Once again the issue of tension on the India-Bangladesh border is in discussion. Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed described the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) action in Parliament as a “clear violation of human rights” and claimed that the issue of deaths of Bangladeshi civilians on the border was raised in a recent meeting of the BSF and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) held in New Delhi.
However, India’s stand on this issue has been clear for a long time. New Delhi says most of the incidents at the border are related to illegal infiltration, smuggling, human trafficking and other cross-border crimes. According to Indian security agencies, many times smugglers and illegal infiltrators attack security forces, due to which action has to be taken in self-defense.
India also expressed its concerns openly in the four-day Director General level talks held in New Delhi on June 11. The Indian side expressed serious concern over the incidents of attacks on BSF soldiers and Indian civilians, damage to the border fence and illegal border crossing.
After all, why does the dispute persist on the border?
There is a 4,096 km long border between India and Bangladesh, which is counted among the most complex and busy international borders in the world. A large part of this border passes through West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
According to experts the main reasons behind the tension on the border are:
• Illegal infiltration and migration
• Trafficking in cattle, drugs and weapons.
• Human trafficking networks
• Incidents of damage to the border fence.
• Clash between security forces and smugglers
India believes that strong border management is necessary to deal with these challenges.
Is there any major regional dispute?
At present there is no major territorial dispute between India and Bangladesh. In 2015, both the countries resolved the decades-old Enclave dispute by implementing the historic Land Boundary Agreement. After this most of the problems related to boundary determination ended. Today the main dispute between the two countries is regarding border security, illegal activities and deaths on the border.
India’s side
India says that its priority is to secure the border and stop cross-border crimes. In the last few years, BSF has increased the use of non-lethal measures, but according to security agencies, active smuggling networks and illegal infiltration on the border still remain a major challenge.
For lasting peace on the border, both the countries will have to increase cooperation in joint patrolling, better intelligence sharing and anti-smuggling operations. Only then will incidents of violence and disputes on the border be reduced.
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