BharatNotes Enclave
noun (countable)Usage in a UPSC answer
The 100th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2015 facilitated the exchange of enclaves between India and Bangladesh, ending nearly seven decades of statelessness for residents of the Cooch Behar enclaves under the Land Boundary Agreement.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
enclave (noun/verb), exclave (antonymous noun), enclaved (adjective), clavicle (cognate anatomical noun), conclave (cognate noun)
Root
French enclave ← enclaver (to enclose with a key) ← Latin in- (in) + clavis (key)
Etymology
From French enclave, a noun derived from enclaver (to lock in), from Latin in (in) + clavis (key). The image is of territory 'locked in' by surrounding land. The word entered English diplomatic and geographical vocabulary in the 18th century.
Memory Hook
ENCLAVE = EN-CLAVE (CLAVE = key, as in clavicle/keyboard). Territory that is locked in (keyed in) by another country's land. Visualise a padlock — the enclave is the territory inside the lock.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
Best deployed in GS1 geography and GS2 international relations with the India-Bangladesh settlement as the worked example. The Constitution (One Hundredth Amendment) Act, 2015, dated 28 May 2015, gave effect to the Land Boundary Agreement of 1974 and its 2011 Protocol; India transferred 111 enclaves to Bangladesh and received 51, with the exchange taking effect on 31 July 2015. That single sentence, dated, is worth more than a paragraph of general description.
Don’t Confuse It With
An enclave is territory of one State entirely surrounded by another. An exclave is the same territory described from the parent State's point of view, a detached piece separated from the main body. Dahagram-Angarpota was a Bangladeshi enclave inside India and simultaneously a Bangladeshi exclave.
Hindi Meaning
अंतःक्षेत्र (antahkshetra); the everyday phrasing is a क्षेत्र घिरा हुआ दूसरे देश से.
Common Questions
- What is an enclave?
- A piece of territory belonging to one country but lying entirely surrounded by the territory of another country.
- How many enclaves did India and Bangladesh exchange?
- Under the Constitution (100th Amendment) Act, 2015, India transferred 111 enclaves to Bangladesh and received 51 in return, with effect from 31 July 2015.
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