CHANDIGARH: No_ Akali leader made any comment on the new stand of the minority Punjab government on the water issue. Chief Minister Beant Singh in a detailed memorandum sent recently had virtually demanded that India scrap the Rajiv-Longowal accord as well as the 1981 interstate agreement and the award of the Eradi tribunal. The chief minister also pleaded that the Indian government withdraw its 1976 notification apportioning Punjab rivers water among Punjab Haryana Rajasthan and Delhi.

The chief minister later publicly reiterated his stand at a Press Club function at Delhi. “We will not give up any of our demands. There will be no climb-down” he told the journalists at the club. Haryana government circles came to know of the new Punjab stand from the Indian home ministry. They had a story planted ina section of the media that Punjab chief minister had asked the Center to “go slow” on the promised package for Punjab. Another media section dubbed Beant Singh’s stand as “adamant” which would hinder an early settlement of the problems.

Chief Minister Bhajan Lal was evidently shocked at the new Punjab stance. He kept silent for a few days but later said Punjab could not seek revision of the Eradi tribunal’s award. Bhajan Lal also strongly pleaded for implementation of the provisions of the Rajiv Longowal accord Beant Singh in his reply in a statement said that the accord was “inadequate” and was “defective” and had not done justice to Punjab. The Punjab chief minister reiterated his stand that all “developments” after November 11966 be undone. The Punjab water issue he said should be disposed of in terms of the Punjab Reorganization Act 1966 Neither Simranjit Singh Mann nor any other Akali leader uttered a word either in favor of the new Punjab stand or against it They are simply non-pulsed They do not know what to make of the revised Punjab government stand. Most Akali leaders at one stage Were strong supporters of the Rajiv Longowal accord. Some of them Such as Balwant Singh and Surjit Singh Barnala had argued that the accord should not have evoked “opposition” from Haryana if it Was SO injurious Punjab’s interests. Actually it was a drama masterminded by Rajiv Gandhi who commanded Bhajan Lal to impose and criticize the accord as ruined again Haryanas interests so that the pro-accord Akalis position was strengthened in Punjab.

The Goeblian masterplan was so successful that even some of the later-Akalis such as Bhai Manjit Singh and Simranjit Singh Mann Stopped opposing the proposed Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal. Mann at one stage had said that dismantling the canal network was his number one priority but did nothing later. Instead he opened talks with the Indian government even while the then Prime Minister Chander Shekhar had publicly announced his determination to complete the canal “come what may” Manjit Singh resigned to the “completion” of the canal and said that “now what could be done?” A few relations of Manjit Singh as well as certain other pro-militants went to the extent of getting work contracts at the doled out by the then Indian government to complete the canal.

The work on the canal was stopped by the Indian authorities only after activities of the Babbar Khalsa International swung into action and gunned down the engineers working on the canal as traitors to the Sikh interests. In this enterprise the B.K.I. evidently had the support of the panthic committee associated with Bhai Daljit Singh DrSohan Singh and others. :

Political circles here feel that Beant Singhs stand makes a significant improvement over the  Akalis politics of betrayal of Punjabs interests but falls far short of the Sikh militants stand which is based on the international and Indian law of riparian rights The militants believe that neither Haryana nor Rajasthan had any right to a drop of Punjab water Despite this universal accepted more than 50% of Punjab rivers water is flowing into Haryana and Rajasthan. The militants also argued that Beant Singh’s stand in favor of the Punjab Reorganization Act is also unprincipled because in the memorandum itself he said that the relevant provisions Of the Act had been challenged in the Indian Supreme Court and that the Case was withdraw: as it was moving in favor of Punjab In other words the provisions of the Punjab Reorganization Act Which: are sought by Beant Singh to be made the basis of a fresh initiative to apportion Punjab’s water are illegal and ultra vires of the Indian Constitution How could Beant Singh reply on these provision the militants asked.

It was made clear by militant Circles that they are not in favor of referring the matter to Indian Supreme Court which along with other Indian institutions is biased Against Sikhs. In fact Sikhs had no faith in any Indian institutions including the Indian Constitution itself.

The militants argue that while Beant Singh may be in a position to say a lot vis-a-vis akalis on the water issue he dare not question the militant stand which is based on just principals accept all over the world.

Article extracted from this publication >> July 3, 1992