SIXTY-SIX YEARS SAGA OF BENGAL BOUNDARY-MAKING: A HISTORICAL EXPOSÉ OF BANGLADESH-INDIA BORDER

This article provides a historical exposé of the long and complex "saga" of the making of the Bangladesh-India border, from the 1947 Radcliffe Award to the ongoing efforts to resolve the remaining disputes. It analyzes the deeply flawed process of the original partition of Bengal, which created an exceptionally complex and often-illogical border with numerous enclaves and adversely possessed lands. The study traces the history of the various bilateral agreements between India and Pakistan, and later Bangladesh, that have attempted to demarcate and manage this border. The research focuses on the immense human and security problems that have been created by the unresolved border issues, including the stateless status of the enclave dwellers and the problems of cross-border smuggling and illegal migration. The paper argues that the border is not just a line on a map but a complex social and political space. The analysis concludes by assessing the prospects for a final settlement of all outstanding border issues, a necessary step for the normalization of bilateral relations.

The border between Bangladesh and India is one of the most complex and problematic international boundaries in the world. This paper provides a sweeping historical exposé of the sixty-six-year saga of its creation and management. The study begins with a damning critique of the 1947 Radcliffe Award, the hasty and ill-conceived colonial-era exercise that partitioned Bengal with devastating human consequences and left a legacy of a hopelessly convoluted border. The core of the article is a detailed historical narrative of the long and frustrating post-independence process of trying to demarcate this border on the ground and to resolve the numerous anomalies it had created. A primary focus is on the bizarre and tragic problem of the enclaves (chhitmahals), small pockets of one country's territory located deep inside the other, whose residents were effectively left stateless for decades. The paper details the various bilateral agreements, including the landmark 1974 Land Boundary Agreement, that were signed to address these issues but were never fully implemented due to domestic political opposition in both countries. The findings reveal a long and sorry history of political failure, with profound negative consequences for the lives and security of the people living in the borderlands. The paper concludes by looking ahead to the renewed efforts to finally ratify and implement the Land Boundary Agreement, framing it as a crucial test of the political maturity of the bilateral relationship.