India is about to announces so-called package for Punjab. Chandigarh may be merged into Punjab. Abohar and Fazika will say in Punjab. A commission might go into Haryana’s claims to “Hindi speaking areas in Punjab. But most important S.Y L. canal for Haryana will be completed to deprive Punjab of its water. Chandigarh has all along been a Punjabi speaking town and it cannot be stopped for long from being transferred to Punjab. Similarly Abohar and Fazka are a part and parcel of Punjab. Territorial claims of Punjab and Haryana are essentially linguistic in nature and should be gone into solely on their own merits. The territorial issue cannot be linked to the water issue The Indian Constitution has a specific article to dispose of disputes pertaining to water. How can there be a “package deal” by ignoring the provision of the Constitution?
But India arbitrarily is insisting on treating all the disputes and claims as a part of “package”-based on what is described.as “give and take.” What has Haryana to “give” to Punjab? Chandigarh does not belong to Haryana. It’s only a union territory. How can India arrogate to itself power to distribute water of Punjab Rivers when the Constitutions clearly stipulate river water to be in the states jurisdiction not even on the “concurrent list” of subjects? Punjab’s supposed claim to Yamuna River is a fraud deliberately authored by the Indian government to pre-empt Punjab from adopting the just and reasonable stand that while Yamuna river belongs to Haryana and other riparian sate UP Himachal and possibly Rajasthan the Sutlej Beas and Ravi rivers belong to Punjab and the only other riparian state Himachal Pradesh.
India’s dogged opposition to Punjab’s just right to its river water has all along been the key issue in the origin of the current Punjab problem. The foxy Indira-Rajiv regime through traitors like Longowal Balwant Singh and Barnala etc tried to devise and impose the Rajiv /Longowal accord on Sikhs but the later rejected the so-called accord with contempt it deserved. All the main actors of the “accord” are either physically or politically dead Even the Akalis no longer swear by the “accord.” Militants have been recognized by almost all Sikhs as their political leaders. No militant group accepts the terms of the “accord.” The Beant Singh government is in a hopeless minority and has no moral justification to negotiate on behalf of Sikhs or Punjab India as such has no ground moral or otherwise to make the accord” the basis of any proposal on Punjab much loss try to impose ton Sikhs and Punjab.
No Sikh will ever recognize any action taken by the dictatorial Rao government in respect of the river water issue or any other controversy to the detriment of Punjab. We would like to request the U.S administration to advise India not to proceed with the fraudulent package” which is nothing but a concerted and institutional effort aimed at perpetuating India’s colonial looting of Punjab and its most precious resource water.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 10, 1992
