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The Indo-Pak Border: Its Geopolitical Implications in the Adjacent Districts of Rajasthan

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The Indo-Pak Border: Its Geopolitical Implications in the Adjacent Districts of Rajasthan International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Science Society and Culture(IJIRSSC) Vol: 1, Issue:2, (December Issue), 2015 ISSN: (P) 2395-4345, (O) 2455-2909 © IJIRSSC Radcliff Line - the Indo-Pak Border: its Geopolitical Implications in the Adjacent Districts of Rajasthan Dr. Monika Kannan Head, Dept. of Geography, Sophia Girls‟ College, Ajmer ,Rajasthan _________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT : The Indo-Pak border lying north west of India, shared by two very important nations of the South Asia: India and Pakistan. It was formulated in the process of partition between the two nations on 17th August, 1947 determined by a British Government Commission Report usually referred to as The Radcliffe Line named after Sir Cyril Radcliffe. Being one of the most heavily militarized international borders of the world, it makes this entire region very contentious, sensitive and susceptible to infiltrations and illegal smuggling. Its a long boundary running along Ganganagar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Barmer districts of our state Rajasthan. Investigations expose that the urban growth rate as a whole slackened after the emergence of Indo-Pak border in 1947. The most damaging effect was noticed in the Punjab sector, which was the most developed as well as the most populous. The main objective of the study is to highlight the present development scenario of the border districts of Rajasthan.The paper also studied the impact of Radcliff line on human life in the western border districts of Rajasthan.To elucidate the Land Use Land Cover (LULC) of the region showing the different uses of land in this region. Keywords:Boundary line Economic development , India, Pakistan. Radcliffe. I. Introduction: The International borders have a mixed, region specific and town selective impact on the process of urbanization in the western part of Rajasthan. International border making is a politico-bureaucratic and a securitized exercise. This research paper is an attempt to discuss and analyze the geopolitical impact of the Radcliff line. The Indo-Pak border lying north west of India, shared by two very important nations of the South Asia: India and Pakistan. It was formulated in the process of partition between the two nations on 17th August, 1947 determined by a British Government Commission Report usually referred to as The Radcliffe Line named after Sir Cyril Radcliffe. Being one of the most heavily militarized international borders of the world, it makes this entire region very contentious, sensitive and susceptible to infiltrations and illegal smuggling. Its a long boundary running along Ganganagar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Barmer districts of our state Rajasthan. Investigations expose that the urban growth rate as a whole slackened after the emergence of Indo-Pak border in 1947. The most damaging effect was noticed in the Punjab sector, which was the most developed as well as the most populous. Ironically, border was instrumental in stimulating urbanization in the under developed but strategically important sectors of Jammu and Kashmir. Research states, the impact of border is critical up to 40 kms, moderate between 40-100 kilometers and negligible beyond this distance usually. www.ijirssc.in Page 225 International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Science Society and Culture(IJIRSSC) Vol: 1, Issue:2, (December Issue), 2015 ISSN: (P) 2395-4345, (O) 2455-2909 © IJIRSSC II.Objectives of the Study: The basic hypothesis states that towns are likely to suffer in their growth under a border situation, especially when the two neighboring countries are not in cordial terms with each other. Losch (1954) suggested that new border areas become depressive and this tendency is more peculiar to populous regions. House (1959) observed decay in the economy leading to depopulation of communes on both sides of France-Italian boundary. The Border Area Development Program (BADP) was started in 1987,attempts to meet the developmental needs of people living in remote and inaccessible areas of this region. 1. The main objective of the study is to highlight the present development scenario of the border districts of Rajasthan. 2. To discuss the impact of Radcliff line on human life in the western border districts of Rajasthan. 3. To elucidate the Land Use Land Cover (LULC) of the region showing the different uses of land in this region. III.Study Area: Rajasthan located in the north western part of the country has a total boundary of the state is 5920 kms. International boundary is 1070 kms long. The main districts adjacent to the boundary are Ganganagar www.ijirssc.in Page 226 International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Science Society and Culture(IJIRSSC) Vol: 1, Issue:2, (December Issue), 2015 ISSN: (P) 2395-4345, (O) 2455-2909 © IJIRSSC (210 kms), Bikaner (168kms), Jaisalmer (464 kms) and Badmer (228kms) (Map 1). This border area commences from Hindumalkot to Kutch (Gujrat). Three districts from the Sindh Province of Pakistan; Bahawalpur, Kherpur and Meerpur namely are on the other end of the boundary. Climatic Limitations The climatic is extreme in this region ranging from nearly 0° C in winter to approaching 49° C in summer. Lack of rainfall and intense heat has converted this region into an arid sandunes covered barren section of the state. This region is basically a desertic one, rich and worthy in terms of its fossil fuels (Map 2). Map 2: Land Use and Land cover Map of Rajasthan *Source : National Natural Resource Management System, ISRO The land use and cover of the state is clear in the map below, which highlights that the western border districts majorly come under the sandy, scrub, salt affected, Rann region where the level of urbanization is very low (Map 3). The Ganganagar district is fertile and has water availability thus is covered under agriculture mainly. www.ijirssc.in Page 227 International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Science Society and Culture(IJIRSSC) Vol: 1, Issue:2, (December Issue), 2015 ISSN: (P) 2395-4345, (O) 2455-2909 © IJIRSSC Map 3: Wasteland Map of Rajasthan *Source : National Natural Resource Management System, ISRO IV. Methodology: This study is based on data obtained from National Remote Sensing Agency Dehradun. Urban Frame survey and Gate way to India observation have been the chief tools of investigation. The data from Government of Rajasthan official reports and documentations. Central Statistics Organisation, Government of India Bhuvan, NRSA have been the basis of examination. Field survey, case studies, personal interviews and observation technique have been used for geopolitical analysis. During the study focus was on government documentations related to the declaration of Radcliffe Commission and the repercussions of the partition on the urban growth and demographic scenario have been taken under consideration. Security Implications: Along the entire length of this border, this region has a tall wall of barbed-wire fencing stands erect. It has high voltage electric flood-lights illuminate it at night. The alert jawans (soldiers) patrol the border using vehicles and camels, day in and day out. The high observation posts are manned by armed Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers watching in all directions. The study reveals that while Rajasthan as a whole ranks quite low on the development scale, in the border districts of Barmer, Jaisalmer and Bikaner the situation is even worse. Lack of growth centers, markets, industries, colleges, hospitals, dispensaries, recreational areas, mother and child welfare centers, rural primary health centers is the concern there, one can only imagine the skewed distribution of these resources from the main city to the far off border districts. The impact of Radcliff line on the border districts of Rajasthan is also analyzed depending upon the relationship between both the countries on each side. www.ijirssc.in Page 228 International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Science Society and Culture(IJIRSSC) Vol: 1, Issue:2, (December Issue), 2015 ISSN: (P) 2395-4345, (O) 2455-2909 © IJIRSSC Implication of Radcliff Line (Massive Population exchanges) Ramachandra Guha [1] has rightly noted that generally works on history end on the precise date of 15th August 1947. The domain of „History‟ ends with India attaining Independence, and where history ends political science, civics and economics begins. Guha argues that this is a wrong assumption—history persists, and hence there should be more works on post Independence India.[2]Taking this argument further, Sekhar Bandopadyay writes: „We may perhaps further add that while the Historians finished their inquiries on 15thAugust 1947, the political scientist and sociologists did not quite begin until the 1950‟s—that is not until the new institutions had taken proper shape in India and started functioning effectively.[3] Hartshorne [4] pointed out that new boundary lines are disruptive to local associations through their nature as a tariff wall. After partition, the Radcliff region became a zone of transition where about 14.5 million people crossed the borders to what they hoped was the relative safety of religious majority. Census 1951 states that around 7.2 million Muslims went to Pakistan from India while approximately the same number of Hindus and Sikhs moved to India from Pakistan immediately after partition. The following figure Indicates State wise population of Hindus in Pakistan. Economy Development The lack of industries here is due to a number of factors,
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