BJP President Rajnath Singh recently reaffirmed the need to resolve the boundary dispute with Bangladesh. But soon thereafter his party leaders rolled back the spirit of accommodation. They did not exactly oppose the move to implement a bilateral agreement to swap 162 enclaves in one country’s territory with those of the other. But they laid emphasis on the need for caution as there are pockets of discontent in both countries over the details of a settlement of the issue. It is forgotten that delay in working out a solution affects the lives of 50,000 or so residents in these enclaves. The 2011 agreement between India and Bangladesh for territorial exchange stands. 111 enclaves are to be transferred from India to Bangladesh and 51 the other way. Citizenship of people living in these areas is necessary to save them from poverty and provide them with social and economic infrastructure. It is utter callousness which allows the present amorphous state to continue. Objections to achieving a prompt resolution are baseless. Delhi’s attitude to making the border geographical should show its neighbourly goodwill in improving bilateral relations.
The BJP’s ambivalent policy is not conducive to national interests and betrays a certain sense of irresponsibility. Bangladesh politics are now at crossroads. The gulf between those who are committed to secularism and the rule of law on the one hand and those who are not is widening in that country. India must obliterate all traces of xenophobia going back to past bitterness. The fate of the enclaves has to be settled soon even if there are grievances in Assam and West Bengal.