Living on the Line of Control: Mapping Lives, Violence, and Development in Indian and Pakistani Administered Kashmir

The project aims to use qualitative and quantitative methods to capture the ‘story’ of border communities on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) that separates Indian- and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. These communities are the most fragile in South Asia. Cross-border violence is an everyday phenomenon, affecting and shaping the communities’ approach and access to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Much has been written on the Kashmir dispute, but there is no methodologically rigorous study on the effect of cross-border violence on fragile border populations. This project is thus the first of its kind. It surveys and analyses the link between the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals and the methods through which local border populations consume the same. It also measures the impact of cross-border violence on communities and their everyday lives.