LINE OF MISERY
Top , An injured Shiv Pal in Banglad ; A woman in Akhnoor shows the tail of a shell that punched a hole in her wall
districts . For a generation grown up amidst a periodic , hostile slinging of projectiles between India and Pakistan , peace is a slippery concept . Besides , living along the border is a ‘ compulsion ’.
A palpable sense of fear stalks border villages despite the much-touted agreement to observe the ceasefire . In Ban glad , 20-year-old Pawan Kumar has completed the shraddh rituals of his mother , Shama Devi — another hapless victim of shelling . “ My mother died on May 21 while cooking a meal . We are not sure of returning safe from our fields . They ( Pakistan army ) don ’ t allow us either to sow or cut our crops , our sole livelihood . How much worse our lives can become ?” says his brother , Mukesh . The five brothers of this family of farmers have to contend with heightened Pakistani firing during sowing and reaping seasons — a deadly , nefarious pattern , they say .
THOUGH the Pakistan flag on the border outpost is clearly visible from the roofs of the houses here , life once went on in its annual cycle . Now , none of the terrified 12,000 villagers dares to sleep on his terrace in the hot summer nights — a normal practice before 2001 .
With farming deemed ‘ dangerous ’ because of its proximity to sudden death , edu cation , too , stands suspended . Schools along the India-Pakistan border are closed when a bout of firing starts . On May 23 , schools were closed for three days . With an early summer vacation declared , the 250 students of Ashoka Model High School , which Krishna , who fell prey to the firing attended , were informed of their homework by teachers on phone . “ For two days , the village was deserted . We were worried more about our lives than studies . How can one study when guns are booming ? We can ’ t trust Pakistan , but our hopes for living a respectable life has gone too . We talk about guns and deaths , not studies ,” says 15-yr-old Rahi Sharma , a cousin of Krishna . “ In such a competitive age , how can we compete with students of Jammu city , leave alone metros ? We are Brahmins , we don ’ t have reservation too . It ’ s stone age rather than digital age for us ,” she adds hopelessly .
The dispirited Gujjars of Jeorah farm now question the very founding principles
of Pakistan . “ Does Pakistan believe Muslims live only in its side ? Are we not Muslims ? In this holy month it ’ s forbidden to utter even a bad word .... What kind of Islamic republic is it ?,” wonders Fukuran Ali .
In this open season of hostility , there have been 1,250 ceasefire violations by Pakistan till May 28 along the international border and the Line-of-Control , almost all of them in Jammu — the highest since the ceasefire agreement of 2003 . Vigorous retaliation by the Indian army presents a peculiar problem too . While residents support , to a degree , the aggressive response , but they are not
Rampant shellfire has stalled core occupations of farming and tending to livestock . As many thousands flee , schools have also closed down .
PTI
sure if it ’ s yielding results . And the BJP , which swept the assembly polls in Jammu and leads at the Centre , is feeling the simmering discontent . “ My engagement was called off by the girl ’ s family , who said they don ’ t want her to live on the constant line of fire and dep end on the government or volunteers for food . It seems our generation is coming to an end ,” says Rehmat Ali of Jeora .
The current round of ceasefire violations doesn ’ t seem to end , despite the pronounced best intentions of the top brass . Peace seems to be receding ever more in the past two years of turmoil in Jammu & Kashmir . A day after firing by Pakistan killed two BSF personnel , a sector-commander level meeting of Pakistan Rangers and BSF was held at RS Pura , where the two sides agreed on a ‘ firing free agreement ’— something that seems an impossible dream to realise . And every loss seems to sap a litle bit of this long-suffering people ’ s will to carry on with their lives . O
26 OUTLOOK 18 June 2018