Opinion Crooked lines

The UPA government’s plan to push through the India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) in the winter session of Parliament appears to have hit a major roadblock,with the TMC and BJP opposing the passage of the Constitution (119th) Amendment Bill,2013.

The TMC’s contention is that if the LBA is implemented,West Bengal stands to lose 10,000 acres of land to Bangladesh. The BJP’s position,however,remains a bit ambiguous. While the party has allegedly softened its stand and supports a discussion of the bill in Parliament,its state units in West Bengal and Assam are opposed to the swapping of land with Bangladesh. Given that the bill,being an amendment to the Constitution,requires a two-thirds majority for it to be passed,it is unlikely that this will happen. Previous attempts,in the budget and monsoon sessions of Parliament,to make headway with the bill were stalled by the AGP and TMC.

Successive governments have found it difficult to settle the boundary issue with Bangladesh. At times,uneasy bilateral relations have precluded a resolution. Some times,domestic compulsions have been the spoiler. For instance,the first attempt to settle the issue was in 1958,under the Nehru-Noon Agreement,when India and Pakistan agreed to exchange the enclaves “without any consideration of territorial loss or gain”. Since the implementation of the agreement involved the ceding of some territory to the erstwhile East Pakistan,the Supreme Court decreed that a constitutional amendment was required. Accordingly,the ninth amendment was introduced to facilitate the implementation of the agreement. But due to the serious objections raised to the transfer of southern Berubari,the amendment could not be passed.

Subsequently,as relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated,the issue was shelved until Bangladesh came into being in 1971. The bonhomie between India and the newly-formed Bangladesh generated the political resolve to sort out the boundary problem. Consequently,the LBA was signed in 1974,which,inter alia,provided for the “expeditious exchange” of enclaves (except for Berubari) and the “surrender” of adverse possessions. In lieu of retaining Berubari,India returned the Dahagram and Angorpota enclaves to Bangladesh and promised to provide a corridor measuring 178 by 85 metres,called the Tin Bigha Corridor. While Bangladesh ratified the LBA in 1974,India has failed to do so. Even the corridor was only given to Bangladesh in 1992,after much domestic opposition.

In subsequent years,a move to exchange the enclaves has only made when a “friendly” Sheikh Hasina government has been in power in Bangladesh. In 1997,a list of enclaves was prepared and accepted by both countries,and in 2001,two Joint Boundary Working Groups (JBWGs) were constituted to look into the issues of undemarcated stretches,enclaves and adverse possessions. In May 2007,a joint survey was conducted in the enclaves to determine the number of people residing there. Finally,in September 2011,India signed the Additional Protocol for the 1974 LBA with Bangladesh.

While the signing of the agreement has been hailed as a major foreign policy achievement for the UPA,it has also led to widespread protest in Assam,Meghalaya and West Bengal. Realising that it requires the cooperation of the opposition to pass the Constitutional amendment,the government has tried to persuade it by convening all-party meetings and holding discussions with various political parties. However,its efforts to build a consensus around the amendment have come to nought.

The failure of the government to ratify the LBA,despite its assurances to the Hasina government,would not just be a setback for India-Bangladesh relations. It would also prolong the misery of the people living in the enclaves and perpetuate illegal migration and trans-border crimes. If the amendment is passed,the enclaves are exchanged and adverse possessions surrendered,India stands to gain. The surrender of adverse possessions would result in a gain of approximately 500 acres for India and the exchange of enclaves in a notional loss of 10,000 acres. The most significant gains will be a better life for the people who live in the enclaves,and a settled and manageable border. Those opposing the amendment bill should look beyond petty politics at the tremendous benefits of the LBA.

The writer is associate fellow,Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses,New Delhi

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