India- Bangladesh enclaves
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How the enclaves were formed
The Times of IndiaJun 01 2015
Jayanta Gupta & Pinak Priya Bhattacharya
These enclaves were part of the former Cooch Behar kingdom, which ceded pockets of territory to the Mughals and the British. When Cooch Behar acceded to India, parts of it which were in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), naturally became part of India, except for the small technicality of them lying in another country . For decades, residents of the enclaves have lived in isolation in a sense: A Bangladeshi enclave, surrounded by India, is cut off from facilities and benefits from its own country . The same happens to Indians marooned in Bangladeshi territory . The constitutional amendment essentially allows the countries to swap land so that those living in the enclaves can get citizenship rights without having to move out of their traditional homes if they do not wish to. It will also settle the decades-old border disorder.