Bangladesh

Nearly 14,000 people become new citizens of India as land swap starts

| | 01 Aug 2015, 02:24 am

Cooch Behar, West Bengtal, Aug 1: Nearly 14,000 people became Indian nationals one minute past midnight on Saturday as India gained access to 55 Bangladeshi enclaves in a historic land swap amid a huge celebration of crowds who remained stateless for nearly 70 years.

Officials of the two nations will, in formal ceremonies on Saturday morning, hoist their respective national flags in 162 enclaves - 111 in Bangladesh and 51 in India - to assume sovereignty over the territories following a historic border agreement in June.

However, people of Bangladeshi enclaves which integrated with India hoisted the national tricolour in many places to express their joy over their new-found dignity and at the end of the limbo that caused immense distress to generations.

They will now gain citizenship benefits such as schools, power and healthcare which they have lacked for decades.

A landmark Land Boundary Agreement endorsed in June by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina decided that the adversely held "islands" will cease to exist as each country will assume sovereignty over all enclaves in its territory.

About 37,000 people had been living in Indian enclaves in Bangladesh while 14,000 people were in Bangladeshi enclaves in India.

All all the people living in Bangladesh enclaves living within Indian territory opted to be Indian citizens. About 1000 of the 37,000 people living in Indian enclaves within Bangladesh have also opted to be Indian citizens. They will have to cross over to India by November where arrangements will be made for their rehabilitation in West Bengal.

The LBA was originally signed between the two countries in 1974, but political complexities barred the way of its implementation till the Indian parliament ratified it this year.