Penn Calendar Penn A-Z School of Arts and Sciences University of Pennsylvania
India in Transition
Sahana Ghosh
July 22, 2024

Nirash Barman is unable to cultivate his plot of land that now falls between the India-Bangladesh border and the fence that India has built on its side because of several restrictions placed by the Border Security Force (BSF). To compensate and manage his household expenses, he started growing ganja (cannabis) just by his house. After a few years of successful farming, he caught the attention of the BSF and the police, who raided his home, burned down his fields, and have now subjected his rural neighborhood to stringent surveillance.