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Border Battles
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Securing India’s land borders remains a challenge |
ITBP trekking towards their post in high altitude area
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Pravin Sawhney and Ghazala Wahab
The undulating desert dunes stretching uninterrupted till the horizon are pockmarked by the ungainly sight of protruding fence and concertina wire, lazily coiling along the length like a slumbering serpent. Sitting inside the fence, somewhat like a caged animal, a Border Security Force (BSF) officer chuckles without irony, “If we could, we would have fenced the sea too.” Of course, for him it was a measure of capability and not sarcasm.
His operational life and of those he commands, revolves around this metal and
wire mesh, a sacrosanct symbol of the extent of sovereignty. His day begins with
an early morning reconnaissance along with the khojis to check for footprints of
those who |
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may have violated the structure which despite all efforts is not
inviolable. Animal footprints are discounted, unless there appears to be an
intelligent pattern in which they proceed. Human footprints are followed up as
far as the trail goes, but often it runs cold. Desert is susceptible to
footprints; and every morning there are plenty to be traced, leaving very little
time for the BSF men posted in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan to do anything
else. Just as well, because if they didn’t have to do this, they ran a serious
risk of boredom-induced injuries. Border guarding can be monotonous, in the
desert, as in the mountains.
But the BSF brief is very firm. Each transgression has to be checked,
stopped and prosecuted, whether it is caused by economic migrants, smugglers,
potential terrorists or simply separated families. With an
inimical neighbour across the fence, benefits of doubt are not possible. Former US president Bill Clinton is supposed to have said once that, “You live in the age of interdependence. Borders don’t count for much or stop much, good or bad, anymore.” He perhaps spoke out of experience. The US border with Mexico is one of the few fenced borders worldwide. Yet, the influx of Mexican people into the US has not stopped. While the fence may have caused several deaths, serious injuries, human rights violations and even corruption among the border guards, it has not been very successful in stopping the Mexicans who want to get into the US at any cost, risks to their lives notwithstanding. Even the so-called impenetrable Berlin wall was frequently breached during the Cold War. “As long as there is promise of prosperity on the other side, people will continue to try their luck,” says a former home secretary. “For every one failure, a few succeed. And that makes it worth their while.”
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