Demarcating Indian Borderlands: Post-Colonial State Formation and Border Regulation
By Anand Damodaran
Summary
This article examines the post-independence efforts of the Indian state to demarcate and regulate its borderlands, focusing on bureaucratic, cartographic, and military processes. It analyzes correspondence between government officials and embassies, particularly the 1955 case of Col. P.N. Luthra's visit to Burma, which highlighted the state's scrutiny even of authorized personnel in border regions. The study contextualizes these efforts within the broader post-colonial challenges of defining unclear boundaries inherited from British rule, such as the Tirap frontier tract, which remained ambiguously marked by "colour washes" on maps. It also explores the internal debates and inconsistencies in cartographic representations, including discrepancies between official maps and military-use maps. The article underscores the ongoing nature of border demarcation, involving treaties, negotiations, and geopolitical conflicts, while emphasizing the role of state surveillance and bureaucratic documentation in shaping India's territorial identity.
Conclusion
This study highlights the complex bureaucratic and diplomatic challenges faced by the early Indian state in demarcating and regulating its borderlands post-independence. The correspondence between officials, such as the case of Col. Luthra’s visits to Burma, reveals the intense scrutiny and surveillance mechanisms applied even to state representatives, underscoring the sensitivity of border-related movements. The reliance on colonial-era maps, treaties, and undefined boundaries, as seen in the Tirap frontier and the Hunza-Nepal region, exposed the ambiguities and provisional nature of territorial claims. The use of "colour washes" in cartography and inconsistencies in military maps further revealed the state’s internal incoherence in representing borders. These historical efforts laid the groundwork for ongoing negotiations, treaties, and geopolitical strategies, emphasizing that border regulation remains a dynamic, evolving process shaped by diplomatic, military, and bureaucratic interventions. The study underscores the enduring implications of these early regulatory frameworks on contemporary India’s territorial policies and