Comparison of Perceptions of Borderland Communities: A Case Study of Pak-Afghan & Indo-Pak Border

Abstract

People living in borderlands are influenced by a multitude of factors that impact their social capital value in comparison to people living in the hinterlands. Opportunities for development for people living on the borderlands are limited, due to migration, war, displacement, social evils such as smuggling of goods, and illegal trafficking across the border. This highlights the gap between both communities and the state's value of treating them as social capital. In this study, the perception of people living on the border of Indo-Pak and Pak-Afghan borders and their value towards the state's measure in social capital will be highlighted. This study aims to explore the impact of the perceptions of borderland communities living near and on the border of India-Pakistan and Pakistan-Afghanistan. As these two borders vary in nature of hostility, a comparison can be drafted in the value of social capital. The methodology adopted for this study is based on qualitative analysis using a stratified sampling technique. Twenty in-depth interviews ten, from each borderland (Indo-Pak and Pak-Afghan border), will be conducted for this research to highlight the gaps. The findings of this research conclude that Media, the varying level of governance and administration, security and community development opportunities are of a different dimension for the people living on borders. The impact of culture, religion, ethnicity, and national identities becomes very complex to describe. Social capital requires the social inclusivity of communities from both the borderland and the hinterland.