Introduction

This chapter intends to reframe the narrative of the Jammu and Kashmir conflict by foregrounding the lived experiences of people residing in the border belt of Jammu. These experiences are in many ways integrally entwined to the wider conflict situation, but have not found any significant place in the accounts or political dialogues related to the dispute. This chapter will lay out the sociocultural and security settings of the border zone of Jammu, particularly the Rajouri region that adjoins the Line of Control (LOC). It will then illustrate how the conflict has influenced the border formation processes, starting from the partition of the state to the numerous wars that were fought between India and Pakistan. These incidents have divided families and shaped the memories as well as political responses of border residents in complex ways. Focussing on this LOC, the chapter will explore the border not just as a territorial reality but also as a living and changing one that unsettles the static ways in which the conflict chronicle is often defined and negotiated.

The Line of Control and Its Dilemmas

Wasim is an aged Muslim resident of the border district of Rajouri and his reflections provide perspective on the real-life complexities of people living in regions adjoining the LOC. Wasim's emotional affection towards his village in Rajouri co-exists with his attachment to Khuiratta village and other areas that lie in Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir (PAJK). Despite his awareness of a concrete and almost impermeable border between India and Pakistan, his mind visualises no closure but in fact a continuity and interrelatedness between the two sides of the LOC.