LUDHIANA: India has announced its plan to hold election to panchayats in Punjab between January 19 and 25. The elections to these rural local self-governance bodies were held last in 1978. There were no disturbed conditions between 1981 and 1984 but the then Congress (I) government headed by Darbara Singh did not hold the elections. Indian authorizes appear determined to use the panchayat poll as a propaganda theme to project their commitment to democracy: Another aim is to drive a wedge in the rural cohesion under militant leadership.
At is well known that several thousand village leaders on a call issued by militants had expressed a desire to resign their seats to lend political support to the cause of Khalistan and to express resentment at the highhanded behavior of the Indian security forces. Panchayats are a traditional democratic forum of the rural Punjab society and have been in existence since time immemorial and have not been thrown by the Indian Constitution or its so-called democracy.
The rural people prefer to elect their representatives unanimously to avoid bad blood and animosity. As such the Akali government had announced during the last election that panchayats getting elected unanimously would get special financial benefits from the state government. However the Indian authorities have now let it is known that they would not like unanimity. They would prefer contests. The aim clearly is to create divisions in the otherwise united rural society. The militants are likely to give a call for unanimous election of honest religious minded persons to dispense justice and to oppose Indian highhandedness. Traditional Akalis are also trying to follow in the footsteps of Congress (I) men by setting up their own candidates or by encouraging factionalism in the rural society. Most people are likely to go in for uncontested unanimous election to frustrate the Indian designs.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 4, 1992
