Consider the following statements about the 2015 India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement (LBA):
1) As per the 2015 agreement, 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in India and 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh were exchanged.
2) A majority of enclave residents from Bangladesh opted to retain Bangladeshi citizenship after the transfer.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Answer: Only 1 is correct.
Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct because, under the historic 2015 India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement (LBA), India ceded 111 enclaves to Bangladesh, while Bangladesh transferred 51 enclaves to India. This agreement was implemented through the 100th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2015. Statement 2 is incorrect because the reality on the ground was quite the opposite. The majority of residents in the Indian enclaves (which subsequently became part of Bangladesh) opted to retain their Indian citizenship and relocate to India, rather than accepting Bangladeshi citizenship. Conversely, almost all residents of the Bangladeshi enclaves located within India decided to remain in India and accept Indian citizenship. This agreement resolved a decades-old border dispute as well as the identity crisis faced by the people residing in these areas.
Additional Points:
Constitutional Provision: The First Schedule of the Indian Constitution was amended to facilitate this agreement.
Date: The agreement officially came into effect at midnight on July 31 – August 1, 2015.
Potential Exam Questions and Answers:
Question: Which Constitutional Amendment Act is associated with the India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement?
Answer: The 100th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2015.
Question: How many enclaves did India cede to Bangladesh under this agreement?
Answer: 111 enclaves.