Living the border life: The 'displaced' in Jammu and Kashmir
- Panjabi University: Research Journal Social Sciences
- 29(1,2,3), 2021: p.193-217
On 15th August 1947, the British divided India into two independent countries, India and Pakistan. A hasty partition on religious lines and the subsequent geopoliticaltensions have led to frequent skirmishes on the border between the two. A part of this border that falls in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is home to frequent cross-border gun and mortar fire, which leads to migrations of the border residents to safer places in the interiors of the country multiple times a year. This article is based on field interviews conducted by the authors with these migrants who fall victim to a violent assertion of sovereignty on a daily basis. The displacement and the impoverishment of the border migrants are understood by employing Michael Cernea's Impoverishment Risk, Risk Management and Reconstruction (IRR) model. In light of the policy response by the Indian government, it is explored how the IRR model can act as a guide towards making rehabilitation policies for theborder migrants.- Reproduced