Nearly one lakh residents living in Indian enclaves along the Indo-Bangladesh border are left out of the voting exercise.
While the whole country is busy deciding whom to send to parliament, nearly one lakh
residents living in Indian enclaves along the Indo-Bangladesh border are left out of the exercise.
Since independence, the enclaves, surrounded on all sides by Bangladesh territory, have never taken part in any election as their names are not present in the electoral rolls. Let alone vote, these 'stateless' people are not even allowed to hoist the tricolour in the enclaves.
Jalil Muhammad, who often manages to come to Mekhliganj town in Coochbehar district to work as a daily labourer, said, "We don't need a house or money, just allow us to walk on Indian land and give us the right to vote."
As per government records, there are 131 Indian enclaves and 95 Bangladeshi enclaves. Out of the 131 Indian enclaves, 111 are located close to the Indo-Bangla border along Coochbehar district.
The director of Indian Land Records and Survey, JR Peter, along with his Bangladesh counterpart Muhammad Safiuddin, visited the enclaves in November, 1996. Top officials of the two countries visited the enclaves several times to find out a solution, but to no avail.
In January last year, a external affairs ministry official visited the enclaves along the border in Mekhliganj. Three months later, the Indian High commissioner in Bangladesh
and some Bangladesh home ministry representatives visited the enclaves.
As per official records, the land area of Indian enclaves is 17,158.13 acres while the corresponding area of Bangladesh was 7,110.02 acres only. According to the BJP, the only way out of the problem is the total exchange of enclaves.
BJP leader LK Advani during a visit to the Tin Bigha corridor in the past had also spoken about the formula and said a concerted effort is needed by the two countries to
settle the issue.
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