SECOND EDITION
SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 2015
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Shraban 17, 1422, Shawwal 15, 1436
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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 107
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www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10
ANOTHER WORKING GIRL BURDWAN BLAST ACCUSED CYCLONE KOMEN BRINGS IN DB CUSTODY PAGE 4 GANG-RAPED PAGE 3 HEAVY SHOWERS PAGE 32
Newest Bangladeshis jubilant n Jebun Nesa Alo from Lalmonirhat After sixty-eight years in a nationality grey zone, the country’s newest citizens lit up the land in a celebration of lights and merriment as the clock struck the midnight hour. Sixty-eight candles, one for each year that the so-called chhitmahals have been in existence, were lit up at the same time across all 111 new territories that passed into Bangladeshi sovereignty at 12:01am today. Many houses were also decorated with 68 candles as a symbol of “deliverance from darkness and a hope for a bright future.” After the candle lighting ceremony, local residents held a rally proudly holding aloft torches and the Bangladesh flag. Residents say they are hopeful and excited about the prospects offered by Bangladeshi nationality after enduring what they described as seven decades of neglect under Indian tutelage. In all of the territories, a festive mood prevailed and many residents spent the day yesterday preparing to observe what they called their “victory.” “We lit up the new land with candles as a symbol of coming out from the darkness after long 68 years,” said Moinul Haque, president of the Bangladesh unit of the Bangladesh-India Exclave Exchange Coordination Committee. “Even though the territories have been excluded from power connections, we lit up the whole area using generators,” he said. Bangladesh’s newest citizens were in a festive mood. Small village fairs were seen in the former exclaves. The Bangladesh flag will be flown today at 9am in all of the new territories. Various events PAGE 2 COLUMN 3
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE EXCLAVES
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Srimati Jayanti Rani of Dasiar Chhara exclave in Kurigram decorates her home with 68 candles during transfer of territory events held yesterday. ‘We lived in darkness for 68 years. With these 68 candles we are ushering in the light. Now we are free’ SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN
After partition in 1947, Rangpur was joined to East Pakistan and Cooch Behar district was merged in 1949 with India. The desire to address the exclave situation was manifested in a 1958 agreement between Jawaharlal Nehru and Feroz Khan Noon, the respective prime ministers, for an exchange between India and Pakistan without considering loss or gain of territory. But the matter then worked into a Supreme Court case in India and the Supreme Court ruled that a constitutional amendment was required to transfer the land. So the ninth amendment was introduced to facilitate the implementation of the agreement. The amendment could not be passed because of an objection to the transfer of southern Berubari exclave. The Land Boundary Agreement was signed on May 16, 1974 between Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman which provided for the exchange of exclaves and the surrender of adverse possessions. Bangladesh quickly ratified the agreement in 1974 but India failed to do so. PAGE 2 COLUMN 4
How law failed exclave women Children celebrate new land Nesa Alo with Sazzadur n Jebun Rahman Sazzad, Panchagarh
Tuntun (left) and Surton (right), two of the many women who were abandoned by their husbands and their countries DHAKA TRIBUNE
For several married – and later abandoned – exclave women, it is difficult to say which country’s court, India’s or Bangladesh’s – if any – has jurisdiction to hear their complaints. Life in the exclaves – squeezed between two sovereign states without the protection of either – has probably provided the conditions for a number of human rights violations, compounding regular offences. Why? Because effectively barring individuals from access to due process – whether they are determined to be nationals living in marginal conditions or are determined to be foreign nationals – raises questions of PAGE 2 COLUMN 1
n Tribune Report Beyond all formal celebratory arrangements, the children of Dasiar Chhara, Kurigram welcomed their newly earned independence yesterday in a unique way. They lit lamps and arranged them to illuminate the word “Swadhinota” that means independence. The children of the new Bangladesh land known as Dasiar Chhara were very much cheerful as they are going to be eligible for taking admission in schools in their own areas. Sumaiya Akhtar Sumi, a student of class V, was admitted to the Atiabari No 2 Government Primary School in Kurigram hiding her real identity as an exclave resident. Sumi and all other children like her have to
use bicycles or walk to attend the classes. Now Sumi is very delighted that she will enjoy the same rights like her other classmates. “My friends neglect me as I am a resident of an exclave,” she said. “Now I am happy as I am also a Bangladeshi just like my friends.” Razia, a student of class IV at the same school, said it has been difficult for her to go to the school every day due to the distance. She said that many of her friends do not study as there is no school in their village. Students of the land have to walk long distance every day to go to school on the land of Bangladesh. “I am happy because we are going to get a new school in our own village,” said Razia. l