As per the India-Bangladesh land boundary agreement — signed 41 years after it was endorsed — the two countries will swap 162 enclaves, whose 50,000-odd inhabitants have been deprived not only of nationality, but also public services. India will be gaining access to 55 Bangladesh enclaves that house 14,000 residents.
“These are people with no addresses. So getting them one, assigning a pin code is my first job,” Mr Ulaganathan told NDTV — a job that has no precedence except during Independence.
While much has been written about Bangladeshis never wanting to leave India, Mr Ulagnathan said the situation was not too dis-similar across the border. Of the 37,000 Indians living in 111 enclaves, only 980 are coming back.
“The reason is simple — they have formed social bonds there, built houses, bought land. So they chose to stay back where they have been for the last 68 years,” he said. Asked why 980 chose to come back, he said they were the most deprived of the lot, had nothing there and so stood to gain from a return.
But even among those coming back, there will be split families, with some relatives choosing Bangladesh as a better option.
“All through this month, we are offering them an exploratory visit,” he said. “They can find relatives and rebuild their lives. If they are unable to, then we will allow them to move in with all our help in November.”
But taking care of 900 returning of our returning countrymen may be easier than caring for the 14,000 Bangladeshis who will be Indians from tomorrow: most have had no education as they couldn’t access Bangladesh schools and they are yet to experience the magic of electricity.
No wonder they will celebrate their rebirth as Indians by lighting 68 candles in their homes – one for every year they stayed here.
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