The people living in enclaves along the India-Bangladesh border are having a tough time. A German citizen, Gabriela Korzeniec has decided to sponsor the education of a girl child in the region. However, one doubts if one individual can bring relief to enclave dwellers. For decades, their quality of life has suffered from the neglect of Indian and Bangladesh governments. The territorial issue continues to be prickly. Children in the enclaves have to go to school across the border as there are no schools in the enclaves. According to an official estimate, there are 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in India. It is the outcome of the delineation of borders between India and East Pakistan which became Bangladesh in 1971. 51,000 people are surrounded by foreign territory in these enclaves. A joint census by the two countries in 2011 counted these people for the first time. They are not citizens of any country and cannot vote or leave the enclaves legally. They are isolated from their own country and cannot acquire documents relating to citizenship.
When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Bangladesh last year, a deal was signed about swapping enclaves so that they could be integrated with the country surrounding them. But West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee fears an influx from Bangladesh. The Guwahati High Court ruled that it was necessary to make a constitutional amendment before land could be exchanged. It makes it virtually impossible to offer school education to children in the enclaves in these circumstances.