A strong man even in his 60s, Rahimuddin works in his crop field everyday. Although happy with his lot in life, he is worried these days. Rahim worries he is going to lose his identity.
With exchanges of territory between India and Bangladesh coming, enclave residents like Rahim are loath to choose between deeply-held ties to the land they have spent a lifetime tilling and the sort of patriotic clarity that one has when one lives in close proximity to a militarised fence.
People are using Tin Bigha Corridor to go Dahagram Angorpota Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain
The elderly resident of Dahagram-Angorpota, an exclave of Bangladesh connected to the mainland by the famous Tin Bigha Corridor in Lalmonirhat, says he and his neighbours are voters in Bangladesh. “Why should we become part of India?” he scowls. “We have identity cards!”
The farmer has spent his lifetime in this remote patch of Bangladesh and is simply not willing to give up what he considers his birthright.
He says losing this strip of land being taken over by India would mean giving up everything for the 12,000 people living there.
A sense of apprehension has gripped the residents of Dahagram-Angorpota in the absence of any official statement from the local authorities about their fate.
Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain
They ponder what the future holds – with grave misgivings.
Nestled between Bangladesh’s northern district Lalmonirhat and the Teesta River, the enclave falls on a thin strip of Indian land. It is connected with the Bangladesh mainland through a corridor on Indian land that is heavily guarded and subject to many restrictions.
Another farmer of Natunpara at Dahagram says some people have told him that Dahagram-Angorpota will remain outside the purview of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) with India. “I do not know what will actually happen.”
Rahim says his entire community conveyed to the local union chairman their preference for remaining in Bangladesh. “We have said clearly we will not leave Bangladesh in any way.”
Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain
Obaidur Rahman, busily harvesting paddy, expresses the same sentiment. “Only the Almighty knows what will happen. I will follow the neighbourhood. But if the Indira-Mujib treaty is enforced, we will not face any problem,” he says.
Not just the elders but the young people of Dahagram-Angorpota are preoccupied with the land boundary agreement and what it might mean for them. A group of young men chatting at their regular hangout at the Bangerbazar Bottola intersection are keen to learn about the treaty from this correspondent.
They are apprehensive. They first want to be certain that they are indeed speaking to a reporter and a photographer from Dhaka.
Satisfied that they are talking to Bangladeshi journalists, they can hardly contain their anxiety and inquire at length about the possible implementation of the LBA. Unlike many other enclaves of Bangladesh, Dahagram-Angorpota has better roads, the residents are not deprived of education – there are schools – and residents enjoy such amenities as electricity.
Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain
Not far from there, Mahtab Uddin, a 70-year-old farmer, says: “The Indira-Mujib treaty was signed in 1974 and the Tin Bigha Corridor was constructed in 1992. We gave up Berubari and got Tin Bigha Corridor. So, we should not face any problem.”
Asked why people are panicking, a resident named Ishak Ali says: “Is it not normal to be frightened? As India will lose 10,000 acres as it is, people are concerned that Bangladesh might give away Dahagram-Angorpota too to sweeten the deal.”
Ishak also says: “We got Tin Bigha in exchange for Berubari. But we still have not received our full rights. We have got only the street but the Indian authorities have absolute control over the corridor. We want our control over Tin Bigha.”
Mahtabuddin says they want freedom of movement to the motherland. “Twice a week – Sundays and Thursdays – we are allowed to take out 60 cows from our area but cannot bring any from the outside.”
Faridul Islam, a member of the local union council, says 700 Hindus used to live in the area. “But now only 50 remain.”
In contrast to the community’s general apprehension, Union Chairman Habibur Rahman thinks there is nothing to be worried about. “I have heard about the misgivings. I will talk to my people soon.”
