UPDATE: India and Bangladesh resolved this situation by exchanging territory and removing the exclaves in 2015.
A quadripoint occurs when four borders meet at a single point. For example this happens in the United States at the “Four Corners“. There, the states of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado join together.
In previous entries I’ve explored the Jungholz and Baarle-Hertog Quadripoint Boundary Crosses. In this entry I explore the third and final place with an international quadripoint. This one involves one of the most unusual and complicated borderlands on the planet.
Origin
This involves the Cooch Behar district of West Bengal in India and its intersection with Bangladesh. The situation has roots in an earlier era that somehow managed to transcend into modern times. Originally it arose from a treaty negotiated by the formerly independent Kingdom of Cooch Behar and the Mughal Empire.
A partitioning of India took place in 1947 as the British Empire began to unravel. At that time Cooch Behar remained in India. However, Rangpur went to East Pakistan, which in turn later became Bangladesh in 1971. There have been a number of opportunities to smooth the border but because of territoriality, inertia or some other force, this Swiss Cheese border formation continues to be a feature throughout this geographic area.
A Closer Examination
It’s hard to find detailed information on this spot. Furthermore, it’s even more difficult to find a good graphical representation. The standard mapping websites I normally use show a smooth border, as if the anomalies don’t exist. You’ll find quadripoints if you look carefully, although perhaps better at the larger map maintained at Wikipedia. Also note there are points on the map that are so small that they are represented by a dot. There may be additional quadripoints lurking there too.
Within this odd borderland are 106 exclaves of India within Bangladesh and 92 exclaves of Bangladesh within India, including numerous exclaves within the exclaves.
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