When borders speak: Katha Chhitmahal at Cooch Behar

At a time when Bangladesh is once again in turmoil and India–Bangladesh relations are passing through a visibly strained phase, a quietly powerful book at the ongoing Cooch Behar Book Fair is drawing the attention of serious readers and researchers alike. Katha Chhitmahal, written by noted researcher Debabrata Chaki, revisits one of the subcontinent’s most complex and humanly tragic geopolitical chapters — the India–Bangladesh enclave question.

Rooted in rigorous documentation and lived histories, Katha Chhitmahal assumes renewed relevance as debates over borders, identity and citizenship resurface amid regional unrest. The book is the published outcome of a Senior Fellowship (Bengali literature) awarded by the ministry of culture for the research project titled “India–Bangladesh Border and the Mutual Enclave Problem.” The original dissertation, Atha Chhitmahal Katha, was presented in three volumes and later brought out in book form.

Advertisement