Sanskriti Talwar

Priti David

Editor

Sarbajaya Bhattacharya

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Around four kilometres from the
border of Pakistan, Shamsher Singh is at work in his brother’s garage, going
through his tools. He has been working here as a mechanic for the past three
years, but not out of choice. Shamsher,
35, is a third-generation porter who once worked at the Attari-Wagah border
between India and Pakistan. His family belong to the Prajapati community,
listed as Other Backward Class (OBC) in the state.  



At
this border of Punjab with Pakistan, hundreds of trucks carrying cement, gypsum
and dry fruits would once arrive into India every day. Trucks carrying tomatoes,
ginger, garlic, soybean extract and cotton yarn among other goods, would
similarly cross over to Pakistan. 



Shamsher was one of almost 1,500 porters whose job
was “to unload and load these goods onto trucks for their onward journey at the
border crossing.” There are no factories or industries in the area; landless
residents of villages located within a 20 km radius of the Attari-Wagah border
rely heavily on cross-border trade for their livelihood.

A
lot changed in 2019 when 40 Indian security personnel were killed in Pulwama in
a terrorist attack that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Following this, India
withdrew the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) trade status granted to Pakistan, and
imposed a 200 per cent customs duty on imports. Pakistan retaliated with trade
restrictions after India’s abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. 

Porters living in
nearby border villages, and over 9,000 families in Amritsar district were
badly hit, says this  2020 <a href="https://www.briefindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Unilateral-Decisions-Bilateral-Losses.pdf">study</a> by the <a href="http://briefindia.com/">Bureau of
Research on Industry and Economic Fundamentals (BRIEF)</a>. 

Jobs in Amritsar city have the added expense of a 30-kilometre
trip on the local bus – the journeys cost almost Rs. 100. Labour work pays
around Rs. 300, so Shamsher says, “what’s the point in bringing home 200 rupees
a day?” 



Hundreds of kilometres from Delhi where
diplomatic decisions get made, the porters feel the government is not
listening, but having a member of Parliament from the ruling party will help
amplify their voice. Further, an MP would push for reopening the border which
would restore their jobs.

Now, work is
available at the border seasonally, only when trucks from Afghanistan arrive
with crops. Shamsher says they pass the work on to older porters for whom
finding casual labour work is more difficult. Porters
here understand the gesture of shutting the border was to retaliate. “Par jeda ethe 1,500 bande auna da de chuley
thande karan lage sau baari sochana chahida [But they should also consider
how they have caused the cooking fires of many families here to go cold],” says
Shamsher.  For five years, the porters have
been petitioning the authorities, but to no avail.  “There isn’t
any ruling government at both state and centre who we haven’t approached with
our mang patra [memorandum] to reopen
the border in the last five years,” he adds. 




Sucha Singh, a Dalit porter from Kaunke village says that “the sitting
MP from Amritsar, Gurjeet Singh Aujla from the Congress party, has often spoken
in Parliament to the Modi government about reopening the border for the
livelihood of the residents. However, the government did not act on it because
his party is not in power at the centre.”

After losing his work as a porter, the 55-year-old Dalit Mazhabi Sikh
has been working as a mason with his son, earning around Rs.300 rupees a
day.  

In the run-up to the Lok Sabha
elections 2024, the overwhelming consensus was a curious one. Shamsher explains:
“We wanted to press NOTA for
this election, but our livelihoods [as porters] depend entirely on the central
government. We have no desire to vote for the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party], but
it is a necessity.” 

Election
results declared on June 4, 2024 confirmed that Congress candidate Gurjeet Singh
Aujla retained his seat. Whether he will have an influence on border politics
is to be seen.

Attari-Wagah porters: caught in the crosshairs

ہند-پاک کشیدگی کی قیمت چکاتے اٹاری-واہگہ بارڈر کے قلی

సరిహద్దుల చిక్కుల్లో చిక్కుకుపోయిన అట్టారీ-వాఘా కూలీలు

சுமை தூக்கும் தொழிலாளர்களின் சிரம எல்லைகள்

ଅଟ୍ଟାରି-ୱାଗା କୁଲିମାନେ: ଜୀବନ ଜୀବିକା ବିପର୍ଯ୍ୟସ୍ତ

दोन देशांच्या राजकारणाची हमालांना झळ

അതിര്‍ത്തി പ്രശ്നങ്ങളിലകപ്പെട്ട അട്ടാരി-വാഗ ചുമട്ടുതൊഴിലാളികള്‍

ಬದುಕಿನ ಅಡಕತ್ತರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಲುಕಿರುವ ಅಟ್ಟಾರಿ-ವಾಘಾ ಗಡಿ ಕೂಲಿ ಕೆಲಸಗಾರರು

भारत-पाक के ख़राब संबंधों की क़ीमत चुकाते अटारी-वाघा बॉर्डर के कुली

નિશાન બન્યા અટારી-વાઘાના કુલીઓ

अटारी-वाघा बार्डर: कुली मन उपर भारी मार

भारत-पाक के तनातनी में फंसल अटारी-वाघा बॉर्डर के कुली

দ্বিপাক্ষিক রাজনীতির প্যাঁচে আটারি-ওয়াঘা সীমান্তের খালাসিরা

সীমান্তৰ ৰাজনীতিতৰ মেৰপেচত জীৱিকাৰ হানি

ਅਟਾਰੀ-ਵਾਘਾ ਦੇ ਪੱਲੇਦਾਰ: ਕੀ ਚੜ੍ਹਦੇ ਹੀ ਰਹਿਣਗੇ ਸਿਆਸਤ ਦੀ ਬਲ਼ੀ?

Amritsar

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Attari-Wagah porters: caught in the crosshairs

All voters want a powerful Member of Parliament who can take their issues to Delhi. Out-of-work porters at India’s highly sensitive border with Pakistan hope their vote in the General Elections 2024 will do just that

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