Travelling across India’s Borderlands with Suchitra Vijayan

Writer and photographer Suchitra Vijayan spent seven years travelling solo, across 9,000 miles along India's many borders, from Pakistan to Myanmar to Afghanistan. In this episode we discuss her new book which documents her fascinating journey ‘Midnight’s Borders’.

Born and raised in Madras, India and now living in New York City, Barrister Suchitra has previously worked for the United Nations war crimes tribunals in Yugoslavia and Rwanda before co-founding the Resettlement Legal Aid Project in Cairo, which gives legal aid to Iraqi refugees. Inspired by her family, and the people who shared their story, this eye opening book shines a light on these often overlooked frontiers.

You can listen below, or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Suchitra talks about her unique journey, exploring India’s border territories and the people who live incredibly difficult, and in cases almost impossible lives. We also talk about the original , crude division of this subcontinent, and how these early 20th Century frontiers have had a lasting impact on the people who live there.

Midnight’s Borders features over 40 original photographs, taken by Suchitra, an award-winning photographer. We hear from those whose stories are never told: from children playing a cricket match in no-man’s-land, to an elderly man living in complete darkness after sealing off his home from the floodlit border. This is an essential read for anyone with a curiosity for the modern history of India.

“It is an act of generosity when someone trusts you enough, to tell you what happened to them”