Life is a big struggle for them. They never get time to be at peace with themselves. Moving back and forth from their dilapidated homes to shelters has become a routine for them. The last six months have been both trying and hard for them. At times, their nationality was called into question. Since nature wiped out all man-made boundaries, they cut across the natural, geographical and man-made barriers to share whatever was left of them to bail each other out of their worst natural calamity aggravated by the apathy of those in authority. To such an extent that the historic Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib was inundated for a couple of days. Sikhs had fought for decades to gain access to one of their holiest shrines, just a few km away from the international border.
It is the story of two Punjabs tormented by war and water. Ever since the British, before leaving India, divided them into Indian and Pakistani nationalities, they have lost the meaning of peaceful coexistence. In the meantime, they have managed to learn to move quickly when danger – natural or man-made – comes alive.
For the last six months, life has become extremely difficult and painful for them. Though they have been uprooted several times since the two nations – Pakistan and India – got what they called “independence from the British”, the past six months have wreaked havoc with their lives more than any time before since 1947.
It all started when India and Pakistan went into war, though briefly, and now again when the Monsoon let loose its fury.
Living on the border has never been easy. Denied basic civic amenities, every now and then, they face eviction or evacuation. With limited resources and means of sustenance, they always remain suspect in the eyes of the security forces of either side. Those sitting in the administration far off, making decisions – both political and administrative, without ever bothering about their plight and their survival.
Stop the natural flow of water in rivers, they think, has come to their domain, and they can decide which way rivers flow or how the poor farmers survive with their small land holdings across the fenced borders.
While farmers on the Indian Punjab side are lucky that they have insurance policies – maybe in papers only – both for their crops and their cattle, those in other Punjab have no such support to fight both natural and man-induced disasters.When division took place, the British divided the territories but were clueless on how to divide the natural bounties, including the rivers. Punjab draws its name from the number of rivers that crisscross its territory. Of the five rivers, Ravi and Sutlej have been sustaining hundreds of thousands of small and marginal farmers across the borders.
Hundreds of Indian – Punjab farmers haplessly watched their milch cattle being swept across the manmade borders by the devastating Ravi and Sutlej waters.
Thousands of acres of agricultural land have been deprived of their nutrients in the floods. From fertile fields, they have become barren pieces of land.
The rivers’ shifting courses and riverine terrain have complicated border demarcations for decades.
This year’s rigorous southwest monsoon has not only left hundreds of people dead in two Punjabs but also caused the deaths of a large number of head of cattle. While in Indian Punjab, farmers rely on mechanized farming, they are also largely dependent upon milch cattle for supplementing the family income. In Pakistan’s Punjab, agriculture is still done by traditional means, where cattle are still largely used in cultivating fields.
Allegations flew free as Pakistan officials accused their Indian counterparts of releasing surplus waters into the Ravi and Sutlej rivers. Though Indian officials denied the allegation, maintaining that Pakistani authorities were informed well in time before the release of overflowing waters into the Pakistani portion of the rivers. Whatever the position, the sufferers are none other than poor people, irrespective of their nationalities.
(Prabhjot Singh is a Toronto-based award-winning independent journalist. He was celebrated by AIPS, the international body of sports journalists, for covering ten Olympics, at its centennial celebrations held at UNESCO Centre in Paris during the 2024 Olympic Games. Besides, he has written extensively about business and the financial markets, the health industry, the public and private sectors, and aviation. He has worked as a political reporter besides covering Sikh and Punjab politics. He is particularly interested in Indian Diaspora and Sikh Diaspora in particular. His work has also appeared in various international and national newspapers, magazines, and journals. He can be reached at prabhjot416@gmail.com)
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