A visa free tourist zone for Gaur/Pandua in Malda district

[kalu_miah]

While studying the history of Bengal Sultanate I was struck by several things:

- historical capitals of Bengal Sultanate and Mughal Subah Bangalah and their architectural monuments are in West Bengal
- the capital of most Bengal Sultanate rulers were in Gaur/Pandua in Malda district, within a few miles of India-Bangladesh border, right next to Chapainawabganj in Rajshahi, Bangladesh
- Murshidabad, the last capital of Nawabs of Bengal, is in Murshidabad district, also not too far for India-Bangladesh border
- both Malda and Murshidabad were Muslim majority districts in 1947 and they still are

So I was curious about why Radcliffe awarded them to West Bengal and India in 1947? It turns out that Radcliffe did this to keep Bhagirathi river channel within India to secure a life line to Kolkata. And since Malda and Murshidabad both Muslim majority districts were awarded to India, Khulna District with slight Hindu majority was given to then East Pakistan (East Bengal) as a compensation.

Now India is diverting water from Ganges using this ready made channel. Bangladeshi's also lost access to the medieval capitals of Bengal Sultanate, Gaur/Pandua as well as Murshidabad.

The purpose of the thread was not to complain about 1947 Radcliffe awards, what's done is done. I just wanted to point out some interesting facts, at the same time, I would also like to present an idea for Indian govt. to make a special visa-free tourist-zone for the Gaur/Pandua historical area, so tourists travelling from Bangladesh can easily visit them for a fee without getting Indian visa:

I think Murshidabad is too far from the border, so a free zone there is not feasible.

I believe this idea is a win-win for everyone, it will need some initial investment, but they will be quickly recovered from the fee/ticket income, and once the initial investment is recovered, it will generate a steady income for Indian govt. Studying history in the classroom and reading books is one thing, but seeing the historical sites in person is quite another matter. I think visiting Gaur/Pandua is vital for future generation of Bangladeshi young students to give them a sense of history, specially about how Islam came to this region, how it took root and eventually resulted in the creation of their nation state called Bangladesh.

Reference:
The Partition and the Muslim Minorities of West Bengal, 1947-1967
Partition Studies
Reuniting South Asia: How East Bengal was carved out of India and awarded to Pakistan
How Did Partition Change the Religious Map in Bengal? | South Asia Blog
http://www.cdsrd.org/userfiles/3_ Col_ Nirmal Siwach.pdf

 

[IamBengali]

India-Bangladesh should adopt a VISA free policy for its citizens. There should be no stupid VISA. Only a passport should be needed to visit India. So illegal pole vaulting will be stopped. Lets pole vault legally.

 

[Skallagrim]

Who cares about Muslim history in Bengal? (I mean those who care don't count.) If we ever propose for such visa free zone thing as you said- the Indian govt, shamelessly selfish and ever suspicious that they are, would most probtably refuse this.

 

[khair_ctg]

for India, visa-free travel works only one way. and the huge remittance sent back by people from BD to India is a result of that.

Indian expats remit $3,716m from Bangladesh

 

[livingdead]

for India, visa-free travel works only one way. and the huge remittance sent back by people from BD to India is a result of that.

Indian expats remit $3,716m from Bangladesh

is bd visa free for Indian national?
btw Indian visa fee is low for all SAARC nations, compared to non SAARC nations.

 

[nForce]

Cannot do it VISA free, for religious or whatever reasons..Not with the current situation.We already have a problem of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in many states of India.A VISA free system will only add to that problem.

 

[khair_ctg]

is bd visa free for Indian national?
btw Indian visa fee is low for all SAARC nations, compared to non SAARC nations.

to your question: almost. i used to know quite a few indians working with inadequate visa or permits because of the extreme leniency of and expediting done by BAL associated masterminds. sometimes this has happened that the irregularities were found out at one point by more law-abiding elements in the authority and some Indians' existing permits to stay in BD were revoked

 

[livingdead]

to your question: almost. i used to know quite a few indians working with inadequate visa or permits because of the extreme leniency of and expediting done by BAL associated masterminds. sometimes this has happened that the irregularities were found out at one point by more law-abiding elements in the authority and Indians' existing permits to stay in BD were revoked

so basically they are illegals, exactly like their bd counterparts in India. They should be deported ASAP.
anyway, on topic, I dont see this happening. The visa fee is already low, if it has to be done it should be done for all SAARC countries including pakistan on a multilateral basis.
The SAARC ministers can sit together and decide that.

 

[kalu_miah]

Cannot do it VISA free, for religious or whatever reasons..Not with the current situation.We already have a problem of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in many states of India.A VISA free system will only add to that problem.

It is not a question of religion, the ruins have pre-Muslim historical sites also. Gaur-Pandua twin historical town is right on the border. It would not be difficult to create a zone with high fence and put BSF all around it. It will have domestic entrance from Indian side and it will have international entrance from Bangladesh border.

As I mentioned in OP, it was to save Kolkata town and is water source Radcliffe awarded Malda and Murshidabad to India, both Muslim majority districts, the least you can do is give us easy access to our own historical sites, while making money in the process. You can have a strong perimeter all around the site with electric fences to make it impenetrable. If India does not want to invest alone, may be it could be a joint India-Bangladesh business project.

But the business project will depend on the level of interest of Bangladeshi's to visit this site. I think a lot of people don't even know about Bengal Sultanate and its former capitals in Gaur-Pandua. Once a visa free zone is available, future generations can make it a compulsory historical tour for high school students.

 

[nForce]

It is not a question of religion, the ruins have pre-Muslim historical sites also. Gaur-Pandua twin historical town is right on the border. It would not be difficult to create a zone with high fence and put BSF all around it. It will have domestic entrance from Indian side and it will have international entrance from Bangladesh border.

As I mentioned in OP, it was to save Kolkata town and is water source Radcliffe awarded Malda and Murshidabad to India, both Muslim majority districts, the least you can do is give us easy access to our own historical sites, while making money in the process. You can have a strong perimeter all around the site with electric fences to make it impenetrable. If India does not want to invest alone, may be it could be a joint India-Bangladesh business project.

But the business project will depend on the level of interest of Bangladeshi's to visit this site. I think a lot of people don't even know about Bengal Sultanate and its former capitals in Gaur-Pandua. Once a visa free zone is available, future generations can make it a compulsory historical tour for high school students.

I don't think such eye-catching fencing is possible.It just sounds obnoxious. The VISA charges are not much and provided one has a clean record, it is easy to obtain.Do you have any other reason ?

 

[kalu_miah]

I don't think such eye-catching fencing is possible.It just sounds obnoxious. The VISA charges are not much and provided one has a clean record, it is easy to obtain.Do you have any other reason ?

Reasons:
- visa takes weeks to get
- currently one has to go to Kolkata and then its a long trip to Gaur/Pandua in Malda and Murshidabad

I think another solution could be to have a land port entry near Gaur just for tourism purposes. After getting visa, people could go by bus to Gaur/Pandua and then go to Murshidabad or any other historical places. I think a guided tour for both Gaur/Pandua and Murshidabad could be covered in a day and that way people could get back to Bangladesh within the same day. There could be a more comprehensive guided tour including Hooghly and other places, that would take a few days and require stays at hotels.

This could be a good business opportunity for tour and travel companies in West Bengal, if they market it in Bangladesh as a historical tour package, complete with description of the history of these ruins.

 

[livingdead]

Reasons:
- visa takes weeks to get
- currently one has to go to Kolkata and then its a long trip to Gaur/Pandua in Malda and Murshidabad

I think another solution could be to have a land port entry near Gaur just for tourism purposes. After getting visa, people could go by bus to Gaur/Pandua and then go to Murshidabad or any other historical places. I think a guided tour for both Gaur/Pandua and Murshidabad could be covered in a day and that way people could get back to Bangladesh within the same day. There could be a more comprehensive guided tour including Hooghly and other places, that would take a few days and require stays at hotels.

This could be a good business opportunity for tour and travel companies in West Bengal, if they market it in Bangladesh as a historical tour package, complete with description of the history of these ruins.

visa regime should be liberalized then. Make it easy to get for everybody.
And yes, the place should be made tourist friendly. Am pretty sure if bangladeshis show keen interest, businessmen will get interested.

 

[kalu_miah]

Land Ports also called border stations for import and export

The Market

"The Sonamasjid Land Port
Sonamasjid land port is situated in Shibganj upazila of Chapai Nawabganj district in 18 acres of acquired land. It is about 200 meters away from the Bangladesh-Indian border, 20 km from the Shibganj upazila headquarters and 37 km away from district headquarters. Currently, the port handles trade with the Indian state of Bihar and part of West Bengal. Boulder stones, cattle feed, fresh fruits and dry fish are the principal imported items of this port. On the other hand betel nut, zinc, brass scrap, copper, tin and copper tubes are mainly exported through this port. Around 30 thousand passengers pass through this port between Bangladesh and India annually."

Business-Finance-Banking-Economy: Bangladeshi Sona Masjid land port

So it looks like there is a working land port right near Gaur/Pandua. So all Bangladeshi tourists need to do is get a visa for India and then make this short trip, first to Chapai Nawabganj and then to Sonamasjid land port, cross over to India and take local bus there to Gaur/Pandua and Murshidabad.

Any enterprising travel/tour businessman in Bangladesh could start a guided tour of historical sites in West Bengal very cheaply. Entry will be through this land port and then there could be different packages. One for only Gaur/Pandua, one for Gaur+Murshidabad and the most expensive would be Gaur+Murshidabad+Hooghly. Another idea would be to hire a chartered bus on the Indian side and then provide a guided group tour for a class of students or interested adults, while the guide must be a history graduate, narrating the detailed history of all the ruined architectural monuments. There should be a colored brochure with the history and pictures of the sites and it should be distributed before the beginning of the trip, so people can study it on the way and already know the places before they arrive at the site.

These tour packages should not cost that much, but it would be invaluable for Bangladeshi young students to get an understanding of their own history.

 

[the just]

No ,no and a big fat no to all the above suggestions. Sorry no visa policy with India . It is like saying " I have sharpened the knife, come and sleet my throat." No, thank you.moreover, our government should implement no visa (except emergency medical conditions)for India policy for Bangladeshis.And 200$ fee for Indians,who wants to come to BD.

 

[Manmohan]

And 200$ fee for Indians,who wants to come to BD.

LOOOOOL !!
Bangladeshis get Indian passport, ration card, fake birth certificates etc for free. And you want to charges us $200 dollars for a visa.