Charting the Culture of Violence in the Everyday: Women, Security and the Aftermath of Partition in Zero Line Villages

Abstract

The proposed study aims to explore the complex dynamics of the everyday experiences and narratives of women residing in the precarious borderlands of the subcontinent. Discourse relating to ramifications of partition narratives in the region of South Asia, has engendered assertions pertaining to affiliation and the concerted endeavours to surmount the state of being perceived as ‘alien’. Delineating the intricate interconnections between agency and visibility in border regions that evoke a complex blend of vulnerability and abundance in such highly sensitive zones, the omnipresence of state machinery exudes the power dynamics by engaging in multifarious violence particularly towards women. Adeptly navigating and challenging established norms dictated by patriarchal structures, women here actively participate in illegal activities. Situating women within the economic framework in these borderlands, these actions/activities serve as alternative narratives that contribute to our comprehension of women’s security and visibility/autonomy in these highly disputed areas. Women residing in conflict zone (here zero line villages) have traditionally been treated as ‘collateral damage’ or are hardly seen as disruption of law/violation for serious crimes like rape; abduction, child marriages, trafficking etc. are until the amendment of International Human Rights Law addresses the sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) as a war crime and crime against humanity. Suppressing gender violence, mostly underreported as committed by state machinery eventually creates a culture of violence and injustice prevailing in peripheral sites. Propagated by SGBV, this frontier culture renders the violence a routine affair, frequently witnessed, and mutually normalized in the milieu of borderland villages among local inhabitants thus weaving it into ‘the fabric of everyday life’. Aiming to investigate the narrative and politicisation of the border fence in a specific village of West Bengal while selecting a specific group of respondents: women aged between 20 and 50, the Indian citizenship of certain individuals has raised concerns, whether it be due to their birth or their marriage. Using an intersectional lens to shed light on how women’s experiences of sexual and gender-based