10.3 India – Bangladesh Relations · Part 4

Meghalaya, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura share , km border with Bangladesh. Tripura and other northeastern states are surrounded by Bangladesh, Myanmar,Bhutan and China on three sides and the only land route access to these states from within India is through Assam and West Bengal by Siliguri or the Chicken’s Neck Corridor. India- Bangladesh Border . Chakmas Refugees Issue: The Chakmas and Hajongs living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts fled erstwhile East Pakistan in - , since they lost their land to the development of the Kaptai Dam on the Karnaphuli River. In addition, they also faced religious persecution as they were non-Muslims and did not speak Bengali. They eventually sought asylum in India. The Indian government set up relief camps in Arunachal Pradesh and a majority of them continue to live there even after five decades. According to the census, , Chakmas live in Arunachal Pradesh alone. . Border Issue: Bangladesh and India share a common border of km running through five states, namely, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. There are enclaves between Bangladesh and India. The border regions have emerged as a major transit point for smugglers of contraband goods, human traffickers and terrorist and insurgent groups living near the border. Hence, border management has become a major challenge for both countries. Through negotiation between India and Bangladesh enclaves were transferred to India and transferred to Bangladesh. While the border issue is sorted to a great extent, through related issues like illegal arms smuggling, human trafficking,drug trafficking and cross border terrorism continue to haunt India and Bangladesh. Trade and Connectivity ™ Trade has been growing steadily between the two countries at about % in the last years. ™ A bus service and a train service between Kolkata and Dhaka was also launched. ™ Memorandam of Understanding (MoU) has been signed on the development of Ashuganj-Zakiganj stretch of Kushiyara river and Sirajganj-Daikhawa stretch of the Jamuna river to improve connectivity between the two countries and this will help reduce cost of cargo movement to northeast India and