Rethinking the India-Pakistan Borderlands_An Architecture towards Peace by Jose Sibi

Rethinking

the India Pakistan Borderlands An Architecture towards Peace

Rethinking the India-Pakistan Borderlands An Architecture towards Peace

Author Jose Sibi 939871

Supervisors Gaia Caramellino | Guilia Setti

Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design 2021 School of Architecture, Urban Planning and Construction Engineering

Acknowledgment The motivation behind this thesis would not have been conceived without the Research Thematic Seminar held in the third semester by the professors Pierre Alain-Croset, Gaia Caramellino and Paolo Scrivano and their preliminary support in opening my eyes to the many variables of this sensitive topic. My deepest gratitude is in order to Professor Gaia Caramellino who continued to be my research supervisor and provided timely readings that have very much been the crux of this thesis. That same gratitude - if not more - extends to Professor Guilia Setti my design supervisor - without whose constant guidance, support and criticism, this thesis would not have been complete. I shall always be emboldened to ask silly questions if and when I pursue the topic of this thesis in the future. Special appreciations are in due towards Arjen Oosterman (Editor-in-Chief, VOLUME magazine) and Gerd Junne (Professor Emeritus, Chair in International Relations at the University of Amsterdam) for their indispensable time and in providing research work related to the themes of ‘architecture and peace’ that helped me to complete the first portion of this thesis. I would also like to acknowledge Huma Gupta (Ph.D Researcher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology) for relaying to me her personal experiences in post-conflict zones and what the word ‘peace’ could mean in today’s multiple contexts and perspectives. The research material regarding ‘borderlands’ provided by Professor Alice Buoli (Politecnico di Milano) opened up my eyes to the various discourses on the topic and allowed me to follow up and interact with Marc Schoonderbeek (Program Director, Borders & Territories, TU Delft) and Henk van Houtum (Chair: Political Geography and Geopolitics, Radboud University), who provided invaluable research work for the same. It was ironic that while gathering information from my own country (India) was proving to be a ma jor hurdle, Hamza Yaseen (MSc, Building Architecture, Politecnico di Milano) provided much needed academic projects from the other side (Pakistan). My immense thanks to all of you. Last but not the least, I would like to express my thanks and love to my parents, my siblings and my wife for their support, understanding and prayers that have helped me to finish this thesis to the best of my abilities and in due time. Thank you God for all thy blessings.

Pakistani flag green colour code CMYK 100|0|59|75 RGB 0|64|26 #00401A

Indian flag green colour code CMYK 86|0|94|47 RGB 19|136|8 #138808

Mixed green colour code* CMYK 90|0|83|61 RGB 10|100|17 #0A6411

*Colour code used for the cover page and other graphic necessities throughout the report In the Pakistani flag, the Islamic green of the flag represents the Muslim-majority populace of Pakistan. In the Indian flag, the green strip was initially proposed to represent the Muslims of India but in order to avoid sectarian associations, new attributions were alloted; the green colour thus signifies the fertility, growth and auspiciousness of the land.

Opening Page Architecture of Peace Volume #26, 2010

“Be not daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief Do justly now Love mercy now Walk humbly now You’re not obligated to complete the work But neither are you free to abandon it” -The TALMUD/PIRKEI AVOT

Abstract As the Doomsday clock ticks ever so close to the dreaded hand of midnight, the world rests on a fragile sense of anxiety and hope. Anxiety of a day when the brittle relations may spill over and give way to full blown chaos; hope to push the former by at least a day onto the morrow. As humans, the deposition of whether violence is inherent in our nature is still a divisive debate. The reality is that conflict is an everyday global happening. It has become the norm. But why is there a significant ignorance to this in the world of architecture? Have we become so detached from this reality that we cannot cause to affect it? Is the architectural community too focused on creating the next avante-garde that it has overlooked the need for intervention at the very places where humanity exudes its worst side? Have we forgotten that the birth of architecture was to serve man in order to find a better tomorrow? Or was it ever? “Isn’t it … [because] most people aren’t in conflict zones which means if you are unaware of the problem, you don’t seek it out and that’s why the design community at large is addressing other issues?” (Humeid, 2019).* The thesis begins with questioning if and what architecture can offer to peace and moves on to grasping the understanding of borders and the exploration of monumentality along these lands. The context selected for the design strategy is the India - Pakistan border and the implementation involves scenarios that would allow for a rethinking of this borderland.

Keywords: warchitecture, structural violence, agency of the architect, positive peace, borderlands, monumentality, social misconstruct, transborder, ecological corridors, blue border

* (Ahmad Humeid, Alvar Aalto Design and Peace Colloqium, 2019)

BACKGROUND

Acknowledgment Abstract Introduction

1.1

1.1.1 Of man and conflict 1.1.2 The hostile origins of architecture and its modern branches 1.1.3 The liaison between architecture and conflict An architecture due to conflict An architecture for conflict

1.2 An Architecture towards Peace 1.2.1 Existing entities for an architecture towards peace 1.2.2 The agency of the architect

FRAMEWORK

1.3

The Symbiotic Relationship of Architecture and Conflict

Architecture in Sites of Conflict A conversation with Huma Gupta

20 24 26 34

39 48 50

2.1 Borderlands 2.1.1 The border - an invention? 2.1.2 The ills of borders/walls 2.1.3 Hostile borders around the world 2.1.4 A border of possibilities

2.2

Reference Projects

2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.2.4

74 78 82 84

2.3

An understanding and a Provocation: of Monumentality along Borderscapes

Borderwall as Architecture | USA-Mexico border Borderland | Dutch - Belgium border DMZ Nature Reserve | North-South Korea border European Green Belt | former Iron Curtain

2.3.1 Man’s affection to monumentality and memory 2.3.2 Monumentality during the isms and monumentality today 2.3.3 Provocation

59 62 64 70

86 88 90 94

SITE OF INTERVENTION

DESIGN SCENARIOS

3.1

The India-Pakistan Border

100

3.1.1 3.1.2 3.1.3 3.1.4 3.1.5

106 107 109 112 116

3.2

The Wagah-Attari Border

122

3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3 3.2.4 3.2.5 3.2.6

123 125 128 132 134 136

3.2

Monumentality along the Indo-Pak Border

142

3.2.1

144

4.1

Design Scenarios

Partition and independence Post independence Indo-Pak confrontations Other violent events in relation to the border Existing geopolitics

A border of multiplicities The beating ceremony Evolution of the Wagah-Attari gallery Post independence timeline Contemporary timeline (2000s) The great Punjab divide

Mapping monumentality along the border

162

4.1.1 Objectives 4.1.2 Methodology 4.1.3 Ecological Corridor Connecting park Border forest park Dam park River park Border wetland park Fishing park 4.1.4 Blue Border Source point Cycle loop_Pul Kanjari Drop down waterfront Step down waterfront Border lake + Island

165 165 166 168 170 174 176 178 182 184 186 190 194 196 198

Conclusion Bibliography Sitography

202 208 215

Research | Analysis

Why | Where

Introduction

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

I first came across the Wagah-Attari crossing point along the India - Pakistan border as a part of my study tour during my bachelor’s in late December 2014. The daily beating ceremony at the crossing point was a spectacle to behold. It involves the military personnel of both the countries imitating the ‘goose steps’ of their previous colonizers and marching at one another with angry glares in what could only be seen as an eccentric military contest. Surprising though was the effect of these marches, drumbeats and the surrounding provocative milieu on the cheering audience who were allowed to convert their subdued patriotic decorum into unbridled crude conducts with no censure. I too was imbibed with a necessity to join this hysteria and shouted the jingoistic slogans praising my own country while jeering and hushing the shouts from the other side of the border. To praise one’s own nation is not an awful affair but to do so at the expense of another is wrong on many accounts, especially when the border splitting both the nations did not exist even a century earlier. Today, almost eight years later, with the rise of right-wing propaganda in India and the alleged state sponsored terrorism from Pakistan, the Wagah-Attari crossing point has only seen an increment in its confrontational built environment. Larger galleries have been built on either side of the border while bearing witness to evermore hateful and vile hollering. At a time when hostility between the two nuclear powered nations is only increasing, the need for reconciliation and peace has never been more pertinent. The Thematic Research Seminar conducted by Pierre AlainCroset, Gaia Caramellino and Paolo Scrivano in the third semester (October 2020) provoked in me to select the topic of architecture and peace that involved studies into the foundational myths of the discipline; the symbiotic relation architecture shares with conflict and understanding the agency of architecture towards reconciliation. After the research, it seemed only right that I settle on the India – Pakistan border as the context for design. From there the research delved into comprehending the larger meaning of borders and its significance today while exploring the implication of monumentality and how it could be a provocateur along these borderlands as a part of the research work enabled by Fulvio Irace in the elective ‘Beyond the Mirror: Analyzing Architecture (March 2021). The analysis

The strategy of the design phase involves the implementation of connecting existing eco-habitats into a transboundary bionetwork via ecological corridors in the divided state of Punjab while also proposing the addition of a third line - that of a blue water body cutting across the existing lines of the International Border and the fencing that would create new scenarios. Site specific interventions have been developed based on the existing context while generic designs that involve the usage of a certain set of designed devices have been proposed that can be plugged in to these borderscapes. The belief is that through these scenarios, the idea of the intangible border line and the tangible fencing can be subverted and allow for a porous transfer across the border of a once inhibited people. Through this, inter-community dialogue and collaboration can be promoted by spatial appropriation of the proposed spaces that will positively affect the larger political landscape and bring about a celebration of the similarities rather than the differences from across the border.

Design strategy

The experiments on the borderwall along the hostile USAMexico border, the practices along the De-Militarized Zone of Korea, the research and possibilities conducted on the Dutch border with Belgium and Germany, and the Iron Curtain Green Belt initiative have been important precedent studies for the design mediation.

References

of the selected border involved learning and unlearning the perceived history about the border and its origins and the countless conflicts between the two nations. A concise timeline narrating the important developments along the border post independence was thus developed. A brief analysis was conducted on these borderlands locating the spots of conflict, the present geo-political situation involving China and the numerous crossing points (most of which are now defunct). A preliminary research into the existing landscape and a detailed mapping of the existing monumentality along the 2240 km of International Border and 740 km of the contested border in Jammu and Kashmir that involved understanding the typologies of the built environment along the said border region was also carried out.

An Architecture towards Peace

Backgro u n d

14 Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Do the foundational myths of architecture have a malevolent history that focused on authoritarianism, expansion and world domination?

And if so, has it evolved for - the better - into an architecture of democracy, inclusion and diplomacy? Is there a reciprocal relationship between architecture and war? Can there not be one between architecture and peace? What is the agency of an architect in all of this? What are the architectural discourses on the topic of architecture and peace? Where can an architect intervene? How can an architect intervene? The motivation behind this thesis are these questions; and it begins with unravelling the connection between architecture and war and whether peace can be in its stead; understanding the capacity of architecture to affect this cause and advance the agency of the architect for finding a three-dimensional language in order to manifest a fourth dimension of good-will, benevolence and reconciliation.

An Architecture towards Peace

1.1

The Symbiotic Relationship of Architecture and Conflict exploring the connived origins of the western discipline of architecture and the anomalous and symbiotic liaison in which architecture is related to conflict and how one seems to feed and thrive on the other

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

1.1.1 Of man and conflict 17

“Conflict is inherent in society”, as Colin Priest (2011) argues in his paper, and it is better understood as a transformative process by which opposing ideas and visions are voiced and root causes of ma jor social problems, inequalities or injustices are challenged. The degree to which conflicts affect existing spaces and social orders depends on the capacity of communities to use internal resolution mechanisms to respond to the needs and expectations of the affected population, to adapt to the new social order, to absorb and recover from any type of collective impacts. If the institutionalized resolution mechanisms are not able to mitigate the crisis, conflicts become unmanageable and can turn to violence” (Piquard & Swenarton, 2011).

Are we predisposed for violence? “one of the most moving and powerful anti-war paintings in history” Guernica Pablo Picasso, 1937

An Architecture towards Peace

Biologist David Carrier - on the basis of his research on the human body – has observed ‘’distinguishing characteristics that are consistent with the idea that we are specialized, at some level, for aggressive behaviour” (Gabbatiss, 2017). Are we thus biologically engineered for aggression and violence? Or can we postulate that conflict and aggression is of a cultural making?

An example of this prevalence for violence to cascade unknowingly into the architectural community can be observed when in 1942, “to make possible the total destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, another complete city was conjured up from nothing on the opposite side of the globe” (The Architectural Forum, 1945) and the Atomic City was designed by Skidmore, Owings And Merrill.

from top to bottom: Aerial views of Hiroshima before and after the dropping of the atomic bomb The Architectural Forum, October 1945 The ‘Atomic City’ of Oak Ridge that brought the architectural firm SOM to prominence The Architectural Forum, October, 1945

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

But in 1989 when neurophysiologist David Adams and twenty other scientists from around the globe produced the ‘Seville Statement on Violence’, it declared that “it is scientifically incorrect to say that war or any other violent behaviour is genetically programmed into our human nature” (Gabbatiss, 2017). It was subsequently adopted by the UNESCO and refuted the “notion that organized human violence is biologically determined” (Suter, 2005) thus kindling hope that humanity was not naturally predisposed for brutality and could work towards a collective desire for world peace.

When Rudolf Schwarz (1945) termed the aftermath of the Colgone bombing as the “world’s greatest heap of debris”, little would have he - or the world - expected Colgone to not only survive but thrive just half a century later thus showing the capacity of humanity at its possible worst and hopeful best.

from top to bottom: Aerial view of the centre of Cologne from the Cathedral Rue des Archives/ Tallandier / Granger, 1945 Aerial view of the centre of Cologne from the Cathedral Trevor Huxham, 2016

An Architecture towards Peace

1.1.2 The hostile origins of architecture and its modern branches

There has always been a question as to whether architecture has had a malevolent origin and if so, whether it is still being replicated in modern times. A historical study of Vitruvius’s classic ‘De Architectura: The Body of Architecture’ by Indra Kagis McEwen, shows that Vitruvius’s purpose in writing the book was shaped by the imperial Roman project of world domination. “For hundreds of years architectural schools have taught the military engineer Vitruvius’s 1st century BCE treatise as a foundational classical text that marked the formation of western architecture as a discipline. McEwen argues that the birth of architecture as a clearly defined discipline appears to be co-dependent with the Roman project of world dominion” (Gupta, 2020)*. An example is the ancient town of Timgad in present day Algeria which “represents a remarkable example of a Roman military colony which was created ex nihilo (AD 100). It follows the guidelines of Roman town planning, a remarkable grid system… which is still used today... the basis of this model [being] the military encampment” (Docevski, 2015). “Most remnants of historical constructions are either relics of an ‘architecture of war’ (fortresses, city walls, watch towers), Herrschaftsarchitektur (power architecture), ruling-class architecture (palaces, castles, courts) or religious buildings. They were built to impress, subdue, enforce, intimidate and defend” (Junne, 2010)

depiction of Vitruvius (right) presenting De Architectura to Emperor Augustus Sebastian le Clerc, 1684

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

The modern branches of this architecture that revolves around domination can be clearly observed in the imperialist imposition of the occupier over the occupied during the various colonial era(s) as the colonised territories “... functioned as laboratories, spaces for bold experimentation where ideas could be tried with practically no resistance, oversight, or consequences” (Immerwahr, 2019). The Second World War was also no stranger to such episodes of similar ideologies. “Architects, town planners and landscape architects were active participants, alongside the engineers, rural planners and researchers from all disciplines, in the elaboration of the different versions of the Generalplan Ost, devised between January 1940 and May 1942 for the Germanisation of more than 200,000 square kilometres of territory that were previously Baltic, Ukrainian, Belorussian and Russian” (Cohen, 2011).

from top to bottom: Ancient Roman city built on the model of the military camp Timgad, Algeria, AD 100 George Steinmetz, 2012 Generalplan OST, The extension of Nazi Germany, 1940-1942 Wikipedia, 2011

* (Huma Gupta, Architecture of Democray, MIT+Harvard GSD, 2020) An Architecture towards Peace

During the Cold War “the Sovietization of architectural design and city planning in Eastern Europe during the Stalin years is not an exaggeration” (Crowley, 2008) as Poland, Czechoslovakia and Eastern Germany were all ‘prescribed’ particular models to follow in architecture style and city planning as much as that for East Germany, Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s 19th century neoclassicism was prescribed as the model for the future.

The late 20th and early 21st centuries are no exception to this rule. Evident in both Tibet and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, where the spread of [colonial] settlements completely changes perceptions that the population has of its environment... “the feeling of dispossession of places and landscapes is strengthened by the superimposition of an alien spatial and historical narrative, in which historical references and places of collective memory are renamed, reinterpreted or suppressed” (Piquard & Swenarton, 2011). Far right white supremacist groups such as Identity Evropa have weaponised classical architecture and “by adopting a visual language of white marble statues [have] embarked on a culture war to redefine what - and who - is ‘authentically’ European” (O’Brien, 2018) that has seen a drastic rise of xenophobia and the protection of a nativist social order. Did the principles of firmitas, utilitas and venustas carry an undercurrent of architecture that was fixated on expansion and world domination and if so, hundreds of years later, has this language finally evol ved and branched out to - of many others - an architecture of democracy, inclusion and diplomatic

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

benevolence?

Rather hauntingly in Inside the Third Reich, Albert Speer wrote, “By using special materials and by applying certain principles of statics, we should be able to build structures which even in a state of decay, after hundreds or (such were our reckonings) thousands of years would more or less resemble Roman models” (Cohen, 2011).

from left to right; top to bottom: Stalinallee, Berlin Publicity photograph Peter Koard, 1967 Approximately 50 Identity Evropa members participated in a flash demonstration at the Parthenon, Identity Evropa, 2018 A model of Adolf Hitler s plan for Berlin formulated under the direction of Albert Speer, looking north toward the Volkshalle, 1939 German Federal Archives

An Architecture towards Peace

1.1.3 The liaison between architecture and conflict/war

from left to right; top to bottom: “multiple destructions on 9/11s”, The destruction of memory, Robert Bevan, 2007 Kristallnacht, Hanover’s synagogue in flames, 09/11/1938, HAZ Hauschild Archive A demonstrator pounds away the Berlin Wall as East Berlin border guards look on, 09/11/1989 Reuters The Stari Most before it was completely destroyed on 09/11/1993 source unknown The collapse of the Twin Towers, 09/11/2001 (American date writing style) Sean Adair, Reuters, 2001

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Architecture and the built environment are among the first victims of conflict and war. It is so because during times of conflict, the easiest way to erase a people’s culture, tradition and history is to destroy the very structures that imbibe these sentiments. “[Due to the] extent to which a people’s identity is linked to architecture… such destruction not only shatters a nation’s culture but can be a deliberate attempt to eradicate the cultural memory of peoples and nations” (Bevan, 2005), thus not only serving as an easy target for destruction but also for inflicting significant damage and unravelling of the historically interwoven fabric and essence of that place. This thus becomes “the active and often systemic destruction of particular building types or architectural traditions that happens in conflicts where the erasure of memories, history and identity attached to architecture and place – enforced forgetting – is the goal itself. These buildings are attacked not because they are in the path of a military objective; to their destroyers they are the objective” (Bevan, 2005). Robert Bevan also observes a peculiarity with the date ‘9/11’ and how architecture seems to be a recipient for destruction on this date, namely the beginning of the Kristallnacht on 09/11/1938; the tumbling of the first sections of the Berlin Wall on 09/11/1989; the destruction of the Mostar bridge on 09/11/1993; and the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York on 09/11/2001 (American dating style). In an exhibition produced in Sara jevo in 1993, the city’s Association of Architects created an unprecedented neologism to describe the city’s wartime ruin: ‘‘warchitecture’’ or war carried out through and as the destruction of architecture (Herscher, 2008). But there exists another relationship between architecture and conflict/war. That of an anomalous symbiotic liaison in which one seems to feed on the other and thrive. Conflict and war have not only given birth to an architecture of imposition but have also (positively?) propagated architectural innovation and stylist movements. On the other hand, elements of architecture - in the tangible forms of walls, housing, religious edifices to name a few - have been used across the globe to separate, segregate and impose violence. The following two sub-chapters deal in detail with how this relationship has been and is developing throughout the years.

25 An Architecture towards Peace

An architecture due to conflict

Pre-World War

it has been observed that “armed conflict between nations has played a pivotal role in the development of architecture: in triggering the development of war-related building types (arsenals, barracks, housing for war workers, memorials to the fallen); in introducing to the victors the architecture and constructional techniques of the vanquished and thereby promoting the internationalization of forms in extreme cases, [preceding the time before the two world wars] in prompting the destruction of the indigenous architecture and its replacement by that of the conquerors, as largely occurred in Britain after 1066 also leading to some of the world’s grandest architectural monuments, from palaces such as Blenheim, designed by Vanbrugh to celebrate the English victory over the French at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704, to entire cities, such as Klenze’s neoclassical transformation of Munich after the defeat of Napoleon in 1815” (Piquard & Swenarton, 2011).

World War

An architecture due to conflict studies the various disciplines of architecture being directly affected and at times even newly created due to conflict and war. Necessity is the mother of invention and it feels the same could be applied to the thinking of an architecture due to conflict. From time immemorial, architecture has dipped its hands in the erection of structures built to commemorate victory - the Roman temples in Baalbek, Lebanon to the forceful construction of “Soviet monuments in the nations liberated from Nazi rule by the Red Army” (Crowley, 2008) in the 20th century.

During the early 20th century and the world wars, industrial architecture saw a drastic rise which led to the rise of probably the first architectural corporations such as the Albert Kahn Associates - which The Architectural Review (June, 1942) described as a ‘producer of production lines’ and the Austin Company in the USA (Cohen, 2011). Across the Atlantic, the office of Herbert Rimpl in Germany employed close to 700 architects and draughtsmen (Cohen, 2011). These corporations led to the construction of the largest buildings primarily for the production of implements of war. The German architect Rudolf Lodders even developed the convenient myth that the construction of factories had been a ‘refuge’ for modern architects opposed to the Nazis.

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

27 The need of ‘war-resistant’ cities witnessed the justification of various ideological projects by Le Corbusier (Ville Radieuse), Frank Lloyd Wright (Broadacre City) and Hans Schoszberger who further went on to claim the linear city “[as] the city of the future” (Cohen, 2011). Camouflage cities were designed to minimize damage from aerial warfare. Particularly spectacular was the creation of a ‘faux Paris’ to deceive the zeppelins that bombarded the French capital at night… laid out [were] a network of fake streets and squares, as well as fake railways meant to recreate Paris (Cohen, 2011). The cities of Hamburg and Moscow were heavily influenced by this and worked to achieve the same discretion.

from top to bottom: “architecture is 90% business and 10% art” The Drafting Room Albert Kahn Associates, 1942, Hedrich Blessing, Canadian Centre of Architecture Collection Chrysler Tank Arsenal, Michigan, Albert Kahn Associates, 1941 Hedrich Blessing, Chicago History Museum

An Architecture towards Peace

28 Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

29 from left to right; top to bottom: “a bomb proof city” Broadacre City, FL Wright, 1934 Skot Weidemann 1993 Max Bill, “the most successful of all the wartime projects” Channel Heights Defense Housing, California Richard Neutra, 1942 source unknown “against air warfare” Plate 17, Ville Radieuse Le Corbusier, 1935 source unknown “a team of camouflage artists at work at Fort Bel voir, Virginia”, Illustration in Modern Camouflage: The New Science of Protective Concealme, Robert P. Breckenridge, 1942

An Architecture towards Peace

War time housing - on both sides of the Atlantic - was a ma jor architectural endeavour that resulted in new typologies of housing (Cohen, 2011). Oak Ridge (by SOM) was among a number of completely new and clandestine cities being built in the USA for conceiving the idea of the atom bomb (Crowley, 2008). The Channel Heights Defense housing by Richard Neutra was termed by Max Bill as “the most successful of all the wartime projects” (Cohen, 2011). The world wars also saw the invention of demountable structures for housing projects in the form of the Dymaxion Unit and the Quonset House in the USA, the MERO system in Germany and Jean Prouve’s works in France (Cohen, 2011).

Cold War

The war had also led to the first steps towards the establishment of standards in the United States and Germany The Architects Data (Bauordnungslehre) by Ernst Neufert was conceived during war times with Max Bill terming it “a fundamental work by that well-known German theoretician, permeated with the ideas of the ‘thousand-year Reich’, but whose core would survive it” (Cohen, 2011). War would thus act as a kind of accelerator in the transformation of taste as The Architectural Review indicated as early as 1943 (Cohen, 2011). During the Cold War era, architects and designers played a crucial role in the competition to demonstrate superior modernity… Ant Farm in the USA, Superstudio and Archizoom in Italy and the Utopie group in France are the best-known champions of radical design in these years (Crowley, 2008). Soviet architecture was not unchanged by war and even though there was a public aversion to the American capitalist

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

City planning was evident during this period too where “in a version of the dispersed city illustrated in Life magazine in 1950, cybernetics theorist Norbert Weiner proposed a civil defense plan for the atomic age that separated the suburbs from the urban center with a green belt, identified as ‘lifebelts’ in the event of atomic bombings” (Crowley, 2008).

style, an ideological inversion was the strange phenomenon of the ‘American’ skyscraper aesthetics in Moscow where “a new building type, the vysotnye zdaniia (tall building) was introduced in the 1940s as an expression of the triumphalism of the late Stalin period… seven of the eight buildings planned to crown Moscow were eventually constructed and continue to dominate the Russian capital today. [This along with] the spate of television towers being built across the globe in the 1950s and 1960s were important gauges in the Cold War competition” (Crowley, 2008). from left to right; top to bottom: “the greatest American achievement in the field of demountable structures” Quonset House, Veteran’s Village, Colorado Otto Brandenberger, 1941 MSU Archives “one of Stalin’s 7 sisters”, The Building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Moscow, 1934 vladj55, 123RF “Cold War competition”, BT Tower London, 1965, BT Archive “Cold War competition”, Jested Tower Liberec, 1973 O. Mejsnar, 2011 “lifebelts around the city” Norbert Weiner, Life Magazine, 1950

An Architecture towards Peace

21st century

In the late 1950s and 1960s a number of architects around the globe… came to imagine a new scale of architecture for environments that had hitherto been overlooked or dismissed as inhospitable to mankind…. Architects such as the Metabolists in Japan… international alliances such as the Groupe d’Espace er de l’Arhitecture Mobile (GEAM)… the Archigram collective in Britain; the New Element of the Urban Environment/Novye Elementy Rasseleniia (NER) Group in Soviet Union; and other individuals including Buckminster Fuller and Frei Otto created schemes for new cities…. These new habitats sought to achieve a new density in a single multifunctional structure that was labeled as a ‘megastructure’ while a generation that had grown up in conditions of relative affluence and security, without memories of the war, made critical judgements of the Cold War order once they came of age. Opposition to the war in Vietnam and the ecological devastation caused by industrialization was sometimes coupled with a romantic and often naïve enthusiasm for ‘primitive’ or pre-modern lifestyles (Crowley, 2008).

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

This century has distinctly suffered military urbanism as a result of the “city [being] under siege” (Graham, 2010) due to the rise in global terrorism which have resulted in proactive military institutions depending on real life simulations of war like zones for training purposes. But the biggest obstacle it faces is in the form of informal settlements for which simulations don’t apply since informal sites have no particular algorithm in which it evolves. Hence there is a possibility that the cities of the future may be codependent on military intelligence and interference in its planning

strategies that might lead to a more rigid and inelastic urban fabric. “… a growing geography of co-dependence between the global security complex and the urban morphologies of the developing world which it increasingly incriminates [is visible]. Military training sites, and the real-world informal environments they replicate, provide a lens through which we can better understand the shape of the city to come” (Kripa & Mueller, 2020).

from left to right; top to bottom: “a new scale of architecture” Section of Plug-in City Archigram, 1964 Simulated shantytowns Training Complex, US Army Kripa & Mueller, 2020 “One World Terrain” 3D database city models for military use, US Army, 2020

An Architecture towards Peace

An architecture for conflict

Walls

Architecture and its disciplines in their naked form are neutral but in the wrong hands could prove to be a weapon just as any other and hence an architecture leading to conflict is observed. Radical changes of space and environment can only lead to a radical disruption of the community (Piquard & Swenarton, 2011). When the built environment is profaned to a degree that it causes the opposite of what was intended, its very origins are suspect (see Chapter 1.1.2). Though no particular thematic based on periods is evident (in comparison to an architecture due to conflict ) various examples of an architecture that has been built for conflict is observable especially over this and the last century. The wall is the simplest three-dimensional element in architecture but when something as modest can lead to segregation, the larger role of an architecture that easily carries the capacity to divide cannot be unseen. Whilst the now defunct Berlin Wall divided homes based on political reasoning, the ironically named ‘Peace walls’ of Northern Ireland were erected to prevent further sectarian riots based on religious sentiments. With the advent of capitalism, the growing social divide between the haves and the have nots have been emphasised by the ‘wall of shame’ in Lima and Rio de Janerio. Housing and the innovation of typologies of houses was a ma jor by-product of war (see previous chapter), but a ‘violence by the home’ is observed by Israeli architect and

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Violence by the home

scholar Yael Allweil when the Israeli government decided to build new housing units in Itamar – an area of contested boundaries between the Isreal and Palestine. She states that “this declaration makes a profound and explicit statement by which citizen housing is a retaliatory act in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an act of violence rather than shelter.” This only goes to show how easy it is for architecture to be manipulated to an agenda for conflict when one of the basic needs of man - in the form of shelter - is profaned and converted to an object of cruelty and injustice. This methodology is thus classified as structural violence which was defined by Paul Farmer (1996) as “...the social arrangements that put individuals and populations in harm’s way... the arrangements are structural because they are embedded in the political and economic organization of our social world; they are violent because they cause injury to people.”

from left to right; top to bottom: the 5.5m high ‘Peace Lines’ at Springmartin Road in Belfast Northern Ireland, Creative Commons, 2009 “wall of shame” Lima, Peru CEN, 2005 “violence by the home”, Kiryat Arba colonial settlements, 2017 Wisam Hashlamoun, Flash90 Efrat colonial settlements Israel, 2018 Ahmad Gharabli, AFP, 2020

An Architecture towards Peace

Planning principles

Architecture has also been laid to blame for inciting hostility and violence. The French riots of 2005 “occurred in one specific type of urban setting, without exception: the modernist Corbusier-esque high-rise neighbourhoods” (Vanstphout, 2010) which originated from the ideas of the ‘Ville Radieuse’ promoted by arguably the most famous architect of the 20th century.

from top to bottom: “Low income housing based on Corbusieresque neighbourhoods” Banlieue, Paris source unknown “playing god” Plan Voisin, Le Corbusier, 1964 source unknown

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In Syria where the existing architecture and built environment of mosques, churches and souqs exuded a sense of togetherness and mixity the colonial French town planners created segregation by blowing up the existing streets and developing new city spaces that manifested class divisions. Overtime, this resulted in a ‘differentiation by architecture’ and the Brutalist style of construction that followed was one of the reasons for the agitation in Homs, Syria which eventually led to the civil unrest movement and eventual collapse of the city (al-Sabouni, 2016).

37 from top to bottom: “Old Damascus vs New Damascus”, The French urban effect The French Mandate City: A Footprint in Damascus, Daniel Stockhammer and Nicola Wild, 2009 workers collect material to be recycled and reused for reconstruction Homs, Syria Omar Sanadik, Reuters, 2016

An Architecture towards Peace

1.2

An Architecture towards Peace understanding the present discourse of architecture and ‘peace’ and the capacity of an architect to advance its existing agency

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Even though this unnatural but fathomable liaison mentioned in the previous chapter was studied in order to understand the relationship between architecture and conflict/war, the objective for this comprehension has been to lead to other ‘instigators’ of architecture; primarily that for the polar opposite: of peace. Numerous questions can be derived and argued through this understanding but the most crucial one (related to this thesis) is if an architecture could evolve even during the most trying of times, why can it not be rendered for times of peace. Even though conflict seems inevitable (see Chapter 1.1) it would be presumptuous to say that architecture has stayed quiet in the face of strife. “…emergence of new spaces of conflict considerably altered architectural discourse as extreme conditions of war [and] militarization… seem to have produced a diversified field of thinking and action in architecture… architectural practices have shown a remarkable adequacy in addressing spaces of conflict, crisis, and disaster” (Schoonderbeek & Shoshan, 2016).

1.2.1 Existing entities for an architecture towards peace The post war recovery in the last century required the extensive presence of architecture and its disciplines since the built environment was among the worst wounded.

An Architecture towards Peace

Many movements and architects jumped into this foray to positively (or at least they hoped) exploit the situation and “ameliorate social problems” and possibly render an answer to “Existenzfragen, ‘the questions of existence’” (Crowley, 2008).

During the Cold War era, the World Peace Movement was set up in 1948 in Wroclaw, Poland, which was controlled by Moscow, established in Berlin and financed by Washington (Crowley, 2008). Intellectuals including architects from around the globe assembled to deliberate the future of the world but the program ended on a disappointing note due to its pro-Soviet stance. Nevertheless, it is argued that this event along with the ‘Exhibition of the Regained Lands’ (1948,

from left to right; top to bottom: “congress in action” Wroclaw, Poland, 1948 The City Museum of Wroclaw archives Exhibition of Regained Lands Wroclaw, Poland, 1948 The City Museum of Wroclaw archives Poster World Congress of Intellectuals in Defense of Peace, Tadeusz Trepkowski, 1948

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41 An Architecture towards Peace

non-profitable architectural practices

Wroclaw) had a significant effect on the rebuilding process in war-torn Poland (Crowley, 2008).

Architecture sans Frontieres in action Building Communities, Salvador da Bahia Brazil, 2009-10 ASF, UK

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The critical aim of this chapter is to zoom further and discover specific entities that have a fervent focus on architecture and peace. Non-profitable organisations like the Architects for Peace is an Australian based NGO begun in 2003 with an aim to prevent Australia’s participation in the Iraq War. With a motto that includes “…urban expertise with peace as our goal” they have completed projects in Uganda, South Sudan, East Timor etc. Architecture san Frontieres (1979) is another architectural non-profit entity focusing on the Global South with a goal to “enable vulnerable communities’ access to architectural services, research and educational resources in order to increase their resilience and reduce vulnerability.” With a similar name the Architects without Frontiers was founded in 1998 by Esther Charlesworth (after her visit to Mostar in 1996) and “facilitate the design and construction of health, education and community projects in many countries but primarily in the Australia and the Asia Pacific region.” A book by the same name was published by Charlesworth that emphasizes the “political and aesthetic criteria required for rebuilding after war and calamities.” Architecture for Humanity was a US-based charitable organization founded in 1999 that sought architectural solutions to humanitarian crises but was closed down in 2005 due to bankruptcy. There were two parts of the book Design Like You Give A Damn that were published

recounting architectural projects around the world (including theirs) that addressed humanitarian crisis.

from left to right: top to bottom: Design Like You Give A Damn Part I, 2006 Cameron Sinclair_ Architecture for Humanity Design Like You Give A Damn Part II, 2010 Cameron Sinclair_ Architecture for Humanity Football for Hope Center Kimisagara, Rwanda, 2009 Architecture for Humanity + Killian Doherty Architecture Without Frontiers Esther Charlesworth, 2006 Hope House Kabul, 2007 Architecture Without Frontiers

An Architecture towards Peace

WHAT WE DO ARCHITECTS OF PEACE Contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflicts affecting nations, cities and the environment Contribute and initiate discussion around urban, planning, architectural and environmental issues affecting our cities, people and the environment Condemn and denounce the promotion of war Denounce the invol vement of urban professionals in the creation of structures of repression, conflict and silence Expose and promote the discussion of political agendas which impinge on people’s rights to their countries, cities, public spaces, land and their environment

Support ethical processes of reconstruction following natural or man-made disasters and denounce unethical practices or unscrupulous profiteering Support the engagement of local colleagues in their own process of reconstruction Encourage a process of cooperation and exchange between colleagues from different nations and disciplines Advocate the importance of the role of educational institutions in promoting social responsibility in our professions Discourage our educational institutions from participating in research and development work which is connected with the production of weapons Promote respect, dialogue and friendship between cities, villages and nations motto “what we do” Architects for Peace, Australian based NGO, https://www. architectsforpeace.org/ mission-and-vision/

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“All lands in their diversity are one, and all men are neighbors and brothers”, Al-Zubaydi, preceptor of alHakam II (X century)

from left to right; top to bottom; Architecture of Peace Volume #26, 2010 Architecture of Peace: Reloaded Volume #40, 2014 Design & Peace Book Al var Aalto Foundation, 2019 “colloquium in action” Design & Peace Al var Aalto Foundation, 2019

An Architecture towards Peace

research and publications

Architecture of Peace is an international long-term research and action project based out of Amsterdam and Berlin that deals with interventions at the macro and micro scale of architectural capacity. The editions of Volume #26 Architecture for Peace and Volume #40 Architecture for Peace: Reloaded are its two primary literary publications. Design and Peace was a colloquium organized by the Alvar Aalto foundation in the summer of 2019 that brought together various designers and architectural entrepreneurs to have a collective examination on the topics of “conflicts and peace, peace in society, and spatial peace”. The Bus Ride is a bi-monthly independent magazine based out of India and published by the architecture studio of the same name that touches on the topics of the recent ongoing conflict and tension in the Indian political landscape. One of their recent publications includes a masterplan for a Garden of Unity along the India-Pakistan border.

academia and education

46 from top to bottom; left to right: Panel of discussants The Architecture of Democracy (MIT + Harvard GSD), 2020 Dossier 2019-20 Master’s in International Cooperation Sustainable Emergency Architecture, UIC, Barcelona Border Conditions, Marc Schoonderbeek, TU Delft, 2010

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‘Architecture towards Democracy’ was a joint online public discussion between the architectural departments of Harvard and MIT on the character of architecture to represent peace and democracy. In the school of ‘taught architecture’, Political Architecture: Critical Sustainability is a master’s programme in the Royal Danish Academy, Copenhagen that deals with the “architecture’s role in enforcing, implementing and transforming a particular societal order... what architecture does and can do in regions on the planet where critical attention toward matters of sustainability, resilience and development are more urgent than elsewhere”1. The master’s degree in International Cooperation: Sustainable Emergency Architecture offered by the UIC School of Architecture, Barcelona “prepares architects, urban planners and other professionals to develop and rebuild communities affected by the ever-growing impact of climate change, military conflicts, rapid urbanization and economic crises in both

developed and developing countries.”2 Borders & Territories is a masters programme at TU Delft that “probes the agency of architecture through its spatial bordering practices in emerging territories. By studying these conditions, architects will gain insight into how borders are produced, controlled, coded and maintained within territorial entities, and how spatial sets of (cross-border) relationships thus also produce territories. Borders & Territories cultivates these architectural edge conditions with design experiments that challenge theoretical concepts, design procedures as well as representational techniques.”3 “…architects get blamed for all sorts of problems in their own countries and cultures. Urban social unrest? Blame the architect. Segregation? Blame the architect. A disadvantaged part of the population? Blame the architect… [but] the good news is that architecture seems to matter…if architecture can have a negative impact, couldn’t the opposite be an option too?” (Arjen Oosterman, 2010). from top to bottom: “Architecture between conflicts”, post graduate project, Katharina Manecke, 2017

1 https://royaldanishacademy.com/programme/political-architecture-criticalsustainability/about-programme 2 https://www.uic.es/en/estudis-uic/architecture/university-masters-degreeinternational-cooperation-sustainable-emergency 3 https://www.tudelft.nl/onderwijs/opleidingen/masters/aubs/msc-architectureurbanism-and-building-sciences/master-tracks/architecture/programme/studios/ borders-territories

“An Architecture of Diplomacy”, post graduate project, Camille Filbien, 2018 Master’s in Political Architecture: Critical Sustainability, Royal Danish Academy, Denmark

An Architecture towards Peace

1.2.2 The agency of the architect During WWII, architects and historians were enlisted by the USA to systematically list the objects not to target for aerial bombardment which caused the preservation of churches and palaces… but resulted in a “detriment to the urban fabric” (Cohen, 2011). Hitler’s architect Albert Speer justified his architectural action of the camps at Auschwitz claiming an ‘obsessive fixation on production’ had ‘blurred all considerations and feelings of humanity’ (Cohen, 2011). The French riots of 2005 have been exclusively blamed on the modernist ideology of the ‘Ville Radieuse’ (see Chapter 1.1.3). If architects and/or their built environments have the capacity to cultivate violence and discord, can it not be wielded to harvest peace too?

The capacity of an architect is certainly not enough to attain peace - positive or otherwise - but at the same time architecture enjoys a certain privilege over other forms of representation. The privilege of being able to recast space, mould material and create a realm. The use of this privilege is the agency of the architect in a world at conflict. Because it could be through this realm that open dialogue is encouraged, tenets are exchanged, harmonious values are advocated and good-will is endorsed. “Architects as pathologists have the tools to diagnose the fractured urban condition, analysing and prescribing remedies for dysfunctional and often still politically contested cities” (Charlesworth, 2006) who further developed ‘archetypes’ as roles that an architect could or should adopt in places of conflict. Can a progressive agency of socially responsible architecture finally prove Margaret Crawford (1991) wrong when she claimed that “both the restricted practices and discourse of the profession have reduced the scope of architecture to two equally unpromising polarities: compromised practice or esoteric philosophies of inaction”. Is it possible that converting the esoteric to an exoteric ideology that can be pragmatically practiced, guide the architectural community to participate in the process of peace-building? Through the questions raised in this research and upon further study, the aim of this thesis is to understand the true

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extents of the capacity of the architect in a world at conflict and how architecture can positively affect it. Because it is only through questions that answers can be found; and only through answers, solutions be.

from top to bottom: Albert Speer at Nuremberg Trials, 1945 Harry S. Truman Library and Museum map of Arezzo indicating which buildings not to bomb, Report of the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas, 1946

An Architecture towards Peace

1.3 50

Architecture in Sites of Conflict A conversation with Huma Gupta Neubauer Junior Research Fellow at Brandeis University Ph.D., History, Theory & Criticism of Architecture, MIT Ground work as an architectural historian in Baghdad, Damascus and Kabul

The conversation was held via a Zoom call on 05th February 2021 Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Huma Gupta: What do YOU mean by conflict? How are YOU defining it? Jose Sibi: For me, conflict in simple terms would be disharmony and disharmony in a way that it entails man to... in simple terms... physical aggression that would escalate into a larger state of affairs... ranging from spatial violence to a situation of war. HG: This is what I’m seeing as being one

of the central questions that you have to figure out for yourself. Because, in the world of people who are actually working on some sort of reconciliation or social justice projects in post-war context or non-war context, the common phrase like it’s almost a cliche at this point, it’s

important to remember that true peace is not the absence of conflict. It’s the presence of justice. JS: Would you like to elaborate a bit more on that?

HG: When we talk about structural violence, when you had some examples of Israel and Palestine, for instance, right? You could say, oh, well, a year went by, and there were no suicide bombings, and there was no out and out conflict. But that does not mean that what is happening there is an absence of violence, there’s a lot of structural violence. And in the United States, we’re not at war right now. Right? Technically, everything is fine, we’re in a situation of peace. But as you know, very well,

there’s so much structural violence in this country that happens on very small scale, or everyday scales, that is just a part of the way in which our society has evolved. JS: So in a way conflict is not just related or concentrated in a particular region that is wholly at war? HG: You know, there’s a whole group of people who are obsessed with this idea of conflict cities, and they love to study places like, you know, the West Bank, or you love to study Dublin. And you know, because it’s like this, the sensational topic, but you don’t have to go to Kabul or Damascus to understand conflict, you know, it’s all around. Structural violence is all around us. It’s embedded in our normal, everyday reality, it’s in your neighborhood where you are right now.

An Architecture towards Peace

JS: Would you say that conflict is in many ways a doubleedged sword? HG: Again, I think conflicts can also be a positive thing, right? There is a lot of conflict and confrontation and people trying to unlearn their own histories. In people trying to unlearn the terrible legacy of caste and class, race, and gender and all of these things that requires violent confrontation with your own self, with your own family with your own genealogy. That is a good conflict to have. We are the very vessels for a fight. We’re not looking for peace, we’re

looking for productive conflict that is going to result in something slightly better than what we had before. JS: After your groundwork in these places of conflict and places that have suffered generational effects of violence, do you believe that the human race is pre-disposed to violence then?

HG: This is not really like the genetic argument of whether we’re predisposed to violence. But, what about

intergenerational trauma, that does have an effect. If you’re traumatized, if you grew up in awful situations, whether it’s in the household or in your country or you’ve experienced a war, that

trauma carries forward on to other generations and does, as we’re learning with epigenetics, it does get encoded into your actual genetics. Like, there is some evidence of this trauma being encoded into the victim. So what does it mean, when you may not have experienced violence today, because we are somehow at peace, but your grandparents or your parents experienced that violence? JS: In your journeys to these zones of post-war namely, Baghdad, Damascus and Kabul, did you feel that architecture had a role in augmenting the existing crisis? HG: Augmenting yes. I specialized in the history of Iraq in the 20th century, the British mandatory period, the monarchy period, and in the post revolutionary period, and in each period, architecture is being deployed to make certain claims. During the British mandatory period, the British government used architecture not just in Iraq, but throughout the Persian

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Gulf, and everywhere they were, even in India, to assert their civilizational supremacy. In the post revolutionary regime, a socialist kind of government comes in and deposes the monarchy and they themselves have gone on a huge building spree, where they continued a lot of the building projects of the monarchy and even low income housing developments, etc. But it’s very interesting because at

every stage, architecture is patronized and used to make a claim of legitimacy for the ruling power whoever they might be. My work in Afghanistan was about holding private development contractors accountable, and there’s a battle between Pakistan, India, and China going on in terms of access and influence. The Indian government sponsored the building of a new parliament. It’s

about power games, you know, and there’s nothing benevolent about it. JS: What is your understanding of the role of an architect with relation to this topic?

HG: When the Sri Lankan war was declared over, you know, when, the Iraq war was declared a victory, right? Who’s victory was it? Where was the peace? These are just the questions, I’m putting it out there to just push you to put that bit more in your design, in your thinking, because I think that, from my perspective, the architect can be very effective when targeting a very precise and small scale. You gave some examples, of borderscapes, and design interventions, but even then in those examples, the question was, who is patronizing those transformations? Who is funding that? Who

I absolutely believe that architects have agency at certain scales, and in certain ways they do, and they can make what I consider to be positive interventions in the world. But in order to do that, we have to really free and unlearn some of the assumptions we have about what even constitutes a positive intervention, what constitutes something that helps someone…. but is building it? Why is it being built?

one of the powers that the architect has, is what you were saying, that power over representation, the right to make a claim through representation.

An Architecture towards Peace

JS: So are you saying that while there could be an architecture that could lead to peace between opposing factions, there might be instances where it might do more bad than good?

HG: When I used to live in Denmark, there was this really famous muralist Shepard Fairey, and the city of Copenhagen had commissioned him to do a series of murals around the city. One of the sites that the city had selected was outside of this house that had been occupied by young squatters, you know, who were squatting there. The property was owned by a church and so the church, essentially got the rights to get the police to come in there and really violently, push out all these people who have been living there and creating art there, etc. Fairey was invited right after that and didn’t really know any of this, didn’t really understand any of it. But he comes in and decides to do a mural on the wall of this building. That’s a really, really famous building. And he does like a mural with doves, white does like the symbol of peace, as we know, within hours, the artists who had previously lived in this commune came out and completely desecrated his mural. And below it, did a mural representing the violent confrontation between the police and their violent eviction and harassment of the people there. And also, by the way, later on, he was jumped by a two guys in a parking lot. He wasn’t hurt badly, but they were basically like, “Hey, you

you don’t know what our life is, you don’t know what our city is, you don’t know what our politics are. And you are here commissioned by the American artist,

city to basically erase the legacy of what has happened, this beautiful space that we had built, and you

just come in and you declare peace, you know, like get out of here.”* This was the case of a world renowned artist making an intervention that was really poorly thought out. Born out of good intentions yes, but bad practical imposition, purely, because the context was not thought about. JS: Do you feel that architecture could be one of the tools that could be employed to prevent violence? Or is it too naive to be asking that question? HG: I think that’s like, that’s a question for philosophy. And it’s a really hard question for you to address through architecture. It’s

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when we should have a little bit

of humility on knowing what we know, what we don’t, and cannot know and cannot understand fully and stepping back from that. People built moats so that the enemy couldn’t reach the castle. You know, that’s a violence prevention device. There’s a very technical level at which violence prevention is done. An example would be Haussmann’s cutting of boulevards in Paris, after the French Revolution. That was a positive intervention for some people, right while for others it wasn’t. In MIT and Harvard, there’s suddenly been a political awakening and an understanding that the architect is one figure in a massive group of people who are pushing for some sort of transformational change and that requires the architect to operate in multiple arenas and not just think about design. Design

is one arena and should be acknowledged at the intersection of other arenas. JS: Any parting thoughts?

HG: With every intervention something is being erased; something is being built and by occupying the moral, economic and ethical ambiguities of being an architect and intervening in these contexts, you’re always

going to be weighing what you can do and what you should. When you draw an arbitrary line, it will always exclude some people who will be disproportionately affected. It

is a difficult proposition but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t draw your line.

*”Shepard Fairey beaten up after spat over controversial Danish mural” https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/aug/12/shepard-fairey-beaten-danish-mural An Architecture towards Peace

FRAMEWORK

56 Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

The physical realization for ‘An Architecture towards Peace’ can be broadly employed in three situations: 1. In post-conflict places 2. In places of ongoing conflict 3. In places of potential volatility Architectural literature and on-site programs are readily available in post-conflict zones, but is significantly lacking in the zones of ongoing conflict and potential conflict. Hence, with an agenda of prevention as the basis of this design proposal, this thesis has been structured in a way that it depends on post-conflict for research but design intervention in a context of potential volatility. The principles of social justice, positive peace and empathetic architecture have to be interwoven to realize an architecture that can exude a feeling of disavowing hateful warmongering; of reconciliation; of a better tomorrow. This tangible experiment to create an intangibility that may lead to positive peace can be carried out across various potential settings. But with the design focus on the India-Pakistan border, the intent of this thesis has been narrowed down to deliberate on the topic of Borderlands as a possible locus for architectural intervention.

An Architecture towards Peace

2.1 58

Borderlands comprehending the meaning of borders, its various typologies around the world and how it is being emphasized at some places while dissolved at others

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2.1.1 The border – an invention? 59

[border] Mariam-Webster: “an outer part or edge” Oxford: “a line separating two countries, administrative divisions, or other areas” Cambridge: “a line that has been agreed to divide one country from another” But what exactly does a border constitute. We fly over it, we drive through it, we walk/run/swim across it. But we rarely spend time on it. It is not that we are obliged to. But it does seem threateningly disconcerting whenever someone mentions the almost dreaded term border. For most of the borders around the world, what is on either side of it is geographically, socially and ethnographically the same yet there seems to be a social ‘misconstruct’ that the other side is not. Lebbeus Woods explains this tendency to imagine these constructs when he says, “The existence of such spaces is conceptual, because the lines of the box, the ‘borders’ of the nations, drawn between the coordinate points only mentally are physical only on maps. Nevertheless, we regard them as real, even when we traverse the actual landscape they circumscribe. When it comes to space, the mental is as potent as the physical. What is the physical, after all, but sensations impacting the neural nets of our brains? Where do the

An Architecture towards Peace

60 from top to bottom: Political Equator, Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman, 2020 Politically volatile divides/ borders along the Political Equator, illustration by author

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USA MEXICO

FORTRESS ISRA EUROPE PALES

AEL PAKISTAN STINE INDIA

N.KOREA S.KOREA

An Architecture towards Peace

sensations come from? How do we know that what we see is not an artifice of projections onto the brain? Ultimately, we do not. Space, in the end, is what we think it is” (Woods, 2009) Is thus, the border really a finality? “If we accept the idea that a border is a construct, a social design, which is common knowledge now in border studies, it means that there is also room to redesign a border and hence there is a possibility to tell another, more liberating narrative of the same border, one that goes beyond the existing narrative of the border being the end of a national planning zone” (van Houtum & Eker, 2013).

Has the border been too politically charged that these spaces are left undesirable for intervention and involvement? By being a border region, has it already become a geography of conflict or is it vice-versa? If there have been numerous studies about borderlands and its potential capacities, why is it that so little has been done to utilize this capacity? “Can border regions be the laboratories to re-imagine citizenship beyond the nation-state? Can a cross-border public and awareness be mobilized around shared interest between these two cities?” (Cruz, 2017). The Estudio lab of Teddy Cruz and Fonna Forman have gone one step ahead to geographically locate these places that form a corridor of global conflict “When we extend a line from the Tijuana-San Diego border across a world map, we discover a corridor of a global conflict that links some of the world’s most contested border zones. Regions most affected by poverty, violence, accelerating climate vulnerability, and migration are situated between the Political Equator and the climatic equator.” (2020)

2.1.2 The ills of borders/walls “Walls between nations are the most eloquent material expression of the human inability to coexist and negotiate” -Anonymous In his intriguing book Borderwall as Architecture, Ronald Rael notes, “One of the most devastating consequences of the borderwall is the division of communities, cities, neighbourhoods and families resulting in the erosion of social infrastructure.” Why is then there a predisposition that the

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only infrastructure worthy of the border is the inevitable wall or fencing? For centuries borders have been demarcated on paper maps and walls have been erected on earth lands. Some of those borders and walls made sense. It was to keep the barbarians out. To protect the citizens, the lands and the resources. But in an age and time when the barbarians no longer exist (some may beg to differ), for whom and against what are we raising the borders and walls of today? Yes, illegal immigration, human trafficking, drug smuggling are all problems that permeate through these said borders. But are the walls we erect truly an answer to these social and political issues? In fact, prior to the fence [at the USA-Mexico border], annual border crossing deaths totalled a few dozen. Now, they’re at hundreds each year. Since construction on the border fence started two decades ago, nearly 7,000 people have died trying to cross the border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Guerrero, 2016).

“Walls won’t work because the border has long been a place of connectivity and collaboration. The border zone is a permeable membrane connecting two countries, where communities on both sides have strong senses of mutual dependence and attachment to territory. The inhabitants of this “in-between” place… thrive on cross-border support and cooperation, which have flourished (in diverse forms) over many centuries” (Dear, 2013). More disturbing is the re-imagination of the border as a site for passive-aggressive political tactics through a mode of construction that swallows the border region as well as encroaching into the lands of the ‘Other’. This is predominantly observable in situations where one of the cities/ states/ nations/ countries is politically more capable than the other. The most predominant example of this is the ‘structural violence’ practiced in Israel across and over the border territory to propagate the Zionist nation building program (Allweil, 2017) (see Chapter 1.1.3).

An Architecture towards Peace

2.1.3 Hostile borders around the world

USA - MEXICO International Border 1952 3,145 km of border Cross border travel allowed Illegal immigration Smuggling

‘PEACE’ WALLS (NORTHERN IRELAND) Local Border 1969 34 km of total length Religious segregation Political differences

LIMA (PERU) Local Border 1985 10 km_concrete wall Social | Economic exclusion

MOROCCO - WESTERN SAHARA International Border 1980s 2700 km_sand wall (berm) Political differences

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RIO DE JANEIRO (BRAZIL) Local Border 2009 14 km_concrete wall Social | Economic segregation

CUETA | ME Internation 1987 2240 km_m Illegal imm Smuggling

PALESTINE - ISRAEL International Border 1947 708 km_concrete wall Political differences Religious differences

BERLIN WALL (GERMANY) Local Border 1961 - 1989 155 km of total length Political differences

DMZ (NORTH-SOUTH KOREA) International Border 1953 250km Political differences

INDIA - PAKISTAN International Border 1988 2240 km_metal fencing Political differences

CYPRUS Local Border 1974 180 km_internal divide Religious differences

INDIA - BANGLADESH International Border 1988 3141 km_metal fencing Illegal Immigration Smuggling

ELILLA (MOROCCO | SPAIN) nal Border

metal fencing migration

An Architecture towards Peace

GREECE - TURKEY International Border 2012 40 km_metal fencing Political differences Illegal immigration

2.1.3 Hostile borders around the world “6 out of 10 people worldwide live in a country that has built border walls” (Benedicto, Akkerman & Brunet, 2020). The illustrations on the preceding and following pages represent the capacity of these walls to divide based on political stances, religious sentiments, social and economic conditions. Materials ranging from the manufactured such as concrete and steel to the very natural sand - that is present along the 2700 km of the contested border Morocco shares with Western Africa - have been utilised to separate and segregate.

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lo fC

hi na *

walls constructed by countries in bold text *greyed out walls only for reference

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2.1.3 Hostile borders around the world

Wall of Shame/ Lima (Peru) 1985

Wall of Shame/ Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 2009

Morocco / Western Sahara 1987

Melilla (Spain) / Morocco 2006

Nicosia / Cyprus 1974

USA / Mexico 2006

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Greece / Turkey 2012

Israel / Palestine 2002

India / Pakistan 1988

India / Bangladesh 1989

North Korea / South Korea 1977

Peace Walls / Northern Ireland 1969

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2.1.4 A border of possibilities The border has thus either become a space that is often neglected by the respective powers that be or a region witness to a building spree that treads on perversion and modern imperialism. Part of the blame has to be pointed towards the thinking of the border as an edge space. An edge space that is either overlooked or one that is exploited. But what if instead of endorsing this preset notion of the border as just an extension we start to acknowledge it as a spatial zone in itself. “…which is flexible, multi-dimensional and layered” (Bouvy, 2002; Cupers & Miessen, 2002, as cited in Schoonderbeek, 2015). Rather than being a simple dividing line, the border constitutes a spatial zone that can turn out to be of territorial proportions. This type of border is no longer a fixed boundary, but a space of differentiation that consists of a multiplicity of various limits: the border also constitutes a territorial space (Rose, 2005, as cited in Schoonderbeek, 2015).

Experts have gone so far ahead so as to term these regions as ‘thirdscapes’, ‘thirdspaces’ and ‘thirdnations’ (Grichting, 2009 & Dear, 2013). Thus, imbibing a quality to the identity of border regions. The essence of the border can be understood from two primary realities. One where the border divides similarities. The other where the border separates differences. The ideology of the intervention then should respect them both depending on the context of the setting. If a homogeneous approach is practiced or one is given precedence over the other, it would only result in inverting the desired effect and end up emphasizing the border all the more. It is also important to stress that the idea of debordering does not mean to naively cancel all borders and tear down the fences and walls. The dangers to this will only result in a more perilous situation and a re-dependence of the walls that once were. “Open the borders is an idealistic acclamation when cosmopolitan ideas are transferred in a political reality in unmeditated way” (Svetlic, 2016). If Heidegger perceived space as “something that has been made room for, something that is cleared and free, namely within a boundary” he declared the boundary (read here as border) as not an ending in space but rather its beginning. Heidegger’s argument is that presence is considered to be originating from the boundary (Schoonderbeek, 2015). And it

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is within this dimension that Wood describes the free space… a space where the norms and conventions of living cannot be applied. A ‘free space’ is a countermove, taking back that which belongs to no one and is thus without function. A free space is space awaiting alternative inscription, intervention and definition. It takes on a pregnant quality and holds a promise (Hermans, 2010). The transposition of this notion of the free space onto the notion of borders helps in providing a layer of clarity in understanding how the border can in fact be debordered.

“The border is not the euphemism for the selfishness, exclusion, proto-fascism, Eurocentrism, xenophobia etc. It is the only phenomenon that enables the cultivation of the relationship between (individual and collective) subjects. It is live and autonomous phenomena that reconcile the finitude and the infinity of “something”: it is the place where “something” spontaneously overcomes the “other” and so on. The border is not the negation of cosmopolitan ideas, on contrary; it is a privileged place which can serve human beings” (Svetlic, 2016).

Human ‘canonball’ David Smith Sr., “One flew over the Void”, Javier Tellez, 2005 San Diego - Tijuana border

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2.2

Reference Projects

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As a continuity from the previous sub-chapter (a border of possibilities), this chapter explores projects ranging from the minute to the meta along borderlands that enable a diverse thinking which would in turn avoid a narrow comprehension of the design possibilities. The US-Mexico border and the Korean DMZ were the closest that came to in similarity to the India-Pakistan border in terms of volatile history and present tension. The studies around the Dutch border with Belgium and Germany are a rich source for possible scenarios between nations. The European Green Belt Initiative and the Terai Arc Landscape prove that cross country ecological systems are very much possible and can be invigorated in similar landscapes of conflict around the globe.

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2.2.1 Borderwall as architecture

A manifesto for the US-Mexico Border

“Borderwall as architecture is... a timely re-examination of what the 650 miles of physical barrier that divides the United States of America from the United Mexican States is, and could be. It is both a protest against the wall and a projection about its future. Through a series of propositions suggesting that the nearly seven hundred miles of wall is an opportunity for economic and social development along the border that encourages its conceptual and physical dismantling, the book takes readers on a journey along a wall that cuts through a “third nation” — the Divided States of America. On the way the transformative effects of the wall on people, animals, and the natural and built landscape are exposed and interrogated through the story of people who, on both sides of the border, transform the wall, challenging its existence in remarkably creative ways. Coupled with these real-life accounts are counterproposals for the wall, created by Rael’s studio, that reimagine, hyperbolize, or question the wall and its construction, cost, performance, and meaning. Rael proposes that despite the intended use of the wall, which is to keep people out and away, the wall is instead an attractor, engaging both sides in a common dialogue.”

Ronald Rael

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75 from top to bottom: “a wildlife wall would allow animals to use the wildlife reserves along the USMexico border” Ronald Rael, 2017 “a gate opens to allow children to play baseball in the Field of Dreams” Ronald Rael, 2017 “the teeter totter wall” New Mexico, US-Mexico border Rael San Fratello, 2019

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76 from top to bottom: “a fog capturing infrastructure transforms the borderwll into a cleanwater delivery system” Ronald Rael, 2017 “Aerial view of proposed wastewater treatment plan serving Calexico, California and Mexicali, Baja California” Ronald Rael, 2017 “Solar panels connect, rather than divide, electrical grids across the border” Ronald Rael, 2017

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77 The proposals by Ronald Rael even though radical enables one to look at the border through a new vivid lens. Instead of viewing it as blockade/barrier/hurdle, the experiments carried out by his studio permits one to consider the border wall as a source of multiple prospects. Multiple prospects through which a site of trauma to is converted to a creative space for collective expression. While some proposals make a complete mockery of the wall, others respect its presence; where a metabolism of activities is prescribed for the ‘trauma’ of the past and present. Rael does not explicitly suggest that the wall be taken down but rather how a workaround can be achieved that would enable the local residents and communities to live in a system of collaboration and cohesive reciprocity.

from top to bottom: “the wall is transforemd into a bookshelf through which knowledge and transformation can be shared” Ronald Rael, 2017 “the proposed Ambos Nogales Binatioal Library”, Ronald Rael, 2017

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2.2.2 Borderland

Atlas, essays and design History and future of the border landscape

“Borderland is about the history and future of the zone straddling the Dutch border with Germany and Belgium. Although the internal borders in the European Union were opened more than twenty years ago, there is still no comprehensive and coordinated spatial vision for the borderland and the border. The book is an atlas, a design study and essay collection combined. It contains provocative and inspiring ideas and design concepts to enhance borderland policies and cross-border collaborations. In some places, the border is dissolved, while in other places it is emphasized in an almost theatrical manner. Landscape architects along with political geographers have been joined with artists, designers, scientists and policy makers in the study of this Dutch border landscape.”

Henk van Houtum Mark Eker and others

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79 from top to bottom: “from a placid pond to a briny recreation and experimentation area” of Braakman, Borderland, 2013 “agriculture would be reduced and a wet forest will be developed... the border will [thus] dissolve” of Creek Swamp, Borderland, 2013 “the sluis island hub” of creeks and small fortified towns, Borderland, 2013

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80 from top to bottom: “a winding and open recreational line within the dense landscape” of Hulst Valley Borderland, 2013 “on-sea development along the border” of Kloosterzande, Borderland, 2013 “wellness and amusement centers”, of Nijmegen-Cleves, Borderland, 2013

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81 The division of the scenarios in this study focuses on three different modus operandi: autonomous, community and longing i.e. illustrating what the scenarios could be if existing national policies are allowed to remain (autonomous); when the concerned regions themselves decide what is good for them (community); and respecting existing differences by focusing on the specific aspects of the border landscape (longing), have facilitated a three-pronged strategy in the selected sites of intervention. The sites include borderlands through creeks, swamps, forests, islands and the seaside thus projecting the various possibilities by deploying the three different methods. The studies and probable scenarios in this academic project have enabled the author to imagine spaces of solidarity and synergy between border nations.

from top to bottom: “community scenario” Borderland, 2013 “longing scenario” Borderland, 2013

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2.2.4 DMZ Nature Reserve

An acccidental wildlife paradise

“We call the region an accidental paradise,” says Seung-ho Lee, president of the DMZ Forum, a group that campaigns to protect the area’s ecological and cultural heritage. “Scientists are amazed by this reclamation by nature, regenerated by itself. So many scientists really want to research what happened for the last more than six decades. In that regard, it is a really unprecedented area.” The DMZ is home to more than 5,000 species, 106 of which have protected status, the South Korean Ministry of Environment reports. White-naped cranes and black-faced spoonbills are among the rarer species to seek refuge there, among the minefields and abandoned towns. It may seem an unlikely refuge, but it’s not the only former battlefield where nature has made a remarkable recovery. When people are forced out of conflict zones or disputed territory, “wildlife often makes a comeback,” says Thor Hanson, an American biologist and author who has studied the environmental impacts of war. “You have these areas of high biodiversity that are rarely visited by people, and that is an interesting byproduct of conflict.” DMZs and military training areas, where people cannot farm, build, or extract natural resources, may “inadvertently end up protecting or preserving examples of habitat that may have become quite scarce, just due to population growth,” he says. source: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/25/world/wildlife-demilitarized-zonesintl-c2e/index.html

the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea, Jeong Seung-IK, 2019

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83 The accidental forests and green habitats created due to the restriction of human entry into the DMZ and the reclamation of these spaces by the local wildlife show the capacity of green ecosystems to quickly encroach lands regardless of their conflicted/contested history. Due to the endless possibilities of what nature can do, availing its resources in places of hostility is deemed to be a good strategy as has been inadvertently but positively proved in the DMZ. This scenario in particular has enabled the author to look to nature and wildlife as a device that could be employed along borderlands without any adverse effects on the local populace or the larger geo-political situation. Allowing a transfer of the local flora and fauna would thus be the embryonic steps to a more permeable border in the future.

from top to bottom: Stairs leading through the DMZ botanical garden, a branch of the Korea National Arboretum affiliated with Korea Forest Service, Claire Harbage/NPR2013, 2019 The border area, closed to civilian access for nearly 70 years and fortified with fences and land mines, has become a sanctuary for wildlife, Min Joo Kim, The Washington Post, 2019

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2.2.5 European Green Belt

Along the former Iron Curtain

“In December 1989, just one month after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) and other environmentalists signed the Green Belt Resolution of Hof in order to push lawmakers to create the so-called Green Belt, an environmental protection area along the former inner German border... the ultimate aim was to create an ecological zone of protection that would stretch along the former Iron Curtain in Europe and into Scandinavia. On a symbolic level the Green Belt was to unite the formerly divided land and its inhabitants. Stretching along 8.500 km through 22 European countries from the Barents Sea to the Black Sea and integrating 3272 conservation areas within a 25 km zone on either side, the European Green Belt is a unique example of cross-border cooperation and conservation. In 2003, when the idea of the European Green Belt was officially discussed for the first time, Mikhail Gorbachev adopted its patronage. Geographically it is divided into three sections: The FinnishRussian and the Norwegian-Russian borders in the North, the Central European border zones, and the diverse landscapes of the Green Belt in Southern Europe.”

Map of the European Green Belt, Creative Commons, 2011

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Sonja Weinbuch

85 The Iron Curtain Green Belt initiative clearly proves that a product of war and conflict can be converted to a means of reconciliation and peace between multiple border nations and that the best source for this are the elements of the local flora, fauna and the natural environment. Even though highly ambitious, the initiative is spread across multiple countries and could be an enabler for increased dialogue and co-operation among countries with reserved diplomatic relations. The Green Belt has served as a very suitable case study in the context of natural intervention across national borders. It proves that linear ecological corridors passing along and across borders across diverse landscapes is very much possible not just for political reasoning but also to subsequently protect and enhance the local valuable habitats.

from top to bottom: Green band in a monotonous agricultural landscape, southern Harzvorland, Mackenrode, Germany, Klaus Leidorf, year unknown The art installation “Meeting” (German: Begegnung) was created in 2010 and was placed next to the bike path along the Green Belt, Andreas Lippold, 2014

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2.3 An understanding and a provocation:

of Monumentality on Borderscapes

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The title in itself shows how distinct and dichotomous the concept of monumentality and borderscapes are to one another. The aim is hence to understand the topic of monumentality and its past and present perceptions. Of its journey through the annals of time and its ir/relevance today. The premise is a provocation in understanding whether monumentality along borderscapes can work. In simple terminology, will vertical assemblies have the capacity to transform the perception of these horizontal no-man lands? The intent is not to create a manifesto of a new ideology but rather to understand what monumentality means today and whether it could prove to be an able ally or become a terrible tool in the quest for peace along and across border regions.

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2.3.1 Man’s affection to monumentality and memory “Men die, the buildings go on” -Lewis Mumford, The Death of the Monument, 1937 There is no era in human history that has remained averse to the infatuation for building. From time immemorial, man has craved to be remembered. He has come to the conclusion that even though his mortal remains may return to dust, what he may build will survive the ravages of time. His propensity to erect can be found in myth from the biblical Tower of Babylon to the very real but still mysterious Stonehenge to the monoliths every city is proliferated with nowadays. He has seen his aspirations and desperations manifest in the raising and the razing of edifices.

Leon Battista Alberti in ‘De re aedificatoria’ (On the Art of Building) proclaimed how monumentum has been “monuments of the things we find worthy to be transmitted for eternity to those who come after us... erected for preserving the memory of great events.” Alberti regarded the erection of edifices as the paradigm of human creativity and of that divine power of invention innate in human beings (Choay, 1984). Why are we so stricken by that we erect? Maybe the argument by Stanley Abercrombie in ‘Architecture as Art’ could enlighten us when he said “Shapes arrest our attention, invite our curiosity, thrill us or repel us in the greatest possible variety of ways… with or without explanation, the power of shapes is indisputable.” Vincent Scully went on to add “architecture is a conversation between generations.” And in ‘Why Architecture Matters’, Paul Goldberger stated “the buildings we live with surround us with a combination of stimulus and ease, of vibrancy and serenity, and their greatest gifts are conferred quietly, without our even knowing.” From ancient times the monoliths, pyramids, ziggurats, and obelisks have stood for something. They have been materialized to convey varying thoughts, messages and opinions from the builder to the beholder. Monuments are slaves to memory. They serve as a conduit for remembrance hired from the past to be projected onto the future – an object for temporal observation. Its infiltration is visible even

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in popular contemporary culture. The monolith in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (originally Arthur C. Clark’s novels) is seen to travel across time and transcend space and memory.

The Monolith, 2001: A Space Odyssey, artwork by Arik Roper, 2018

2.3.2 Monumentality during the isms and monumentality today

The early 20th century witnessed an affliction towards monumentality when Lewis Mumford wrote ‘The Death of the Monument’ and declared, “the notion of material survival by means of the monument no longer represents the deeper impulses of our civilization.” His distaste was not to the art of building per se but rather the static nature of monuments; of how “instead of being oriented toward death and fixity, we are oriented toward life and change” (Mumford, 1937). By the late 20th century, the term counter-monument was coined by James E. Young when he observed the growing apathy towards the rapidly increasing monumentality in an ever-repentant Germany. His perception was of the number of German artists who “contemptuously reject the traditional forms and reasons for public memorial art… [and] instead of searing memory into public consciousness, they fear conventional memorials seal memory off from awareness altogether.” (Young, 1992) (see insert of Harburg Monument against Fascism, next page)* Sandwiched between these two assertions, Sigfried Giedion produced his essay ‘The Need for a New Monumentality’ and termed the period he belonged to as an era of pseudomonumentality. Here - he claimed of his time - seemed to be a tension between the ornamentation of the previous century and the abstraction of the present. In the near-Sisyphean

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task of trying to understand monumentality – what it is, what it has been and what it could be, he stated “Monumentality derives from the eternal need of the people to own symbols which reveal their inner life, their actions and their social conceptions… This demand for monumentality cannot be suppressed. It tries to find an outlet at all costs” (Giedion, 1944) Providing support to the hypothesis that monuments and monumentality still meant something, Moshe Safdie affirmed, “[monumentality gives] the city perceptible order, a sense of location for the people within it, a sense of structure and a much-needed hierarchy.” He recognizes monumentality as the art of providing an identity to the city bestowed by the city builders and further goes on to state, “Since monumentality deals with dream, memory, and hence symbol, it is the most profound aspect of architecture as the formal and visual expression of culture.” (Safdie, 1984)

It can be argued that even though Mumford and Young were on one end of the spectrum with Giedion and Safdie on the other about their sentiments towards monumentality, they all concurred on one thing: the need for monumentality to have a purpose far beyond the aesthetic. The need for it to have a function that could imbue an acknowledgement of the past, an understanding of the present and a hope for the future. Mumford couldn’t have endorsed this better when he used the example of a museum as a monument and exclaimed, “The museum gives us a means of coping with the past, of having intercourse with other periods and other modes of

Cenotaph for Newton, Etienne-Louis Boullée, 1784

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from top to bottom: Harburg Monument against Fascism*, Esther & Jochen Gerz, 1986 The final ceremonial lowering was held on November 10th, 1993 - the fifty-fifth anniversary of Kristallnacht Esther & Jochen Gerz, 1993 The top surface of the monument remains visible, flush with the ground, Esther & Jochen Gerz, 1994 “We invite the citizens of Harburg and visitors to the town, to add their names here to ours. In doing so, we commit ourselves to remain vigilant. As more and more names cover this 12 meter tall lead column, it will gradually be lowered into the ground. One day, it will have disappeared completely and the site of the Harburg monument against fascism will be empty. In the end, it is only we ourselves who can rise up against injustice.” Esther & Jochen Gerz, 1986

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life, without confining our own activities to the mould created by the past… here at last is a real escape for the monument” (Mumford, 1937).

On the advent of the printing press, Victor Hugo boldly stated through one of his characters, “The book will kill the edifice.” Though not against the rise of print culture, “[his] fascinating thesis here is that, before the printing press, people expressed their identity and made statements for posterity in their structures of stone... in allowing humans to express themselves on the page, [it] stole energy from centuries of self-expression in architecture.” (Baum, 2018) Hugo made his polemic statement about two centuries ago. Fast forward to today’s digital age, the printing press has been upended by a much faster, cheaper and visual mode of mass communication and an even more voracious consumption. Does this render monuments and monumentality to be absolutely redundant today?

I shall take the service of two figures to posit that monumentality is here to stay. One from five centuries ago and one from the present. One from theory and one from practice. Alberti proposed the hallowed significance of monuments when he claimed, “once an edifice has been designed in accordance with the rules of the three distinctive levels of the art of building (necessitas, commoditas, voluptas), it necessarily participates in a new human order of the sacred” (Choay, 1984). One might assume that the asymmetrical lines of Libeskind’s Jewish Museum was an architect’s nonchalant play with lines and angles but that supposition couldn’t be further away from the truth. The lines of the museum are in fact derived from the addresses of famous Jews who lived in Berlin before the dark days. “I began plotting the Berlin addresses for names taken at random from the Gedenkbuch - [memorial book containing names of all German Jews murdered in the Holocaust] – on my map of the city. Then I looked for the specific address of people I’ve admired, Jews and Gentiles, and I paired some of them, drawing a line from the address of one to the address of another… the shapes made in the process… formed a distorted Star of David over the map of Berlin.” (Libeskind, 2004) His masterplan for the One World Trade Center was adorned with heavy nods of acknowledgement to American values the insistence of a height of 1776 meters for the main tower which was to symbolize the year when the United States Declaration of Independence was signed; the initial design of the tower to look like an abstract version of the Statue of

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Liberty; the exposure of the slurry wall foundations in the landscape to acquaint the viewer with the foundation on which Lower Manhattan was built. Neither the printing press nor the digital age would be able to ‘kill’ this. The edifice will survive. Monuments and monumentality are well and truly alive as long as they serve instead of impose, are democratic instead of enforced, are engaging instead of being inert. Because “even when everything has become liquid, we must have the occasional rock in the sea, indicated on a map and marked by a lighthouse, that reminds us of our own mortality and allows us to constitute ourselves.” (Tacaks, 2011)

“This is the reconquest of the monumental expression” (Giedion, 1944).

from top to bottom: “between the lines”, extension of the Berlin Museum containing the Jewish Museum, conceptual plan, Daniel Libeskind, 1989 conceptual sketches, World Trade Center, Daniel Libeskind, 2003

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2.3.3 Provocation The previous two chapters have dealt individually with the unrelated topics of borders and monuments. A zone of persistent ignorance and an entity of relentless attention. Hence, if by bringing the essence of monumentality towards the border regions, can this affect the landscape and language of the edge spaces? In simple terminology, does a vertical assembly have the capacity to transform the perception of these horizontal no-man lands? Can a new meaning be achieved for monumentality on one hand and a change in the identity of borderscapes on the other? “Architecture domesticates limitless space and enables us to inhabit it, but it should likewise domesticate endless time and enable us to inhabit the continuum of time” (Pallasmaa, 1996).

This provocation is not based on an ingenious original thought but rather a discovery that monuments have time and again been erected on border territories. Some have been raised to establish ownership, while some have just found themselves near to one when the border lines were drawn up. Nevertheless, these monuments serve as a point of attraction. Visitors flock to see them regardless of their unchanging character which begs the question as to whether it is the monument in itself that attracts or is it the site on which it has been located. Taking the example of the India-Pakistan border, a high number of monumental architecture ranging from war memorials, religious structures, historical edifices, trade check posts are observable along the borderlands. More intriguing are the galleries/stadiums built around the international border crossings in the state of Punjab which serves as a spectacle for the high number of footfalls to these crossing points. These huge constructions and the functions they behold entirely changes the phenomenology of the fringe regions by subverting the visible border and allowing a peek onto the other. “Fictions structure our reality. If you take away from reality the symbolic fictions that regulate it, you lose reality itself.” (Zizek, 2006). “If architecture can be smuggled into the reimagining of the existing border wall now, it will put into place several very important conditions that will affect the future of the

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95 from top to bottom: The first point established by the boundary survey following the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Monument No. 258, U.S.-Mexico border, 1851 Pass Museum, Austria-Italy border, Werner Tscholl,2012 World’s First International Cable Car connecting China and Russia, Amur River, UNStudio, 2019

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landscapes, cultures and bio-ecologies that it now divides... If the wall were remodeled to perform a multitude of functions that improved, interacted with, and contributed positively to specific issues found in its immediate context, it could be embodied with new meanings” (Rael, 2017).

The suggestion is not a radical experiment as in uprooting something as the Eiffel Tower and planting it over any border divide per se. That will only be considered irrational and naïve. But if the mistreated border regions can be imagined as a two-dimensional plane onto which the addition of a three-dimensional member will breathe life, then a sense of purpose can be disseminated over these thirdscapes in which “architecture initiates, directs and organizes behavior and movement… A building is not an end in itself; it frames, articulates, structures, gives significance, relates, separates and unites, facilitates and prohibits” (Pallasmaa, 1996). Neither should the proposal be stuck to the past. Even though history should be given its due respect, “… it is impossible to take over the beautiful architecture of a past era; it becomes false and pretentious when people can no longer live up to it… [the] building should preferably be ahead of its time when planned so that it will be in keeping with the times as long as it stands” (Rasmussen, 1959). This proposed combination of monuments along borders also automatically poses an answer to Pallasmaa’s opinion on visual perception, “Peripheral vision integrates us with space, while focused vision pushes us out of the space making us mere spectators.” The border and its vastness can entertain the former while the monument can engage in the latter. The humble power of the monument is further revealed when “a curious exchange takes place; the work projects its aura, and we project our own emotions and percepts on the work.” (Pallasmaa, 1996) “The monument is the celebration of the struggle, not the victory itself, the aspiration for the utopia, not utopia itself.” -Romaldo Giurgola With the recent volatile political climate that seems to be on the edge of the next ma jor conflict and the surprising rise of populism that has seen people from discounted territorial regions taking revenge through the ballot box for attention (Rodriguez-Pose, 2018), the importance of regional policies

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Eiffel Tower over the borderwall, provocation that is neither intended nor will work, artwork by author

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has never been of more paramount importance. Border areas form a part of these territorial regions that are in a state of distress and in need of immediate remedial action.

Hence, after due diligence in the concepts of both borderscapes and monumentality, one may arrive at the deduction that the proposed juxtaposition is an experiment worth trying. Though they are both polar opposite propositions, the argument that has been put forward in the previous chapter allows for a field of perception and certain justifications as to why this strategy carries merit. Thus, the position of the author relies on the qualitative aspects of monumentality which when dispersed over politically perilous but neglected borderscapes, can cultivate new perspectives and purposes that will hopefully lay a foundation for prospective peaceful discourse and exchange both along and across the divide. This chapter concludes with an experiment on walls by Lebbeus Wood. “The Wall Game uses some sections of the wall as a two-sided playing field... It is a game only for two opposing sides. One side cannot play it alone, as unbalanced structural forces will bring the wall down very quickly... Conversion of a construction occurs when its system of order, that is, its basic system of spatial reference is transformed by the system of order of the opposing side... Even the most bitterly opposed adversaries who learn to play together find it difficult to kill each other” (Woods, 2019).

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99 Wall Games, Lebbeus Woods, 2019

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s i t e o f i nt e rv e nt i o n

100 Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

101

The India-Pakistan border is considered in many corners as the Berlin Wall of Asia. It is one among the politically volatile regions that falls along the Political Equator (see Chapter 2.1.1) and has been a bed of unrest and violence ever since the country was partitioned into two - on the lines of religion and political whims - as a parting gift by the British Ra j before they left the subcontinent. The initial chapters briefly introduce the bloody partition that occurred as the British left the subcontinent and the ensuing number of conflicts between the newly formed nations ever since. The later chapters deal with the hotbed of the Wagha-Attari crossing point, the geo-political situation and an analysis of the greater Punjab region divided by the aforementioned partition.

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102

PAKISTAN

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103

International Border Fencing

INDIA

“the only border that can be seen from space”, the floodlight international border between India and Pakistan, Expedition 45 crew, International Space Station September 23, 2015

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104 Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

105 An Architecture towards Peace

3.1.1 Partition and Independence

106

There are many reasons as to why the British chose to end their raj (rule) over the Indian subcontinent. Some contribute it to the heavy toll the two world wars had on the British and Europe in general, some subscribe to the idea that the British no longer trusted the large influx of Indian soldiers among their ranks (Joshi, 2021), while others pay due homage to the insuppressible freedom struggle by means of violence (Subash Chandra Bose) and non-violence (Mahatma Gandhi). Whatever the reason may, the decision to leave India was quick regarding they had controlled the subcontinent for almost two centuries. After the parliament of the United Kingdom stipulated that the British Ra j was to come to an end, there was the rising problem of the division of the Ra j to be solved. The division between the two ma jor political parties of India - the Indian National Congress (INC) and the All India Muslim League (AIML) was based on the want of a separatist Muslim country since the AIML felt that a Hindu ma jority India would not heed to the needs and wants of the Muslim populace.

previous page: Map “Prevailing Religions of the British Indian Empire, 1909” Key: Pink Hindu Green Muslim Diagonal lines Sikh (small area in Punjab) Yellow Buddhist (Burma and Chittagong Hill Tracts) Blue Christian (Goa) Purple Animist (several inland hilly areas). John George Bartholomew - The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Oxford University Press, 1909. Scanned from personal copy (Fowler&Fowler) 2007

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“I will treat in regular sequence of the political questions of India, in order that you may have full opportunity of giving your attention to them. The first of all is this - In whose hands shall the administration and the Empire of India rest? Now, suppose that all English, and the whole English army, were to leave India, taking with them all their cannon and their splendid weapons and everything, then who would be rulers of India? Is it possible that under these circumstances two nations — the Mohammedans and the Hindus — could sit on the same throne and remain equal in power? Most certainly not. It is necessary that one of them should conquer the other and thrust it down. To hope that both could remain equal is to desire the impossible and the inconceivable.” (Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, 1888) So for a peaceful exit for all parties involved - or at least they hoped - the British Ra j employed Sir Cyril Radcliffe who arrived in India on 08th July 1947 and was given five weeks to draw a border that was to be based on religious sentiments and territory. The predominantly Hindu and Sikh areas were assigned to the new nation of India and predominantly Muslim areas to the new nation of Pakistan; the plan included a partition of the Muslim-ma jority provinces of Punjab and

Bengal (National Archives, UK). Pakistan gained independence on 14th August 1947 and India a day later. After arriving at the shores of India more than three centuries ago in 1608, the British had finally left; leaving behind in the aftermath a subcontinent in a condition worse than they had set foot on. As the historian William Dalrymple has observed: “The economic figures speak for themselves. In 1600, when the East India Company was founded, Britain was generating 1.8% of the world’s GDP, while India was producing 22.5%. By the peak of the Ra j, those figures had more or less been reversed: India was reduced from the world’s leading manufacturing nation to a symbol of famine and deprivation.” (Sen, 2021).

107

“At least on this question I shall give you complete assurance. I shall see to it that there is no bloodshed and riot... Once the partition is accepted in principle, I shall issue orders to see that there are no communal disturbances anywhere in the country. If there should be the slightest agitation, I shall adopt the sternest measures to nip the trouble in the bud.” (Lord Louis Mountbatten, last Viceroy of India, 1947). Only if those words had remained true.

3.1.2 Post Independence In the days succeeding the bitter-sweet freedom from the colonial empire, both the infant nations fell into a large disarray of political and social chaos. Since the Radcliffe line

The conference in New Delhi where the partition plan was disclosed (left to right): Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first pirme minister, Lord Ismay, adviser to Mountbatten, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Viceroy of India, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, President of the AllIndia Muslim League, 1945 Keystone, Getty Images

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108 from top to bottom: Muslim refugees clamber aboard an overcrowded train near New Delhi in an attempt to flee India. Associated Press, 1947 A young boy sits on the walls of Purana Qila in New Delhi. The 16th century fortress turned into one of Delhi’s biggest refugee camps as the capital struggled with a refugee crisis amid spurts of communal rioting, Margaret Bourke-White, The LIFE Picture Collection, 1947 An elderly, abandoned Muslim couple and their grandchildren sit by the roadside. “The old man is dying of exhaustion. The caravan has gone on”, Bourke-White, The LIFE Picture Collection, 1947

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

between the newly formed nations was supposedly meant to keep the religious communities to their respective sides of the newly drawn border, the belief was that there would not be any migration between the countries. But once the boundaries were established, about 14.5 million people crossed the borders to what they hoped was the relative safety of religious ma jority. The 1951 Census of Pakistan identified the number of displaced persons in Pakistan at 7,226,600, presumably all Muslims who had entered Pakistan from India; the 1951 Census of India counted 7,295,870 displaced persons, apparently all Hindus and Sikhs who had moved to India from Pakistan immediately after the partition (Kosinski & Elahi, 1985) and over a million dead as a direct consequence of the migration and violence that ensued (Brocklehurst, 2017).

3.1.3 Indo-Pak confrontations

109

A border drawn over religious sentiments will never be peaceful and it was not any different for the newly formed nations. Within the same year of gaining independence, the two countries fought their first war which thus began decades of further wars, border skirmishes, cross border terrorism and a violent coexistence. The first war between India and Pakistan (1947) was fought within two months of their independence. The primary cause of this war was over the control of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. During the British Ra j, the entire subcontinent was shared between the British Crown and the princely states who paid a tribute to the crown in return for military protection. After the partition, these princely states had sole discretion on whether to join the newly formed nations or remain independent. Jammu and Kashmir was one such princely state with a predominantly Muslim population (who wanted to be annexed to Pakistan) but ruled by a Hindu maharaja (king). The mahara ja initially wanted to remain independent but when the Pakistani army sponsored tribal forces to attack the princely state, the mahara ja acceded to India. Pakistan did not accept this accession and the war ensued on the Kashmiri font until a ceasefire was agreed upon in a UN Commission on 05th January 1949. The indecisive result of the war resulted in a split of the princely state into Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK) with the new border known as the Line of Control (LoC). It is the topic of this region that largely affects the geopolitical equation of both countries to this day.

An Architecture towards Peace

The second war (1965) was once again fought over the territorial claim of Jammu and Kashmir and began by the infiltration of Pakistani forces into the region. India retaliated by launching a full-scale military attack on West Pakistan. The seventeen-day war caused thousands of casualties on both sides and witnessed the largest engagement of armoured vehicles and the largest tank battle since the Second World War (Bisht, 2015). Due to the long international border between both the countries, military operations were also carried out on the Punjab front to weaken the opposition. Hostilities between the two countries ended after a ceasefire was declared through United Nations Security Council Resolution 211 following a diplomatic intervention by the Soviet Union and the United States, and the subsequent issuance of the Tashkent Declaration (Lyon, 2008).

110

The third war (1971) occurred as a result of the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan. By the 1970s the people of East Pakistan had given priority to their Bengali ethnicity over their religious identity, desiring a society in accordance with Western principles such as secularism, democracy and socialism (van Schendel, 2009). The Bengali nationalists wanted to secede from Pakistan and form a separate nation and as a result mainland Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight to curb the movement. A belligerent history between India and Pakistan led to India lending support to the Bengali struggle. In retaliation, Pakistan launched pre-emptive strikes along the western border it shared with India. Thirteen days after the war started, India achieved a clear upper hand, the Eastern Command of the Pakistan military signed the instrument of surrender (Azhar, Masood, & Malek, 2018) on 16 December 1971 in Dhaka, marking the formation of East Pakistan as the new nation of Bangladesh. This was the bloodiest of all the previous Indo-Pak conflicts and also witnessed the largest number of prisoners of war since the Second World War. In the words of Pakistani author Tariq Ali, “Pakistan lost half its navy, a quarter of its air force and a third of its army”. The last war (1999) between the two countries was again fought in the regions of Jammu and Kashmir. There were three ma jor phases to the Kargil War. First, Pakistan infiltrated forces into the Indian-controlled section of Kashmir and occupied strategic locations enabling it to bring NH1 within range of its artillery fire. The next stage consisted of India discovering the infiltration and mobilising forces to respond to it. The final stage involved

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

111

ma jor battles by Indian and Pakistani forces resulting in India recapturing most of the territories held by Pakistani forces and the subsequent withdrawal of Pakistani forces back across the Line of Control after international pressure (Tariq, 2001). This war also happened to suffer the least number of casualties on either side.

from top to bottom: Kashmir Region (2004), Central Intelligence Agency, USA Lieutenant General A.A.K. Niazi (Pakistan) signing the Instrument of Surrender under the gaze of Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, 16 December 1971

An Architecture towards Peace

3.1.4 Other violent events in relation to the border Even though the last war ended in 1999, numerous other conflicts have occurred at various scales between the bordering nations.

The Atlantique incident (1999)

Just a month after the war of 1999, a naval Breguet Atlantique patrol plane of the Pakistan Navy was shot down by the Indian Air Force for violating existing airspace regulations over the marshy borderlands of the Rann of Kutch. All sixteen passengers including the pilots were killed. India’s reaction was deemed unjustified by the Pakistan Army but upon lodging a compensation claim at the International Court of Justice, the court ruled that it had no jurisdiction in the matter (Shah, 2017).

The Indian Parliament attack (2001)

112

In December 2001, five terrorists infiltrated the Indian Parliament compound and started a shoot-out. In the aftermath, India officially released a statement claiming the terrorists were supported by a ‘neighbouring country’. This event led to the deployment of India’s troops to its northern and western fronts of Kashmir and Punjab in what was country’s largest military mobilisation since the 1971 War. This incident almost brought both the hostile nations to the brink of another war.

The Samjhautha Express bombing (2007)

Launched in 1976, the Samjhautha (meaning accord; compromise) Express was a bi-weekly train service between Delhi and Lahore via the border towns of Attari in India and Wagah in Pakistan. On 18th February 2007, bombs were set off in two carriages, both filled with passengers, just after the train the Indian city of Panipat, 80 kilometres north of New Delhi. 70 people were killed in the ensuing fire and dozens more were injured (Hitender, 2007). Of the 70 fatalities, most were Pakistani civilians. Hindu extremists have been blamed for the attack and has been viewed as “an attempt to derail the improving relationship between India and Pakistan” (Sengupta, 2007).

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

The Mumbai attacks (2008)

In a series of coordinated terrorist attacks that lasted four days, ten terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out shooting and bombing attacks in Mumbai resulting in the death of 175 people and injuring 300. Deeming the attack as state-sponsored by Pakistan, India deployed its troops along the Ra jasthan border while Pakistan put its military on high alert. De-escalation of the issue was carried out after leaders of both the countries spoke to avert an accidental nuclear war.

Wagah Attack (2014)

Following the daily ceremonial closing of the border (see Chapter 2.3.1), at Wagah-Attari, a sucide bombing occurred at the Pakistani side of the checkpoint killing at least 60 people and leaving a 100 injured (Askari & Sen, 2014). The border ceremony was also thus suspended for three days.

Border skirmishes (2016-18)

113

Following a terrorist attack against an Indian Army brigade in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir on 18th September 2016, that resulted in the death of 19 soldiers, the Indian Army conducted surgical strikes across the border in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) allegedly killing approximately 150 Pakistan sponsored terrorists (The Economist, 2016). A number of other skirmishes and cross border firing occurred along the LoC and the International Border throughout 2017 and 2018, even though a ceasefire was agreed upon on 29th May 2018. “Jammu and Kashmir recorded 2,936 instances of ceasefire violations by Pakistan in 2018 — the highest in the past 15 years with an average of eight cases daily” (The Indian Express, 2019).

Border skirmishes (2019)

On 14th February 2019, 40 Indian Central Reserve Police Force personnel in a convoy were attacked by a suicide bomber in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir resulting in the death of all involved. In retaliation, the Indian Air Force conducted air strikes in Balakot, Pakistan targeting the Jaishe-Mohammed who had claimed responsibility for the suicide

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attack. An Indian Air Force pilot was captured after his aircraft was shot down in Pakistan and was later released through the Wagah-Attari checkpoint.

114

William Dalrymple goes on to quote at the end of The Great Divide, “... the current picture is not encouraging. In Delhi, a hard-line right-wing government rejects dialogue with Islamabad. Both countries find themselves more vulnerable than ever to religious extremism. In a sense, 1947 has yet to come to an end.”

from top to bottom: the view out the cockpit of the MiG-21 flown by Flt Lt P K Bundela. The R-60 streaks towards the Atlantique captured in this still photo taken from the HUD/VTR recording from the MiG-21, 1999, Indian Air Force, 2011 fire engulfed two cars of the Samjhauta Express, one of two train links between India and Pakistan, Prakash Singh, Agence France-Presse - Getty Images

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

115 from top to bottom: the Taj Mahal hotel, Mumbai engulfed in smoke during a gun battle, 29 November 2008, Reuters the site on the SrinagarJammu highway where 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were killed in a suicide attack by militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Feb 14, 2019, IANS Indian pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan, stands under armed escort near Pakistan-India border in Wagah, Pakistan, 01 March , 2019 Reuters, PTV via Reuters TV

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3.1.5 Existing Geopolitics

116

The Grand Trunk Road was first constructed by Chandragupta Maurya of the Mauryan Empire in ancient India around the 3rd century BCE. For at least 2,500 years since, it has linked the Indian subcontinent to Central Asia. Running roughly 2,400 km it begins from the Myanmar-Bangladesh border in the west, passing through the capital cities Dhaka and Delhi of Bangladesh and India respectively onto Lahore in Pakistan via Amritsar and eventually ending in Kabul, Afghanistan. Over the centuries this famed road has acted as a ma jor trade route in the region and carries immense potential to continue acting as an economic corridor between these poltically charged nations. Crossing the GTR in Islamabad (Paksitan), is the proposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridorthat will finally allow China to have direct access to the southern oceans. It has been perceived in the Western media as a neoimperialistic exercise (The Economist, 2017) and is considered to be more benfecial to China than Pakistan. Once and if this project is completed, it will only increase the existing hostility between Pakistan and India due to the presence of a third player, China who are politically aligned with Pakistan.

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

ECONOMIC CORRIDORS A GEOPOLITICAL SITUATION

CRO CO

To Kashgar

CHINA

CCK

POK

AFGHANISTAN

CCK

Kabul ICK

Islamabad

Lahore PAKISTAN

CPEC GTR NEPAL

Delhi

INDIA

Karachi

Amritsar

The Grand Trunk Road constructed around 2500 years ago currently passes through four countries and is 2400kms long. It once used to connect the eastern regions of India with Central Asia and as far away as Ancient Greece. It has a high potential to act as an economic corridor between the politically warring South Asian countries

To Kolkata (India) and Chittagong (Bangladesh)

CCK

China Controlled Kashmir

POK

Pakistan Occupied Kashmir

ICK

India Controlled Kashmir Grand Trunk Road

ARABIAN SEA

China-Pak Economic Corridor Constructed Proposed

100KM

200KM

illustration by author

An Architecture towards Peace

117

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is an project funded by China. It will finally allow China to have direct access to the southern oceans (albeit through another country). It is seen in many quarters to be more beneficial to China than Pakistan and has been perceived in Western media as a neoimperialistic exercise.

BOR FEN

| Cross Border Conflicts

CROSS BO CONNECTI

CROSS BORDER CONFLICTS

NA +

Siachen conflict | 1984

Balakot air strike | 2019

Uri attack | 2016

+ Pulwama attack | 2019 “Surgical” strikes | 2016 III*

Wagha attack | 2014

train from Delhi to Lahore

118

Samjhauta Express bombing | 2007

Atlantique incident | 1999

*The 1971 war was fought on the lands of East Pakistan. A conflict of smaller scale was observed along the Punjab border

First War 1947 Second War 1965

III

Third War 1971*

Fourth War 1999

+ +

NEPAL

I II

To Karachi

Conflict Suicide Attack

Diagram 01 illustration by author BORDER

CROSS BO LANDSCAP

FENCING

To Kolkata (India) and Chittagong (Bangladesh)

Khokhropa

Diagram 01 denotes the locations of the ma jor wars fought Indus between both nations and the mapping of other hostilities Jhelum that directly affected the border. Even though the 1971 Chenab war was fought on the lands of East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh), proxy conflicts were also observed along the Ravi Punjab border. Sutlej

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Thar D

| Cross Border Connections

CROSS BORDER CONNECTIONS

Teetwal crossing

n conflict | 1984

Skardu Kargil

Muzzaffarabad Srinagar Rawalkot Poonch

| 2019

Jammu Sialkot Kartarpur Corridor To Lahore

Attari To Delhi

Ganda Singh Wala

Hussainiwala

Sulemanqi

119

Fazilka

Border Ceremony

Khokhropar

Munabao

965

71*

Wagha

To Karachi

Existing Roadway

To Jodhpur

Pedestrian Only Pass Closed Roadway Proposed Roadway

999

Existing Railway Closed Railway

Diagram 02 illustration by author CROSS BORDER

LANDSCAPE

Himalayas

Diagram 02 denotes all the crossing points between the two nations along the International Border and along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. It denotes the crossings Indo-Gangetic points which have been closed, are existing and proposed. It Plain also locates the border points where the beating ceremony is Indo-Gangetic Plain held on a daily basis.

An Architecture towards Peace

Thar Desert

*The 1971 war was fought on the lands of East Pakistan. A conflict of smaller scale was observed along the Punjab border

Atlantique incident | 1999

NEPAL

First War 1947 Second War 1965

III

Third War 1971*

Fourth War 1999

+ +

| Border Fencing

I II

Khokhr To Karachi

Conflict Suicide Attack

BORDER FENCING

CROSS B LANDSC

Indus Jhelum Chenab

To Kolkata (India) and Chittagong (Bangladesh)

Ravi

Sutlej

120

Tha

Controlled Kashmir

an Occupied Kashmir

Controlled Kashmir Trunk Road

-Pak Economic Corridor

*Fence constructed only on Indian side

ructed

sed

Fenced border Ongoing | Proposed fencing River crossing (fence-less) Marsh land (fence-less)

200KM

Mountains (fence-less)

Diagram 03 illustration by author

Diagram 03 denotes the fencing between the two nations along the International Border and along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. The fencing has been erected only on the Indian side of the border with an offset ranging from 2m to 50m depending on the terrain. The first fencing along the International border began in the Punjab region in 1988 as a result of the Khalistani movement. As of now more than 2,200 km of the International Border has been fenced. Fencing by the Indian government has also been proposed along the LoC.

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Border Ceremony

Khokhropar

Munabao

71*

Existing Roadway

To Jodhpur

965

To Karachi

Closed Roadway Proposed Roadway

999

Pedestrian Only Pass

| Cross Border Landscape

Existing Railway Closed Railway

CROSS BORDER LANDSCAPE

Himalayas

Indo-Gangetic Plain Indo-Gangetic Plain

121

Thar Desert

Mountains

Hills

posed fencing

Agriculture plains

(fence-less)

Desert

ence-less)

nce-less)

Rann of Kutch

Marsh land Rivers

Diagram 04 illustration by author

Diagram 04 shows the various different geographies and landscapes the International Border and the Line of Control passes through. All the way from the tallest mountain range in the world in the north (the Himalayas) to the fertile and rich Indo-Gangetic plains via the third largest desert in Asia (the Thar Desert) ending onto the Arabian Sea through the marshy lands of the Rann of Kutch (one of the largest salt marshes in the world), the borderlands pass through some of the most scenic places in the globe.

An Architecture towards Peace

3.2 122

The Wagah-Attari border crossing point a border of handshakes and violent stompings a border of exchange of smiles and hostile echoes a border of sweets and guns a border of contradictions

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

123 PAKISTAN

LAHORE

25 KM

AMRITSAR

INDIA

WAGAH ATTARI BORDER

30 KM

The Wagah-Attari border crossing point is one of only two crossing points via road along the International Border between India and Pakistan other than the periodically open crossing points along the Line of Control (LoC) in disputed Jammu and Kashmir.

3.2.1 A border of multiplicities The Grand Trunk Road constructed around 2500 years ago passes via the Wagah-Attari crossing point. It was once used to connect the eastern regions of India with Central Asia and as far away as Ancient Greece. One of the earliest and longest roads of Asia it was a transporter of goods,

An Architecture towards Peace

people as well as culture. Today it extends from Chittagong (Bangladesh) on the east to Kabul (Afghanistan) on the west via Delhi (India) and Islamabad (Pakistan). The first demarcation on this road, was set up by Brigadier Mohindar Singh Chopra (India) and Brigadier Nazir Ahmad (Pakistan), who were friends and previously belonged to the same battalion under the British Ra j (Kochhar, 2020). On 11th October 1947 “... a few hastily whitewashed drums and rubble of stones were placed along the berms of the Grand Trunk Road, marking the new international border” (Ghosh, 2020).

124

This crossing point is also significant for hosting the only Integrated Checkpoint allowing land route trade between India and Pakistan (Land Ports Authority, India). It also serves as the only point - for travel via land - between diplomats and citizens who have family members on either side of the border. It is prohibited for other citizens of the country to travel to the other except in cases such as for international sporting events or for members of the media industry. The Wagah-Attari border has also witnessed a large number of prisoners of war exchanges significantly during the 1971 War (from India to Pakistan) as well as transfer of people who have entered either country illegally. The most prominent in recent memory is of the return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman (from Pakistan to India) (see Chapter 2.2.4).

the then Governor of Punjab Sir Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi is escorted by Brigadier Mohindar Singh Chopra, during a visit to the Joint Check Post at Wagah-Attari on the GT Road between Amritsar and Lahore, 1947 source unknown

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

125 But the most bewildering event that is synonymous with the point remains the daily beating ceremony. Held to commemorate both rivalry and mutual respect between the two nations, it has become the most attractive (according to the many) as well as an unsavoury (according to the few) affair at the border.

3.2.2 The beating ceremony The beating ceremony (also known as the flag lowering ceremony) is a daily military practice that the security forces of India (Border Security Force, BSF) and Pakistan (Pakistan Rangers) have jointly followed since 1959. The drill is characterized by elaborate and rapid dance-like manoeuvres and raising legs as high as possible, which have been described as “colourful”. (Khaleeli, 2010).

from top to bottom: Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers watch as the first Pakistani trucks, filled with dry fruit, cross over the India-Pakistan Wagah Border, 03 October 2007, Narinder Nanu/AFP via Getty Images) The view across no man’s land to Pakistan Pippa Virdee, 2017

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Even though similar ceremonies are held further south at the Ganda Singh Wala-Hussainiwala border and the SulemanqiFazilka border, the grandiose of the phenomenon at the WagahAttari border further enhanced by the built structures around it is what renders it even more eminence and popularity. But even though the ceremony is held as a sign of cooperation the aura found around the event has led to a fervour of unnatural show of patriotism and jingoism.

126

“The border ceremonies at Wagah exemplify the spectacular strategies that not only reify and make visible the power of the state, but also insidiously inscribe social power onto the bodies of the spectators.” (Menon, 2014) The 45 minutes to an hour parade starts with a provocateur on either side of the metal gates inciting the crowds to raise their voices high so as to defeat the other in a battle of noise pollution. The author himself was a victim to such rousing vexations when he had paid a visit to the border in 2014 as part of an architectural study trip during his Bachelors. The slogans usually revolve around patriotic slogans and anthems such as ‘Jai Hindustan’ (victory to India) on the Indian side and ‘Jai Pakistan’ on the other. But occasionally this shouting match becomes less of a celebration and more about denigrating the other (Jacob & Bedi, 2017). Calling it a competition of nationalism, Devika Mittal states that “every day, hundreds of Indians and Pakistanis are embedded with an aggressive nationalism, feelings of hostility, competition and hatred, all in the name of patriotism.” The jeering crowd around me was shouting, “Attack!” and “Let’s rape their sisters!” [on the Indian side] and“Pakistan Zindabad! Hindustan murdabad!” (Long live Pakistan! Death to India!)” [on the Pakistani side] ... [and I] ended up crying at the hatred shown by the people under the veneer of celebration (Saeed, 2012). These vile and derogatory shoutings are further exacerbated by the grand structures and the architecture that can be found around the border crossing point. Immediately after the right wing party of India won the decisive 2014 elections, one of their first priorities was the expansion of the gallery on the Indian side. What was before a few extended steps that had comprised the seating arrangement for the visitors had become an enormous structure of concrete that reeked of aggression and violence witnessed over a millennia ago in the Colosseum. Not to be left behind, the Pakistani gallery was also expanded and a

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

large flag pole was erected which claimed to the tallest in Asia. Through these patriotic games at the border, a scene of mutual respect has seen to be subverted to a theatre of absurdity supplemented by the surrounding built environment.

127

PASSIVE AGGRESSION

PROVOCATION

from top to bottom:

ACTIVE AGGRESSION

“the passive aggressive nature of the beating ceremony is further aggravated through constant provocations by the master of ceremonies which permeates into the audience and creates an active aggression and hostility against the other side”, illustration by author

An Architecture towards Peace

3.2.3 The evolution of the Wagah-Attari Gallery

100m

2014

100m

128

2009

Wagah-Attari Gallery, Google Earth images, 2009 in 2014: Bharathiya Janatha Party [right wing] wins Election, Wagah-Attari Gallery, Google Earth images, 2014

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

100m

2014

100m

129

2009

An Architecture towards Peace

3.2.3 The evolution of the Wagah-Attari Gallery

100m

2017

100m

130

2015

in 2015: expansion of the Indian gallery begins Wagah-Attari Gallery, Google Earth images, 2015 in 2017: expansion of the Pakistani gallery begins Wagah-Attari Gallery, Google Earth images, 2017

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

100m

2017

100m

131

2015

An Architecture towards Peace

3.2.4 Post Independence Timeline

in relation to Wagah-Attari Border

CONTEMPORARY [POST-INDEPENDENCE] NARRATIVE IN RELATION TO WAGAH-ATTARI BORDER

INTERNATIONAL

13th Aug.

Erection of Berlin Wall

Formation of People’s Republic of China

Erection of ‘Peace Walls’

26th Mar.

First China-India War

02nd May

Removal of Hungary’s border fence with Austria

09th Nov.

Fall of Berlin Wall

Emancipation of ‘East Pakistan’ to Bangladesh

Start of Samjhauta Express*

*train from Delhi to Lahore through Attari

Khalistan Rebellion

Fencing of the Punjab border

1999

1962

1961

Fou Indi Pak Wa

*fou Kar

Recaptured by Indian Army

17th Dec.

OPEN BORDER [WACP]

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Capture of Pul Kanjari by Pakistani Army

First beating ceremony

1959

1947

wAGAH-ATTARI CROSSING POINT

*fought for the emancipation of Bangladesh 02nd Dec.

First demarcation on the Grand Trunk Road

1949

17 Oct. th

*fought in disputed Kashmir

First nuclear weapon test Pakistan

28th May

1998

*Radcliffe Line splits ‘British India’ into India and Pakistan

18th May First nuclear weapon test India

1988 1989

First India-Pakistan War

Third IndiaPakistan War*

1974 1975

22nd Oct.

Second IndiaPakistan War*

1971

Independence from British Colonial Empire*

1969

15th Aug.

1965

INDIA | PAKISTAN

132

ASIA

01st Oct.

UN IndiaPakistan Observation Mission [UNIPOM]

War | Conflict ‘Bordering’ event ‘Positive’ event ‘Negative’ event Nuclear event Intervention (UN) Erection of West Bank Wall

Proclamation of ‘Trump Wall’

Intervention (USA) Intervention (USSR)

WACP

Wagah-Attari Crossing Point

TIMELINE IN FOCUS

Long term plan for ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor

133

China-India border skirmishes

BJP (right wing party) wins election

Mumbai attacks*

Suicide attack on Indian CRPF 40 troops dead*

*by Pakistan *by Pakistan based terrorist based terrorist organisation organisation

*by Pakistan based terrorist organisation

01st Mar.

High profile return of POW Abhinandan Varthaman

2019

2014

2012

2008

2002

2001

Expansion of Pakistani gallery

March onwards

Closed to audience due to Covid-19

Samjhauta Express stopped due to hostility

2015

Suicide attack on Pakistani side 50 people dead

02nd Nov.

Expansion of Indian gallery

2017

13th Apr. Inauguration of Indian Integrated Check Post

2016

ught in rgil

2020

Attack on Indian Parliament*

urth iakistan ar*

FENCED BORDER [WACP]

An Architecture towards Peace

3.2.5 Contemporary Timeline [2000s]

in relation to Wagah-Attari Border

Mumbai attacks* 175 people dead

26th-29th Nov.

*by Pakistan based terrorist organisation

26th Oct.

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

05th Nov.

2013

Agreement to ‘tone down’ beating ceremony 13th Apr. Inauguration of Indian Integrated Check Post Pakistan backs out from agreement

2012

*by Pakistan based terrorist organisation

2011

INDIA | PAKISTAN

Attack on Indian Parliament*

wAGAH-ATTARI CROSSING POINT

134

ASIA

CONTEMPORARY [2000s] NARRATIVE IN RELATION TO WAGAH-ATTARI BORDER

FENCED BORDER [WACP]

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

War | Conflict ‘Bordering’ event ‘Positive’ event ‘Negative’ event Nuclear event Intervention (UN) Erection of West Bank Wall

Proclamation of ‘Trump Wall’ Long term plan for ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor

Intervention (USA)

China-India border Intervention (USSR) skirmishes WACP

Wagah-Attari Crossing Point

TIMELINE IN FOCUS

Attack on Indian security force in Kashmir*

29th Sep.

Retaliatory BJP (right military strike wing party) wins election by India in POK

BJP (right wing party) wins election

22nd May

BJP (right Suicide wing party) attack on re-wins Indian CRPF election40 troops dead* *by Pakistan based terrorist organisation *by Pakistan based terrorist organisation

Expansion Expansion of Indian galleryof Pakistani gallery

01st Mar. Expansion High profile March Closed to High profile Marchonwards Closed to 01st Mar. of Pakistani return of POW audience due return of POW onwards audience gallery Abhinandan to due Covid-19 Abhinandan to Covid-19 Varthaman Varthaman

2019

2018 2017

2016

2017

2015

2016

2014

2015

2012

2008

2014 2002

2021

Samjhauta Samjhauta Express Express stopped due stoppedto due hostility to hostility

2020

13th Apr. Inauguration of Indian Integrated Check Post Public Suicide 29th Sep. attendance attack on Suicide 02nd Nov. 08th Sep. attack on due denied Pakistani Pakistani to tensions gallery* Expansion side 50 people of Indian 50 people dead gallery dead

*by Pakistan based terrorist organisation

2001

China-India border skirmishes

2020

02nd Nov.

Retaliatory air-strike by India in Pakistan border town

*by Pakistan based terrorist organisation

*by Pakistan *by Pakistan based terrorist based terrorist organisation organisation

ught in rgil

26th Feb.

2019

Attack Mumbai urth 16th Dec. School on Indian attacks* iamassacre* Parliament* kistan 150 people ar* dead

16th Sep.

Suicide attack on Indian CRPF 40 troops dead*

135

14th Feb. Long term plan for ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor

FENCED BORDER [WACP]

An Architecture towards Peace

T H E G R E AT P U N J A B D I V I D E BORDERLANDS | 1:200,000 The Punjab Canal Colonies is the name given to parts of western Punjab which were brought under cultivation through the construction of canals and agricultural colonisation during the British Raj. Between 1885 and 1940, nine canal colonies were created in the interfluvial tracts east of the Beas and Sutlej and west of the Jhelum rivers.

PAKISTAN

The Punjab underwent an agricultural revolution as arid subsistence production was replaced by the commercialised production of huge amounts of wheat, cotton and sugar. In total, over one million Punjabis settled in the new colonies, relieving demographic pressures in central Punjab. The Punjab, despite being only 9.7 per cent of the total area of British India, had by 1931 9,929,217 acres irrigated by canals colonies, the largest area in British India, and representing 46 per cent of the total land irrigated by canals. The canal irrigated area in the Punjab increased from 3 million acres in 1885 to 14 million acres by the end of British rule in 1947. (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punjab_Canal_Colonies)

Amritsar

136

Lahore

Ravi River

Satluj River

International Border Fencing [only on Indian side] Border Crossing Points

Kartarpur Crossing

Wagah-Attari Crossing

Hussainiwala Crossing (closed) Settlements Cities (population >100,000) Towns (population >5,000)

PAKISTAN

Villages (population <5,000) Water ways

5 kM

Rivers Irrigation Canals [<25m wide]

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands Satluj River

5 kM

INDIA

Irrigation Canals [>25m wide] Roads Railway Lines Sanctuaries/Wetlands/Parks

PANEL

JOSE SIBI | 939871

Ravi River

ECOLOGICAL

PoK

C O R R I D O R

CoK China

IoK

)

Pakistan India

BLUE B O R D E R

KEY MAP | NTS

INDIA

IoK - Indian Occupied Kashmir Pok - Pakistan Occupied Kashmir Cok - China Occupied Kashmir

ECOLOGICAL C O R R I D O R

DESIGN STRATEGY International Border Fencing [only on Indian side] Ecological Corridor Area of focus (border parks) Blue Border

Grand Trunk Road [constructed around 2500 years ago; currently passes through four countries and is 2400kms long]

Kartarpur Border Crossing [only for religious purposes]

Amritsar [second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab] population: 1,132,761 area: 139 sqkm density: 8,100/km

137

Lahore [second largest city in Pakistan] population: 11,126,285 area: 1,772 sqkm density: 6,300/km

3.2.6 The Great Punjab divide CROSS BORDER CONNECT International Border

Fencing [only on Indian side] Grand Trunk Road

The Punjab Canal Colonies is the name given to parts of western Punjab which were brought under cultivation through the construction of canals and agricultural colonisation during the British Ra j. Between 1885 and 1940, nine canal colonies were created in the inter-fluvial tracts east of the Beas and Sutlej and west of the Jhelum rivers. The Punjab underwent an agricultural revolution as arid subsistence production was replaced by the commercialised production of huge amounts of wheat, cotton and sugar. In total, over one million Punjabis settled in the new colonies, relieving demographic pressures in central Punjab. The Punjab, despite being only 9.7 per cent of the total area of British India, had by 1931 9,929,217 acres irrigated by canals colonies, the largest area in British India, and representing 46 per cent of the total land irrigated by canals. The canal irrigated area in the Punjab increased from 3 million acres in 1885 to 14 million acres by the end of British rule in 1947. (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punjab_Canal_Colonies)

Hussainiwala Border Crossing [now closed border crossing along with daily flag lowering ceremony]

Roads

SETTLEMENTS

Railway Lines

International Border

International Airport

Fencing [only on Indian side]

Kartarpur Crossing

Cities

Wagah-Attari Crossing

Towns

Hussainiwal Crossing [closed]

Villages

Indus River tributaries [Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Satluj are the 5 main tributaries of the Indus. The Indus Treaty of 1960 gives control of the Beas, Ravi and Satluj to India and Indus, Chenab and Jhelum to Pakistan]

Ravi River

Keshopur Chamb [Over 13,000 migratory birds arrive here from Siberia, Middle East (via Pakistan) and China during winter]

Jallo Botanical Gardens

Satluj River

WATERWAYS International Border Fencing [only on Indian side] Rivers

Changa Manga [Once the largest man-made forest in the world. Underwent massive deforestation. Currently protected by active reforestation project]

Harike Wetlands [Largest wetland in north India. Over 55,000 migratory birds arrive from the Arctic, Middle East (via Pakistan) and China during winter]

GREEN International Border Fencing [only on Indian side]

An ArchitectureSanctuaries/Wetlands towards Peace

Irrigation Canals [<25m wide]

Parks

Irrigation Canals [>25m wide]

Tree Cover/Forest

| Transportation & Cross Border Connect

TRANSPORTATION CROSS BORDER CONNECT International Border Fencing [only on Indian side] Grand Trunk Road Roads Railway Lines

138

International Airport 1

Kartarpur Crossing

Wagah-Attari Crossing

Hussainiwala Crossing (closed)

Diagram 01 illustration by author

In diagram 01, five ma jor crossing points between India and Pakistan are observed, out of which only three are functional. Two of them being the road and train links between Wagah and Attair and the third being the religious corridor in Kartarpur that allows for Sikhs to travel across the border line to visit the gurudwaras (sikh temples) on either side of the corridor. The fourth crossing point is the Hussainiwala border crossing about 70 km south of Wagah-Attari that has now been closed due to the prominence of the former. The beating ceremony is conducted at this border too albeit on a much smaller and pacific scale. The fifth point is an existing road (20 km south of Wagah-Attari) between the villages of Barki in Pakistan and Khalra in India. Movement is restricted at all times via this point but is a possible future connection between the two nations.

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

| Settlements

Amritsar

Lahore

SETTLEMENTS

139

International Border Fencing [only on Indian side] Cities Towns Villages

Diagram 02 illustration by author

Diagram 02 locates the ma jor cities of Lahore and Amritsar along with the nearby towns and villages along the Punjab divide. While Lahore is the largest city in Pakistan with an estimated population of more than 11 million inhabitants (Pakistan Census, 2017), Amritsar is only the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab with a population of more than 1 million inhabitants (India Census, 2011). The partition caused the total Muslim population numbering 1,32,362 to migrate to Pakistan but the vacuum caused by the ma jor shift in population was filled up by 113,844 Hindus and Sikhs who settled down at Amritsar after the division of Punjab. An adverse effect of the partition was that some local traders and industrialists were alarmed by the nearness of Amritsar to the Indo –Pak border and shifted to Delhi or elsewhere. (Amritsar Proposed Land Use Report 2010-2031).

An Architecture towards Peace

| Waterways

Ravi River

Amritsar

Lahore

Satluj River

WATERWAYS

140

International Border Fencing [only on Indian side] Rivers Irrigation Canals [<25m wide] Irrigation Canals [>25m wide]

Diagram 03 illustration by author

In diagram 03, the river systems and the irrigation canals the agricultural lands have been mapped. The Indus River and its tributaries is among the largest river systems in the world and once the Partition split Greater Punjab into two, the sharing of the water systems have been very controversial. The Indus Treaty Pact of 1960 provided a theoretical solution with the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej tributaries being controlled by India and the Indus along with the tributaries of Chenab and Jhelum to Pakistan. In Punjab, the transboundary Ravi and Sutlej rivers are located at the north and south of the Wagha-Attari border respectively. Numerous irrigation canals are observed crossing the border which were built as part of the Punjab Canal Colonies exercise under the colonial British Ra j.

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

| Green habitats

Keshopur Chamb

Amritsar

Lahore

Harike Wetlands

GREEN HABITATS

141

International Border

Changa Manga

Fencing [only on Indian side] Sanctuaries/Wetlands Parks Tree Cover/Forest

Diagram 04 illustration by author

Diagram 05 maps out the ma jor ecological systems existing on either side of the Punjab border. The Keshopur Chhamb bird sanctuary is located north of the Wagah-Attari, and close to the town of Gurdaspur in India. It is a site covering about 340 hectares of wetlands and is a migratory hub for over 13,000 birds arriving as far away from Siberia, Middle East (via Pakistan) and China during the winters. The Harike wetlands (8,600 ha) further south of the Wagah-Attari is the largest wetland in northern India. Criss-crossed by branches of the Sutlej river, these lands are visited by over 55,000 migratory birds from the Arctic, Middle East (Pakistan) and China during the winters. On the other side of the border, the Changa Manga (5,065 ha) in Pakistan was once the largest man-made forest in the world. Post independence, it underwent massive deforestation. After public outcry, it is currently being protected by active restoration projects.

An Architecture towards Peace

142

3.3

Monumentality along the Indo-Pak border

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

143

Man’s proclivity to build monumental structures has been observed from time immemorial (see Chapter 3.3.1). The India-Pakistan border is no stranger to such monuments either. Structures ranging as small as a stone memorial of hardly 5 sqm to mega edifices such as the border crossing point terminals spanning areas of more than 250,000 sqm are visible along the border. A study has thus been conducted to map the location, typology and time period of construction of these monuments to understand the framework of what has been built along the border and when and thus what can be.

An Architecture towards Peace

3.3.1 Mapping monumentality along the border A Google Map survey was conducted to locate all monumental structures within a radius of 15 km (with the exception of Lahore and Amritsar - radius of 30 km) from the border. Google Map survey keywords used: musuem / monument / memorial

Turtuk Emperor’s Museu Balti Heritage House and Museum

POK Sharda Peeth Shuhada Memorial

LINE OF CONTROL 740 KM

Kaman Aman Setu Friendship Bridge v

Uri War Memorial

Kargil War Memorial Pandras War Memorial Zozila War Memorial

Poonch War Memorial Ajote War Memorial

Qila Darhal Fort Jadunath Memorial Gagrote War Memorial

Balidan Stambh War Memorial

144

Kartarpur Temple R Kartarpur Border Terminal G

Minar-e-Pakistan Samadhi of Mahara ja Ranjit Singh Lahore Fort Delhi Gate The Lahore Museum Islamic Summit Minar Army Museum

Lahore Pakistan Gallery Yadgar e Shuhada Memorial Pakistan Gallery

Kartarpur Border Terminal

Amritsar

Dog Pun

Indian Gallery Shan-e-Hind Gate National Martyrs Memorial

Indi Par Jall

Indian Gallery Asafwala War Memorial

INTERNATIONAL BORDER 2240 KM

Naggi War Memorial

Pakistan Gallery Integrated Check Post G FIA Immigration Office G Azadi Musuem Battle of Batapur War Monument Kos Minar

PAKISTAN

Marot Fort

INDIA

Indi Inte Sar Pul Sam Sam Moh

Longewala War Museum Ma j Punam Singh Memorial Sadhewala War Memorial

Jaisalmer War Museum* *(125kms from border) *(not included in statistics)

War Museums Other Museums

Marvi Heritage & Cultural Center

Monuments

Nadabet Border Memorial Lakhpat Fort Vighakot Fort BSF War Memorial 0 25

100km

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Historical Structures Structures of ‘Peace’ Gallery / Stadium

Government Buildings

Religious Buildings

Scan to visit the site

Number of structures along the border

Typology of structures along the border

1 2

Religious Buildings Structures of ‘Peace’

6 29

Government Buildings Gallery War Museums Other Museums

Hunderman Museum of Memories

Structures in India Structures in Pakistan

Apati War Memorial Munshi Aziz Bhat Museum

Vijay Diwas Memorial

Historical Structures Monuments

Shared Structures

Harka Bahadur Memorial

Statewise distribution [India]

Religious Buildings Structures of ‘Peace’ Government Buildings Gallery War Museums Other Museums Historical Structures Monuments

grai War Memorial njab State War Heroes Memorial & Museum ia Gate rtition Musuem

lianwala Bagh Museum

Religious Buildings Structures of ‘Peace’ Government Buildings Gallery War Museums Other Museums Historical Structures Monuments

4 19

18*

Punjab Kashmir Gujarat Ra jasthan

Punjab Kashmir Sindh

Structures along the border [Pakistan]

**includes Kaman Aman Setu Bridge

Structures along the border [India]

1 G

Number of structures

ian Gallery egrated Check Post rhad Museum of Peace Kanjari War Monument madhi of Sham Singh Atariwala madhi of Kumedan Sardar Punjab Singh han Singh Mahawa Memorial

Number of structures

Typology of structures

6 4

0 R

Typology of structures

Period of Construction [Pakistan]

Period of Construction° [India]

Structures in India Structures in Pakistan Shared Structures

>10 structures within 15km radius

11 8

2 1

Pre1947Independence 1975

19752000

20002021

Number of structures

International Border <2 structures within 5 km radius

Number of structures

Line of Control

5 2

Pre1947Independence 1975

19752000

20002021

°information not available for 3 structures An Architecture towards Peace

145

Statewise distribution [Pakistan]

146

Along the Indo-Pak border This survey was carried out using Google Maps to locate and Google Earth to survey the said monuments. Hence, due to the lack of any other source material, this is a non-exhaustive list of monumental structures within a radius of 15 kms (with some exceptions) from the International Border as well as the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. The survey was furthered by differentiating them on their functional typology ranging from war monuments and memorials to government buildings and religious edifices. There were found to be 67 monuments in total, with 44 structures being in India, 22 in Pakistan and one shared bridge in Jammu and Kashmir. Monuments (monolithic structures) were the most common typology built in the memory of the martyrs along the border. The divided state of Punjab houses the largest number of these structures with 19 structures in the Pakistani state and 19 structures in the Indian state. Jammu and Kashmir in India houses 18 such structures. The largest structure in terms of total square metres occupied was the Kartarpur Temple in Pakistan while the smallest were the Kos Minars (ancient milestones of the Mughal empire).

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Sulemanqi-Fazilka Border Gallery International Border

Kartarpur Temple Pakistan

Kaman Aman Setu Friendship Bridge Kashmir | Line of Control

Kartarpur Border Terminal Pakistan

Hussainiwala Border Gallery International Border

147

Marvi Heritage & Cultural Center Pakistan

An Architecture towards Peace

BSF War Memorial India

Nadabet Border Memorial India

Hundurman Museum of Memories India

The National Martyrs Memorial India

Balidhan Stambh War Memorial India

148

Kartarpur Border Terminal India

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Asafwala War Memorial India

149

Qila Darhal Fort India

Image unavailable

Vigahakot Fort India

Kargil War Memorial India

Longewala War Memorial India

Zozila War Memorial India

An Architecture towards Peace

150

Along the Indo-Pak border typology study

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

TYPOLOGY STUDY

50m

Marvi Heritage & Cultural Center

Sulemanqi-Fazilka Gallery

‘Other’ Museum Tharparkar | Sindh | Pakistan

Gallery Sulemanqi-Fazilka | International Border

Site Area 3,960 sqm

Site Area 7,994 sqm

Distance from border_23 km

Distance from border_0 km

100m

50m

Kartarpur Temple Religious Building

Kaman Aman Setu Friendship Bridge Structures of Peace

Kartarpur | Punjab | Pakistan Site Area 260,975 sqm Distance from border_04 km

Chakothi | Kashmir | Line of Control Distance from border_0 km

100m

Kartarpur Border Terminal Government Building Kartarpur | Punjab | Pakistan Site Area 55,852 sqm Distance from border_0.6 km

50m

Shan-e-Hind Gate | Hussainiwalla Gallery Monument | Gallery Hussainiwalla | International Border Site Area 7,350 sqm Distance from border_0 km An Architecture towards Peace

151

50m

100m

50m

Kartarpur Border Terminal

BSF War Memorial

Government Building Dera Baba Nanak | Punjab | India

Monument Dhrobana | Gujarat | India

Site Area 174,063 sqm

Site Area 9,700 sqm

Distance from border_0.2 km

Distance from border_17 km

152

100m

Nadabet Border Memorial Monument

Hundurman Museum of Memories ‘Other’ Museum

Nadabet | Gujarat | India Site Area 13,250 sqm Distance from border_0.2 km

Kargil | Kashmir | India Site Area 4,099 sqm Distance from border_02 km

100m

The National Martyrs Memorial War Museum | Memorial Park Hussainiwalla | Punjab | India Site Area 154,355 sqm Distance from border_0.3 km Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

100m

Balidan Stambh War Memorial Monument Jammu | Kashmir | India Site Area 49,621 sqm Distance from border_17 km

50m

Qila Darhal Fort

Asafwala War Memorial

Historical Structure Jammu | Kashmir | India

War Museum Asaf Wala | Punjab | India

Site Area 49,621 sqm

Site Area 2,554 sqm

Distance from border_07 km

Distance from border_05 km

50m

Vighakot Fort Historical Structures

Kargil War Memorial War Museum

Rann of Katch | Gujarat | India Site Area 11,021 sqm Distance from border_0.9 km

Kargil | Kashmir | India Site Area 27,225 sqm Distance from border_09 km

50m

Longewala War Museum War Museum Sadhawala | Ra jasthan | India Site Area 2,832 sqm Distance from border_13 km

50m

Zozila War Memorial Monument Ladakh | Kashmir | India Site Area 176 sqm Distance from border_27 km An Architecture towards Peace

153

50m

154

Along and across the Wagah-Attari border The highest concentration of monumentality is found along the Wagah-Attari crossing point with 7 structures and 6 structures within a distance of one kilometre from the border in India and Pakistan respectively. A further 5 such structures are found in Amritsar while similar 7 structures in Lahore, all within a radius of 30kms from the border. War musuems and war memorials are the most common typology found along this stretch. The Sarhad Museum of Peace is an extension of a restaurant that is situated within 2 kilometres of the border on the Indian side and it seems to be the only structure that celebrates the similarities of both the countries than the differences. The largest structures in India are Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Musuem (2016) and the Integrated Check Post (2018) while the largest in Pakistan are the Army Museum (2017) and the Lahore Fort complex. The smallest structures are the Kos Minars on either side of the border. There are 3 Kos Minars within 10 kms of the border with the closest being on the Indian side within 5 metres of the fencing.

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Batapur War Memorial Pakistan

The Lahore Museum Pakistan

Kos Minar Pakistan

155

Samadhi of Mahara ja Ranjit Singh Lahore Fort Pakistan

Image unavailable

Army Museum Pakistan

Azadi Museum Pakistan

An Architecture towards Peace

Image unavailable

156

FIA Immigration Office Pakistan

Integrated Check Post India

Image unavailable

Integrated Check Post Pakistan

Pul Kanjari Historical Monument India

Wagha-Attari Gallery International Border

Samadhi of Kumedan Sardar Singh India

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Punjab State War Heroes Memorial & Museum India

Sarhad Museum of Peace India

Jallianwala Bagh Museum India

Dograi War Memorial India

Partition Museum India

157

Samadhi of Sham Singh Atariwala India

An Architecture towards Peace

158

Along and across the Wagah-Attari border typology study

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

TYPOLOGY STUDY

50m

250m

Batapur War Memorial Monument Lahore| Punjab | Pakistan Site Area 497 sqm Distance from border_06 km

50m

The Lahore Museum ‘Other’ Museum Lahore | Punjab | Pakistan Site Area 9,835 sqm Distance from border_23 km

Kos Minar Historical Structure Lahore | Punjab | Pakistan Site Area 5 sqm Distance from border_01 km

50m

Army Museum War Museum Lahore | Punjab | Pakistan Site Area 21,840 sqm Distance from border_17 km

Azadi Musuem ‘Other’ Museum Lahore | Punjab | Pakistan Site Area 1,519 sqm Distance from border_0.4 km An Architecture towards Peace

159

100m

50m

160

FIA Immigration Office Government Building Lahore | Punjab | Pakistan Site Area 11,272 sqm Distance from border_0.1 km

Integrated Check Post Government Buildings Amritsar | Punjab | India Site Area 260,507 sqm Distance from border_0.3 km

100m

50m

Pul Kanjari Historical Structure + Monument Amritsar | Punjab | India Site Area 7,961 sqm Distance from border_0.7 km

Integrated Check Post Government Buildings Lahore| Punjab | Pakistan Site Area 221,773 sqm Distance from border_0.2 km

100m

50m

Wagha-Attari Gallery Gallery Wagha-Attari | International Border Site Area 10,220 sqm Distance from border_0 km

Samadhi of Kumedan Sardar Singh Monument (Tomb) Amritsar | Punjab | India Site Area 773 sqm Distance from border_03 km

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

50m

India Gate | Punjab State War Heroes Memorial & Museum Monument | War Museum Amritsar | Punjab | India Site Area 19,845 sqm Distance from border_19 km

50m

Sarhad Museum of Peace Open Air Museum (part of restaurant) Structures of Peace Amritsar | Punjab | India Site Area 837 sqm Distance from border_02 km

Jallianwala Bagh Museum ‘Other’ Museum Amristar | Punjab | India Site Area 19,263 sqm Distance from border_28 km

50m

Dograi War Memorial Monument Amritsar | Punjab | Pakistan Site Area 9,636 sqm Distance from border_16 km

Partition Museum ‘Other’ Museum Amritsar | Punjab | India Site Area 8,918 sqm Distance from border_28 km An Architecture towards Peace

161

Samadhi of Sham Singh Atariwala Monument (Tomb) Amritsar | Punjab | India Site Area 11,189 sqm Distance from border_03 km

des ign scen a r ios

162 Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Designing in volatile borders especially during a time of increasing global unrest requires a sensitive approach. There is always the fear of emphasising the divide more and hence causing harm than good. But that is not to say the architectural community should stray away from intervening. “...art and architecture have a meaning which often transcends a nation’s scope, and convey meanings which without any effort are able to cross borders”.

163

The hostile history at the India-Pakistan border caused by dividing villages and entire families has been simmering with threats of violence and the periodical confrontations (see Chapter2.2.3) ever since the line was drawn based on religious sentiments. But now the border seems prime more than ever for increased antagonism due to the rise of the right-wing government in India and the alleged escalating state-sponsored terrorism by Pakistan. And this is why it is pertinent that an intervention along and across the border is attempted. The design proposal is an exercise in subverting the idea of the border by slowly erasing it and making it porous for inter-community dialogue through spatial appropriation that will positively affect the larger political landscape.

An Architecture towards Peace

ECOLOGICAL C O R R I D O R

BLUE B O R D E R

164

Amritsar

Lahore

ECOLOGICAL C O R R I D O R

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

4.1.1 Objective The general objective of the design approach is to attain peace along and across a politically charged and fenced border through urban design strategies and architecture by reminding the other side of the border that there are more similarities between the inhabitants than differences. Specific objectives revolving around site studies at multiple scales include locating and enhancing the decreasing green covers; connecting existing green ecosystems on both sides of the border and thus creating a transborder green habitat network. Through this the belief is that, the idea of the intangible border line and the tangible fencing can be subverted and thus allow for inter-community dialogue through spatial appropriation that will positively affect the larger political landscape.

4.1.2 Methodology

165

The methodology involved in the design process began by zooming out of the Wagah-Attari crossing point and looking at the larger context of the India-Pakistan borderlands along the divided state of Punjab. The approach begins at the largest scale by exploring the possibilities of green corridors cutting across the border approximately 100km north and south of the Wagah-Attari crossing point. The existing ecosystems present in the region are connected with one another to create a transborder ecological corridor that would break the International border and the existing fencing to allow for the free movement of the respective fauna found in those regions. Particular site specific scenarios have been developed along these corridors based on the existing milieux. The second approach begins with the idea to ‘flood the border’ by siphoning water from the transboundary Ravi river along a length of approximately 40 km of the IndianPakistan border. This devised third line will flow through the existing two lines of the International Border and the border fencing and create spaces for designed scenarios through out its running course. Similar to the proposal of the ecological corridors, site specific scenarios have been developed along this proposed blue border thereby converting the border to a more porous environment.

An Architecture towards Peace

Border fencing

Tree Cover Border Forest Park

Tree Cover A plantation of trees covering 411 hectares of land

ecological corridor

er Riv

re r Fo st Pa r de

02 | B

Malikpul Chaal dam

ecological corridor

03 | Da

PROPOSED 02 | BORDER FOREST PARK

vi Ra

1000m

Border Forest Park

P a rk

03 Dam Park

kpur Chaal Dam ll dam that controls the flow er from irrigation canals to vi River. A picnic spot for the y villages and towns and nded by 4 canals

Malikpul Chaal

Tree Cover

97kms 12km

19km Fishing Park

Dam Park

22km

18km

Border Forest Park

Canal Park

Canal Pa

Amritsar

166

ecological corridor

Lahore

04 Canal Park

05 kM

Harike Wetlands bird sanctuary

Changa Manga forest park l ej

t Su

ar k

r Wetland P de

05 | B

k ar

06 |

lP na

04 |

Park ing sh

er Riv

Internati Fencing

Border C

Water w Rivers

Irrigatio

Changa Manga

War Memorial Park

Harike wetlands

Irrigatio

Lakes /

Sanctuar

109kms

Existing

13km

24km

9km

17km

10km

9km

27km

Ecologic

Propose

Fishing Park

Tree Cover

Canal Park

Border Wetland Park

Tree Cover

Canal Park

Propose Areas of

Areas for

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

PANEL

JOSE SIBI | 939871

Keshopur Chamb (340 ha) Over 13,000 migratory birds arrive here from Siberia, Middle East (via Pakistan) and China during winter

01 Connecting Park

ecting Par nn

01 | C o

Keshopur Chhamb bird sanctuary

Lala Mohan national park Lala Mohan national park

Keshopur Chhamb bird sanctuary

wellness centre

Keshopur Chhamb Lala Mohan 1.5km 11km

13km

1000m

EXISTING Connecting Park

ark

Tree Cover

Connecting Park

4.1.3 Ecological Corridors Harike Wetlands (8,600 ha) [Largest wetland in north India. Over 55,000 migratory birds arrive from the Arctic, Middle East (via Pakistan) and China during winter]

The strategy at the territorial level is to connect the existing PROPOSEDon either side of the border by proposing green ecosystems 01 | CONNECTING PARK ecological corridors. The Keshopur Chhambh bird sanctuary (13km east of the international border) on the Indian side, is connected to the Maalikpul Chaal Dam (05km west of the international border) on the Pakistani side via an ecological corridor that is proposed adjacent to an existing canal. The Harike wetlands (28km east of the international border) on the Indian side, is connected to the Changa Manga forest park (48km west of the international border) on the Pakistani side via an ecological corridor that is proposed adjacent to an existing canal (India) and an old river bed (Pakistan). r ive

tl e

167

ecological corridor

1000m

Sutl

ej R

iver

Canal Park

ecological corridor

EXISTING

The design approach is of developing site specific scenarios throughout thePROPOSED proposed corridor by involving the natural 04 | CANAL PARK elements present at these particular regions. This in turn breaks the long corridors and provides periodic episodes along the long green stretch. SECTIONAL SCENARIO A-A’ 05 ECOLOGICAL CORRIDOR| NTS Border Wetland Park 1000m

1000m

National Martyrs Memorial war memorial park

International border line

Border fencing

A land mass adjacent to the border; covering almost 2,500 hectares of land and disected by 4 branches of the Sutlej River

Sutlej River

ional Border

1000m

EXISTING

[only on Indian side]

Border Wetland Park

Crossing Points

ways

on Canals [<25m wide]

on Canals [>25m wide]

/ Ponds / Reservoirs

ries/Wetlands/Parks

cal Corridor

ed Path

ed Green Areas focus

r scenarios | design

ecological corridor

05-10m

10-20m

Existing Proposed Proposed Paddy Cycling/ Walking Corridor Fields Trail PROPOSED 05 | BORDER WETLAND PARK

10-20m

Existing Canal

50-100m

Proposed Corridor

Existing Paddy Fields An Architecture towards Peace

EXISTING CONTEXT from top to bottom; left to right; watchtower, Keshopur Chhamb, Google Map Image migratory birds at the bird sanctuary, Gitanjali Kanwar, WWF-India Aradhya Healthcare and Wellness Center, Google Map Image

168

Lala Mohan national park

Keshopur Chhamb bird sanctuary

EXISTING KESHOPUR CHHAMB

wellness centre

1000m

Connecting Park

ecological corridor

SECTIONAL SCENARIO CONNECTING PARK| NTS

PROPOSED CONNECTING PARK

850m long | 600m wide

1500m long | 500m wide

Existing Park (Lala Mohan Lal National Park)

Proposed Connecting Park

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

KEY PLAN | NTS 01 PAKISTAN

Keshopur Chhamb Bird Sanctuary

PAKISTAN

A’

INDIA

Maalikpul Dam INDIA

01 | Connecting Park

169

The Connecting park - as its name suggests - is designed to connect the existing Keshopur Chhamb bird sanctuary to the Lala Mohan National park to thus create a larger green ecosystem that would enable an increased migration of birds from across the border.

3600m long | 250 - 2000m wide

Existing Bird Sanctuary (Keshopur Chhamb)

An Architecture towards Peace

02 | Border Forest Park

Ravi River

Border fencing

Tree Cover

170

International border line

Existing Canal

r ve

i iR

v Ra

Proposed animal crossing bridge

EXISTING TREE COVER

1000m

Proposed Ecological Corridor

Border Forest Park

ecological corridor

PROPOSED BORDER FOREST PARK

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

ecological corridor

PLAN BORDER FOREST PARK| NTS

KEY PLAN | NTS 01 PAKISTAN

Keshopur Chhamb Bird Sanctuary

PAKISTAN

A’

INDIA

Maalikpul Dam INDIA

171

Suspended Forest Trail

Suspended Forest Trail Proposed Tree Cover

Future Connections

Existing Tree Cover

Proposed green along animal crossing ways

International Border ‘Opened’ Border Fences for animal crossing

Border Fencing River/ Canal/ Lake

100 m An Architecture towards Peace

02 | Border Forest Park

172

This forest park is proposed on the Pakistani side of the border as a ‘mirror’ to the existing cover of trees on the Indian side that spans around 411 hectares of land. Together the idea is of a border forest park where the fences are gradually taken down and the international border is dissolved to allow the uninhibited passage of the wildlife along the proposed ecological corridor. The proposed tree cover encompasses a land mass that is surrounded on three sides by the Ravi river which not only provides the water source for the forest but also acts as a natural barrier against external disturbances. Overtime, once the border becomes permeable, the possibility of a suspended human forest trail crossing freely onto the other side is also envisioned.

SECTIONAL SCENARIO BORDER FOREST PARK| NTS

PAKISTAN Ravi River

Ecological Corridor Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

70m

2000m long | 1500m wide

Proposed Animal Crossing Bridge

Proposed Tree Cover

173 Border Fencing

Border Line

INDIA

2500m long | 1720m wide

Existing Tree Cover

Ecological Corridor An Architecture towards Peace

EXISTING CONTEXT from top to bottom; left to right; Marala-Ravi link canal, Google Map Image the dam when opened during the monsoon season, Google Map Image people flocking to the dam which serves as a picnic spot, Google Map Image Maalikpur Chaal Dam Ma rala nk vi li -Ra

174

Banbawala i-R

avi Bedia n canal

al can

EXISTING DAM | CANALS

1000m

Dam Park

ecological corridor

SECTIONAL SCENARIO DAM PARK| NTS

65m Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Existing Canal

PROPOSED DAM PARK

1700m long | 1500m wide

Proposed Dam Park

KEY PLAN | NTS 01 PAKISTAN

Keshopur Chhamb Bird Sanctuary

PAKISTAN

A’

INDIA

Maalikpul Dam INDIA

03 | Dam Park

175

The dam park is proposed adjacent to the Maalikpur Chaal Dam that controls the flow of water from the existing irrigation canals to the Ravi River. An existing picnic spot for the nearby villages and towns is thus enhanced by being one of the terminal points of the proposed ecological corridor in the north.

120m

Existing Dam

An Architecture towards Peace Ecological Corridor

KEY PLAN | NTS

PAKISTAN

INDIA

Harike Pattan Bird Sanctuary

Changa Manga Forest Park

INDIA

Sut

lej R

iver

PAKISTAN

176

EXISTING SUTLEJ RIVER | CANAL

1000m

River Park

ecological corridor

1000m

PROPOSED RIVER PARK

SECTIONAL SCENARIO RIVER PARK| NTS

500m

Existing Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Paddy Fields

Sutlej River

04 | River park

177

This river park is proposed on the agricultural lands between an existing irrigation canal and the Sutlej river. The river acts again as the protagonist in this scenario. Its undulating flow during its perennial season has dissuaded the building of a fencing by the Indian government along most of its course. Hence, the proposal of a river park that connected both the Sutlej and the irrigation canal along which the ecological corridor passes through would act as pit stop for the wildlife of the region to replenish their need for water. The river park will also serve as a gathering spot for the inhabitants of the numerous nearby villages and towns (India) who lack a common green space.

1500m long | 500m wide

20m

Proposed River park

Existing Canal

Ecological Corridor An Architecture towards Peace

05 | Border wetland park

National Martyrs Memorial war memorial park

International border line

Border fencing

178

Existing Paddy fields

Existin Lake

Sutlej River

EXISTING SUTLEJ BRANCHES

1000m

Border Wetland Park

Sanda Nizam village

ecological corridor

Proposed green along animal crossing ways

PROPOSED BORDER WETLAND PARK

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

PLAN BORDER WETLAND PARK| NTS

KEY PLAN | NTS

PAKISTAN

INDIA

Harike Pattan Bird Sanctuary

Changa Manga Forest Park

PAKISTAN

Wetland Walking Trail

Future Connections

Proposed stream

xis t

ing

Ca na

179

Proposed stream

INDIA

‘Opened’ Border Fences for animal crossing

ng e

tl e jR

ive r

Existing Lake

International Border Border Fencing Proposed Ecological Corridor

River/ Canal/ Lake Proposed Water body

100 m An Architecture towards Peace

05 | Border wetland park The border wetland park is proposed in a land mass adjacent to the border that covers almost 2,500 hectares of land and is dissected by 4 branches of the Sutlej River. By using the elements of water and the marshy lands, a wetland park is thus imagined that would dissolve the International Border and existing fencing.

180

The confluence of the various tributaries of the Sutlej River at this region has led to the construction of a dam on the Indian side of the border. The road above this dam leads to the National Martyrs Memorial Park. Adjacent to the park is the Hussainiwala border crossing point, which is one of three locations where the daily beating ceremony is held (albeit in a slightly less aggressive stance). The International border splits an existing water body and the border wetland park is proposed on this premises. The park will not only serve as an intermediary sanctuary between the Harike wetlands on the east (India) and the Changa Manga forest cover on the west (Pakistan) but also house walking trails through the proposed wetlands for visitors. These proposals will allow to break down the border line and the fencing and allow a transfer of both man and animal across the border.

Border Line

Border Fencing

SECTIONAL SCENARIO BORDER WETLAND PARK| NTS

3500m long | 1500m wide

Proposed Wetland Park Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Existing Paddy Fields

75m

3500m long | 1000m wide

Sutlej River (branch)

Proposed Tree Cover

181 110m

Sutlej River (branch)

800m

Proposed Orchards

75m

Sutlej River (branch)

Existing Paddy Fields

Ecological Corridor An Architecture towards Peace

KEY PLAN | NTS

PAKISTAN

INDIA

Harike Pattan Bird Sanctuary

Changa Manga Forest Park

PAKISTAN

INDIA

Manmade ponds previous river bed

1000m

182

EXISTING MAN-MADE PONDS

Fishing Park

ecological corridor

PROPOSED FISHING PARK

ecological corridor

SECTIONAL SCENARIO FISHING PARK| NTS

1200m long | 800m wide Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands Ecological

Corridor

Existing Artificial Ponds

500m long | 500m wide

Proposed Fishing Park

06 | Fishing park

183

The fishing park is located on a river bed which is now dry. This dry river bed was an old tributary of the Sutlej River. It flows through the Pakistani town of Kasur and due to the heavy consumption of the town, the river started drying up completely in the mid 2000s (Google Earth Imagery 20002007). Villages and agricultural fields have been built on the new dry lands. But the lack of a ma jor natural water source for the old and new settlements have prompted the inhabitants to dig up the river bed and create artificial ponds for their water usage. Thus the idea of a fishing park in this region will further prompt the digging up of more water ponds and the presence of the ecological corridor along the course of this river bed will possibly reverse the existing dry conditions to its older state of greenery. This is the penultimate scenario before the ecological corridor meets the existing Changa Manga forest park.

2300m long | 950m wide

Existing Artificial Ponds (previous river bed of branch of Sutlej River)

An Architecture towards Peace

01 Source Point

vi Ra

r ve

Ravi River (720 kms) a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan and one of the 6 tributaries of the Indus River system with a perennial flow of water from the Himalayas

International border line

Border fencing

vi Ra

| 01

00 sqm) ed onal llowed

r ve

Source Poin t

500m

Drop D o

| Step Do wn

EXISTING 3|

Drop D o wn

Cycle Loop_Pul Kanjari

Pul Kanjari (6,137 sqm) Historical heritage site built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh; used a water reservoir and resting place. Now a tourist attraction

| Cycl e L 02 oo

|P anjari ul K | Step Do

| Step Do

Drop D o

0 Border Crossing Points Water ways Rivers

Irrigation Canals [>25m wide] Settlements Cities Villages Proposed Blue Border Canal Proposed Cycle Path Areas of focus Areas for scenarios | design

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

01 kM 01 kM

Irrigation Canals [<25m wide]

nd sla

Fencing [only on Indian side]

rL orde ake

Drop D o wn

International Border

| Step Do wn

184

Drop down waterfront

n io at rig r I

al an C

05 Border Lake+Island

A peculiar shape formed by the invisible International Border line; proposal to convert to a lake with a ‘border’ island

Border fencing

International border line Sanjha Peer Darbar

Pul Kanjari 1 km

185

5.5 km

14 km

0km

11 km

2.5 km

Ravi River Crossing

Azadi Museum

Sarhad Museum 2 km

1 km

Tomb of Atariwala

3.5 km

Freedom Fighter Memorial

1.5 km

4 km

8 km

Kos Minar

13 km

16 km

0 km

Border fencing

Irrigation Canal Crossing

International border line

Kos Minar

7 km

6 km

Wagah Attari Crossing

4.1.4 Blue Border The strategy at the regional level is to flood the border. Along the international border, cross-border water bodies (rivers, irrigation canals, ponds) are the only sites that disrupt fencing. The proposal involves siphoning water from the perennial Ravi River and letting it run along the international border and the adjacent border fencing for a stretch of 40km southwards (natural slope) until it meets a convergence of two irrigation canals. Site specific scenarios have been planned along this blue border that start from the Ravi River and end with a proposed shared border island.

An Architecture towards Peace

01 | Source point_Ravi river

EXISTING CONTEXT from top to bottom; left to right; sunset at the International border, Ravi river, Google Map Image recreational activities along the banks of the Ravi river, Google Map Image crossing the river during the summer season, Google Map Image

186

International border line

Border fencing

vi Ra

EXISTING RAVI RIVER

r ve

Barrage

500m

Exi

PROPOSED SOURCE POINT

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

blue border

PLAN SOURCE POINT| NTS

Ravi River

PAKISTAN

INDIA

02 Lahore-Amritsar Road

Lahore-Amritsar Railway Line

Transborder Irrigation Canal

PAKISTAN

KEY PLAN | NTS

INDIA

187

Proposed Barrage (water sourced from Ravi River to flood the border)

Ravi River

Existing Agricultural fields

A’

ue Bl

isting

Proposed Walkways

er rd Bo

Cana

Proposed Cycle path

l A

International Border Border Fencing River/ Canal/ Lake Proposed Water body

100 m An Architecture towards Peace

01 | Source point_Ravi river

188

The source point is where the water for the blue border is siphoned off the Ravi River through a barrage (small dam). The proposed cycle path loops across from both the sides of the international border and converges on top the newly proposed border. The walkways are also extended from the waterfront onto the river beds to enhance the experience at this point. This region of the Ravi river is used by inhabitants of both sides of the border for activities including fishing and boating and as a recreational spot. The river cuts across the international border here which only adds to the spectacle of this location. Hence not only does this site act as the source of the blue border but would also reciprocatively benefit by the proposed waterfront development.

Border

SECTION A-A’ SOURCE POINT| NTS

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

20-45m

05m

10m

Proposed Walkways

Cycling Path

Proposed Waterfront

189

Line

30-50m

Blue Border

10m

05m

20-45m

Proposed Waterfront

Cycling Path

Proposed Walkways

An Architecture towards Peace

02 | Cycle loop_Pul Kanjari

EXISTING CONTEXT from top to bottom; left to right; water stored at the ancient reservoir, Pul Kanjari historical monument Google Map Image a wider view of the historical site, Pul Kanjari https://www.cityamritsar. com/pul-kanjari-amritsar/ war memorial for the martyrs of 1971 war, Pul Kanjari https://www.cityamritsar. com/pul-kanjari-amritsar/

190

International border line

Pul Kanjari

Border fencing

historical monument

Pul Kanjari war memorial

EXISTING PUL KANJARI

500m

Agric

PROPOSED CYCLE LOOP

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

blue border

PLAN CYCLE LOOP_PUL KA

Ravi River

PAKISTAN

INDIA

02 Lahore-Amritsar Road

Lahore-Amritsar Railway Line

Transborder Irrigation Canal

PAKISTAN

KEY PLAN | NTS

INDIA

191

Proposed Cycle path

Pul Kanjari (historical site)

Proposed Cycle path

B’

order Blue B

Existing cultural fields

ANJARI| NTS

Pul Kanjari (war monument)

International Border Border Fencing River/ Canal/ Lake Proposed Water body

100 m An Architecture towards Peace

02 | Cycle loop_Pul Kanjari

192

The Pul Kanjari is a historical heritage on the Indian side of the border built by Mahara ja Ranjit Singh which was used as a water reservoir and resting place for the mahara ja’s travels between Amritsar and Lahore. It is now a tourist attraction. The Pul Kanjari also known as Pul Mohra is often called the Ta j Mahal of Punjab since it was built by the mahara ja in memory of his loved one. This village also houses a war memorial in honour of the Indian soldiers who were martyred during the Indo-Pak war of 1971. A cycle path from the Pakistani side is envisioned to flyover the blue border and onto the historic site making it a shared enclave for people from both the countries. A gurudwara (Sikh temple), a Hindu temple and a mosque are all found in this village which is a rare sight and hence provides more reason as to why a cycle loop from the other side is required to emphasis on the unity in diversity of this small village.

SECTION B-B’ PUL KANJARI CYCLE LOOP| NTS

05m

Cycle Path

10m

Proposed Walkways

Proposed Waterfront

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

30m

10m

Blue Border

Proposed Waterfront

Proposed Walkways

193 05m

05m

05-07m

Cycle Path

Proposed Stream

200m

Pul Kanjari Historical Site

230m

Proposed Tree Cover | Park

An Architecture towards Peace

Ravi River

PAKISTAN

03 INDIA

02 Lahore-Amritsar Road

Lahore-Amritsar Railway Line

Transborder Irrigation Canal

EXISTING SCENARIO 03

PAKISTAN

INDIA

194

KEY PLAN | NTS

500m

Drop down canalfront

PROPOSED DROP DOWN WATERFRONT

10-15m

Existing Agricultural fields

3.5m

Proposed Walkways Cycle paths

SECTION DROP DOWN WATERFRONT| NTS Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

05-10m

Blue Border

3.5m

10-15m

Proposed Walkways Cycle paths

Existing Agricultural fields

03 | Drop down waterfront

195

The drop down waterfront development is one among two generic designs that will feature along the blue border. Decreasing the width of the canal in this type of intervention, it allows for a shared realm for the people from across the border. The drop down canal is thus envisaged at four locations along the blue border where the width of the canal is narrow. The immediate drop from the ground level brings the visitors down to a space where the decreased width of the proposed canal allows for a slightly enclosed spatial feeling. This feeling of occupying the same space would kindle in the visitors from either side to feel that they belong together. When one of them dips their leg in the waters below, the belief is that the other would follow the same through the process of sub-conscious imitative behaviour or echophenomena. This would result in them imitating and sharing similar habits and activities that would enable an open-dialogue between the communities at large. A sharing of problems and solutions would be enabled that would possibly escalate into the unspoken creation of a shared region that is not split but rather brought together by a blue border.

An Architecture towards Peace

International border line

Border fencing

Ravi River

PAKISTAN

INDIA

Lahore-Amritsar Road

04 Lahore-Amritsar Railway Line

PAKISTAN

EXISTING SCENARIO 04

500m

Step down canalfront

INDIA

196

KEY PLAN | NTS

Transborder Irrigation Canal

PROPOSED STEP DOWN WATERFRONT

blue border

05-10m

Proposed Walkways Cycle paths Existing Agricultural fields

Proposed Walkways Cycle paths 15m

15-30m

15m

Waterfront

Blue Border

Waterfront

SECTION STEP DOWN WATERFRONT| NTS Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Existing Agricultural fields

04 | Step down waterfront The step down waterfront is the second generic design proposed along the blue border. It is envisaged at four locations along the blue border where the proposed canal is wider; including either flanks of the Wagah-Attari crossing point. Inspired by the ancient step-wells that is prolific of the region, the steps bring the visitors down to a waterfront that multiple activities. A series of steps are designed that do not meet the waterfront, creating a volume underneath that is automatically converted to a space to encourage performances that can also be witnessed from the other side across the canal. Other volumes thus created allow for spaces of contemplation that would enable recreational activities such as reading and yoga.

197

With the Wagah-Attari crossing point being one of the locations where this design is implemented, it would serve as a locus of subverting the state of affairs inside the hostile galleries. The presence of the natural element of a transparent water body instead of huge metallic gates or spiked fences separating the masses would be a welcoming experience for the visitors and imbibe in them a sense of pacific reconciliation rather than jingoistic nationalism and cries of war-mongering.

An Architecture towards Peace

05 | Border lake + Island

Ravi River

PAKISTAN

INDIA

02 Lahore-Amritsar Road

Lahore-Amritsar Railway Line

Existing Agricultural fields

Transborder Irrigation Canal

PAKISTAN

INDIA

Fishing Pie

KEY PLAN | NTS

198

International border line

Border fencing

Step Down Waterfront

EXISTING CANALS

500m blue border

Border Island

Exi

stin

Existing Agricultural fields

PROPOSED BORDER LAKE + ISLAND

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

PLAN BORDER LAKE+ISLAND| NTS

ana

e Blu Exi

stin

gC ana l

r de Bor

199

Park

Submerged Cycle Path Fishing Pier Border Lake Border Island

Amphitheatre Playground

Future Connection

Exi

International Border

sti ng

Border Fencing

na Ca

River/ Canal/ Lake

Proposed Water body

100 m An Architecture towards Peace

05 | Border lake + Island

200

A peculiar shape formed by the invisible International Border line allows the proposal to convert this land to a lake along with a ‘border’ island. The border lake promotes activities such as boating and fishing while an amphitheatre playground and park are found on the border island. It symbolises the possibility of sharing of both water and land between the two countries. The border island is accessed from the mainland by a ‘cycle through the lake’ path that also acts as a barrage to control the flow of water from the proposed blue border and the irrigation canals. The lake is situated just inside the peculiar shape of

SECTION BORDER LAKE+ISLAND| NTS Proposed Barrage (to control the water flow from the poroposed canal and the irrigation canal onto the border lake)

10-20m

10m

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Walkways

Waterfront

Submerged Cycle Path (above the proposed barrage)

110m

Border Lake

201

the border and hence acts as an element that welcomes the other side to cross into once restricted lands without any hindrances. The proposed border lake includes a stepped waterfront, a huge fishing pier and a park. The lake is thus the provocateur and the border island it leads to is the locus of drama. A drama which will be played out by inhabitants from either side that is further promoted by the proposed amphitheatre, playground, fishing piers and green spots. The border island also includes a possible juncture for the cycle path that originated from the source point (Ravi river), thus completing the cycle loop around the blue border.

Performing Stage (viewable also from across the lake)

50m

Amphitheater 300m

Border Island

50m

Border Lake

10m

10-20m

An Architecture towards Peace

Waterfront

Walkways

202

Conclusion

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

203

Politically charged borders are one among several zones of potential conflict. The U.N. Refugee Agency estimates that 62 new border walls and fences have been erected since the Berlin Wall was felled in 1989. If not arrested at the earliest, these conflicts can easily transform into the next locus for all out agitations and possibly even wars. It is not only the political that matters but the economical, religious and social situations across the border too. If not addressed by a scale of equality, these border regions will have an imaginary divide hanging between them regardless of a barrier separating them is present or not. Along the India-Pakistan borderlands the imaginary borderline first appeared in 1947 when the country was partitioned into a Hindu India and an Islamic Pakistan while the first border fencing was erected more than 4 decades later by the Indian government as a reaction to the Khalistani movement of 1988. Till date, it remains a geo-politically engulfed landscape where the evils of the Partition and the anguish of the genocide that followed still lingers. The rise of the ring-wing government in India and the increasingly alleged statesponsored terrorism from Pakistan threatens to spill into another war given the numerous border skirmishes especially

An Architecture towards Peace

over the last five years. Furthermore, both India and Pakistan rank a lowly 135 and 150 respectively among the 163 countries evaluated under the 2021 Global Peace Index. Therefore, a rethinking of these borderlands remains a pertinent issue.

204

Other than the political and religious sentiments across this border, much of the other variables in either country remain the same. The people live across the border all the way from the mountainous Himalayas in the north to the fertile IndoGangetic plain fed by the transborder river of Indus and its tributaries while descending southwards on to the desert lands of Thar and eventually into the water body of the Arabian Sea. This is in fact proves that it is not a geographic barrier that divides the said people but an imaginary one. Economically, socially and culturally both the immediate sides of the border exhibit the same mannerisms. They share the same passion for cricket and over-realistic movies, have similar familial values and manifest a need and cultivation for communal living. One of the oldest civilizations of the world - the Indus Valley civilization had occupied these lands more than 5000-8000 years ago. And hence it is not a wishful thinking to imagine that a shared border can be envisaged in this space. The proposed ecological corridors and the blue border are not an external injection onto these lands but are rather dependent on the existing wildlife and water bodies of the area of intervention. It is by the very nature of the milieu surrounding these lands, that the design has been advanced. The ecological corridors are sewn together by connecting the various sanctuaries, forest covers and irrigation canals that it passes through while the blue border depends on water flowing from the transborder Ravi river to flood the border and eventually end at the confluence of two irrigation canals. Scenarios along these two ‘lines’ thus pictured allow for interaction by inhabitants from both sides of the border, and it is then them who decide what the border should look like (albeit hopefully for the better). Various scenarios have been envisioned from border wetland parks to fishing parks but when presented with the multiple possibilities of how the existing situation can be addressed and designed for dialogue to achieve peace and reconciliation through spatial appropriation, architecture automatically takes a back-seat and allows the built environment - now freely modified by a once aggressive populace - to thrive as a shared realm.

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

The proposed design exclusively focuses on the divided lands of the state of Punjab. If successful, these ideas could be adapted to the various other border states that India and Pakistan share via connecting the various present ecological systems as well as creating new habitats. This would, in many ways, symbolically lift the veil and allow uninhibited movement across a restricted border.

205

“In his book Modernity at Large (2003), Arjun Appadurai proposes using the word ‘scapes’ as building blocks of the new transnational imagined possibilities in modern society. He sees these new scapes with transnational potential ethnoscapes, technoscapes, financescapes, mediascapes and ideoscapes - as landscapes which flow into each other. The often transnational landscapes enable the creation of ‘communities of sentiment’ which disregard the modernist perspective of the homogeneous nation state in which territory, citizenship and identity are bounded by national border... For this reason the border area is the borderscape. It is created, constructed, and can therefore also be recreated and redesigned in a transnational context” (van Houtum & Eker, 2013). Through this thesis I believe I have been able to answer if not all but many a questions that had served as the motivation for this topic. As there exists a relation between architecture and conflict/war, there is a similar if smaller but hopeful relation architecture shares with peace. And I am certain that our discipline has the capacity to evolve for the better into an architecture that breeds democracy, inclusion and reconciliation. The agency of the architect in these spaces is thus in not producing a heroic intervention but in learning and unlearning the various histories and perspectives of a place, paying due respect to those kaleidoscopic elements of the respective place and then proposing a contextual architecture that would enable rather than disable. In many ways, this thesis hopes to remain as a sort of repentance for the hateful shoutings uttered on that fateful day in December, 2014. “Design has never been about giving someone or some group what they ask for but what they wish they had asked for and retrospectively pretend that they did ask for” (Colomina & Wigley, 2016).

An Architecture towards Peace

206 Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

207 An Architecture towards Peace

Bibliography 1.1

The symbiotic relationship of Architecture and Conflict

Weber, M. (1905) The Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism, (T. Parsons, Trans., 1930) London, Routledge Priest, C. (2011) The Volumes of Violence: Representations of Conflict through Spatial Art practice in England, The Journal of Architecture, 16(1), (p.89-98) Piquard, B. & Swenarton, M. (2011) Learning from Architecture and Conflict, The Journal of Architecture, 16(1), (p.1-13) Gabbatiss, J. (2017) Is Violence Embedded in our DNA?, Sapiens: Anthropology Magazine Adams, D. (1989) The Seville Statement on Violence: A Progress Report, Journal of Peace Research, 26(2), (p.113-121)

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Suter, K., (2005) 50 Things You Want to Know About World Issues . . . But Were Too Afraid to Ask Immerwahr, D. (2019) How to Hide an Empire: A Short History of the Greater United States Spodek, H. (2013) City Planning in India under British Rule, Economic and Political Weekly, 48(4), (p. 53-61) Stanek, L. (2020) Architecture in Global Socialism: Eastern Europe, West Africa and the Middle East in the Cold War Hobsbawm, E. J., & Ranger, T. O. (1983) The Invention of Tradition McEwen, K.I. (2003) Vitruvius: Writing the Body of Architecture Taylor, R. M. (2004) Vitruvius: Writing the Body of Architecture, Book Reviews (p.284-289) Çinar, Z. (2014) Contingent Presences in Architecture: Vitruvian Theory as a Beginning, International Journal of Architectural and Environmental Engineering, 10(4) Junne, G. (2010) Designing peace: bricks and mortar of reconciliation, The Broker, 10, (p.30-33) Docevski, B. (2015) Timgad The Lost City: A 2000 Year old Roman City With Surprisingly Modern Grid Design, Vintage News O’Brien, H. (2018) How Classical Architecture Became a Weapon for the Far Right, New Statesman

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Cohen, J.L. (2011) Architecture in Uniform: Designing and Building for the Second World War Crowley, D. & Pavitt J. (2008) Cold War Modern: Design 1945 - 1970 Samia, H. (2019) War Zones Bevan, R. (2006) The Destruction of Memory: Architecture at War Crysler, C.G. (2007) The Destruction of Memory: Architecture at War, Journal of Architectural Education (p.63-65) Herscher, A. (2008) Warchitectural Theory, Journal of Architectural Education, 61(3), (p.35-43) Lebovic. S. (2013) From War Junk to Educational Exchange: The World War II Origins of the Fulbright Program and the Foundations of American Cultural Globalism, 1945–1950 Woods, L. (1993) War and Architecture, Pamphlet Architecture, 15

Murtagh, B. (2017) Urban alternatives and collaborative economics in Belfast’s contested space, The Social Ecology of Border Landscapes (p.181–194) Pryce, G. (2018) Peace Walls and other Social Frontiers can Breed Crime and Conflict in Cities, The Conversation Allweil, Y. (2017) Homeland: Zionism as Housing Regime, 1860–2011. Farmer, P. (1996) On Suffering and Structural Violence: A View from Below, Daedalus, 125(1) (p.261-283) Kripa, E. & Mueller, S. (2020) Fronts: Military Urbanisms and the Developing World Stephen. G. (2010) City Under Siege: The New Military Urbanism Al Sabouni, M. (2017) From a model of peace to a model of conflict: The effect of architectural modernization on the Syrian urban and social make-up, International Review of the Red Cross (2017), 99 (3), 1019–1036, Conflict in Syria 1.2

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Volume (2010) Architecture of Peace, 26 Volume (2014) Architecture of Peace: Reloaded, 40 Schoonderbeek, M., & Shoshan, M. (Eds.) (2016) Spaces of Conflict, Footprint,

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Coward, M. (2009) Urbicide: The Politics of Urban Destruction

10(2) Truby, S. (2007) Exit-Architecture: Design between War and Peace Charlesworth, E. (2006) Architecture without Frontiers: War, Reconstruction and Design Responsibility Ristic, M. (2018) Architecture, Urban Space and War: The Deconstruction and Reconstruction of Sarajevo Reychler, L. & Langer, A. (2006) Researching Peace Building Architecture Logan, W., & Reeves, K. (2009) Places of Pain and Shame: Dealing with ‘Difficult’ Alvar Aalto Foundation (2019) Design and Peace Goltsman, S.M. & Lacofano, D.S. (2007) The Inclusive City: Design Solutions for Buildings, Neighborhoods and Urban Spaces Crawford, M. (1991) Can Architects be Socially Responsible?, Out of Site: A Social Criticism of Architecture, Seattle Bay Press, pp. 27-45

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Possible areas of intervention: Borderlands

Woods, L. (2009, November 19) The Question of Space, Retrieved from https://lebbeuswoods.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/the-questionof-space/ van Houtum, H. & Eker, M. (2015) BorderScapes: redesigning the borderland, Territorio, (72) , pp. 101-107* Cruz, T. (2017) Foreword: Borderwalls as Public Space? in Architecture as Borderwall Rael, R. (2017) Architecture as Borderwall: A Manifesto for the U.S.-Mexico Boundary Allweil, Y. (2017) Homeland: Zionism as Housing Regime, 1860–2011 Schoonderbeek, M. (2015) Complexity and simultaneity. The border as spatial condition, Territorio, (72) , pp. 95-100. Eker, M. & van Houtum, H. (2013) Border Land: Atlas, Essays and Design. History and Future of the Border Landscape Grichting, A. (2013) Boundaryscapes: a digital and dynamic Atlas for collaborative planning in the Cyprus Green Line, Territorio, (72) , pp. 108-116* *as a part of the “Border/scaping. Borderlands and urban studies in dialogue” seminar conducted in Politecnico di Milano on 10 September 2014

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Svetlic, R. (2016) Debordering of the Border and Its Limit, Borders/Debordering, Poligrafi, (21), pp. 45-58 Schoonderbeek, M. et al. (2010) Border Conditions Hermans, S. (2010) Endurance, Strength Play and Game, Border Conditions Dear, M. (2013) Why Walls won’t work: Repairing the U.S-Mexico Divide, New York: Oxford University Press Guerrero, J. (2016, December 13) Death At The Border: Threat Of Trump’s Wall Intensifies Search For Dying Migrants, KPBS Kim, D. (2013) The Demilitarized Zone: Redrawing the 151-Mile Border Between North and South Korea, 101st ACSA Annual Meeting Proceedings, New Constellations, New Ecologies, pp. 518-528 Benedicto, A.R, Akkerman, M & Brunet, P. (2020) A Walled World: Towards a Global Apartheid, Centre Delàs d’Estudis per la Pau, Transnational Institute

Ilia, V. (2016) Between Borders: Outgrowing segregation patterns while examining and implementing future integration arrangements through the usage of urban and architectural design within the Green Line in Nicosia, Cyprus, Masters Thesis (unpublished), Politecnico di Milano, Milan, doi: https:// www.politesi.polimi.it/handle/10589/126387 Venzor, X.A & Aranda, J.L (2021) From Division Line to Spaces of Encounter, Masters Thesis (unpublished), Politecnico di Milano, Milan, doi: https://www. politesi.polimi.it/handle/10589/177715 2.2

An Experiment: Monumentality along borderscapes

Mumford, L. (1937) Death of the Monument Choay, F. (1984) Alberti: The Invention of Monumentality and Monument, Monumentality and the City, The Harvard Architecture Review IV Abercrombie, S. (1984) Architecture as Art: An Esthetic Analysis Goldberger, P. (2009) Why Architecture Matters Young, J.E. (1992) The Counter-Monument: Memory against Itself in Germany Today, Critical Inquiry, 18(2), pp. 267-296 Giedion, S. (1944) The Need for a New Monumentality, New Architecture and City Planning, pp. 549-568 Giedion, S., Leger, F. & Sert, J.L (1943) Nine Points on Monumentality Safdie, M. (1984) Collective Significance, Monumentality and the City, The

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Weizman, E. (2007) Hollow Land: Israel’s Architecture of Occupation

Harvard Architecture Review IV Baum, S. (2018, December 13) The Book Will Kill The Edifice, Retrieved from https://medium.com/@spencerbaum/the-book-will-kill-theedifice-cf3ac706ea35 Takacs, D. (2011) Liquid Monumentality: A Search for Meaning, Thesis Report, University of Waterloo Pallasmaa, J. (1996) Eyes of the Skin Woods, L. (2009, November 09) Wall Games, Retrieved from https://lebbeuswoods.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/wall-games/ Rasmussen, S.E (1959) Experiencing Architecture Kul-Want, C. (2012) Introducing Slavoj Zizek: A Graphic Novel Rodriguez-Pose, A. (2018) The revenge of the places that don’t matter (and what to do about it), Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society (11) pp. 189–209

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Colomina, B. & Wigley, M. (2016) Are We Human? Notes on an Archaeology of Design 2.3 3.1

The India-Pakistan Border The Wagah-Attari Border

Joshi, A. (2021) What led the British to Leave India?, Rediff.com, doi: https:// www.rediff.com/news/column/ashok-joshi-what-led-the-british-to-leaveindia/20210814.htm Ahmed, S. (1887) Speech: Present State of Indian Politics, Meerut, India, The Pioneer Press, 1888, pp. 29-53, doi: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/ pritchett/00islamlinks/txt_sir_sayyid_meerut_1888.html The Road to Partition 1939–1947, National Archives, United Kingdom, doi: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/the-road-topartition/ Dalrymple, W. (2015) The Great Divide: The violent legacy of Indian Partition, The New Yorker, June 29, 2015, doi: https://www.newyorker.com/ magazine/2015/06/29/the-great-divide-books-dalrymple Kosinski, L.A & Elahi, K.M. (1985) Population Redistribution and Development in South Asia Brocklehurst, S. (2017) Partition of India: ‘They would have slaughtered us’, BBC News, doi: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-40874496 Bisht, R. (2015) 1965: Stories from the Second Indo-Pakistan War, Penguin UK, p. 60

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Lyon, P. (2008) Conflict between India and Pakistan : An Encyclopedia van Schendel, W. (2009) A History of Bangladesh, Cambridge University Press, p. 136 Tariq, A (2001) Bitter Chill of Winter, London Review of Books, 23(8), doi: https:// www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v23/n08/tariq-ali/bitter-chill-of-winter Shah, S (2017) ICJ refused to hear Pak plea against India in 2000, The News, doi: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/204905-ICJ-refused-to-hear-Pak-pleaagainst-India-in-2000 Kochhar, A. (2020) The Making of the Attari-Wagah border, Live History India, doi: https://www.livehistoryindia.com/story/snapshort-histories/attari-wagahborder/ Ghosh, B. (2020) The officer who set up the ‘Wagah border’, The Hindu, doi: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/the-officer-who-set-up-the-wagahborder/article32354169.ece

Tertrais, B., Papin, D. & Aime, M. (2018) Atlante delle frontiere: Muri, Conflitti, Migrazioni Chhina, R.T.S. (2014) Last Post: Indian War Memorials Around the World, Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, United Service Institution of India Pathania, R., & Thakur, R. (2021) Visualizing Memory Scapes: A Spatio- Affective Study of Select War Memorials of Jammu and Kashmir, Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, Rupkatha Journal, 13(1) Menon, J. (2014) The Perfomance of Nationalism Leithead, A. (2007) Mixed feelings on India-Pakistan border, BBC News, doi: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6945626.stm Saeed, S. (2012) Shouting in the Mirror, The New York Times, doi: https://www. nytimes.com/2012/05/29/opinion/shouting-in-the-mirror.html Jacob, H. & Bedi, K. (2017) Patriot Games at Wagah Border, The Hindu, doi: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/patriot-games-at-attari-wagah/ article19530198.ece Mittal, D. (2018) Why is the Wagah Border Ceremony a Competition of Nationalism, The Tribune, doi: https://tribune.com.pk/article/66764/why-is-thewagah-border-ceremony-a-competition-of-nationalism Virdee, P. (2017) No man’s land: The Wagah-Attari border, The London School of Economics, doi: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2017/08/14/no-mans-land-

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Khaleeli, H. (2010) Goodbye to the ceremony of silly walks between India and Pakistan, The Guardian, doi: https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/ nov/01/india-pakistan-border-showdown-toned-down

the-wagah-attari-border/ Hussain, M. (2018) The Wagah Border: A Site of Uncomfortable Contradictions, Doing History in Public, doi: https://doinghistoryinpublic.org/2018/11/07/thewagah-border-a-site-of-uncomfortable-contradictions/ Sandhu, R.S. & Teotia, M.K (2013) The State of Cities in North-Western India: A Case of Selected JNNURM Cities (Study Focus City: Amritsar), Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development, HUDCO 4.1 Design Sinclair, C. (2006) Design Like You Give A Damn: Architectural Responses To Humanitarian Crises Sinclair, C. (2012) Design Like You Give a Damn [2]: Building Change from the Ground Up Montgomery, C. (2013) Happy City: Transforming our Lives through Urban Design Basrai, A. & Basrai, Z. (2017-) The Bus Ride Publications

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De Botton, A. (2006) The Architecture of Happiness Shoshan, M. (2016) BLUE: The Architecture of UN Peacekeeping Missions Schoonderbeek, M., Pilav, A., Sohn, H., Stanicic, A., et. al (2020) Conflict Mediations, Footprint, 14(2) Mehdi, S.S. (2005) The Peace Museum on the Wagah Border, South Asian Journal, 10(1), pp. 116-126 Sunder, K. (2015) The ‘solar canals’ making smart use of India’s space, Future Planet, BBC, doi: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200803-the-solarcanals-revolutionising-indias-renewable-energy Nan, S., Reilly, J., Klass, F. et al. (2014) Water and Cities: Managing a Vital Relationship, International Society of City and Regional Planners, 10(1) Weinbuch, S. (2011) Nature Unites: Peace and Conservation in the Former Death Zone – the European Green Belt, Environment & Society Portal, Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society, doi: https://doi.org/10.5282/rcc/2755.

Rethinking the India | Pakistan Borderlands

Sitography “The Architecture of Democracy” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymmd_QnRt8c&ab_channel=HarvardGSD “Architecture, War and the Erasure of Identity” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmBZLy9_vRE&t=1144s&ab_ channel=TheNewSchool “The International Aino & Alvar Aalto Design Colloquium 2019 - DESIGN & PEACE” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNDqF9PoyYs&ab_ channel=AlvarAaltoFoundation “How Syria’s Architecture laid the Foundation for Brutal War” https://www.ted.com/talks/marwa_al_sabouni_how_syria_s_architecture_ laid_the_foundation_for_brutal_war “Wouter Vanstiphout - Blame the Architect” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2uNbGGVGKE&ab_ channel=AASchoolofArchitecture

An architect’s subversive reimagining of the US-Mexico border wall | Ronald Rael https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjrFw3MASGc Post Commodity on Borderlands | Art 21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKDfilSLXEs&t=18s Michael Palin at the India-Pakistan border ceremony | BBC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9y2qtaopbE Tanya Aguiñiga in “Borderlands” | Art21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bDvgPOl4J4

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“The Good Cause” https://vimeo.com/25192279

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Since the first ‘GIrl with the Balloon’, Banksy has created several versions. Perhaps the best known are the ‘Flying Balloon Girl’ from 2005, painted on a West Bank wall in Palestine, and ‘Girl with Balloon’ -Syrian Version from 2014, where the girl is wearing a headscarf. Maybe the child metaphorically represents the never-ending hope for peace.... source unknown

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