A four-decade-old India-Bangladesh passport regime in India’s north-eastern and West Bengal states came to an end on Sunday following an instruction by the Ministry of
External Affairs on the state governments. Passports under the old system are usable till the expiry date. This special passport, allowing travel to Bangladesh, used to be issued by the north-eastern state governments with consent of the regional passport offices in
Kolkata.
It was introduced after Bangladesh’s independence in 1971 and was availed mainly by businessmen and individuals having families and relatives in Bangladesh.
Thousands of the states’ residents were born in Bangladesh and migrated to India in four phases.
The phases comprise the 1905 partition of Bengal, the shifting of the British empire’s capital in India from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911, India’s independence in 1947
and during Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971.
“Availing a passport was very simple because it was issued at the local level through a diplomatic channel within 15 days of filing application,” said Tripura Chief
Secretary SK Panda.
The ministry’s decision drew sharp criticism from Tripura Industries and Commerce Minister Jitendra Choudhury. He said this would “create hindrance” in the movement of
people and businessmen, ultimately affecting bilateral relations.
The Tripura government had opposed the decision but the ministry had cited security grounds, he added.
-With The Daily Star input
