Former Bangladeshi Enclave Residents in Bengal Anxious Over Voter Roll Revision

Kolkata, October 31: Residents of the former Bangladeshi enclaves in Cooch Behar are gripped by anxiety over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. Many fear that the demand for pre-2015 Indian documents could jeopardize their citizenship status—despite being formally integrated into India a decade ago under the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA).

Saddam Hossain, a man in his early thirties from Madhya Mashaldanga, one of the 51 former Bangladeshi enclaves that became part of India in 2015, expressed deep concern. “Our names were added to the electoral rolls after the LBA, as we became Indian citizens. We also received other official documents,” he said. “But now, if the authorities ask for records from before 2015—like our parents’ names in the 2002 electoral rolls—none of us can produce such documents. We were Bangladeshis then.”

Under the historic India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement, 51 Bangladeshi enclaves were incorporated into India at midnight on July 31, 2015, while 101 Indian enclaves were handed over to Bangladesh. Residents of these areas were given the choice of adopting the other country’s citizenship or returning to their homeland. While none of the approximately 16,000 residents of the former Bangladeshi enclaves opted to move to Bangladesh, around 950 Indians living in the Indian enclaves across the border returned to India.

Those who chose to stay in India were granted Indian citizenship and provided with voter ID, Aadhaar, PAN, and ration cards by the district administration. Yet, as Jainal Abedin, another resident of Madhya Mashaldanga, explained, “All our documents were issued after July 2015. We don’t have any of the 11 categories of documents now required by the Election Commission. What we still possess are old Bangladeshi records related to our ancestral lands. We hope the Election Commission considers the LBA and our unique situation.”

Jainal raised another pressing issue: women from these enclaves who married and moved to other villages—some even before 2015. “If the Election Commission relaxes the rules for enclave residents, will that benefit these women too? They also lack old Indian records or their parents’ names in the 2002 electoral rolls. Their families are equally worried,” he said.

Similar concerns have emerged from Batrigach, another former enclave in the Dinhata-I block. Local youth Raushan Sarkar pointed out that a joint census conducted by India and Bangladesh in 2011, ahead of the LBA’s implementation, may now complicate matters. “Many people had migrated to other Indian states for work before 2011. Though they later got voter IDs and other Indian documents, their names weren’t recorded in that census. If the SIR considers the 2011 census as a benchmark, what happens to these people?” Sarkar asked, urging the administration to issue clear guidelines. “Some elderly residents even fear being declared foreigners or pushed back into Bangladesh,” he added.

Local political leaders have also voiced concern. Parthapratim Roy, former MP and Trinamool Congress spokesperson from Cooch Behar, said, “The Election Commission recognizes 11 types of documents as valid for the SIR. Unfortunately, most residents of the former enclaves have none of these. Their cases must be treated separately to protect them from unnecessary harassment.”

Adding weight to the issue, the Parijayee Shramik Aikya Manch (Migrant Labourer Unity Forum) has written to the Election Commission of India, urging it to introduce special verification procedures for the residents of these enclaves. The letter recommends that documents such as the 2015 LBA records, certificates from local administrations, and panchayat residency proofs be accepted as valid evidence of Indian citizenship.

The forum also appealed to ensure that “no genuine Indian citizen is deprived of their constitutional right to vote due to the unavailability of old documents.” The letter highlighted that even ten years after the merger, many former enclave residents still face discrimination outside Bengal. “Several migrant labourers from these areas were allegedly harassed merely for speaking in Bengali in Delhi,” the statement added.

As the revision of electoral rolls continues, the residents of these once-forgotten border villages hope the Election Commission will acknowledge their unique history—and ensure that the promise of citizenship made under the Land Boundary Agreement remains unbroken.