South Asia: Boundaries, Borders and Beyond

Post-colonial and post-partition South Asia is marked by optimism and pessimism, strength and weakness, security and insecurity, hope and fear, connections and disconnects. This collection of case studies provides insights into bordering, ordering, and othering narratives that are intricately entangled with identity politics and security discourses. A sharper focus on subterranean subregionalism, border communities, popular geopolitics of enmity, and transborder challenges to sustainability could open up spaces for new multiple (re)imaginings of borders.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 140 pages
Publication date: 25 September 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Post-colonial and post-partition South Asia, a region characterized by rapid growth and yet lacking integration, presents a complex blend of optimism and pessimism. This intriguing paradox of strength and weakness, security and insecurity, hope and fear, connections and disconnects underpins the region's regionalism conundrum and shapes its borders and boundaries, both material and mental. The Janus-faced nature of South Asian borderlands, where inward nationalizing impulses intertwine with outward regional frontier-orientations, serves as a reminder that the history of mobility in this eco-geographical region predates the history of territoriality and colonial cartography.

This collection of meticulously researched, theoretically informed case studies from South Asia offers valuable insights into bordering, ordering, and othering narratives as practices and performances intricately intertwined with identity politics and security discourses. By focusing on subterranean subregionalism, border communities, popular geopolitics of enmity, and transborder challenges to sustainability, the chapters in this edited volume suggest ways to open up spaces for new multiple (re)imaginings of borders at diverse scales and sights, including sub-urban neighborhoods, school textbooks, cinema, and trans-border conservation initiatives.

The chapters in this edited volume have been contributed by renowned as well as young emerging scholars, each offering fresh perspectives and insights into themes such as trans-Himalayan borderlands, India-Pakistan physical and mental borders, Afghanistan-Pakistan border, and numerous social boundaries observed in everyday South Asia. Through their contributions, the book provides a comprehensive examination of the borders and boundaries that shape the region, shedding light on the complex dynamics and challenges that define South Asia's geopolitical landscape.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 246 x 174 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032113623