Punjab’s border farmers caught between fence and Zero Line

As the ‘dhol’ (drum) beats reverberate through the April air on Baisakhi, the festival that marks the harvesting of the rabi crop, farmers of Rosse village, situated right on the international border with Pakistan in Gurdaspur district of Punjab, gather at their local gurdwara. With folded hands, they express gratitude for another harvest, even as, for many among them whose fields lie stranded between India’s border fence and the Zero Line — the actual international boundary with Pakistan — the festival is a bittersweet reminder of land that is so close, yet so far, as they cannot access it freely.

The Central government recently initiated steps to relocate the border fencing closer to the international boundary, a move expected to provide significant relief to farmers who have for decades operated under stringent Border Security Force (BSF) regulations. With surveys now commissioned across border districts, farmers are hopeful that they will be able to access their fields freely, have more crop choices, and be relieved of the constraints of restricted farming hours and frequent security checks. Until then, however, they must continue to struggle with their existing set of problems.