Dahala Khagrabari, Third-order enclave in Panchagarh District, Bangladesh.
Dahala Khagrabari was a small parcel of land in Panchagarh that sat within Bangladeshi territory completely surrounded by Indian land. That Bangladeshi area itself was enclosed within Indian territory, creating an unusual nested arrangement of borders.
The territory originated from a 1713 treaty between the Kingdom of Koch Bihar and the Mughal Empire. This old agreement persisted through India and Bangladesh's independence, leaving them with complex borders that took centuries to settle.
Local farmers maintained agricultural practices across national boundaries, demonstrating the integration of communities despite territorial divisions.
Access to this location required special permits from both Indian and Bangladeshi authorities. Visitors needed valid documents and had to pass through multiple border checkpoints to reach the site.
This was the world's only third-order enclave until 2015, when India and Bangladesh finalized a territorial exchange agreement. The deal resolved one of the most unusual border situations on earth.
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