Historically, the Great Divide of 1947 gave birth to India and Pakistan, and initiated one of the largest processes of human displacements in the twentieth century. Around 2 million people became homeless or refugees during the partition of 1947. The partition of the Indian subcontinent created one of the deadliest, most violent, sensitive, and chaotic borders in the world. As a result, Bangladesh as a postcolonial state inherited many contentious issues in its borderlands with India. The challenges of border management pose significant threats to the security of the state of Bangladesh. The capacity of a state to manage its borders is a clear indication of the state’s sovereignty. Borders are regarded as one of the central foundations to define states and organize international politics. They are at the heart of interstate relations, geopolitics, and security. India and Bangladesh maintain a contiguous border spanning 4,095 kilometers, which includes a riverine stretch measuring 1,116 kilometers. Notably, a significant portion of this border runs adjacent to the West Bengal region. Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura form a border around Bangladesh in certain areas. Haat is a Bengali word that refers to market. So, Bangladesh-India border haats means the weekly markets along the Bangladesh-India borderlands. Over the last decade, a total of ten border haats were established along the India-Bangladesh border at Tripura and Meghalaya. Out of the ten border haats, six border haats are in Meghalaya, and four in Tripura. The haats are also expected to channelize a part of the informal trade that thrives along the borders of the two countries, viz, India and Bangladesh. Four such haats are presently in operation at the India-Bangladesh border: two in Meghalaya (India)-Rangpur/Sylhet (Bangladesh) sub-region and the other two in Tripura (India)-Chittagong (Bangladesh) sub-region.
Border haats
The border areas of Bangladesh and India, which are at the periphery of a country, have always remained underdeveloped and neglected. An absence of many necessary facilities like educational institutions, infrastructural developments, and employment opportunities, and many more is apparent. Therefore, socio-economic factors can be considered raison d’être for widespread illegal trade and smuggling in the border areas, often causing conflicts among both countries’ border guards. So, it is pertinent to think that if the impoverished remote border areas are not developed, it is impossible to have viable border management for both countries. Hence, upon realizing the significance of development for the border areas, the governments of Bangladesh and India signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to promote cross-border trade and cooperation through the creation of the border haats. The operation of Haats involves a clear set of rules and norms managed by the Border Haats Management Committee (BHMC), which is constituted by both countries. The BHMC comprises administrative and border security personnel, including an Additional District Magistrate, local government officials, a customs officer, local police, and a member of the border guard force. Their role is to oversee the implementation of haat policies and procedures. Entry into the Haats is restricted to vendors and vendees who are residents living within a five-kilometer radius. A maximum of 25 vendors are permitted on each side of the border, and strict procedures set by the BHMC must be followed to obtain a vendor card, including completing an application form and participating in an interview.
Strengths
Bangladesh is a predominantly agricultural society. Agriculture is its biggest employment sector. Entrepreneurship among rural people, however, is limited due to lack of necessary facilities and conducive environments. Besides, borderlands are heavily dependent on agriculture for livelihoods. The institutionalization of border haats has spurred increased investment in locally manufactured goods for trading purposes. Private sector involvement has played a crucial role in promoting high-quality agricultural inputs in rural areas, including the production and marketing of seeds, fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides in both countries. Private sector suppliers can collaborate with rural entrepreneurs, who act as distributors, to facilitate the export of agricultural inputs through border haats, meeting the high demand abroad. Moreover, the significance of border haats lies in their ability to promote cross-border trade and interaction between communities residing in border areas. The consolidation of Border haats institutions also will pave the way for regional economic integration. Through these border haats, Bangladesh and India can enhance their economic cooperation not only at the bilateral level but also within regional organizations such as ASEAN, BIMSTEC, and SAARC. Connectivity will accordingly foster stronger ties among countries in the region, leading to shared interests, mutual dependencies, and an overall stronger economic relationship. Border haats serve as a unique avenue for cultural diplomacy, leveraging the power of culture to bridge political divides and deepen mutual understanding between Bangladesh and India. As individuals from diverse backgrounds gather at border haats to trade goods and services, they inevitably share their cultural experiences, traditions, and practices. The border haats thus strengthen Bangladesh-India cooperation resulting in regional stability and peace.
Weaknesses
The lack of employment opportunities and income is a major cause for the proliferation of smuggling across the border. The legacy of colonial partition added some unique features to the borderlands inviting the smugglers to operate there. In her latest research work entitled, “Cattle Smuggling Across the India-Bangladesh Borderlands: A Challenge for Border Management? published in the Journal of Borderlands Studies, Wasima (2024) interviewed and cited the following comment of a female smuggler:
“We are not born smugglers, but what choice do we have? There are no factories here, no offices. The land is barren, and farming is a struggle. We have families to feed and children to educate. Smuggling cattle is dangerous, but it’s the only way we can earn enough to survive. Do you think we’d risk our lives like this if there were other jobs available?”
Illicit drugs, arms and human trafficking are also a common problem along the borders. Theft is one of the most frequently stated concerns in haats in both Bangladesh and India, as documented in the available literature. Similarly, theft instances in Bangladesh’s sides demonstrated a severe issue among residents, particularly sellers. Shoplifting and petty theft are the most concerning types of theft for haat traders. It is also observed that people were subjected to unwarranted harassment and checking in the haats by the Border Haat Management Committee (BHMC) and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB). Individuals may occasionally even be required to wait several hours in line-ups throughout the verification process, which is exceedingly time-consuming.
Opportunities
The majority of Bangladesh’s and India’s border territories are remote, with most residents living in poverty and agriculture serving as their primary source of income. Those who lack sufficient land or are regarded as landless are more likely to thrive as laborers or migrant workers in urban areas. They have little to do in their suburbs due to a lack of facilities in the impoverished region. However, border haats in peripheral regions such as Chattogram, Bangladesh provides a stream of revenue for poor and marginalized residents by providing work opportunities. A transporter’s income is also boosted by border haats. There are several sorts of vehicles that transporters use to make money from the haats, including trucks, vans, auto-rickshaws, pull-cycle rikshaws, and other similar vehicles. Cross-border tourism is gaining popularity worldwide as a lucrative source of revenue for countries. The border haats between Bangladesh and India have also emerged as a significant income generator for local communities. Beyond being marketplaces, border haats serve as tourist attractions, enticing urban dwellers to visit the border region due to its proximity to scenic destinations.
Threats
Smuggling is a major concern along the borders between Bangladesh and India. More specifically, the issue of cattle smuggling has become a crucial concern in the border regions between India and Bangladesh. The growing smuggling trade in the borderland area between India and Bangladesh has been fueled by various factors, including the porous nature of the border, the tremendous demand for Indian cattle in Bangladesh, and the limited availability of alternative livelihood opportunities for the residents. We all know that there are three major drug-producing regions in the world. The Golden Triangle region made up of the eastern part of Myanmar’s Shan state, areas of northern Thailand and northern Laos, bordering southwest China; the Golden Crescent consists of northeastern and southern Afghanistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) of Pakistan and Shistan Baluchistan of Iran; and the Golden Wedge consists of northern India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh & Arunachal Pradesh), parts of Nepal and Bhutan. These prominent drug regions are proximity to Bangladesh, a South Asian country enjoying the benefits of the demographic dividend as the number of young people outnumbers the non-working-age population. Official statistics show that the number of unemployed graduates is rising. The unemployment rate among persons with tertiary-level education rose to 12 percent in 2022 from 11.2 percent in 2016-17. In that context, approximately 25 lakh people are drug addicted. In Bangladesh about 80 percent of the drug addicts are adolescents and young men of 15 to 30 years of age. Youth particularly is more vulnerable to drug addiction because of curiosity to experiment with new things, peer pressure, addict friends, company, and lifestyles. The spread of multiple drug use has aggravated the overall problem, personal and social days function, impairment of health, crime and other violent behavior. The rates of sexual diseases especially HIV/AIDS are exploding among the people Who Inject Drugs in Bangladesh. Andrews in his 2019 paper entitled ‘drugs and war’ argues that drugs have certainly been a double-edged sword for states. On the one hand, states have had to deal with drug-funded insurgents, drug-impaired soldiers, and drug traffickers. On the other hand, drugs have been crucial boosters of troop morale and performance and have provided a lucrative source of war revenue for state coffers. Bangladesh’s three southeastern Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) districts namely, Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandanban are ethnic minority dominant insurgency-prone areas. Press reports show that various cross-border drug cartels are active in the illegal business of small arms. They have reportedly formed some sorts of convenient partnerships with the law enforcement agencies and border guards of Bangladesh.
Conclusion
The border haats located in the India-Bangladesh border area hold great significance within the strategic framework. These haats are equally important for borderland area of Bangladesh as well as the northeastern ‘seven sisters’ region of India which are geographically separated from the mainland. The haats are more than just regular marketplaces as they represent a novel analytical approach to developing border areas. They offer immediate benefits and hold the potential for broader economic development in the region. In a nutshell, border haats has several implications for Bangladesh-India relations which are reducing informal trade and casualties in the border area, making economic integration in this region, and working as cultural diplomatic tools for both countries.