SREEDEEP  

SREEDEEP is an independent photographer and researcher based in New Delhi. He has completed his PhD in Sociology in 2011 from JNU, New Delhi. His academic work engages with consumer culture. He has been a Fellow with PSBT, Sarai-CSDS and National University of Singapore. His works has been exhibited in Faces in the Dark, 5th – 24th December 2010 at Birla Academy of Arts and Culture, Calcutta, and brand(e)scape: the changing sur(face) of the city – a solo photography exhibition, Nov 3 - 17, 2009 in Arts & Aesthetics Gallery, JNU. His visual narratives have been published in Himal, Kindle, The Sunday Guardian, Better Photography, Mass Context, Outlook Traveller, Discover India, Pratham Post. He currently works as a research consultant on various multi-disciplinary projects.

 

Border  people_______________________________________________________  

For   those  who  have  had  a  very  close  encounter  with   the  absolutely  unexpected  citizenship   twist,   and  woken  up  to  be  a  part  of  a  different  nation  state  one  morning,  are  bound  to  recount  the  history  often  with  ease  or  unease  to  an  absolute  stranger  without  much  of  insistence,  as  they  have  a  story  to  narrate  to  the  world  and  a  few  to  share  with  –  until  visitors  were  allowed  entry  into  this  border  village  less  than  half  a  decade  ago.  

Though   there   was   much   at   stake   on   the   eastern   front   in   the   1971   Indo-­‐Pak   war   for   liberating   or  defending   East   Pakistan   (now  Bangladesh),   on   the  North  Western   border   of   Ladakh,   the   Indian  Army  under  the  command  of  Major  Chewang  Rinchen  had  launched  an  initiative,  penetrating  25  kms  into  the  Pakistani   territory,   reclaiming   four   Muslim   villages   Dhothang,   Tyakshi,   Turtuk   and   Chalungkha,   and  claiming  them  to  be  the   ‘liberated  areas’  of   Indian  side  Baltistan  before  the  ceasefire  was  declared  on  17th    December.      

Around  160  kms  from  Leh,  after  having  crossed  the  world’s  highest  motorable  pass  -­‐  Khardhung  La  and  the  pleasing  patches  of  greenery  in  Nubra  valley  –  the  last  forty  kilometer  drive  offers  the  experience  of  meandering  through  the  back  of  the  beyond  terrains  of  a  range  alongside  Shayok  that  transform  itself  from  a  timid  river  to  a  roaring  one,  accompanied  by  exposed  rocks  devoid  of  any  vegetation  displaying  various   shades   of   ochre   on   a   sunny   day.   And   suddenly   it   opens   to   a   lush   green   patch   visible   from   a  distance  after  being   interrupted  by  the  added   information  of  a   local  co-­‐passenger   in  a  shared  taxi  not  forgetting  to  point  out  the  mountain  that  previously  acted  as  a  line  of  control  prior  to  the  war  in  1971.    

Turtuk  is  as  close  as  you  can  get  to  the  border  at  an  elevation  of  3000  meters,  where  partition  followed  by   the   war   created   new   borders,   challenging   the   preconceived   territorial   perceptions   of   the   border-­‐people,   (im)posing   renewed  understanding  of   identity  prompted  by   the  new   lines  of   control  over   the  last  few  decades.              

   

   

 1  

A  patch  of  greenery  in  Turtuk  complemented  by  the  sound  of  Shayok  on  full  flow  overlooking  the  border.    

 2  

Border  is  merely  5  kms  away  from  this  point  though  ironically  to  visit  their  relatives  on  the  other  side  of  the  Line  of  Control  under  the  1972  ‘Shimla  Accord’,  they  have  to  undertake  a  week  long  journey  backtracking  all  the  way  and  climb  up  the  Skardu  valley  from  the  other  side  of  the  border.  However,  no  restrictions  for  looking  across  the  border  with  or  without  the  hope  of  a  reunion.        

 3  

A   walking   over-­‐bridge   connects   two   halves   of   Turtuk   at   the   entry   of   the   village;   no   such   facilities  between  families  on  either  side  of  the  border  exist.    

   

 

 4  

Innumerable  glacial  melts  running  through  the  village  in  an  elaborate  series  of  channels  accompanies  the  villagers  consistently  in  almost  every  turn  and  corner  of  the  Turtuk  merging  with  Shayok  that  eventually  meets  Indus  in  Pakistan  –  acting  as  some  sort  of  a  physical  connection  between  families  divided  by  the  border.  

 4.1  

   

 5  

 5.1  

 5.2  

 5.3  

 5.4  

Along  with  bridges,  roads,  land-­‐lines  (prevalent  almost  in  every  house),  free  medical  services  and  daily  bus  services  to  Diskit,  the  local  school  is  also  an  example  of  state  initiative  to  extend  facilities.  The  political  obligation  towards  the  state  transformed  into  school  kids  instructed  to  reassemble  for  a  sare  jahan  se  achcha  –  session  at  to  the  advent  of  a  stranger  with  a  camera  while  they  were  all  set  to  pack  up  for  the  day.    

 5.6  

View  of  the  old  and  the  abandoned  school  where  people  of  the  older  generation  have  the  memory  of  studying  when  it  was  a  part  of  Pakistan.  

 6  

Special  funds  were  allotted  for  repair  and  maintenance  of  the  mosque        

 

 7  

Divided   families   suddenly   reduced   to   being   minorities   constantly   oscillate   between   of   inclusion,  exclusion,   citizenship,   identity,   loyalty   and   nationality   irrespective   of   welfare   measures   taken   by   the  state   and   the   army   towards   the   acquired   population   to  win   their   confidence   and   the   goodwill.  Most  villagers  from  the  previous  generation  claimed  to  be  happier  on  this  side  of  the  border  and  grateful  to  the  army   for  having   fulfilled   their  basic  necessities   in   the   initial   years  of  occupation  at   the   same   time  being  conscious  of  their  religious  and  Baltic  identity.    

 7.1  

   

 7.2  

 

   

 

 8  

It   is  not  uncommon  to   find  people  above  hundred   in   the  village  who  have   lived  under   three  different  power   regimes.   It   was   not  merely   the   relatives  who   choose   to   run   away   due   to   the   fear   of   being   ill  treated,   when   Indian   army   attacked   in   1971,   but   also   the   loss   of   land   and   property   along   with   land  revenue  records  that  were  maintained  in  Skardu  (Pakistan).    

 9  

Border  recruitment  drives  are  integral  part  of  the  integrating  agenda.  Most  teenagers  aspire  to  be  in  the  army.    

 10  

 10.1  

 10.2  

 10.3  

The  advantage  of  being   located  at  a  much   lower  altitude  of  around  3,000m  helps   farming  despite   the  less  availability  of  cultivable  land  though  they  have  to  travel  all  the  way  to  Leh  to  sell  their  produce.  The  sweet  smell  of  drying  apricot  on  the  roofs,  grown  widely  here,  grips  the  air  firmly  along  with  the  sight  of  tomatoes  being  dried  to  be  crushed  and  used  in  the  winter  months.    

 11  

 11.1  

 

 12  

A  sealed  border  refuses  the  right  of  contact  to  thousands  of  divided  family  members.  Tree  wrapping  in  the  fall  helps  preventing  frost  cracks.        

 13  

Even  though  the  tourist  turnout  in  Turtuk  is  much  lower  compared  to  many  other  more  easily  accessible  destinations  in  Ladakh,  many  provisions  of  guest  houses  have  cropped  up  in  last  five  years.  Benefits  of  tourism  are  limited  to  those  who  could  afford  to  build  to  establish  tie-­‐ups  with  tourism  agency  to  ensure  visitors.  While  one  segment  of  the  population  after  being  cut-­‐off  for  so  long  relishes  the  new  economic  opportunity   that   tourism   entails;   the   older   generation   tends   to   see   it   as   a   threat   to   their   indigenous  conservative  culture.  The  new  generation  is  very  much  in  sync  with  the  imported  dressing  sense  to  set  up  an  appearance.  

 13.1  

 13.2  

 14  

 14.1  

The  Khan  of  Turtuk    -­‐  Yagbo  Modh  Khan,  the  direct  descendant  from  King  of  Western  Turkistan  that  ruled  over  this  area  between  800AD  -­‐  1800BC.  Remnants  of  his  home  and  his  own  private  museum  of  family  artifacts  remind  us  of  the  prosperous  days  of  Turtuk  and  its  strategic  location  on  the  Silk  Route  once.  Most  of  his  remaining  property  was  looted  by  Pakistani  army  who  had  built  a  camp  here  during  the  1965  war.    The  girl  on  his  lap  is  his  daughter  not  his  granddaughter.    

 14.2  

   

 15  

Abandoned  army  bunkers  here  and  there  prompts  visual  signs  of  violence  and  intrusion.    

   

 16  

 16.1  

 16.2  

The  local  library  functional  in  the  evening  from  7  to  11,  coinciding  with  the  availability  of  electricity  in  the  village,  is  where  the  high  school  kids  gathers  to  exchange  notes  and  take  tuitions  as  an  inspiring  space  associated  with  incredible  amount  of  hope  for  realizing  a  future  beyond  the  village,  if  not  beyond  the  borders.      

   

 17