LUDHIANA: The Punjab Sikh Lawyers Council (PSLC) held its annual session and called upon the people of Punjab to observe a bandh on Republic Day in protest against the “denial of human rights”, in the state by the central government it asked all bar associations of Punjab to take up the issue and raise their voice against state tyranny.
For the first time in its six-year existence the council gave concrete suggestions to make the agrarian economy of Punjab self-sufficient by checking its dependence on the center. It stressed the point that not a drop of the three rivers in the state should be allowed to go to any other state as Punjab had sovereign right over its waters in accordance with national and international laws.
The annual session attended by about 100 advocates from all over Punjab appointed a new presidium and secretariat and unanimously declared that the Sikh militants were the only relevant force for any political dialogue with the Indian government. The condition for holding talks within the framework of the Constitution as stated by the Prime Minister and other Hindu leaders was “ridiculous” and “absurd”. The Constitution should be kept aside if any meaningful talks are to be held.
The presidium of the council comprised Mr Gurcharan Singh Dhaliwal (Chandigarh), Mr Gurdish Singh Grewal (Ludhiana), Mr Jatinder Singh Gill (Sangrur), Mr Chamkaur Singh Brar (Faridkot) and Mr D.S,Gill, Mr Mohinder SIngh Grewal and Mr Dharamjit Singh Khera were taken as general secretary and coordination secretary, respectively.
Mr Harinder Singh Khalsa, the chief guest, complimented the lawyers council for espousing the Sikh ” Calise at a time’ when the state was “completely overrun” by the Army and the Akali leaders were maintaining a “studied silence” over the “violation of human rights”.
The general house of the Sikh lawyers, in another resolution, urged the Punjab farmers to reduce the area under cultivation of wheat and paddy by half so that they didn’t have to beg the center to market their produce. They should instead go in for crops like sugarcane, oil seeds and cereals in order to minimize Punjab’s dependence on other states,
They should also go in for horticulture and forestry so as to preserve the ecological balance in the region. Besides, this was needed by the Sikhs from the military point of view. For this purpose village panchayats and the BKU were requested to make the programme a success,
Whether the agenda of the talks with the center On behalf of the Tribune of Chandigarh said editorially “But the memorandum does make & valid point in as much as it quotes from the Indian Independence Act of 1947 which states: “Power is being transferred to Indian hands on the clear understanding that the future Constitution of India shall provide for special rights and privileges to the Sikhs”. Significantly, the memorandum, even while invoking “the right on which basis the Sikhs joined the Indian Union™, declares that “the Sikhs, though a small minority, have played an important role to secure the rights and freedom of Indian people, and they dream of a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Indian subcontinent”. Unfortunately, the critics and Opponents of the Chandra Shekhar initiative have no patience to counter the Mann memorandum on arguments and facts.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 25, 1991
