Aayu Publications

Present study is an attempt to interact with the members who reside in the enclaves, locally known as the Chhitmahal located near the international borders and try to understand the human situations in the Chhitmahals. The Chhitmahals are largely uni-ethnic with believers in the faiths of Islam and Hinduism. The Chhitmahals that are found in the district of Cooch Behar are all enclaves of Bangladesh but physically in India. Similarly, India has got her exclaves inside the territory of Bangladesh It seems to be interesting as well as awe-increasing and the curiosity remains to know how this all happened. As a first attempt the bordering regions of the Mekhliganj civil sub-division of the Cooch Behar district under Kuchlibari police station has been studied. The other areas where there are Chhitmahals could not be studied and included here due to constraint of time and non-receipt of help and co-operation from the sub-division. The study has been done in spite of suspicion and negative attitude of the authorities. Nevertheless, the present authors were able to overcome these hurdles and have been able to interact with the subjects and the result is this book. It has been also an endeavour to find out if dwellers are faced with the problem of sudden heat and run by the illegal intruders from the other side of the boundary. In case of such happenings with whom do they lodge complaints? Did the members of the communities that suffer such sudden attacks have developed fear in their minds? From whom do they receive help or emotional support on such incidents? Or they do not get any support at all ! Such areas of enquiry has been thought to be important because our part of the world today is a picture of chaos with armed militia in the mountains and jungles, grinding poverty, spiraling food prices and people swinging towards violent ideologies. It may sound quite exciting for us to be a part of the present-day world, but, we are surviving in a life-size version of risk. However, a silver lining is, perhaps, seen amidst the dark clouds as the Governments of India and Bangladesh have agreed to demarcate the undecided borders and subsequently, exchange the enclaves and exclaves in very near future. It would end the statelessness of the people of the Chhitmahals and would confer citizenship of either India or Bangladesh depending on the choice of the dwellers concerned.