At the stroke of midnight on Friday, Bangladesh and India swapped tiny islands of land, ending one of the world's most intractable border disputes that has kept thousands in stateless limbo for nearly seven decades.
51 Bangladeshi enclaves situated at Indian soil in Coochbehar district of West Bengal amalgamated with India, while 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladeshi territory integrated with the country.
National flags were hoisted in all the enclaves in both sides of the border and residents of these enclaves will get citizenship according to their choice.
The enclaves are home to over 50,000 people.
These people have been treated as in effect stateless for six decades but the agreement between the two countries would finally get them proper identity.
Celebrations erupted post midnight. Many lit 68 candles to mark the end of "68 years of endless pain and indignity".
"We were facing lots of problems as we were trapped between India and Bangladesh...We never had any identity proof, we neither belonged to India nor to Bangladesh. We faced problems in getting admission to schools, we faced problems going to hospitals...We are very happy now, we are happier than Eid or Durga Puja festivals," said Ibrahim Sheik, resident of Coochbehar.
"We are happy that both governments have solved the problems. Now, we will be able get our identity cards, aadhar cards and all. We will get nationality... we are going to celebrate today," added Alamgir Hussain, another resident of Coochbehar.
The parcels of land survived Partition of the subcontinent in 1947 after British rule and Bangladesh's 1971 War of Independence with Pakistan.
Bangladesh endorsed a deal with India in 1974 in a bid to dissolve the pockets, but India signed the final agreement in June when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Dhaka.
India and Bangladesh ratified the Land Boundary Agreement that envisages the transfer of 111 enclaves with a total area of 17,160.63 acres to Bangladesh.
Under the agreement, Bangladesh will transfer 51 enclaves totalling 7,110.02 acres to India. There will be a 6.1 km undefined border stretch demarcated.
Officials of both nations conducted surveys in July, asking residents to choose a country.
The overwhelming majority of people living in Indian enclaves in Bangladesh opted for Bangladeshi citizenship.
But nearly 1,000 people on the Bangladesh side opted to keep their Indian nationalities, meaning they will leave their homes by November for India where they will be resettled in West Bengal.
According to an estimate, around 37,000 people are living in Indian enclaves in Bangladesh while 14,000 people are staying in Bangladeshi enclaves in India.
Image: People of Mashal Danga Enclave celebrate with tricolor rangoli near India- Bangladesh border in Cooch Behar District of West Bengal, as India and Bangladesh exchange 162 adversely-held enclaves on Friday midnight. Photograph: PTI Photo
