencies do not have proper access to these areas. There are about 51000 people living in all those enclaves.

‘An adverse possession’ is territory that is contiguous to India’s border and within Indian control, but which is legally part of Bangladesh. It means residents of India in occupation and possession of land within the boundary of Bangladesh. The same applies to Bangladeshi adverse possessions. Unlike enclaves, they are not recognised by the both the countries as a territory. India and Bangladesh, agreed to maintain the status quo in addressing the issue of adverse possessions instead of exchanging under the LBA 1974.

If the India and Bangladesh land swap deal completes, India will bet at loss. Because it return of 17160 acres, Bangladesh will provide only  7110 acres of land. But from a different point of view, it is not actually a loss. India cannot access, govern or use in any of those enclaves without the consent of Bangladesh. Those enclaves were never part of any political campaigns or development activities. But Government must not ignore the concern of it’s people. Assam is already carrying the load of lakhs of illegal Bangladeshis. If land swap happens, what will happen to people living in those areas?