Introduction
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1 INTRODUCTION 'Thou shoudst not decide. until thou hast heard what both have to say,' Aristophanes. A spate of false propaganda, prejudiced reporting, distortions and one sided versions of the Punjab Problem have filled the columns of newspapers. As a result most people in India and abroad have not formed a correct assessment of the problem. Biased versions circulated by the Government controlled media have led to all sorts of misunderstandings and misconceptions in the public mind. The White Paper issued by the Government of India was nothing but an exercise in self-proclaimed righteousness. It was an ingenious attempt to white wash the glaring facts in order to justify the ill-conceived policies of the Government epitomising in the Blue Star attack on the Golden Temple, the sanctum sanctorum of the Sikhs. It takes up the events of only three years (1981-84) and takes no cognisance of the historical backdrop. Such a study is bound to be lop-sided, limited and partial. The multi-dimensional problem in Punjab must be studied in its entirety and in its historical totality. It is sad that the contemporary history of Punjab has been grossly misrepresented. Justice VR. Krishna lyer once remarked that "the full Punjab story in its veridical objectivity and dialectic perceptivity remains a challenge to nationalistic courage and holistic vision." The purpose of this Paper is to provide a true perspective on this challenging subject and to enlighten those, who have no access to actual facts. The full Punjab story presents a sordid tale of political trickery, colossal discrimination, Machaivillian strategies, deceptive accords, murky intrigues, confrontation and blood-shed. The Sikhs constitute only 2% of the total population of India, though they form a majority in the northern province of Punjab and 2 Truth about Punjab this very province is a target of discrimination and economic strangulation by the Centre. During the pre and post independence India, the Sikhs have sacrificed and toiled to break the shackles of slavery and to develop the country. Inside and outside India, where ever the Sikhs have gone, they have made a name for themselves in every field of life-skilled or unskilled, professional or non- professional. They are an enterprising, hardworking and God fearing people with a belief in equality of man, irrespective of colour, creed, origin, race, religion or sex. Inspite of overwhelming economic, political, social and religious odds, the Sikh farmers of Punjab have made India self-sufficient in food and their ethos have transformed Punjab into an enterprising state. It is well-known that the Sikhs constituted the backbone of India's freedom struggle. It was on the ashes of the Sikh freedom fighters that India built its citadel of freedom. During the British rule, the Sikhs were looked upon as the third political entity in the- country, along with the Hindus and the Muslims. Nationalism, secularism and democracy were the chief planks on which the Indian National Congress sought to build its strength in the pre-partition days. Congress had also promised a federal structure for free India. It had solemnly pledged constituional safeguards for the minorities and had assured the Sikhs that no future constitution of India would be acceptable to the Congress, which did not provide' full satisfaction to the Sikhs.' But after Independence, the Congress made a big somersault and began to play a deceptive role in the name of nationalism. Political life in the country was vitiated when the Congress started usurping the political rights of the minorities under the alluring camouflage of secularism and democracy. The wheel of the Government policies started moving in a direction that was bound to disillusion the Sikhs. Making of a unitary constitution, instead of a federal one, was a glaring breach of promise and came as a rude shock to them. The Sikh representatives outrightly rejected this Constitution and refused to append their signature to it. Secular and democratic professions of the Congress were soon exposed when it began to identify itself with communal forces and started to follow 3 Introduction a policy that was inconsistent and even contradictory from state to state. A noteworthy instance of the lack of a uniform domestic policy came to light when the ball of linguistic states was set rolling in the country and it was not allowed to reach Punjab due to communal reasons. Out of the fourteen recognised languages in the Indian Constitution, thirteen states were formed on a linguistic basis, only the Punjabi speaking state was not formed because of the fear of the Sikh majority in the state. Both Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi opposed the creation of a Punjabi speaking state tooth and nail, due to their communal bias and short-sighted approach. The Akali Dal had not asked for anything more than what was morally and legitimately due to the State on the principles of equity and equality. It is significant to note that the Akali struggle extending over almost two decades, for the creation of Punjabi Suba was well organised and non-violent in character. A record number of two lac people peacefully courted arrest. No other people in the country had to make so many sacrifices and carry out such a prolonged struggle for the formation of a linguistic state. Ultimately, when after a long and hard struggle the Punjabi Suba was formed in 1966, it was not equal in political status and powers with the other states like Maharshtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. It was nothing more than a crippled sub-state, mercilessly deprived of its economic resources, its capital and other vital limbs. The most destructive aspect of the Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966 was the introduction of Sections 78 to 80 which empowered the Centre to have tight grip over irrigation and hydel-power in Punjab. Their development and distribution have also been kept in tight Central control, even though these are exclusively state subjects in the Indian Constitution. These Clauses have been calculatedly employed to the deteriment of the economic and political well-being of Punjab. Diversion of 75 per cent of Punjab's river waters by the Centre to non-riparian states of Haryana and Rajasthan is in flagrant violation of all national and international norms. Thus the creation 4 Truth about Punjab of Punjabi Suba was a mere eye-wash. A sense of deprivation and " injustice continued to be felt as before. Apart from the unconstitutional and ruinous drain of its river waters, Punjab was also deprived of its capital and valuable Punjabi- speaking areas. Through a planned process of arbitrary and unilateral Awards announced by Indira Gandhi, relating to both water and territory, the betrayal of Punjab's interests was sought to be made a fait accompli. Punjab had perfectly legal case to contest or refute the unconstitutional and irrational Awards. In 1978. the Akali Dal filed a case in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of Sections 78-80 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966. But two years later when the duly elected Akali Government in Punjab was dismissed by Indira Gandhi in an arbitrary manner and the Congress took over, the case was withdrawn from the Supreme Court. Such a high-handed policy was bound to leave deep scars on the politics of Punjab. Anti-Punjab stance of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi became more pronounced during her second tenure as Prime Minister, which began on January 14, 1980, after two years of ignonimous defeat and political eclipse following the inglorious Emergency. She was hellbent on throwing the real issues out of the political arena. She concentrated all her energies on devising ways and means to keep the Akali Dal away from the portals of power, to inflame passions and to ignite the communal cauldron to sidetrack the actual problem. During her first tenure she had sown the wind and during the second she reaped the whirlwind. The Akalis were hard put to come up with a modus operandi to seek justice. As the Government had no intention to reverse the existing direction and trends, they were at a loss as to how to get the redressal of their grievances, Punjab continued to be in the tight grip of the ill-conceived and the discriminatory policies of the Centre. Eventually, the Akali Dal decided to launch the Dharam Yudh Morcha (1982) - a fight for righteousness and not a holy war as 5 Introduction misinterpreted by many. The basic issues of the Dharam Yudh Morcha were related to the prevention of the digging of the unconstitutional SYL Canal, redrawing of Punjab's boundaries, restoration of Chandigarh to Punjab, re-defining of Centre-State relations and greater autonomy for the state as envisioned in the Anandpur Sahib Resolution. The main thrust of the Morcha was against the economic erosion of the State. The most important demand was the restoration of State's river waters as per •constituional, national and international norms based on the riparian principles .The Akali Dal had not demanded anything more than what was constitutionally due to Punjab. But the crisis in Punjab was kept alive due to the failure of the Government to find a political solution. The pretence of a negotiated settlement was put up by the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi several times but she had no real intention to reverse her discriminatory policies. Law and order was made an excuse to skip the real issues and prevent a constituional settlement of Punjab's legitimate grievances regarding the unconstitutional drain of 75% of its river waters and territorial and socio-political discrimination. The process of oppression started with police atrocities, fake encounters, custodial deaths and free use of military and paramilitary forces to put down democratic and non-violent movements sparked a chain reaction, with Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale openly defying state tyranny.