Rupture and Connectivity: Mobilities and National Imaginations Across the Radcliffe Line

State-buildingSouth Asia remains one of the least integrated regions in the world.Although there is broad agreement on the need for stronger economic, infrastructure, and people-to-people connections, geopolitical realities since 1947 have continued to shape and constrain regional linkages.The Radcliffe Line not only defined Pakistan's borders but also demarcated river systems, sacred spaces, and cultural, social, and national imaginaries.Therefore, understanding the disruptions caused by the Radcliffe Line's creation of new national boundaries and their impact on existing connections and institutions is crucial for a critical history of modern Pakistan, India, and South Asia as a whole.It is equally important to analyze the modalities, mechanisms, structures, and norms that emerged after 1947 to regulate, restrict, or redefine relations between Pakistan and India, as well as to govern inter-state relations.In many cases, these modalities, mechanisms, and structures took decades to develop, intricately linked to the development of new border provinces and the strengthening of "internal" centerstate relations.Furthermore, these modalities reflected, on the one hand, the gradual increase in state capacity to create regulatory mechanisms and, on the other, the concerns in Pakistan and India about mobility, transnational links, and liminal groups and spaces.This special topic section complements the scholarly literature on Partition, statebuilding in Pakistan, and Pakistan-India relations by offering a detailed, multidisciplinary analysis of how Pakistan has handled ruptures and regional connectivity since its founding.This section examines the challenges Pakistan faced after Partition, including the disruption of networks such as rail links and irrigation systems.Recent cross-border tensions between Pakistan and India demonstrate how the disruption of these links and systems still impacts Pakistan today.For example, the Radcliffe Line raised serious concerns in Pakistan about the flow of river waters, as India became an upper riparian state.In 1960, both countries signed the Indus Water Treaty, which