The Bangladesh–India border, known locally as the Radcliffe line, is an international border running between the republics of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Six Bangladeshi divisions and five Indian states lie along the border. Bangladesh and India share a international border, the fifth-longest land border in the world,The four longer land borders are * between Canada and the United States * between Russia and Kazakhstan * between Argentina and Chile, and * between China and Mongolia. The border between China and Russia is also sometimes cited as being longer than the India–Bangladesh border. including in

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

, in

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

, in

Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...

, in

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

and in

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. The Bangladeshi divisions of

Mymensingh Mymensingh () is a metropolis, metropolitan city and capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of the Old Brahmaputra River, Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center ...

Khulna Khulna (, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of the Khulna District and the Khulna Division. It is the divisional centre of 10 districts of the division. Khulna is also the seco ...

Rajshahi Rajshahi (, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major Urban area, urban, administrative, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi Distr ...

, Rangpur,

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

, and

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

are situated along the border. A number of pillars mark the border between the two states. Small demarcated portions of the border are fenced on both sides.

History

The

Radcliffe Line The Radcliffe Line was the boundary demarcated by the two boundary commissions for the provinces of Punjab Province (British India), Punjab and Bengal Presidency, Bengal during the Partition of India. It is named after Cyril Radcliffe, 1st Visco ...

was published on 17 August 1947 as a boundary

demarcation line {{Refimprove, date=January 2008 A political demarcation line is a geopolitical border, often agreed upon as part of an armistice or ceasefire. Africa * Moroccan Wall, delimiting the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara from the Sahraw ...

between the dominions of

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

upon the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

. It was named after its architect, Sir Cyril Radcliffe, who, as chairman of the Border Commissions, was charged with equitably dividing of territory with 88 million people based on religious lines. This involved the partition of the Bengal region, which resulted in transferring

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

to Pakistan, which was later liberated in 1971, thereby Bangladesh continuing to share the same line as the border with the Indian Republic.

Issues

1970s Border Skirmishes

Several skirmishes occurred along the border during the 1970s, years after the victory of the Battles of Belonia Bulge by the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

and allied Indian troops. The Belonia issue was almost settled in 1974 when

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

and

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

agreed to the general principle of watershed. It was decided that in all cases of river line boundaries the midstream would be regarded as the border. And that both sides would take steps to ensure that the rivers did not change their course but unfortunately, it was not settled. The joint boundaries commission was to meet in the first week of November to finalise the Belonia border within the framework of the Indira-Mujib agreement. Officials of the two countries held a flag meeting. However, on 15 August 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family was killed after Mujib established a

one-party system A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...

, and

Ziaur Rahman Ziaur Rahman (19 January 193630 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of t ...

became the

President of Bangladesh President of Bangladesh (POB), officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is the head of state of Bangladesh and commander-in-chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The role of the president has changed three times since ...

in 1977, Indira Gandhi also lost the

1977 Indian general election General elections were held in India between 16 and 20 March 1977 to elect the members of the sixth Lok Sabha. The elections took place during the Emergency period, which expired on 21 March 1977, shortly before the final results were announc ...

in the same year. In October 1979,

said, it should be regarded as no-man's-land and farmers on the Indian side should be refrained from harvesting in no-man's-land. The Indian side disagreed and Indian peasants began harvesting the paddy they had sown. Bangladesh Rifles and the Border Security Force both exchanged fire in the beginning days of November thus starting intense gunbattles between the two sides. Bangladesh Rifles and Indian Border Security Forces exchanged fire near the

Comilla Comilla (), officially spelled Cumilla, is a metropolis on the banks of the Gomti River in eastern Bangladesh. Comilla was one of the cities of ancient Bengal. It was once the capital of Tripura kingdom. Comilla Airport is located in the Duli ...

border throughout the entire month of November to December 1979. The shooting appeared to have become a habit with the soldiers on both sides. A joint survey team of India and Bangladesh visited the area and watched bullets flying across the disputed land for 90 minutes. No fatalities or injuries were reported. After the three-day talks, the two delegations issued a brief joint statement in which, both sides agreed to exercise maximum restraint and avoided provocation to ensure the return of normalcy in the Muhurichar area of the Belonia sector on the Tripura-Comilla border. This merely meant that the two sides would not resort to exchange of firing on the disputed 44-acre stretch of land. Exchange of firing ended, but the talks had later failed.

Skirmishes after 1979 incident

Skirmishes in Belonia also occurred in 1985, where heavy

mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

were used in the intense clash. Skirmishes near and in Belonia also occurred in 1999, where 6 civilians including 1 BSF Jawan were injured. The 67.31-acre land at Muhurichar has remained a disputed area since 1974 with both India and Bangladesh claiming the cultivable tract as their own territory. Of it, 44.87 acre falls in the Indian territory, while the rest is in Bangladesh's control. In total, there were eight skirmishes from 1979 to 1999 in Muhuri Char. BGB and BSF clashed for a total of 58 days in 20 years.

Smuggling

The border is used as a route for smuggling livestock, food items, medicines, and drugs from India to Bangladesh. Moreover, illegal immigrants from Bangladesh cross the border to India. Because of a large number of illegal immigrants crossing from Bangladesh into India, a controversial shoot-on-sight policy has been enforced by the Indian border patrols. This policy was initiated with reports of violence between the illegal migrants and Indian soldiers. The border has also witnessed occasional skirmishes between the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB), most notably in 2001.

Fence construction

In July 2009,

Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...

reported that hundreds of Indians and

Bangladeshis Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the permanent residents ...

were killed by the BSF along the Indo-Bangladeshi border fence during its construction. The BSF state that the fence's main purpose is to check illegal immigration and to prevent cross-border terrorism. In 2010,

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

(HRW) issued an 81-page report which documented a number abuses committed by the BSF. The report was compiled from the interviews of abuse victims, witnesses, members of the BSF, and its Bangladeshi counterpart, the BGB. The report stated that over 900 Bangladeshi citizens were killed during the first decade of the 21st century, many of whom crossed the border for cattle rustling or other smuggling activities. However, the report also noted that some were killed due to "indiscriminate firing from across the border". The HRW called for a joint independent investigation to be conducted by both governments.

Alleged BSF incursions

The Bangladeshi government has often accused the BSF of incursions into Bangladeshi territory, and indiscriminate shooting of civilians along the India–Bangladesh border. In a news conference in August 2008, Indian BSF officials admitted that they killed 59 illegals (34 Bangladeshis, 21 Indians, 4 unidentified) who were trying to cross the border during the prior six months.India says 59 killed over last six months on Bangladesh border
,

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

, 24 August 2008. Bangladeshi media accused the BSF of abducting 5 Bangladeshi children, aged between 8 and 15, from the Haripur Upazila in

Thakurgaon District Thakurgaon District () is a district in northwestern Bangladesh. It is part of Rangpur Division and borders India to the west. It was established as a mahakuma in 1860 consisting of 7 thanas named Thakurgaon sadar, Baliadangi, Pirganj, Ranishanka ...

of Bangladesh, in 2010. The children were setting fishing nets near the border. In 2010, Human Rights Watch accused the Border Security Force of the indiscriminate killings. On 7 January 2011, BSF forces killed 15-year-old Felani Khatun after she became tangled while climbing the border fence during a return trip to Bangladesh. Her body was left hanging from the fence where it was photographed, drawing widespread outrage. In 2019, Bangladesh border guards shot at BSF personnel. They claimed self defence. One BSF officer was killed.

Border length by Indian states

The breakdown of the length of land border by Indian

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

is as follows, clockwise:गाय ही नहीं, ड्रग्स भी जा रहीं बांग्लादेश: नशा देने वाले खांसी सिरप की हाई डिमांड
Dainik Bhaskar, 15 Dept 2022. * Total 4096 km **

2217 km **

262 km **

443 km **

856 km **

318 km

Enclaves

There were nearly 200 enclaves and counter-enclaves (

exclaves An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

) that existed on both sides of the border up until 2015. The enclaves or ''chitmahals'' () that ran along the border between the two nations were a longstanding feature of the region. The enclaves were reputedly part of a high-stakes card game or chess games centuries ago between two regional kings, the Raja of

Cooch Behar Cooch Behar (), also known as Koch Bihar, is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal and it stands on bank of the Torsa river. The city is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. During the British Raj, Cooch Behar was the seat of the ...

and the Maharaja of Rangpur, and the result of the confused outcome of a treaty between the Kingdom of Cooch Behar and the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

. After the

in 1947, Cooch Behar district merged with India and Rangpur went to then-

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

, which became Bangladesh in 1971. The prime ministers of India and Bangladesh signed a Land Boundary Agreement in 1974 to exchange all enclaves and simplify the international border. In 1974 Bangladesh approved the proposed Land Boundary Agreement, but India did not ratify it. In 2011 the two countries again agreed to exchange enclaves and adverse possessions. A revised version of the agreement was finally adopted by the two countries when the Parliament of India passed the 100th Amendment to the Indian Constitution on 7 May 2015. Inside the main part of Bangladesh, there were 111 Indian enclaves (17,160.63 acres), while inside the main part of India, there were 51 Bangladeshi enclaves (7,110.02 acres). Under the Land Boundary Agreement, the enclave residents could continue to reside at their present location or move to the country of their choice. The

adverse possession Adverse possession in common law, and the related civil law (legal system), civil law concept of usucaption (also ''acquisitive prescription'' or ''prescriptive acquisition''), are legal mechanisms under which a person who does not have title (p ...

of Boraibari went to Bangladesh. The undemarcated borders between the nations were also finally solved with respect to Daikhata-Dumabari, Muhurichar (an island in the Muhuri River), and Pyrdiwah.

Maritime boundary

India and Bangladesh, with different perceptions of their maritime boundaries and exclusive

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

zone, engaged in eight rounds of bilateral negotiations since 1974, which remained inconclusive until 2009 when both agreed to undergo arbitration under the UNCLOS. On 7 July 2014,

Arbitration Tribunal An arbitral tribunal or arbitration tribunal, also arbitration commission, arbitration committee or arbitration council is a panel of adjudicators which is convened and sits to resolve a dispute by way of arbitration. The tribunal may consist o ...

resolved the dispute in Bangladesh's favor, which was amicably accepted by both sides, thus ending the dispute.PCA Ruling on the Chinese claims of sovereignty in South China Sea

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

, 6 June 2020. Dispute also included

South Talpatti South Talpatti (), also known as New Moore () and Purbasha Island (), was a small uninhabited offshore sandbar island in the Bay of Bengal, off the coast of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta region.Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

in the aftermath of the Bhola cyclone in 1970, and disappeared around March 2010.Global warming as peacemaker? Disputed island disappears under rising sea.
''The Christian Science Monitor'', 24 March 2010

Cross-border transport

Road links & official crossing points

Designated Integrated Check Posts (ICP, with both customs and immigration facilities) and Land Customs Stations (LCS) are: *

** Mankachar Land Customs Stations(India) and Rowmari post (Bangladesh) **

Karimganj Karimganj, officially Sribhumi, is a town in the Karimganj district of the Indian States and territories of India, state of Assam. It is the administrative headquarters of the district. Karimganj town is located at . The area of Karimganj Tow ...

– Beanibazar Upazila via Sutarkandi integrated checkpost crossing on NH37(India) and Sheola post (Bangladesh) ** Karimganj Steamer and Ferry Station (KSFS) Land Customs Stations(India) and Zakiganj post (Bangladesh) *

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

–

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

via Petrapole-Benapole integrated checkpost crossing ** Malda–

via Mahadipur crossing ** Changrabandha integrated checkpost ** Hili * BSF jawans guarding Bangladesh-India Border in Sylhet

** Bagmara Land Customs Stations (India) and Bijoyour post (Bangladesh) ** Borsara Land Customs Stations(India) and Borsara post (Bangladesh) ** West Garo Hills– Bakshiganj via Mahendraganj crossing on NH12 ** Tura– Nalitabari via Dalu crossing on NH217 (India) and Nakugaon post (Bangladesh) **

Shillong Shillong (, ) is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in India, 330th most populous city ...

–

via Dawki integrated checkpost crossing (India) and Tamabil post (Bangladesh) *

Agartala Agartala (, , ) is the capital and the List of cities and towns in Tripura, largest city of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tripura, situated on the banks of Haora River, Haora/Saidra River, about east of the border ...

–

via Agartala integrated checkpost (India) and Akhaura checkpost crossing ** Santirbazar– Feni via Santirbazar integrated border checkpost road and railway crossing in South Tripura district ** Sabroom– Ramgarh in

Chittagong Division Chittagong Division (), officially Chattogram Division, is geographically the largest of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It covers the southeasternmost areas of the country, with a total area of and a population according to th ...

via Ramgarh integrated border checkpost crossing Maitri Setu on Feni River *

** Kawarpuchiah integrated checkpost, opened in October 2017 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Bus service

Transport between India and Bangladesh bears much historical and political significance for both countries, which possessed no ground transport links for 43 years, starting with the partition of Bengal and

in 1947. After the establishment of Bangladesh following the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, bilateral relations improved considerably, but the two governments moved slowly on implementing a 1980 agreement on improving transport links. The

–

Bus started in 1999. In 2001, another bus service was launched to connect Dhaka with Agartala, the capital of the Indian state of

, the second-largest city of

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

that borders Bangladesh in the east. In 2015 June direct bus service from Kolkata to Agartala via, Petrapole, Dhaka, Akhoura began. The service is operated by West Bengal surface transport corporation.

India–Bangladesh rail links

Before partition India and Bangladesh had multiple rail links. In the 21st century, the countries are only connected by rail links on the Western Bangladeshi border, although there are plans to rebuild some of the other rail links. 2 scheduled passenger trains run between

and Bangladesh as the

Maitree Express The ''Maitree Express'' (13109/13110) train (), often pronounced Moitree Express, was the first express train service connecting Dhaka in Bangladesh to Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. The Bengali name ''Maitree Express'' means ''F ...

and the

Bandhan Express The Bandhan Express train () is an international express rail service which runs between the Indian city Kolkata and the Bangladeshi city Khulna every week. It is the second modern day, fully air conditioned passenger train link between the In ...

. One train Mitali Express runs between and of

North Bengal North Bengal ( , Uttar Banga) is a cross-border cultural–geographic region consisting of the north-western areas of Bangladesh as well as the northern part of the West Bengal state of India. Bounded to the east by the Jamuna and in the south ...

Barrier

Out of total length of International Border with Bangladesh ,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

has completely fenced by 2024 and the remaining is covered by physical and non-physical barriers as it is not feasible to fence the entire border due to densely forested rugged mountains, riverine and marshy areas. India has similar fence on borders with

and

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

.1643 km Indo-Myanmar border to be fenced, a patrol track to be built: Amit Shah
Hindustan Times, 6 Feb 2024. The approved length of the fence along Indo-Bangladesh Border was in 2018, sections of which were progressively constructed, i.e. by November 2007, by October 2009, by March 2011, by February 2018, by July 2019, by August 2021, and by 2024.

Border protection force

Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with

and

. Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB), formerly known as the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), is a paramilitary force responsible for the security of Bangladesh's long border with India and Myanmar.Bangladesh
/ref>

Border ceremonies

Benapole–Petrapole border ceremony at the India-Bangladesh border crossing site is a beating retreat flag ceremony jointly held by the military of both nations every day at 6 pm, which is open to the public as tourist attractions.5 crossing points in India: All you need to know
India Today, 10 OCt 2016.
Changing Guards, accessed 8 July 2021. No special permit or ticket is needed. India has similar border ceremonies with other nations.

Border markets

India-Bangladesh border has numerous border haats or markets held one day each week. It is not only a market for locals and tourists for buying daily commodities but also a reunion spot for families living on both sides of the international border.

Notes

References

External links

Map of India–Bangladesh border links

India–Bangladesh border gunfire

News from India
(archived)
India-Bangladesh Port And Border List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bangladesh-India border 1947 establishments in India 1947 establishments in East Bengal 1947 in international relations Geography of Assam Geography of West Bengal Fences Border barriers Borders of Bangladesh Borders of India International borders Maps of Bangladesh Geography of Bangladesh

History

Issues

1970s Border Skirmishes

Skirmishes after 1979 incident

Smuggling

Fence construction

Alleged BSF incursions

Border length by Indian states

Enclaves

Maritime boundary

Cross-border transport

Road links & official crossing points

Bus service

India–Bangladesh rail links

Barrier

Border protection force

Border ceremonies

Border markets

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links