When it comes to foreign policy, India is one whole, not the sum of its parts. Which is why the government’s plans to introduce a Constitutional amendment in Parliament in order to operationalise the India-Bangladesh >land boundary agreement (LBA) for the three States of West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura, but not for Assam, is an unwholesome precedent. Simply put, of all the 162 enclaves and 5,044 acres of land in ‘adverse possession’ that have been carefully analysed and agreed to for the land swap on both sides of the border, the 268 acres that Assam is due to hand over will not be included. The reasoning for this exclusion seems to be political: ahead of the Assam Assembly elections this year, the ruling BJP doesn’t wish to be seen “giving away” land to the neighbour, Bangladesh. Equally political is the reaction of the Opposition Congress party, that rules the State of Assam, which now opposes the government move simply because it doesn’t want to give it a political advantage ahead of elections. Both have over the past decade allowed these short-sighted calculations to turn an important bilateral agreement into a game of political football. Even though former Prime Minister Dr…. Read full this story
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