In Ferozepur, border reopening no more a priority for parties

Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, January 30

For decades, ahead of every polling season, leaders across party lines used to promise to get the border re-opened to allure the electorate in this border constituency, which shares its border with Pakistan.

The Hussainiwala-Lahore border was open for trade till hostilities began in 1971. However, it was closed in the aftermath of the war, leaving the thriving export-import trading community in the lurch.

Consequently, the entire economy was shattered and the investments became shy. Since then, almost every drawing room conversation and political rhetoric has been centred on the dire need for the reopening of this border.

“Over the years, politicians have been making statements, promising to get this border reopened which can usher a new era of prosperity and generate unprecedented employment opportunities for lakhs of people in the Malwa belt. However, nothing has been done on the ground,” said KC Sharma, a retired professor, adding that it was ironical that no one was talking about it this time.

However, the local populace still believes this issue is more important than anything else to them. “Politicians probably think that talking about good relations with Pakistan or the revival of confidence-building measures can be counter-productive in this scenario,” said Harish Monga, a veteran writer.

“As both India and Pakistan took a leap towards restoring people-to-people relations by opening the Kartarpur Corridor, the government should initiate the process for opening of this border too,” said Jaswinder Sandhu, a social worker.

Shalindera Laroia, another social worker, said if opened, the border could change the entire economic landscape of the area. “The parties should certainly include this vital issue in their election manifesto,” he added.

Traders in lurch

• The Hussainiwala-Lahore border was open for trade till hostilities began in 1971. However, it was closed in the aftermath of the war, leaving the thriving export-import trading community in the lurch
• Consequently, the entire economy was shattered and the investments became shy. Since then, almost every political rhetoric has been centred on the dire need for the reopening of this border