Nationality uncertain; Indian or Bangladeshi?

Sutarkandi (Indo-Bangladesh border), Dec 3: Every twelve hours of each day, Nurul Hussain of Lafasai village, virtually loses his nationality.

Shut out from the rest of the world for 12 hours of each day due to international complication, Nurul and Lafasai village remain confined between the barbed fences and the actual Zero line of the International boundary.

''From 6 p.m to next morning 6 a.m we are confined to the village, no movement anywhere outside as the massive iron gets shut down by the BSF'' said Nurul.

In fact Lafasai is not alone. In the Karimganj sector, there are two more villages like that. They are Jharapatta and Gopalpur, which are sandwiched between the barbed wire fence and the actual boundary.

''We have democratic right as citizen of India yet we are outside of democracy. Every day at 6 a.m the Gate is opened and we go out for normal marketing or visit someone's place. Again at 6 p.m in the evening we have to return home. So where is the democracy?'' question Andai Das Prkaystha, a former Asom Police personnel now retired who had returned back to his village.

''The BSF has always been kind to us. Whenever there is some emergency like medical problem, then gates are opened but beside that we must return home before 6 p.m otherwise stay the night outside the village'' said Amiya Ranjan Das Purkaystha.

This is a strange world and living on the edge of the international boundary sharing same courtyard with a different nation is a surreal experience for any outsider.

''In fact the boundary actually has gone right through the house with two rooms falling on the Indian side and three rooms falling on the Bangladesh side. The house was constructed long back and the actual owners moved to Kolkata. Now Indian portion has been occupied by an Indian farmer who share the house with a Bangladeshi fisherman sharing the same courtyard making it impossible to manage sometime,'' said Sub Inspector G P Pandey of the BSF.

The System operator turned BSF officer was posted at the Lafasai out post just a few weeks ago and it was his first exposure to the Indo-Bangladesh border. ''This is a strange feeling. In Punjab and Kashmir you can feel that you are guarding the International boundary but here it is something different'' said Mr. Pandey. But for the 120 odd families of Lafasai, Gopalpur and Jharapatta, a day means 12 hours for them. Whatever they do, they have to return back to their house by 1800 hours, come what may.

''Sometime when we go to Karimganj for some work, we just rush through otherwise we will have to spend the night outside'' said Arijeet Das Purkaystha, a resident of Jharapatta on the edge of the border.

Then there are daily problems of cow theft by the Bangladeshi bandits. With no help coming from Indian side because of fencing, the bandits are having a field day.

The village elder still fondly remembers the pre partition days but the young generations have grown up with hostility. ''Frankly speaking infiltration is less in this side but the cow theft is too much''.

Everybody is constantly harassed by the cow theft. ''Almost every day we keep vigil. Only two days back village carpenter's cows were taken away. We are helpless. On the one side we have the fencing and other side we have the border'' he said.

''With each of our post are stretched so much that we can not do much at night as there is no light near the fencing like that of Punjab'' said Inspector K P Kuniyal. He said that border vigil could be more effective only if lighting arrangements are done throughout the border.

India wants the fencing to be erected on the zero line so that these villages can be saved from the day-to-day harassment and BSF also get some space to breathe. But Bangladesh opposes it citing a treaty both the countries had signed many decades back. Bangladesh maintains that the fencing is a defense installation but India says it is to stop smuggling and infiltration. But till the stalemate is resolved, for all these who live in these villages have to rush home before 6 p.m.

UNI