India, Bangladesh enclave exchange committee turns into rights org today

The India-Bangladesh Enclave Exchange Coordination Committee will be transformed into a human rights organisation today.

The leaders of Bangladesh and India chapters of the committee held an emergency meeting through video conference to this effect yesterday.

At the meeting, the leaders decided to dissolve the committee and form the rights organisation with three units -- one for Bangladesh, another for India and the other for the Indian enclave dwellers who went to the Indian mainland.

The presidents of the respective units would announce the names of the units and the programmes of the new organisation at an event in Panchagarh District Council Auditorium in Bangladesh and in Dinhata Nripendra Narayan Smriti Sadan at Cooch Behar in India.

Diptiman Sengupta, a leader of the coordination committee, told the correspondent that they are launching a new fight to protect human rights, history and heritage shared by the two countries.

At midnight on July 31, 51 Bangladeshi enclaves inside Indian territory and 111 Indian enclaves inside Bangladesh were attached to their respective countries. With this about 40,000 people got identity in their states.