India's push deprives Bangladesh of beef

About 30,000 Indian soldiers guarding the border with Bangladesh have a new mandate under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government this year - stop cattle from crossing into the Muslim-majority neighbor.

About every other night, troops armed with bamboo sticks and ropes wade through jute and paddy fields and swim across ponds to chase aging bovines that are being smuggled across the border, headed for markets in Bangladesh.

The crackdown is one of the clearest signs yet of how Indian policies are having an economic impact on neighboring countries. About 2 million head of cattle are smuggled into Bangladesh annually from India. The $600 million-a-year trade has flourished over the past four decades and is considered legal by Dhaka.