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2001 India Bangladesh Border Conflict
India and Bangladesh share a border totaling to about 2,500 miles. Before the British granted India independence, the border between India and Pakistan was drawn by an appointed British man in only a little more than a month. Later, in 1947, India split into Bengal and Bangladesh. Both regions have suffered together throughout a long and painful history, but even still, there are more than 112 enclaves held by India and 32 held by Bangladesh. They have both had to fight hard for overdue freedom and justice. However, although they share a language and have similar cultures, there has been constant tumult between them. In 1971, India helped Bangladesh, then called East Pakistan, split away from the rest of Pakistan. Since then, there has also been constant skirmishes between the two countries over the Muhurichar Island border.

Now there is a 2.4 meter barbed wire fence along the border that to keep out illegal immigration, yet there is still an estimated 10 million (said to be exaggerated) illegal Bangladeshi migrants in India. There have been outbursts during 1975, 1979, and 1985. The problem have lasted over 30 years, and even after this time, things are still tense between India and Bangladesh. In 1974, Bangladesh and India signed an agreement which allowed India to transport goods across Bangladesh, yet India did not ratify the idea. Even with this agreement, several more conflicts has broken out.

Border problems between two countries are not an uncommon sight around the world. With both sides believing that that the territory along the border belongs to them and with strong nationalists on both sides, smuggling goods and animals, terrorist attacks, illegal immigration, and building border fences happen quite frequently. One of the more violent uprisings was in 2001 over a small strip of land near the village Pauda (or named Pyrdiwah in India). The dispute allegedly took the lives of 19 soldiers. Since the creation of Bangladesh, both countries felt they had territorial claims on the disputed land. On April 18, fighting broke out between the countries’ border control forces, the Bangladeshi Rifles and the Indian Border Security Force. Thousands of civilians on both sides of the border fled from the area, and about 17 were injured. A combined total of 18 soldiers from Bangladesh and India died. According to Bangladeshi officials, they used machine guns and other weapons while India attacked with mortars and heavy machine guns. Now the government controlling Bangladesh has claimed that they have reduced the size of the size of the conflicted area by over 40 times.

At the end of the 2001 conflict, India regained control of Pyrdiwah, the village that was under attack. The clash between the two countries and the defeat of Bangladesh hurt Bangladesh and India’s relationship. This resulted in even more negative attitude that Bangladesh held toward India. With such a large border and with excessive hate towards each other, the outbreak of even more conflicts is inevitable, however, this encounter has been one of the most serious since Bangladesh freed themselves from Pakistan.