Indelible lines : revisiting borders and partitions in modern South Asia

In the foggy winter of February 2003, when 213 snake charmers and healers—who were stranded for several days at the India-Bangladesh border—mysteriously disappeared, speculations about their national identities led to acrimonious debates between India and Bangladesh. States of limbo and invisibility are a recurring motif along this militarized border, as India physically 'pushes out' suspected 'illegal' Bangladeshis and Bangladesh prevents the entry of 'illegal foreigners.' Although India’s new border fence with Bangladesh increasingly encloses this 4,096 kilometer (2,545 miles) boundary, border residents and others regularly travel without passports.