The credit score for securing the once-barren and scarcely populated Fazilka sector of Punjab alongside the India-Pakistan border goes to the foresight and administrative acumen of Partap Singh Kairon, a former chief minister of Punjab.
Very similar to the Rai Sikh settlements in Punjab’s Fazilka, the proposed fauji buffer belt in J&Okay can be a residing wall of defence — resilient, rooted, and alert. It won’t solely block infiltration and disrupt terror networks however will even anchor growth and stability in distant, unstable areas. (Representational picture)
Confronted with the near-impossible job of sustaining vigil alongside a desolate frontier devoid of infrastructure, Kairon got here up with an revolutionary answer: He settled the resilient and rugged Rai Sikh neighborhood alongside the border in Fazilka. This transfer remodeled a susceptible stretch of land right into a residing, respiratory line of defence, manned not by troopers however by individuals with deep roots within the land.
Below British colonial rule, the Rai Sikhs have been categorised as a “criminal tribe”— a stigma typically imposed on communities seen as too impartial or troublesome to manage. Their conventional occupations of farming, looking, and at instances, illicit liquor distillation made them suited to surviving in powerful terrains. In Fazilka, this independence and self-sufficiency made them ultimate for all times on the frontier the place state presence was minimal.
Once I assumed cost as Fazilka sub-divisional Justice of the Peace in 1979, I witnessed firsthand the evolution of a self-sustained ecosystem alongside the border. Whereas challenges persevered — illicit distillation and cross-border smuggling being essentially the most notable — the neighborhood had, in impact, grow to be the area’s casual first line of defence. Their networks, intimate information of the terrain, and native dynamics made them invaluable in sustaining casual surveillance on border exercise.
Social dynamics within the area have been equally complicated. One peculiar but telling phenomenon was the occasional cross-border elopements, the place people from both facet crossed into the opposite, typically below consensual circumstances. These interactions, facilitated by linguistic and cultural proximity, underscored the porous nature of the border.
To navigate the distinctive geopolitical setting, the Rai Sikhs developed twin identities. On the Indian facet, they might keep a Sikh look, carrying turbans and bearing names like Iqbal Singh. When crossing into Pakistan, they might shed the turban and assume a Muslim id, Iqbal Mohammad. This adaptability, whereas controversial, mirrored their deep understanding of each side of the border.
Fauji buffer belt
The Fazilka expertise below Kairon gives a precedent for enhancing border safety via strategic civilian settlement. The same method, tailored to the distinctive terrain and safety dynamics of Jammu and Kashmir, might assist safe delicate stretches alongside the Line of Management (LoC).
The thought is to create a slim however steady liveable belt, about 2km deep, a little bit distance behind the LoC. At current, forested or unused, this strip could be cleared and developed for agriculture and horticulture.
Important infrastructure — roads, solar energy, communications, water entry, and fundamental providers — could be developed to help year-round habitation, whereas sustaining ecological safeguards.
This belt could be settled by ex-servicemen from martial and agrarian communities — Sikh, Jat, Rajput, Kumaon, Garhwal, Dogra, amongst others — with expertise in farming. Small landholdings could be allotted to them on long-term leases via cooperatives or self-help teams. Their self-discipline, familiarity with the terrain, and army background would make them ultimate for all times on the frontier and for taking up auxiliary roles in surveillance and border defence.
With refresher coaching and trendy weaponry, the settlers would function as an area territorial pressure in shut coordination with the military and BSF. Supervised by veterans, they might serve each as a bodily deterrent and an off-the-cuff intelligence community, reporting on infiltration makes an attempt, suspicious actions, or arms drops.
This fauji buffer belt would serve a number of strategic functions. Economically, it could generate sustainable livelihoods via farming, horticulture, and tourism in comparatively safe areas. Demographically, it could forestall depopulation of delicate border belts and guarantee a everlasting Indian presence. Psychologically, the visibility of armed, alert settlers on the frontier would act as a deterrent to infiltration and terror exercise.
Fusion of defence, growth
As seen in Fazilka, the place civilian settlement helped remodel a porous and susceptible border right into a resilient line of defence, this tailored mannequin might provide a long-term answer for Kashmir. If applied in a phased, monitored method, this fusion of defence and growth might grow to be a modern-day equal of Kairon’s visionary experiment in essentially the most delicate area of the nation.
DS Jaspal. (X)
The author is a retired Punjab-cadre IAS officer. Views expressed are private.