Home is near the border

The trip from Ferozepur city in Punjab to the two-lane Damal Road in Khai Phem Ki village takes 15 minutes. On the side of the road are freshly harvested fields and trucks filled with cereal-filled sacks. Farmhouses appear intermittently. On the surface, the regular cycle of sowing and harvesting is still in the state, which provides the largest share of wheat for Indian food companies.

Khai Pheme Ki village is less than 15 kilometers from the border between India and Pakistan. On a hot May day, hundreds of people gathered outside a house here to pay tribute to 50-year-old Sukhwinder Kaur, who died on May 13. Her husband, Lakhwinder Singh, 57; her son, Jaswant Singh, 25, also suffered severe burns in the incident and was being treated in the hospital.

The attack took place four days in a military confrontation between India and Pakistan after India strikes against nine terrorist targets in Pakistan and nine terrorist targets in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The two countries escalated after tensions escalated in the April 22 terrorist attacks in Jamu and Kashmir.

The Resistance Front is a branch of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist organization whose headquarters are in Pakistan-based Muridke, which initially claimed responsibility for the attack. In response to India’s initial strike, Pakistan targeted India’s civilian and military facilities in the border areas of Jamu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Sukhwinder’s death opened the wounds of people living in villages with borders with Pakistan, and life became unpredictable when tensions were found between the two countries.

In the northern village of Pohawk, about 3 kilometers from the border, people began to sleep in the fields as tensions escalated. With the power outage, drones wandering in the sky, and families take turns protecting their homes and villages. They turned off the lights before the darkness completely fell to understand what might happen if they didn’t.

In Habibwala village, just 2 kilometers away from the border, young men dig holes and if they are far away from the border, women send their children to their grandparents’ homes. Rural Panchayat member Malla Singh said about 30 large bunkers were built in 10 days.

Scars and strains

Pakistan burned buffalo during a drone attack in Khai Pheme Ki village in Ferozepur district, Punjab on May 13, 2025. Image source: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

Authorities have deprived the remains of objects in Sukhwinder’s compound, but the car that her car was blown up in the fire was still parked here, which was hit on the night of May 9. Just a few meters away from the car are the three cows in the shed. The two suffered burns and their skin fell off. The wires that cross the roof of the house hung low and semi-melt. There were blood on both rooms and on the balcony.

The neighbor drove the family of three to the hospital. Sukhwinder was transferred to a larger facility in Ludhiana and died four days later. When her body was taken home, neighbors gathered money to set up tents on the roadside so that villagers could pay tribute without having to stand in the hot heat.

When Jaswant heard about his mother’s death, he insisted on leaving the hospital for a day despite burns and split injuries. “When we crashed into the car, we just sat down for supper. Everything exploded. Everything rose in the flames. Our bodies were burned before we gathered our senses.”

His brother died a few years ago in an accident. As he waited for his mother’s body, he turned to relatives and friends and asked when the ambulance would arrive from Ludhiana. He then asked his father, who also suffered 70% of the burns. When Sukhwinder’s body was taken home, Jaswant, unable to walk due to injury, dragged himself out of the crib with the help of four people and placed his hand on his mother’s forehead.

The peace of the village was broken by the wail of the women. People decide that they have to do something before their bodies are cremated. Those who are mourning have begun to demand compensation of Rs 1 crore, the government work of a family member and the “martyr” status of Sukhwinder. The family cremated the body several hours after negotiations with government officials and police. Later, the Punjab government provided compensation of Rs 1 million.

Relatives and people of villages outside Sukhwinder Kaur died in the attack on the village of Khai Pheme Ki in Ferozepur district of Punjab on May 13, 2025. Image source: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

The bridge to history

In Hussainiwala, Ferozepur City is slightly more than 10 km from the Pakistani border. Here, many have vacated their homes and live in less dangerous places with their relatives. The National Martyrs Memorial was built in honor of the freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru in Hussainiwala. Before the tension, the guards were changed every day, and both sides lowered their flags at the ceremony at night.

“It’s important that we’re leaving, not because we’re afraid of drones or shelling, but because if we didn’t leave, we might end up being stuck, but the incident escalated,” said Gomma Singh, a member of the Farmers’ Union of Gatti Rajjo Ki village in the area. He recalls the story of the war between the two countries in 1971, when Hussainiwala became a place for conflict between Indian and Pakistani troops. The bridge of Husseinwara, which was destroyed in the conflict and later rebuilt, is now heavily protected by Indian troops and only locals can pass. It is covered with sheds.

Some people started going home after understanding that “stop all shooting and military operations in the land, air and sea”, but it took effect on May 10, but many were still waiting. He asked the government to “give us all the houses in all cities” because living on the border “keep us uncertain.”

Life interruption

Life in towns and cities in Punjab has also been affected, although cities such as Chandigarh are 200 km from the Pakistani border. The people of Ferozepur were forced to cut family functions and close business after dusk as regional governments ordered additional precautions. Rajeev Monga’s niece was engaged on May 10 and he had to relegate to celebrate the celebration. Simran Singh’s son is preparing for the engineering entrance exam, and he was unable to reach Bengaluru on the day of the exam because Amritsar’s nearest airport was closed. The family was unable to get the train ticket in time. Travel agencies and hoteliers are canceling during the usually busy school summer vacation.

“War is not good for anyone. Look at the Russian-Ukrainian war. Who thinks it will last for more than three years? We should not pray for the war; no one knows whether it ends in five days or in five years,” Nishant Singh said.

A Haryana laborer was killed and nine others were injured after an unidentified plane crashed and caught fire in the early morning of May 7 in Bhatinda, Punjab.

Children and the elderly are affected

The Indian-Pakistan border is marked with barbed wire, and on normal days, the neutral line is guarded by the Border Security Force (BSF). The army took over the guards in a state of war. While guarding the neutral line, a BSF unit shot Pakistani invaders on May 8 at Mamdot Block in Ferozepur, and he shot on May 8 at Ferozepur.

“When the power outage was announced on the first day, my grandson was panicked and the invader was shot dead,” said Bariam Singh, 65, of the village of Basti Ram Lal, who smiled at his 16-year-old grandson. He felt earlier, there was a war between men in uniform. Now, they are between machines, drones and missiles.

Deepender Lieutenant General Singh Hooda retired as commander of the Northern Army and agreed to the way the war changed. He said: “Punjab is a key strategic location for India and Pakistan. After Jamuk, there are a lot of civilians living in border villages. Our neighbors tend to attack the tendency of civilians to put pressure on the government. That’s why Punjab is still one of the worst areas during the war, during the border, during the war.”

In Kashmir, 18 people were killed in Pakistan after Operation Sindor. Fourteen of them were from Poonch and two were children. Officials said the four districts of Jamu and Kashmir – Pornchi, Kupuwara, Rajuri and Balamura – witnessed heavy losses. Director-General of Military Operations Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai has confirmed that the armed forces have lost five personnel.

On the zero line, retired Army Hawaldar Surjeet Singh owns agricultural land and when he feels trouble, he comes to harvest. Surjeet said people living in border villages had the least facilities but lived under the highest threat. “With the border so close, we are always threatened with fire. But there are no hospitals nearby that can treat serious wounds. We have to go to cities 40-50 kilometers away.”

Darbara Singh from Basti Ram Lal just fed his cow when he gave him a call. His eldest son was in the Indian army and was sent to Jamu and Kashmir and called three days later. “My son said we can wake up with the army and guard the country, and we can sleep peacefully.”