The Constitution (One Hundredth Amendment) Act, 2015 put into effect the India–Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) of 1974 and its 2011 Protocol. It amended the First Schedule of the Constitution so that 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh could be transferred to Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in India could become Indian territory. The exchange took effect at midnight on 31 July 2015, ending one of the world’s most complicated border problems after 68 years.
Quick Answer
What: 100th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2015. Purpose: to implement the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement and 2011 Protocol with Bangladesh. Exchange: 111 Indian enclaves (about 17,160 acres) went to Bangladesh; 51 Bangladeshi enclaves (about 7,110 acres) came to India. States affected: Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura (First Schedule amended). Passed: Rajya Sabha 6 May 2015, Lok Sabha 7 May 2015 (unanimously). Effective: 31 July 2015, midnight. Why an amendment? Because ceding Indian territory needs an amendment under Article 368, as held in the Berubari Union case (1960).
Background: The Enclave Problem
The Radcliffe Line of 1947 divided Bengal and Assam but left behind a patchwork of enclaves (chhitmahals): pockets of one country’s land completely surrounded by the other’s. Most lay in the Cooch Behar region of West Bengal and in Bangladesh’s Rangpur division, a legacy of land exchanges between the princely state of Cooch Behar and the Mughal-era Rangpur estates.
Residents of these enclaves were effectively stateless: they could not reach their own country without crossing foreign territory, and had no access to schools, hospitals, police or identity documents. There were also unsettled stretches of the border (about 6.1 km) and areas held in adverse possession by each side.
Key Milestones
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1958 | Nehru–Noon Agreement with Pakistan to divide Berubari Union and exchange enclaves |
| 1960 | Berubari Union case: Supreme Court holds that ceding territory needs a constitutional amendment; 9th Amendment passed but not implemented |
| 1974 | Indira–Mujib Land Boundary Agreement signed with Bangladesh; Bangladesh ratifies it, India does not |
| 2011 | Protocol to the LBA signed during PM Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka |
| 2015 | 100th Amendment passed unanimously; instruments of ratification exchanged in Dhaka on 6 June 2015 |
| 31 July 2015 | Enclaves exchanged at midnight |
Provisions of the 100th Amendment
- Amends the First Schedule (territories of states) for Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura, adding the acquired areas and excluding the transferred ones.
- Defines "acquired territory" and "transferred territory" by reference to the 1974 Agreement and 2011 Protocol.
- Settles the 6.1 km of undemarcated border in three sectors: Daikhata–56 (West Bengal), Muhuri river–Belonia (Tripura) and Lathitila–Dumabari (Assam).
- Recognises adverse possessions, so the land each side actually held was regularised.
Outcome on the ground
- Residents were allowed to choose their nationality. About 14,800 residents of the Bangladeshi enclaves became Indian citizens; about 980 people from Indian enclaves in Bangladesh chose to move to India.
- India received less land than it gave up on paper, but the agreement ended a long humanitarian problem and secured the border.
Why a Constitutional Amendment Was Needed
Under Article 3, Parliament can alter the boundaries of states by an ordinary law. But in In re Berubari Union (1960), the Supreme Court held that Article 3 does not cover ceding Indian territory to a foreign country; that needs an amendment under Article 368. Hence both the 9th Amendment (1960) for Berubari and the 100th Amendment (2015) for the LBA. In contrast, settling a boundary dispute without ceding territory can be done by executive action, as the Supreme Court held in the Rann of Kutch matter (Maganbhai Ishwarbhai Patel, 1969).
Significance
- Humanitarian: gave about 50,000 enclave residents citizenship, rights and services.
- Security: a settled, demarcated border makes fencing and management against smuggling and illegal migration easier.
- Diplomatic: removed a major irritant with Bangladesh and supported the Neighbourhood First policy; followed by the 2014 maritime boundary award by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
- Federal consensus: the Bill passed unanimously after the states concerned, especially Assam and West Bengal, were brought on board.
For India’s other borders, see Neighbouring Countries of India, and for the amendment procedure see our Constitution of India notes.
