THE MARGINALIZED VOICES OF PERIPHERIES: A CASE STUDY OF SELECT ENCLAVES POST LBA

Abstract

The India–Bangladesh enclaves, or Chhitmahals, represented one of the world’s most complex geopolitical anomalies until the historic Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) of 2015. This accord granted legal citizenship, political recognition, and state protection to the residents of 111 Indian and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves. However, this paper argues that legal inclusion has not fully translated into social integration. Focusing on those who opted for Indian citizenship, the study explores persistent marginalisation in the post-LBA period—manifested in economic insecurity, limited property rights, and ongoing exclusion. Drawing on qualitative methods, particularly participant observation in select enclave regions, the paper employs a theoretical lens to analyse how the memory of statelessness and lived experiences of alienation continue to shape the collective psyche of enclave dwellers. It contends that formal citizenship and identity documents cannot alone dissolve entrenched feelings of marginality. Thus, the study challenges conventional metrics of inclusion and calls for a more nuanced, experiential understanding of post-border realignments and their socio-political aftermath.