India’s NHRC seeks report on alleged rights violation of Indian citizens in enclaves within Bangladesh

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India has issued a notice to the country’s home and foreign ministries as well as the chief secretaries of Assam and West Bengal over the allegations of exploitations of Indians residing in erstwhile Indian enclaves in Bangladesh.

The notice was served on Tuesday, three days after the two countries exchanged the enclaves.
 
The NHRC asked the home and foreign secretaries, the chief secretaries of West Bengal and Assam, and district magistrates of Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri (in West Bengal) to enquire into a complaint that the Indians residing in the enclaves within Bangladesh were being denied basic amenities.
 
The NHRC in its notice said many of the enclave dwellers had not been included in census for land compensation and women were being sexually exploited.
 
The commission asked the authorities to submit a detailed report on the matter within four weeks.
 
The Clause 1(iv) of the letter signed by the foreign secretaries of India and Bangladesh for the exchange of enclaves states that both governments “shall facilitate orderly, safe and secure passage to residents of enclaves along with their personal belongings and moveable property to the mainland of India or Bangladesh, as the case may be, including through provision of travel documents.” 
The NHRC in its notice pointed out that if the allegations made in the complaint were true, these incidents amount to violation of not only human rights but also the agreement between the two nations.
 
According to the complaint, received from the Indian Enclaves People’s Committee and Kuchlibari Sangram Committee, represented by Ashwani Kumar Roy, the members of these committees were the affected persons in the Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh.
 
The complainants alleged most of the residents of the enclaves on both the sides had not been counted in the census conducted in the years 2011 and 2015.
 
It also alleged that the people residing in the Indian enclaves in Bangladesh had been deprived of their basic amenities.
 
Although the complainants approached the Indian Prime Minister’s Office and also the office of the Chief Minister of West Bengal, “no action has been taken.”