The Possibility of an Enhanced Mode of Bilateral Relationship Across the India-Bangladesh Border of West Bengal: An Anthropological Approach in Search for the Alternative Views Amnd Emerging Possibilities (original) (raw)

Bangladesh shares 2,217 kilometers of its borders with the state of West Bengal, India with close to common historical and cultural linkages, trade and commerce, economic interdependence and geo-strategic interests, shared water resources, and transport connectivity of all forms. There also exist various concentrated marginalized groups (such as refugees) and minorities, cross-border bilateral or multilateral state relations and interactions, and mixed and blurred identities spreading across the borderlands. Yet the shared borders and cultural-linguistic overlaps have not been proven compelling enough for the establishments from both sides to form an undisruptive and cohesive socio-political and economic linkages despite of the existence of alternative voices and views regarding state relations, history, culture, and identity that deviate from what has been defined by the state.This following article focuses on the Indo-Bangladesh borderlands of West Bengal to explore emerging possi...