Life along the bloody border between India and Bangladesh: A photo essay - The Polis Project
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In 2010, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published Trigger Happy: Excessive Use of Force by Indian Troops at the Bangladesh Border, a report on the border shared by West Bengal in India and Bangladesh. HRW documented the excessive use of force by the Indian Border Force (BSF) on the people of India and Bangladesh who live on both sides of the international border.
The BSF is a paramilitary body under the Ministry of Home Affairs of India entrusted to maintain security in the border areas with neighboring countries. The agency is governed by an Act of 1968 which is directly. They have their own internal judiciary and civilian courts are not allowed to pass judgment of any member of BSF. This privilege has contributed to create a climate of impunity against the excesses of the agency members.
The 2,216 kilometers Bangladesh-India border is one of the longest in the world; it densely populated and people who live along it are divided by country, but have much in common in terms of language and culture. There are 1,062 outposts along the border with smaller posts in between where border guards are on constant alert. These posts are mostly managed by non-Bengali speaking forces, who are unable to communicate with the locals thus often escalating tensions and confrontations. Some parts of the border are more porous and function as a trade route for terrorists, human trafficking and smuggling of weapons, cattle and drugs. In 2013, the Global Post defined this border the worst in the world.
