Along The Line Of Control, A Life Marred By Violence And Wrenching Separations

Line of Control — the de-facto border between India and Pakistan — bears the marks of violence and those who live here wage daily battles of their own. Houses with bullet-scarred walls, dead livestock and the injured restricted to their beds testify to the extent to which live along the border is marred by war.

These remote villages of Jammu and Kashmir often remain isolated from the rest of the world due to harsh weather conditions as well as military regulations. And India-Pakistan tensions play a crucial role in people’s lives.

The physical scars are evident in the form of landmines, bullets, and splinter shell injuries. The emotional scars are invisible and run deeper. Fear, uncertainty and the pain of separating from one’s relatives on the other side of the LoC are a constant.

Mohammad Jalil Lone, 95, has been separated from his brother for 72 years now. They may never meet again. Lone is a resident of what is famously known as ‘refugee village’, official name Gulshanpora. His nephew visited him from Pakistan last month completing a journey of 4,000 kilometers, which would have otherwise been a journey of a few kilometers if the roads were opened.

voters