Whose women and whose honour? A fragile imperial discourse on the Baluch-Punjab frontier, late nineteenth century

This article focuses on the Punjab-Baluch borderland region during the last decade of the nineteenth century. It shows how this region was a conflict zone, not only between local communities across borders but also between the two colonial frontier governments of Punjab and Baluchistan. The article explores the nature of these conflicts by examining a cross-border dispute involving women. It analyses how different competing legal systems—Shariat, customs, and colonial law—operated on the ground and were used by the disputants to resolve the conflict. Additionally, it discusses how, during this process, the colonial state documented women’s presence and used their voices and actions to serve the objectives of state-making. Through this case study, the article demonstrates that in local feuds involving women, colonial authorities emerged chiefly as disputants rather than just arbitrators. By claiming to be the legitimate custodians of the ‘abducted’ women, the two frontier governments competed against each other to fulfil the aspirations of the tribal communities they represented. This intra-tribal and intra-colonial dispute reveals deep fissures in colonial understanding of questions of state intervention, sovereignty, and colonial subjecthood—rendering the imperial project inconsistent, fragile, and contradictory in the Punjab-Baluch borderlands.