Former enclave residents free to dream of a better future
An electricity pole rarely brings excitement, but one installed in the farming community of Dasiar Chhara in Kurigram's Phulbari upazila on September 1, 2015 is symbolic of a new beginning. “Development works are progressing quite quickly?” I suggest.
“Yes,” replies a local, happily.
It's almost as if everything is new in Dasiar Chhara, one of the 162 parcels of land known as enclaves that were exchanged between India and Bangladesh on August 1 this year.
“It feels like we were in our mother's womb all these years,” said a woman back in August, “and finally with identity we are born!”
“After 68 long years we became Bangladeshi,” another man said on that historic day.
At the time of Partition in 1947 the map of division overseen by British lawyer Radcliffe included 111 Indian enclaves inside Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves inside India. Despite attempts in 1974 to simplify the border it never happened, until last August.
The agreement between Sheikh Hasina and Narendra Modi released a total of 17, 160 acres of land from the complications of enclave status and freed enclave residents to dream of better futures. Their hopes are high.
“You had the opportunity to go to India,” I ask an old man, “Why didn't you choose that option?”
“We fought hard for this country,” he replies, “Why should we go to India?”
In terms of agriculture, since August site visits and offers of training, supplies of fertilizer and pesticide, poultry, cows, cattle feed and other provisions have been made to the people of the Dasia Chhara. “But we are still not getting sufficient agriculture inputs,” says one farmer, “though I'm sure the dealers will be here soon.”
Deputy director of the Department of Agriculture Extension in Kurigram, Shawkat Ali Sarker, says that as it is tree planting season farmers in the area have been given saplings, and assured that measures will be taken to accelerate the availability of both agricultural credit and quality seeds.
“We never had the dignity of humans, not even the dignity of animals or birds,” says one man, recalling how it was to live in an enclave. “We didn't have ID cards and were not counted on government lists. There are exact tallies of animals in the Sundarbans, but not for us, until now!” His excitement and its parallel across the entire community reminded of the joy of liberation in 1971, when I was just 15 years old.
Infrastructure projects have already begun. There is a new police camp and those startling markers of a new beginning, the electricity poles.
“Agricultural facilities are coming,” says one local farmer, “So many things are happening. We have an electricity pole. Tomorrow we'll get rice. We're extremely happy.”