day after India and Bangladesh signed the historic Land Boundary Agreement, the residents of Mosaldanga, a hamlet in south Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, marched down the main market. Bharat Mata Ki Jai (Long Live Mother India)”, they shouted, waving the Indian flag. As the parade entered the neighbouring village of Battala, it was blocked by a group of men wielding long bamboo sticks. “They asked us if we have permission to step on Indian land,” said Jayanal Abidin, 25, who was leading the procession.  Mr. Abidin and his people in Mosaldanga are among the 50,000 stateless people of East Bangladesh who, after India’s independence, got cut off from both East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, and India, confined to fragments of land belonging to neither country. In an accident of geography, about 51 parcels of Bangladeshi land stayed on the Indian side, known as Bangladeshi enclaves, but with all roads leading to Bangladesh either fenced with concertina wires or guarded by the Border Security Force. And across the border, Bangladesh was left with 111 enclaves with Indian citizens and no access to India. After four decades of dithering, the conundrum has been finally resolved, with enclave dwellers on both sides now allowed to choose which of the two countries they want to belong to. On the Indian side, the Bangladeshis have decided to become Indian citizens. They consider this a milestone of “freedom” and worth a thousand celebrations. It was this sense of freedom that Mr. Abidin and his friends were celebrating in Battala village. They told the Battala men that the enclaves would soon be recognised as part of India, and its people would be considered Indians, so there was no need for any permission to rejoice. But the Battala men were in no mood to listen. “They said, ‘go back or we [will] beat you,” Mr. Abidin recalled. The Mosaldanga group didn’t, however, pay heed to the threats. They regrouped in the village and danced to the drumbeats all through the afternoon. But as dusk fell, the protestors from Battala entered Mosaldanga with knives and sticks, beat up the revellers, and set a house on fire.
0 Comment "Homeless, no longer"
Post a Comment