Bangladesh–India border

Issues

1970s border skirmishes

Several skirmishes occurred along the border during the 1970s, years after the victory of the Battles of Belonia Bulge by the Mukti Bahini and allied Indian troops. The Belonia issue was almost settled in 1974 when Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman agreed to the general principle of watershed. It was decided that in all cases of river line boundaries the midstream would be regarded as the border. And that both sides would take steps to ensure that the rivers did not change their course but unfortunately, it was not settled.

The joint boundaries commission was to meet in the first week of November to finalise the Belonia border within the framework of the Indira-Mujib agreement. Officials of the two countries held a flag meeting. However, on 15 August 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family was killed after Mujib established a one-party system, and Ziaur Rahman became the President of Bangladesh in 1977, Indira Gandhi also lost the 1977 Indian general election in the same year. In October 1979, Bangladesh said, it should be regarded as no-man's-land and farmers on the Indian side should be refrained from harvesting in no-man's-land. The Indian side disagreed and Indian peasants began harvesting the paddy they had sown. Bangladesh Rifles and the Border Security Force both exchanged fire in the beginning days of November thus starting intense gunbattles between the two sides.

Bangladesh Rifles and Indian Border Security Forces exchanged fire near the Comilla-Tripura border throughout the entire month of November to December 1979. The shooting appeared to have become a habit with the soldiers on both sides. A joint survey team of India and Bangladesh visited the area and watched bullets flying across the disputed land for 90 minutes. No fatalities or injuries were reported.

After the three-day talks, the two delegations issued a brief joint statement in which, both sides agreed to exercise maximum restraint and avoided provocation to ensure the return of normalcy in the Muhurichar area of the Belonia sector on the Tripura-Comilla border. This merely meant that the two sides would not resort to exchange of firing on the disputed 44-acre stretch of land.

Exchange of firing ended, but the talks had later failed.

Skirmishes after 1979 incident

Skirmishes in Belonia also occurred in 1985, where heavy mortars were used in the intense clash. Skirmishes near and in Belonia also occurred in 1999, where six civilians including one BSF Jawan were injured. The 67.31-acre land at Muhurichar has remained a disputed area since 1974 with both India and Bangladesh claiming the cultivable tract as their own territory. Of it, 44.87 acre falls in the Indian territory, while the rest is in Bangladesh's control.

In total, there were eight skirmishes from 1979 to 1999 in Muhuri Char. BGB and BSF clashed for a total of 58 days in 20 years.

Smuggling

The border is used as a route for smuggling livestock, food items, medicines, and drugs from India to Bangladesh. Moreover, illegal immigrants from Bangladesh cross the border to India. Because of a large number of illegal immigrants crossing from Bangladesh into India, a controversial shoot-on-sight policy has been enforced by the Indian border patrols. This policy was initiated with reports of violence between the illegal migrants and Indian soldiers. The border has also witnessed occasional skirmishes between the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB), most notably in 2001.

Fence construction

In July 2009, Channel 4 News reported that hundreds of Indians and Bangladeshis were killed by the BSF along the Indo-Bangladeshi border fence during its construction. The BSF state that the fence's main purpose is to check illegal immigration and to prevent cross-border terrorism. In 2010, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued an 81-page report which documented a number abuses committed by the BSF. The report was compiled from the interviews of abuse victims, witnesses, members of the BSF, and its Bangladeshi counterpart, the BGB. The report stated that over 900 Bangladeshi citizens were killed during the first decade of the 21st century, many of whom crossed the border for cattle rustling or other smuggling activities. However, the report also noted that some were killed due to "indiscriminate firing from across the border". The HRW called for a joint independent investigation to be conducted by both governments.

Alleged BSF incursions

The Bangladeshi government has often accused the BSF of incursions into Bangladeshi territory, and indiscriminate shooting of civilians along the India–Bangladesh border. In a news conference in August 2008, Indian BSF officials admitted that they killed 59 illegals (34 Bangladeshis, 21 Indians, 4 unidentified) who were trying to cross the border during the prior six months. Bangladeshi media accused the BSF of abducting 5 Bangladeshi children, aged between 8 and 15, from the Haripur Upazila in Thakurgaon District of Bangladesh, in 2010. The children were setting fishing nets near the border. In 2010, Human Rights Watch accused the Border Security Force of the indiscriminate killings. On 7 January 2011, BSF forces killed 15-year-old Felani Khatun after she became tangled while climbing the border fence during a return trip to Bangladesh. Her body was left hanging from the fence where it was photographed, drawing widespread outrage.

In 2019, Bangladesh border guards shot at BSF personnel. They claimed self defence. One BSF officer was killed.

Border length by Indian states

The breakdown of the length of land border by Indian states is as follows, clockwise:

• Total 4096 km
  • West Bengal 2217 km
  • Assam 262 km
  • Meghalaya 443 km
  • Tripura 856 km
  • Mizoram 318 km

Enclaves

There were nearly 200 enclaves and counter-enclaves (exclaves) that existed on both sides of the border up until 2015. The enclaves or chitmahals (Bengali: ছিটমহল) that ran along the border between the two nations were a longstanding feature of the region. The enclaves were reputedly part of a high-stakes card game or chess games centuries ago between two regional kings, the Raja of Cooch Behar and the Maharaja of Rangpur, and the result of the confused outcome of a treaty between the Kingdom of Cooch Behar and the Mughal Empire. After the partition of India in 1947, Cooch Behar district merged with India and Rangpur went to then-East Pakistan, which became Bangladesh in 1971.

The prime ministers of India and Bangladesh signed a Land Boundary Agreement in 1974 to exchange all enclaves and simplify the international border. In 1974 Bangladesh approved the proposed Land Boundary Agreement, but India did not ratify it. In 2011 the two countries again agreed to exchange enclaves and adverse possessions. A revised version of the agreement was finally adopted by the two countries when the Parliament of India passed the 100th Amendment to the Indian Constitution on 7 May 2015.

Inside the main part of Bangladesh, there were 111 Indian enclaves (17,160.63 acres (69.4466 km²)), while inside the main part of India, there were 51 Bangladeshi enclaves (7,110.02 acres (28.7732 km²)). Under the Land Boundary Agreement, the enclave residents could continue to reside at their present location or move to the country of their choice. The adverse possession of Boraibari went to Bangladesh. The undemarcated borders between the nations were also finally solved with respect to Daikhata-Dumabari, Muhurichar (an island in the Muhuri River), and Pyrdiwah.

Maritime boundary

India and Bangladesh, with different perceptions of their maritime boundaries and exclusive economic zone, engaged in eight rounds of bilateral negotiations since 1974, which remained inconclusive until 2009 when both agreed to undergo arbitration under the UNCLOS. On 7 July 2014, Arbitration Tribunal resolved the dispute in Bangladesh's favor, which was amicably accepted by both sides, thus ending the dispute. Dispute also included South Talpatti (also called "New Moore"), a small uninhabited offshore sandbar that emerged as an island in the aftermath of the Bhola cyclone in 1970, and disappeared around March 2010.

Cross-border transport

Road links & official crossing points

Designated Integrated Check Posts (ICP, with both customs and immigration facilities) and Land Customs Stations (LCS) are:

• Assam
  • Mankachar Land Customs Stations(India) and Rowmari post (Bangladesh)
  • Karimganj–Beanibazar Upazila via Sutarkandi integrated checkpost crossing on NH37(India) and Sheola post (Bangladesh)
  • Karimganj Steamer and Ferry Station (KSFS) Land Customs Stations(India) and Zakiganj post (Bangladesh)
• West Bengal
  • Kolkata–Dhaka via Petrapole-Benapole integrated checkpost crossing
  • Malda–Rajshahi via Mahadipur crossing
  • Changrabandha integrated checkpost
  • Hili
• Meghalaya
  • Bagmara Land Customs Stations (India) and Bijoyour post (Bangladesh)
  • Borsara Land Customs Stations(India) and Borsara post (Bangladesh)
  • West Garo Hills–Bakshiganj via Mahendraganj crossing on NH12
  • Tura–Nalitabari via Dalu crossing on NH217 (India) and Nakugaon post (Bangladesh)
  • Shillong–Sylhet via Dawki integrated checkpost crossing (India) and Tamabil post (Bangladesh)
• Tripura
  • Agartala–Dhaka via Agartala integrated checkpost (India) and Akhaura checkpost crossing
  • Santirbazar–Feni via Santirbazar integrated border checkpost road and railway crossing in South Tripura district
  • Sabroom–Ramgarh in Chittagong Division via Ramgarh integrated border checkpost crossing Maitri Setu on Feni River
• Mizoram
  • Kawarpuchiah integrated checkpost, opened in October 2017 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Bus service

Transport between India and Bangladesh bears much historical and political significance for both countries, which possessed no ground transport links for 43 years, starting with the partition of Bengal and India in 1947. After the establishment of Bangladesh following the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, bilateral relations improved considerably, but the two governments moved slowly on implementing a 1980 agreement on improving transport links.

The Kolkata–Dhaka Bus started in 1999. In 2001, another bus service was launched to connect Dhaka with Agartala, the capital of the Indian state of Tripura, the second-largest city of Northeast India that borders Bangladesh in the east. In 2015 June direct bus service from Kolkata to Agartala via, Petrapole, Dhaka, Akhoura began. The service is operated by West Bengal surface transport corporation.

India–Bangladesh rail links

Before partition India and Bangladesh had multiple rail links. In the 21st century, the countries are only connected by rail links on the Western Bangladeshi border, although there are plans to rebuild some of the other rail links. 2 scheduled passenger trains run between Kolkata and Bangladesh as the Maitree Express and the Bandhan Express. One train Mitali Express runs between Dhaka Cantonment and New Jalpaiguri Junction of North Bengal.

Barrier

Out of total length of International Border with Bangladesh 4,096.70 kilometres (2,545.57 mi), Government of India has completely fenced 3,180 kilometres (1,980 mi) by 2024 and the remaining 916 kilometres (569 mi) is covered by physical and non-physical barriers as it is not feasible to fence the entire border due to densely forested rugged mountains, riverine and marshy areas. India has similar fence on borders with Pakistan and Myanmar.

The approved length of the fence along the Indo-Bangladesh border was 3,326.14 kilometres (2,066.77 mi) in 2018, sections of which were progressively constructed, i.e. 2,529 kilometres (1,571 mi) by November 2007, 2,649 kilometres (1,646 mi) by October 2009, 2,735 kilometres (1,699 mi) by March 2011, 2,746.44 kilometres (1,706.56 mi) by February 2018, 2,803.013 kilometres (1,741.712 mi) by July 2019, 3,141 kilometres (1,952 mi) by August 2021, and 3,180 kilometres (1,980 mi) by 2024.

In June 2026, people in Lyngkhong village, Meghalaya, protested against the planned India–Bangladesh border fence. They said the fence would cut off their village from the rest of India and asked for it to be built along the zero line. The event became known as the 2026 Meghalaya border fencing protests.

Border protection force

Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB), formerly known as the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), is a paramilitary force responsible for the security of Bangladesh's 4,427 kilometres (2,751 mi) long border with India and Myanmar.

Border ceremonies

The Benapole–Petrapole border ceremony at the India-Bangladesh border crossing site is a beating retreat flag ceremony jointly held by the military of both nations every day at 6 pm, which is open to the public as tourist attractions. No special permit or ticket is needed. India has similar border ceremonies with other nations.

Border markets

The India-Bangladesh border has numerous border haats or markets held one day each week. It is not only a market for locals and tourists for buying daily commodities but also a reunion spot for families living on both sides of the international border.