The passing of the 119 Constitution Amendment Bill by Parliament is a milestone in India-Bangladesh relations. The Land Boundary Agreement (LBA), an addition to the land boundary agreement of 1974, was signed between India and Bangladesh during former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Dhaka in 2011.The objective of signing the LBA was to resolve all the land boundary disputes, including enclaves, adverse possession of land and 6.5 km of undemarcated border. This new development is historic not only for India-Bangladesh relations, but also for India's relations with other neighbours. Bangladesh will be the first country with which India's border will be completely demarcated.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown special interest in enhancing ties with neighbours. He not only invited the head of state of Bangladesh to attend his oath-taking ceremony last May, but also sent Sushma Swaraj to Bangladesh in her first visit abroad as external affairs minister. Interestingly, Bangladesh remained apprehensive.
India's delay in ratifying the LBA helped fan anti-India sentiments in Bangladesh. India in the past few years has taken sincere steps in altering public perception by encouraging people-to-people contact in the form of extending scholarships, visa reforms, easing trade and extending lines of credit to Bangladesh.
Poor record
Unfortunately, all this did not help, as the relationship was assessed on the basis of delivery of promises made to Bangladesh. The adoption of LBA is welcome for more than one reason. It establishes India's reliability. LBA is seen as a concrete achievement by the two countries in all these years.
There can be no denying that the record in resolving longstanding bilateral issues has not been impressive. This has pushed the Awami League government in Bangladesh on to the defensive.
The Awami League is targeted by the opposition for being pro-India. Bangladesh withheld on-land transit rights to access north-eastern states promised to India during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India in 2010. Besides, the LBA becomes important for humanitarian reasons. It involves 50,000 people living in 162 enclaves, of which 111 are Indian enclaves inside Bangladesh, while Bangladesh has 51 enclaves in India. The enclave dwellers do not enjoy any facilities that a state provides to its citizens, due to the unique nature of its location. This could change now.
With the exchange of enclaves Bangladesh will gain 17,160.30 acres of land. This feeling of loss generated resentment among the various political parties, mainly in Assam and West Bengal. But these fears are notional as the territory going to Bangladesh was always out of bounds for India. India will also gain 7110.02 acres of land.
The LBA will strengthen cooperation on border management. The two countries should not only cooperate with each other in controlling cross-border crimes, but also work on improving the lives of the people on the border by encouraging cross-border trade. Illegal trade between the two countries is estimated to be double the legal trade which is worth $6 billion.
This is just a beginning.
(The writer is a Fellow with Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi)
Courtesy: The Hindu Business Line, May 12, 2015
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