For 68 years since Independence, tens of thousands of Bengalis living in Bangladeshi enclaves within India, and Indian enclaves within Bangladesh, lived terrible lives as stateless citizens.

They were denied even the basic dignities of life, and were often jailed and persecuted. They were, after all, non-Indians living in small enclaves belonging to Bangladesh in the Coochbehar district of Bengal. 

There were 51 such enclaves, known locally as chitmahals, with a total area of 7,110 acres and a population of nearly 16,000 within India, and 111 Indian enclaves with an area of 17,064 acres in Bangladesh. 

These enclaves were an aberration and accident of the history of Partition. Soon after coming to power in the summer of 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated the process of reaching a settlement with Bangladesh to end the miseries of the people of these enclaves. 

The two countries signed a land boundary agreement (read ) on July 31, 2015, exchanging the enclaves on ‘as is where is’ basis. Thus, the 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in India became part of India and its dwellers Indian citizens while the 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh were integrated into that country. 

Both the countries offered the option to the residents of their respective enclaves in each others’ territories to either remain and become citizens of the country where their enclaves were located in, or cross over and become citizens of the country that ‘owned’ their enclaves.

Thus, residents of the Indian enclaves in Bangladesh were given the choice of remaining where they were and becoming Bangladeshis or migrating to India. And residents of Bangladeshi enclaves in India were given the choice of remaining where they were and becoming Indian citizens or migrating to Bangladesh.  

While most of the residents of the Bangladeshi enclaves in India opted to stay back, only 921 residents (201 families) of Indian enclaves in Bangladesh crossed over into India. All of them were Hindus. 

The land boundary agreement was hailed as a bold one and gave the residents of these enclaves the dignity that they had been denied all their lives. 

Dashed hopes of a better future

But for the residents of the erstwhile Bangladeshi enclaves in India, the joy of becoming Indian citizens and shaking off the shackles of ‘statelessness’ was short-lived. 

The government in Bengal, headed by the Trinamool Congress, which never shied away from claiming credit for the exchange of enclaves between the two countries, did precious little for the new Indian citizens over the past nine years. 

Swarajya travelled to Dakshin Madshaldanga, a former Bangladeshi enclave, about 30 kilometres south of Coochbehar town and right next to the India-Bangladesh border, to find out about the condition of the new Indian citizens and their lives. 

It was early morning, around 7 am, and the sun was just about breaking through the morning mist.The residents of the large village of about 2,800 people (about 900 households) were already up and about. 

Titu Roy Sarkar, 25, offered to be my guide. He helps his father, Ajit, cultivate their farmland where they grow paddy, corn and jute. 

“The land boundary agreement offered us a dream of a new dawn. We became proud Indian citizens and thought our earlier travails were over. We got ration cards, Aadhar cards and voter ID cards, and could travel anywhere out of Mashaldanga with our heads held high. But that was all,” rued Ajit, 54. 

“Prime Minister Modi ended our statelessness, he did all that he could do for us. But Mamata Banerjee has done nothing for us. Our miseries continue,” he added. 

Denied legal land ownership documents

The biggest problem that people of Dakshin Mashaldanga–all are dependent on agriculture–face is absence of proper land documents. They are yet to get dalils and khatian (legal documents certifying ownership of their lands), and this prevents them from getting bank loans and even selling or mortgaging their lands. 

“We have only got khosoras from the state land revenue department. But those documents don’t have any legal validity,” said Ajit. 

Khosoras are temporary, handwritten documents issued by the state land records department certifying ownership of land. 

“We have made numerous requests to the state government over the past nine years for proper land documents, but even after giving bribes, we haven’t received the documents,” Ajibar Miya, 26, told Swarajya. 

That’s why, he added, residents of Dakshin Mashaldanga cannot get bank loans, and sell or mortgage their lands. 

Forcible acquisition of lands

Not only have they been denied proper documents certifying their ownership of their lands, the state government also forcibly acquired farmlands and homestead lands belonging to many families of Dakshin Mashaldanga to construct roads and community centres. 

Locals allege that the Mamata Banerjee government (which proclaims that it is against forcible acquisition of land) has not paid any compensation to the land-losers of Dakshin Mashaldanga. 

“I was told that my farmland would be required for construction of a road five years ago. I surrendered five bighas, and was promised fair compensation. But I haven’t received a single Rupee till now,” said Ajit Roy Sarkar. 

The market rate of farmland in Dakshin Mashaldanga is Rs ten lakh per bigha. “When I now ask the panchayat authorities and the public works department for compensation, they ask for the original land records. But since I don’t have all that, I fear I will never get any compensation,” he added. 

Papiya Roy Barman tells Swarajya that the government acquired two bighas of land from her family to construct a community hall three years ago. “I haven’t received any compensation till now,” she said. 

What’s more, the community hall that stands opposite her humble abode is a classic example of the government’s misplaced priorities. 

“We don’t have any requirement for a community hall here. Everyone has enough land to organise weddings and other ceremonies in their own premises. The government never asked us if we need a community hall at all. It has been a huge waste of money that could have been better spent on building a school here. Now, the community hall is used to store fodder and as a barn,” said Papiya. 

No schools, healthcare facilities etc

Talking of schools, the entire village does not have even a primary school or an anganwadi centre. The nearest school, a government primary school, is about five kilometres away and the high school even farther away. 

Dakshin Mashaldanga does not also have a primary health centre. The nearest government healthcare facility is ten kilometres away. 

“We were deprived of development for 68 years after Independence because we were not part of India, and we are still deprived even after becoming part of India. We don’t have proper roads here, most of the roads here are kutcha and haven’t been blacktopped despite many assurances by Trinamool functionaries and leaders,” said Ajibar. 

Ajibar’s family, too, was forced to part with eight bighas of land for construction of a road by the public works department. And they, too, haven’t received any compensation. 

“We had protested against non-payment of compensation. But we were told by some local Trinamool leaders that we would be arrested and false cases would be lodged against us if we continued to protest. We were also told that since we don’t have proper ownership documents, even the courts will dismiss our claims. So we had to back down,” said Ajibar’s uncle Rezzak Sheikh, 45.   

Deprived of many welfare schemes and projects

Dakshin Mashaldanga has also been deprived of many centrally-sponsored schemes like houses under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana. “Trinamool functionaries told us a few years ago that we would get houses under PMAY. But nothing happened and when we asked them about a year ago, they told us that no money came from the Union Government. But we have learnt that some Trinamool leaders have renovated their own houses or built new houses with the funds that came in our names,” said Sheikh. 

As for toilets under the Swachh Bharat mission, villagers told Swarajya that about 30-odd families received approvals, but got only half the sanctioned amount. 

“So the toilets are incomplete. Trinamool leaders pocketed half the money,” said Sakina Begum, a widow and aunt of Rezzak Sheikh. 

About a quarter of the houses in Dakshin Mashaldanga have got piped water connections under the Union Government’s Jal Jeevan Mission. 

“All households were supposed to get piped water connections and the overhead water reservoir was supposed to be built in Dakshin Mashaldanga itself. But local Trinamool leaders got the reservoir constructed in a nearby village that is their stronghold. And that village also got the connections that were meant for our village,” said Ajibar Miya. 

As for the 100-day work guarantee programme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), villagers here allege that the job cards in their names were taken away by Trinamool functionaries from the local panchayat. 

“We did get work, but for only a few days. However, we got to know that the Trinamool leaders submitted false claims about a lot of work being done and collected the wages against our job cards,” claimed Titu Roy. 

Fazal Haque, 41, tells Swarajya that he got work for just ten days two years ago, but was paid wages for only five days. “My job card was taken away, and when I got it back late last year, it was written that I had worked for 35 days. That means the wages for 30 days was pocketed by Trinamool functionaries,” he said. 

Some welfare schemes funded by the Union Government like Jan Dhan Yojana and Ujjawala (supply of LPG cylinders) have benefitted people of Dakshin Mashaldanga, and that’s perhaps because the Trinamool midllemen could not intervene. 

If the Mamata Banerjee government deprived the people of this erstwhile Bangladeshi enclave of Centrally-sponsored schemes, it has also been tardy in extending the benefits of the state’s own welfare measures to the people of Dakshin Mashaldanga. 

“Only some women have been selected as beneficiaries under the state’s Lakshmir Bhandar scheme (monthly doles for women) or the widow pension scheme. Trinamool leaders draw up the list of beneficiaries very arbitrarily and they include the names of only those who support them,” said Sabina Begum, 63, a widow. 

Sabina doesn’t get any pension because her two sons are BJP supporters. Her family is also deprived of the benefits of other state schemes. For instance, her three grandchildren have been excluded from the state scheme supplying free uniforms and textbooks to schoolchildren. 

“We were promised a lot of development by the state government. But nothing has happened. Our condition is still the same. And due to widespread corruption, the little that is sanctioned for us barely reaches us,” said Ajit Roy Sarkar. 

No jobs and livelihood

There’s another big worry for the residents of this village. With all families dependent on agriculture and this sector yielding very low and diminishing returns, many young adults are going out of the state in search of work. 

Slowly, all our children will migrate and Dakshin Mashaldanga will become a village of old people. This place has no future,” said Dilip Bhattacharyya, 42. 

His family owns land, but with agriculture yielding very low returns, he runs a small eatery at Dinhata. He has three brothers–one is a casual employee in the state police force, another is a priest and the third runs a small grocery store. 

“Our children will go out of Bengal after their education because there are no jobs in this state. Ultimately, we will also have to shift away,” he said. 

The unanimous verdict of the people of Dakshin Mashaldanga is that while Prime Minister Modi gave them dignity as Indian citizens, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has, for some strange reason, deprived them of the benefits of Indian citizenship.

They didn’t give Mamata Banerjee undue credit

The reason, they tell Swarajya, could be that immediately after the land boundary agreement was signed, the Trinamool Congress wanted to take the credit for the agreement. 

Trinamool Congress leaders from Cooch Behar wanted the residents of Dakshin Mashaldanga, as well as the other Bangladeshi enclaves that became part of India, to attend a huge rally to thank Mamata Banerjee for the exchange. 

But the residents of the enclaves that became part of India refused to do so and, instead, publicly thanked Prime Minister Modi. They took out processions hailing Modi and the BJP. 

That, perhaps, angered Mamata Banerjee and compounded the miseries of the residents of the erstwhile Bangladeshi enclaves. 

The man credited with enclave exchange 

After interacting with the residents of Dakshin Mashaldanga, I drove to Dinhata town, another 18 kilometres away, to meet Diptiman Sengupta.

Sengupta played a pivotal role in the exchange of enclaves between the two countries. His father, Dipak Sengupta, founded the ‘Bharat Bangladesh Chitmahal Binimoy Samanay Committee’ (India-Bangladesh Chitmahal Exchange General Committee) way back in 1994. 

Diptiman got associated with the movement in 1999 and it picked up momentum in 2002. Petitions were filed and numerous representations made to the Union and state governments. 

“We organised demonstrations, rallies and protests in Kolkata and Delhi. We created awareness in the media about the plight of the residents of these enclaves,” Diptiman told Swarajya. 

It is widely acknowledged that it was due to the efforts of the Committee led by Diptiman Sengupta that the enclave exchange agreement was signed between the two countries. 

But, rues Diptiman, the plight of the residents of these erstwhile enclaves hasn’t changed much. “I blame the state government for this. The Union Government did all that it could and a lot of money had been sanctioned for various development and welfare projects. But corrupt and greedy Trinamool functionaries pocketed all those funds,” he said. 

History of the enclaves

The Maharaja of Cooch Behar and Nawab of Rangpur were friends who shared a passion for chess. They would wager villages in their respective states (which were next to each other) while playing chess. Thus, if the (Cooch Behar) Maharaja lost a game to the Nawab (of Rangpur), a village in the Cooch Behar state would go to the possession of the Nawab. And vice versa. 

Rangpur became part of East Pakistan in 1947 while Cooch Behar merged with India in August 1949. All the villages that the Nawab of Rangpur won from the Maharaja of Cooch Behar became East Pakistani (and, after 1971, Bangladeshi) enclaves within India while the villages in Rangpur that were won by the Maharaja of Cooch Behar became Indian enclaves in Bangladesh. 

Surrounded by Indian territory, these Bangladeshi enclaves remained an aberration and an accident of history till 2015. The residents of these enclaves were considered to be Bangladeshi citizens and were, thus, deprived of all benefits. 

Also, whenever they stepped out of their enclaves, they were liable to be arrested by the BSF and police for illegally entering India! Hundreds spent years behind bars. 

In order to survive, the residents of these Bangladeshi enclaves within India resorted to subterfuge to obtain false documents like birth certificates and, on the basis of those, gain admission to schools, or get admission in hospitals, in Indian territory. They also got Aadhar cards and even Indian passports on the basis of fake documents. 

But they lived under the constant fear of being caught and then charged with grave crimes. Some were arrested for possessing fake documents and handed out long prison terms. 

The same was the plight of the residents of Indian enclaves in Bangladesh. 

Prime Minister Modi ended their miseries soon after coming to power. But that was only half the job done. The Bengal government has failed to do its part. 

This report is part of Swarajya’s 50 Ground Stories Project – an attempt to throw light on themes and topics that are often overlooked or looked down. You can support this initiative by sponsoring as little as ₹2999. Click here for more details.