Begging for survival in Pak, begging for freedom here

Poor rains and incessant firing forced Ali to resort to begging, something many Indian farmers with land close to the border have been forced to do. Proximity to the border had prevented them from cultivating their land, making their livelihood difficult. However, as he claims, Ali did not know when he crossed the line to India until BSF jawans accosted him.

That day Ali left his Bafarwal home in Chungi district in Pakistan, to go begging. After having walked quite some distance, he saw a few people but did not realise that they were across the border, on the Indian side.

Such incidents are common in the Jammu region as villages are rather close to the border.

Two-years ago, a girl had crossed over to this side with dreams of becoming a heroine in Bollywood but had landed in police custody. Another man on a motorbike also rode in from Pakistan. He gave away his identity when he took out Pakistani currency notes to pay for petrol.

A senior BSF officer said that the moment his men caught Ali, he got so scared that he started stammering and could not even tell them his name. “Initially we thought he was mentally retarded. But later we found that he was too scared to speak coherently,” said a BSF officer in RS Pora sector.

Superintendent of Police Border Manish Sinha said he was more interested in catching militants than in nabbing stragglers. “This is the reason that once we are assured that the person is innocent, we produce him before the court for conviction,” Sinha said.

When asked how such crossing over is possible, Sinha said that it is impossible to plug the borders fully. Between two guards, there is enough space for people to cross over. He added that such stray cases are more common during winters because despite the cold, the dense fog makes it difficult to spot people.

As for Noami Ali, Director General of Prisons S.S. Ali said he had been convicted under the Passport and Indian Egress and Ingress Act. There are several such cases where people unintentionally cross the border, “not knowing that a short trip can turn into a nightmare”.