Despite its being Chhoti Diwali, villages on the International Border in Jammu's RS Pura were dark.
It was the noise of our vehicle that had alerted him. Torch in hand, he slowly walked out of the gate, shielding the upper half of the beam lest the light catch the eye of the Pakistan Rangers whose dug-outs are hardly a kilometre away from the International Border.
Despite its being Chhoti Diwali, Samka and Gopad Basti villages on the International Border in Jammu's RS Pura Sector were dark and deserted.
The area is being continuously shelled for the last four days. People had fled to safety. The administration has sounded a red alert across the area and asked the people to move out.
Debraj -- a little over 75 years old -- was the only man left. He had cattle to take care, besides he said "too old and "couldn't care" to move. He spoke haltingly, sucking in his breath.
"I was very small in 1947, but I clearly remember the 1965, 1971 India-Pakistan war, he said, adding that he has also lived through the intermittent hostilities and cross border firing.
"At the time, there were no roads here," he said, referring to 1965 and 1971 war. "We carried ammunition to the fox holes and trenches to help the forces," he said. The shelling in the last few days is kind of "unprecedented", he said. "They are deliberately targeting civilians."
Since September 29, when Indian Forces carried out surgical strikes in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, blowing up terror launch pads, ceasefire violations by Pakistan have increased. Living here is now defined by the number of shells and bullets that didn't get to the intended target.
A few kilometres away from Gopad Basti, away from the arc of unpredictable and intermittent shelling, 30-year-old Shilpa Sharma was pumping an old stove to life. Her three children - between 3 and 10 years - sit next to her and eagerly wait.
For the last few days, an open field has been home for them after their house got destroyed by Pakistani shells.
"At night it is cold, we have no shelter but shells don't reach this far," she said, indicating that approaching winter is an easier enemy to battle than the unpredictable shelling.
For those living along and on the border, the hostilities couldn't have come a worse time. Their crop, the famous Basmati rice, is ready. But harvesting is impossible because of the firing.
Labourers who harvested the fields - primarily from Bengal and Bihar - have all fled. In the fields, long stretches of ripe paddy crop stand unattended.
"Crops on the other side -- across the International Border -- mature a little earlier, harvesting is over for them," said Puran Chand, a farmer from Gopad Basti, indicating the cross-border offensive has been planned to inflict maximum damage on the Indian side.
Despite its being Chhoti Diwali, Samka and Gopad Basti villages on the International Border in Jammu's RS Pura Sector were dark and deserted.
The area is being continuously shelled for the last four days. People had fled to safety. The administration has sounded a red alert across the area and asked the people to move out.
Debraj -- a little over 75 years old -- was the only man left. He had cattle to take care, besides he said "too old and "couldn't care" to move. He spoke haltingly, sucking in his breath.
"I was very small in 1947, but I clearly remember the 1965, 1971 India-Pakistan war, he said, adding that he has also lived through the intermittent hostilities and cross border firing.
"At the time, there were no roads here," he said, referring to 1965 and 1971 war. "We carried ammunition to the fox holes and trenches to help the forces," he said. The shelling in the last few days is kind of "unprecedented", he said. "They are deliberately targeting civilians."
Since September 29, when Indian Forces carried out surgical strikes in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, blowing up terror launch pads, ceasefire violations by Pakistan have increased. Living here is now defined by the number of shells and bullets that didn't get to the intended target.
A few kilometres away from Gopad Basti, away from the arc of unpredictable and intermittent shelling, 30-year-old Shilpa Sharma was pumping an old stove to life. Her three children - between 3 and 10 years - sit next to her and eagerly wait.
For the last few days, an open field has been home for them after their house got destroyed by Pakistani shells.
"At night it is cold, we have no shelter but shells don't reach this far," she said, indicating that approaching winter is an easier enemy to battle than the unpredictable shelling.
For those living along and on the border, the hostilities couldn't have come a worse time. Their crop, the famous Basmati rice, is ready. But harvesting is impossible because of the firing.
Labourers who harvested the fields - primarily from Bengal and Bihar - have all fled. In the fields, long stretches of ripe paddy crop stand unattended.
"Crops on the other side -- across the International Border -- mature a little earlier, harvesting is over for them," said Puran Chand, a farmer from Gopad Basti, indicating the cross-border offensive has been planned to inflict maximum damage on the Indian side.
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