The Republic of India shares borders with several sovereign countries; it shares land borders with China, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. [1] Bangladesh Myanmar and Pakistan share both land borders as well as maritime borders, while Sri Lanka shares only a maritime border through Ram Setu. India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia.
India shares land borders with six sovereign nations. The state's Ministry of Home Affairs also recognizes a 106 kilometres (66 mi) land border with a seventh nation, Afghanistan, as part of its claim of the Kashmir region (see Durand Line). [2]
Maritime borders of India are the maritime boundary recognized by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea entails boundaries of territorial waters, contiguous zones, and exclusive economic zones. India, with its claim of a 12-nautical-mile (22 km; 14 mi) territorial maritime zone and 200-nautical-mile (370 km; 230 mi) exclusive economic zone, has a more than 7,000-kilometre (4,300 mi) maritime border shared with seven nations.
| Maritime Border Country | Length (km) and (mi) | Force | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bangladesh | Indian Navy | New Moore Island in Bay of Bengal | |
 Indonesia | Indian Navy | Indira Point in Andaman Sea | |
 Myanmar | Indian Navy | Landfall Island in Andaman Sea | |
 Pakistan | Indian Navy | Sir Creek in Arabian Sea | |
 Thailand | Indian Navy | Similan Islands in Andaman Sea | |
 Sri Lanka | >400 kilometres (250 mi) [5] | Indian Navy | Katchatheevu in Palk Strait |
 Maldives | Indian Navy | Maliku Kandu in Laccadive Sea |
India co-hosts the joint ceremonies with the neighbouring nations at the following border crossings. The most attended and emotionally charged among these is the one at Wagha-Attari Border near Amritsar-Lahore.
At the following border crossing sites the beating retreat flag ceremonies are jointly held by the military of both nations every day at 6 pm, which are open to the public as tourist attractions. [6] [7] No special permit or ticket is needed. From north to south, the ceremony sites are as follows:
India and China have five Border Personnel Meeting point (BPM points) where they hold the flag meeting to discuss the military matters as well as the ceremonial BPMs for cultural exchange to improve bilateral relations by celebrating New Year's Day (January 1), [11] India's Republic Day (January 26), Harvest Festival (April 14), [12] PLA Day ( May 15) and Indian Independence Day (August 15). [13] These meetings include the playing of each country's national anthem and saluting of their respective flags, and ceremonial addresses by representative of both armies. [12] On Indian side only Indian citizens are allowed to visit only 2 passes out of these several BPM passes/sites, Bum La Pass and Nathu La, only on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, only after obtaining Inner Line Permit (ILP) one day in advance. [14]
These BPM passes and border posts where these meetings are held, from west to east, are as follows:
Benapole–Petrapole border ceremony, a similar but much friendlier ceremony than the Indo-Pakistani Attari-Wagah ceremony, is held daily jointly by India's Border Security Force and Border Guards Bangladesh at India-Bangladesh border from 4.30 to 5 pm. It is open to civilians without any ticket or special permit. [16] [17] The Benapole–Petrapole joint retreat ceremony results in lowering of national flags of India and Bangladesh. [18]
The map of ICP and LCS.
India has 7 functional ICPs, and plans are underway to upgrade 13 more LCS to ICP, including 7 at borders taking total of border ICP to 14, at the cost of ₹3,000 crore (US$380 million) (c. Oct 2017). [19] [20] Designated Integrated Check Posts (ICP), with both customs and immigration facilities are: [21]
Designated Land Customs Stations (LCS) are (no immigration facilities): [31]
This proposed list of border bazaars and haats is in varying stages of implementation, as suggested by State Governments to the Ministry of External Affairs for setting up Border Haats. [21]
India–Bangladesh border Haat areas are as follows:
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India-Bhutan Border Haat on India-Bhutan border are in operation.
India–Myanmar border Haats are. [35] [36]
Pradeep Damodaran's book Borderlands: Travels Across India's Boundaries chronicles all land borders of India. [37] The Bollywood director J. P. Dutta has specialised in making Hindi movies with India's border as a key element of the theme, his movies are Border, Refugee, LOC: Kargil , Paltan, etc. [38]
Northeast India, officially known as the North Eastern Region(NER) is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political administrative division of the country. It comprises eight states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura (commonly known as the "Seven Sisters"), and the "brother" state of Sikkim.
The Insurgency in Northeast India involves multiple separatist militant groups operating in some of India's northeastern states, which are connected to the rest of India by the Siliguri Corridor, a strip of land as narrow as 14.29 miles (23.00 km) wide.
The India–Pakistan, Indo–Pakistani or Pakistani-Indian border is the international boundary that separates the nations of the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. At its northern end is the Line of Control, which separates Indian-administered Kashmir from Pakistani-administered Kashmir; and at its southern end is Sir Creek, a tidal estuary in the Rann of Kutch between the Indian state of Gujarat and the Pakistani province of Sindh.
Tlabung, formerly known as Demagiri, is a census town in Lunglei district in the Indian state of Mizoram.
Eastern Bengal and Assam was a province of India between 1905 and 1912. Headquartered in the city of Dacca, it covered territories in what are now Bangladesh, Northeast India and Northern West Bengal.
The Twipra Kingdom was one of the largest ancient - historical kingdoms of the Tripuri people in Northeast India.
The indigenous people of Bangladesh are ethnic minorities in Chittagong Hill Tracts (southeastern), Sylhet Division (northeastern), Rajshahi Division (west), and Mymensingh Division (north-central) areas of the country. They are indigenous and the tribal races, total population of ethnic minorities in Bangladesh was estimated to be over 2 million in 2010. They are diverse ethnic communities including Tibeto-Burman, Austric and Dravidian people.
The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region is a Government of India ministry, established in September 2001, which functions as the nodal Department of the Central Government to deal with matters related to the socio-economic development of the eight States of Northeast India: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. It acts as a facilitator between the Central Ministries/ Departments and the State Governments of the North Eastern Region in the economic development including removal of infrastructural bottlenecks, provision of basic minimum services, creating an environment for private investment and to remove impediments to lasting peace and security in the North Eastern Region.
Mamit district is one of the eleven districts of Mizoram state in India.
Attari, also spelled Atari, is a village of Amritsar district in the Punjab state of India, 3 km from the Indo-Pakistani border at Wagah. It is situated 25 km west of the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, and is the last Indian station on the rail route connecting Lahore, Pakistan with the Indian capital Delhi. Attari village was the native village of Sardar Sham Singh Attariwala, one of the generals in the Army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Dawki or Dauki is a town in West Jaintia Hills district, Meghalaya, India.
The Bangladesh–India border, known locally as the Radcliffe line (IB), is an international border running between the republics of Bangladesh and India that demarcates the eight divisions of Bangladesh and the Indian states.
The Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council is a militant organization operating in Meghalaya, India. It claims to represent the Khasi-Jaintia tribal people, and its aim is to free Meghalaya from the alleged domination of outsiders from the Indian mainland. It was proscribed in India on 16 November 2000, but the ban was later lifted, before banning it again in 2019.
The Kaladan Road Project is a US$484 million project connecting the eastern Indian seaport of Kolkata with Sittwe seaport in Rakhine State, Myanmar by sea. In Myanmar, it will then link Sittwe seaport to Paletwa in Chin State via the Kaladan river boat route, and then from Paletwa by road to Mizoram state in Northeast India. All components of the project, including Sittwe port and power, river dredging, Paletwa jetty, have been completed, except the under construction Zorinpui-Paletwa road. Originally, the project was scheduled to be completed by 2014, but end-to-end project is expected to be fully operational only by December 2023 as per November 2023 update.
Northeast India consists of the eight states Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. Tourism in this area is based around the unique Himalayan landscape and culture distinct from the rest of India.
Operation Golden Bird was an Indian-Myanmar military operation conducted by the Indian Army in April–May 1995.
Zokhawthar is a border town in the Champhai district of Mizoram state of India.
The Petrapole-Benapole joint retreat ceremony was inaugurated on 6 November 2013 by the Indian Home Minister at Integrated Check Post (ICP) Petrapole-Benapole in the presence of the Home Minister of Bangladesh. It is a daily military exercise, similar to the Wagah Border ceremony, and engages soldiers of Border Security Force (India) and the Border Guards Bangladesh.
India–Bangladesh border haat is a Haat or a trading post on Bangladesh–India border, jointly organised by the governments of Bangladesh and India, held one day each week. It is not only a market for locals and tourists for buying daily commodities but also a reunion spot for families living on both sides of the international border.
The hill tribes of Northeast India are hill people, mostly classified as Scheduled Tribes (STs), who live in the Northeast India region. This region has the largest proportion of scheduled tribes in the country.
