It is now evident that the Indian central government is using its consensus technique to rob Punjab of its vital resource water. The name given to this loot is “package” for Punjab. Clearly, Delhi is at its old game of mixing Punjab’s political demands with Haraynas and Rajasthan’s illegal, unconstitutional claims over Punjab’s river.
The modus operandi is to presume the Central government to be the authority to apportion Punjab’s river water among one or more states in absolute violation of Indias own constitutional law which recognises river water as states subject. Indian government is determined to retain Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s traditional arrogance vis a vis drama of “give and take” is being an acted. Harayna is supposed to “give Chandigarh to Punjab although the city does not belong to that state and Punjab, in tum, is expected to give river water to Haryana in the bargain it is Haryana alone that benefits Punjabis likely to lose water and gain Chandigarh. Punjabi speaking town whose ownership of Punjab was denied by Indira Gandhi in 1966. Rajasthan, 100, will gain in the process. Its illegal acquisition of Punjab water through the Indira Gandhi canal is being illegal acquisition of Punjab water through the Indira Gandhi canal is being legalized. To widen him so called “bargain”, Punjabi will be recognized as the “second language” of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Punjabi is spoken by a vast section of the population of Harayana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi. On the eve of Punjab’s organization in 1966, Punjabi language was compulsorily taught in the old Punjab areas now forming a part of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, What is the relevance of the acceptance of this position as a part of the so called Punjab package? Only to make it appear as a weighty package for Sikhs? Sikhs in Punjab and justice loving people over the world will reject with contempt any such “package” as a creeked Brahamanical game lf deception and fraud with the people of Punjab.
The position on paper at the moment is that India enacted a wholly illegal law the Punjab Reorganization Act to deny Punjab central over it hydra electric sources such as the Bhakra and Beas projects as well as water releases in the canal system emanating from these projects. When Punjab tried to challenge the 1966 Actin Indias Supreme Court, Indira Gandhi blackmailed Darbara Singh, the then Punjab chief minister, to withdraw the case in December 1981 to force him to sign an inter-state “agreement”. Thus, in addition, there is an inter-state agreement of December 31, 1981, on paper to apportion Punjab’s river water among Harayana, Rajasthan and Delhi Besides, India’s irrigation and power ministry issued a notification in 1976 to “distribute” Punjab Rivers water, The fourth document incorporating all the provisions of the Act, notification and agreement is the Rajiv-Longe wal accord of 1985. Despite these four documents, Punjab’s river water issue remains bogged down in controversies. The reason is that all the four measures are based on the denial of Punjab’s genuine right to its entire water wealth. The people of Punjab refuse to give recognition to this illegality and fraud. If there was any Doubt on that score, the people rejected decisively all those who supported the Rajiv-Longowal accord in the recent election, They also rejected all the riff raff parties now pretending to contributing to “consensus” on Punjab. What is surprising is that Delhi is keeping the Punjab’s Congress (I) government sidelined on discussions pertaining to the “package”. Beant Singh is merely being used as a public relations officer of India to sell the “package” in Punjab.
There are dark hints of certain Akalis connivance in the package” drama. The charge cannot be denied of hand. For, Simranjit Singh Mann more than once gave an impression of being a supporter of the Rajiv-Longowal accord. In other words, those leaders as well as Parkash Singh Badal have anti Punjab accord. Unless these leaders say in clear terms that they reject the accord as harmful to Punjab’s interests whether in addition, they also support Khalistan or not is not of great relevance considering the past of these leaders the doubts in the silent supporters of the measures designed to implement the accord,
The world must know the reality: the Rajiv-Longowal accord is not merely a dead letter but from its very inception it was document of deception and was aimed at robbing Punjab of its precious wealth water. The Sikhs have resolutely rejected the accord as well as its signatories in the recent election. Any move to impose the accord on the Sikhs will boomerang on India and its oppressive, unprincipled and colonial domination of Punjab.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 27, 1992
