How a royal game of chess created one of history's most complex border puzzles

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: For centuries, the landscape of Cooch Behar was defined by a bizarre geopolitical tangle: hundreds of tiny, nested exclaves scattered across the border with Bangladesh. These fragments were the remnants of high-stakes wagers between regional monarchs, creating a map so complex it defied conventional logic until a recent historic land agreement.

Located in the Himalayan Terai of West Bengal, India, Cooch Behar is a district defined by its flat plains and a network of seven major rivers, including the Teesta and Torsa. Historically, the region functioned as a princely state until 1949. Its name reflects its heritage, derived from the Koch tribe and the Sanskrit word for land, vihara. The area was once part of the Kamarupa Kingdom and later the Kamata Kingdom, eventually evolving into a distinct state under the Koch dynasty after the 16th century.

The district's most famous geographical oddity involved its complex border with Bangladesh. Centuries ago, the local Raja and the Maharaja of Rangpur engaged in intense games of chess or cards, with territory serving as the stakes. This resulted in 92 Bangladeshi exclaves situated within India and 106 Indian exclaves trapped inside Bangladesh. The situation reached a level of extreme intricacy where some exclaves were nested within one another, such as the Indian territory of Balapara Khagrabari, which contained a Bangladeshi fragment that itself surrounded a tiny Indian patch of land.

This territorial puzzle was finally resolved through a historic land agreement between India and Bangladesh. Today, the district is a modern administrative entity within the Jalpaiguri Division, home to over 2.8 million people. It holds the unique distinction of being the only district in India where Scheduled Castes constitute a majority of the population. Beyond its borders, the region is known for its cultural heritage, including the 1887 Victor Jubilee Palace, and its agricultural significance, recently highlighted by the Geographical Indication status granted to local Kalonunia rice.

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