To Conquer Her Land

To Conquer Her Land “I am here to conquer the land … not fall in love with it.

To Conquer Her Land

“I am here to conquer the land … not fall in love with it.”

The border between India and Pakistan is like its own world. Since partition this border has seen war, smuggling—of people, arms, drugs—firing, jingoistic parades, killing, suicide bombing, fireworks, lonely tears and little moments of glory.

In September 2009, India’s first women soldiers were deployed at the India-Pakistan border from Punjab to near the first line of control in Kashmir. Comprised of women from different parts of the country the composition of these women’s battalions is a microcosm of the Indian state, cutting across intricate and complex issues of poverty, case, youth and gender.

Between 2009 and 2012 this project follows a group of women from their last days at home to the barracks, through a training camp and active duty patrolling the tense borderland between India and Pakistan.

Patrolling these barren lands they try to come to terms with their new responsibilities, undergoing an intense transformation in the process: it is impossible to recreate or restore what they’ve left behind. Theirs is a country so vast that all lines seem to disappear, yet contains a deathly silence so white, haunting, and exact that it can create peace even in a land on the brink of war.

“We felt proud and weak at the same time. [The] border almost had become a figment of our imagination.”

More women in India are in the armed forces than ever before. Yet most of them are painfully alone. Military culture, which can be intimidating, has not been particularly tailor-made for women. The Indian woman in the forces is not only battling against the enemy, but also against a largely patriarchal society. Many of these women joined the army to fight this state of affairs as well as to find an escape from their dire rural livelihood. For these women, putting on a uniform was like coming out of their own skin. They saw it as a way of gaining some form of independence.

“If you have to be a soldier, you have to prove yourself mentally and physically all the time. You are not a man or a woman anymore.”

With an undefined sense of patriotism, strength of mind and a level of stress previously unknown to them, these women must come face to face with the truth of conflict and deal with the realities of living the life of a young good soldier.

© Poulomi Basu - Image from the To Conquer Her Land photography project
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Two soldiers girls enjoying an intimate moment behind the mosquito net at the night-time. There are many women forging lesbian relationships in the camp, however, under a strict ‘don't’ ask’ and ‘don’t tell’ policy. Kharkan camp. Kharkan, August, 2009

© Poulomi Basu - Image from the To Conquer Her Land photography project
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Suitcase. Home in Jalandhar, July 2009. Manpreet Soni watches her mother pack her suitcase, before she is sent away for training.

© Poulomi Basu - Photo-frame of Sheila Vishwakarma, a Kashmiri Pundit at her home in Bazpur Uttaranchal. September 2009.
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Photo-frame of Sheila Vishwakarma, a Kashmiri Pundit at her home in Bazpur Uttaranchal. September 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - Dancing in the border barracks, Attari, January 2011
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Dancing in the border barracks, Attari, January 2011

© Poulomi Basu - Namaaz Time for the Muslim women in the force, boot camp in Khatka. September 2009
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Namaaz Time for the Muslim women in the force, boot camp in Khatka. September 2009

© Poulomi Basu - Woman looking away during obstacle training, Kharkan, July 2009.
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Woman looking away during obstacle training, Kharkan, July 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - During lunch break at the mess. Khatka Camp, July 2009.
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During lunch break at the mess. Khatka Camp, July 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - Shabbo Kumari at the border Indo-Pakistan of Attari, Punjab. October 2011.
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Shabbo Kumari at the border Indo-Pakistan of Attari, Punjab. October 2011.

© Poulomi Basu - Kaur Walia, putting on her uniform at home before leaving for the border. Kharkan Chowk Village, Punjab September 2009.
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Kaur Walia, putting on her uniform at home before leaving for the border. Kharkan Chowk Village, Punjab September 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - Image from the To Conquer Her Land photography project
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An infiltrator trying to cross over to Pakistan illegally lie died on the fences. He was found with a plastic bag and some writings on a paper. No identifications were found. The main reasons why people cross over to join the militancy in Pakistan, for drug smuggling and people smuggling. In this particular case the reasons are unknown. Attari Border, January 2011.

© Poulomi Basu - Storm at the border in Udhampur. Indo-Pakistan Border Jammu & Kashmir, October 2009.
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Storm at the border in Udhampur. Indo-Pakistan Border Jammu & Kashmir, October 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - Sona Singh and Kamal Dar of the Border Security Armed Force in their barracks, Kharkan, Punjab, July 2009.
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Sona Singh and Kamal Dar of the Border Security Armed Force in their barracks, Kharkan, Punjab, July 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - A newly married couple. They fell in love in the border. They meet twice a month in a small room. Fatehpur 2013
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A newly married couple. They fell in love in the border. They meet twice a month in a small room. Fatehpur 2013

© Poulomi Basu - Training during night firing. Kharkan, August 2009. Training during night firing. Kharkan, August 2009.
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Training during night firing. Kharkan, August 2009. Training during night firing. Kharkan, August 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - PBASU_TCHL_018 Alpha coy of 118 women at dawn wait for their training to begin. Khatka Camp, Punjab, June 2009.
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PBASU_TCHL_018 Alpha coy of 118 women at dawn wait for their training to begin. Khatka Camp, Punjab, June 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - Training during night firing. Kharkan, August 2009.
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Training during night firing. Kharkan, August 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - Rana Kaur, before the Roll Call. Bootcamp in Khatka, August 2009.
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Rana Kaur, before the Roll Call. Bootcamp in Khatka, August 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - Image from the To Conquer Her Land photography project
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A family portrait, few hours before Gurpreet Kaur Walia was leaving for the border. Kharkan Chowk Village, Punjab September 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - Training during night firing. Kharkan, August 2009.
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Training during night firing. Kharkan, August 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - Manpreet Soni, pensive and quiet at her home in Jalandhar, July 2009.
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Manpreet Soni, pensive and quiet at her home in Jalandhar, July 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - Bangles belonging to Shabbo Kumari hanging on the wall of her house, Punjab, October 2009
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Bangles belonging to Shabbo Kumari hanging on the wall of her house, Punjab, October 2009

© Poulomi Basu - Rain at the Indo-Pakistan Border, Jammu & Kashmir, October 2009.
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Rain at the Indo-Pakistan Border, Jammu & Kashmir, October 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - Line of defense taking their stance. Kharkan September 2009.
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Line of defense taking their stance. Kharkan September 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - Women from the Indian Border Security Armed Force during a weapon-cleaning session in their training, Kharkan, August 2009.
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Women from the Indian Border Security Armed Force during a weapon-cleaning session in their training, Kharkan, August 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - Image from the To Conquer Her Land photography project
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Poor village farmers are being checked after frisking. The travel to the border everyday with their children and food supplies to farm in their land that lies outside the fences. Fatehpur, Indo-Pakistan border, September 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - Dust at the first line of control marking end of Punjab and beginning of Jammu & Kashmir. October 2011.
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Dust at the first line of control marking end of Punjab and beginning of Jammu & Kashmir. October 2011.

© Poulomi Basu - The last sleep with the family. Seema Sur asleep in her home in Jhargram, West Bengal. September 2009
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The last sleep with the family. Seema Sur asleep in her home in Jhargram, West Bengal. September 2009

© Poulomi Basu - A parachute flares lights up the night-time firing training exercise boot camp Kharkan, October 2009.
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A parachute flares lights up the night-time firing training exercise boot camp Kharkan, October 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - Image from the To Conquer Her Land photography project
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Women soldiers at the bootcamp, which is the final stage of training before the women are placed on active duty at the border, Kharken, August 2009.

© Poulomi Basu - Invisible soldiers standing under the moonlight. Boot camp in Kharkan, August 2009.
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Invisible soldiers standing under the moonlight. Boot camp in Kharkan, August 2009.

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