HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

  1. Historically the Punjab—the land of Five Rivers—has always spoken Punjabi language since the ancient times, although the present Punjabi script was developed by the Sikh Gurus in the 16th Century. According to the census of 1931, only 50,000 people living In West Pakistan registered Hindi as their mother tongue, the remainder 34 Million people both Hindus and Sikhs declared themselves as Punjabi speaking. At the time of partition in 1947, out of 34 million Punjabi speaking people who migrated to India, one million settled in Delhi and other Indian towns and the remainder 24 million people of Punjabi origin were rehabilitated in the present Punjabi Suba and districts of Ambala, Karnal and Hissar which now form part of Haryana. It is, therefore, obvious that after 1947 when India achieved independence the census figures have been manipulated in such a way that Hindi speaking population shows an increase from 13.16% in 1921 to 55.54 in 1961, whereas Punjabi speaking population has suffered an artificial decrease from 54.08% to 41.09% during the same period.
  2. In 1942, the Sikhs mooted the idea of “AZAD PUNJAB” to safeguard their interests, but Hindus opposed the move and the rift between them started. However, Congress leaders including Nehru, Gandhi, and Patel made various promises to the Sikhs to safeguard their interests as brought out earlier in this publication. Therefore, the idea of ‘AZAD PUNJAB’ was relegated to the background and Sikhs threw their lot with India and gave all out support to the Congress in the freedom struggle.

Post-Independence Development:

  1. After India achieved independence, the Indian National Congress started dragging their feet towards carving out linguistic provinces. On popular demand by Hindu majority provinces DAR Commission was setup in 1947 to examine and recommend the desirability of carving linguistic provinces. DAR Commission recommended carving out of Andhra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, but refused to consider Sikh demand for Panjabi Suba. In December, 1948, at Jaipur Session, a committee comprising Nehru, Patel and Pattabhai Sitaramaya, known as JVP Committee, decided that only those States would be formed on linguistic basis where majority of the people support the demand forcefully. The reversal of the entire linguistic policy by the Congress, after Independence made Sikhs suspect that these maneuvers were to deny them Punjabi Suba. In fact it was laid down specifically ‘‘no matter what the merits of the case, reorganization of states on linguistic basis should not be taken up in North of India’’ (cf Sarhadi Pbi. Suba.)
  2. Sachar Formula:

In 1949, under pressure from the Sikhs, Sachar formula was evolved as a result of discussions by all political leaders of Punjab with Central leaders including Nehru and Patel. Under this formula a Government notification was published declaring certain areas of Punjab State as Punjabi speakirg (figures in brackets give Sikh population) which included districts of Amritsar (70.6%), Jullundur (56.5%), Gurdaspur (47.6%), Ferozepur (59.6%), Ludhiana (61.7%), Hostiarpur (26.2%), Ropar and Kharar tehsil of Ambala district (figures N.A.). The princely Punjab States were not yet merged with Punjab, hence they maintained separate identity. Ambala tehsil, Sirsa tehsil of Hissar district and Simla were declared bilingual. Hindus of Punjab however, refused to accept the Sachar formula and rejected Punjabi language as medium of instructions although they accepted the Punjabi & Hindi territorial division. This created a climate for the Punjabi Suba and Sikhs alone had to agitate and make sacrifices for its achievement.

Carving of linguistic states in the rest of India:

  1. After Shri Romulu sacrificed his life for the creation of Andhra State, Govt. of India appointed Fazal Ali Committee on 22nd December, 1953, to carve out linguistic States. The Commission submitted its report to the Government of India on 30th September 1955, and recommended carving of Andhra, Karnatka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Sikhs also submitted a memorandum to the commission for the Punjabi Suba comprising areas described as Punjabi speaking under Sachar Formula including additional tehsits of Thanesar and Kaithal of Karnal district; Sirsa and Fatebabad of Hissar district, districts of Patiala (47.1%), Bhatinda (78.1°.) Kapurthala (63.6%), and Sangrur minus Jind ard Narwana tehsils (56.3°) and Ganga Nagar district of Rajasthan. But Punjab congress Government and Jan Sangh, a Punjab based communal party representing Hindu chaunvinism, opposed the Akali demand and put up the suggestion of Maha Punjab to include additional Hindi speaking areas of Himachal Predesh in Punjab so as to reduce Sikhs to a helpless minority for all times to come. The Fazil Ali commission accepted the idea of Maha Punjab but rejected the Sikh demand for Punjabi Suba. Naturally the Sikhs rejected the commission’s findings and the agitation started afresh. In 1955 Punjab Government even banned the slogan of Punjabi Suba declaring it as communal but after approximately 15,000 Sikhs went to prison to demand the freedom of speech, the ban was lifted. Meanwhile creation of linguistic states in South India gave further edge to Punjabi Suba movement and agitation started again for achieving the same.

Regional Formula 1957:

  1. In 1956 the Government of India invited the Akali leaders for talks in which Nehru, Pant and Azad also participated. It was decided to exclude Himachal, but merge Princely Sikh States (PEPSU) with Punjab making it as one unit. The state of Punjab was to be divided into two separate Punjabi and Hindi speaking regions. Out-line of the proposal was presented to the Parliament on 3rd April 1956 but the demarcation of boundaries of both the regions was left ta the Government. Sikhs recommended inclusion of Dabwali, Rori, Jakhal & Ratia, and district of Kangra in the Punjabi region along with Chandigarh. Government of India, however, refused to accept the demarcation recommended by the Sikhs, and unilaterally announced the Regional Formula in 1957. Under this formula, areas already recognized as Punjabi speaking under Sachar formula were further truncated by excluding Kharar tehsil bilingual tehsils of Ambala, Sirsa, and Simla Distt from the Punjabi Region and were included in the Hindi region. Akalis again started the agitation against this injustice. The agitation continued from 1957 upto 1960-61 in which scores of Sikhs were shot dead by police & 57,000 Sikhs courted arrest.’ Thus the Regional Formula also failed to take off as large Punjabi speaking areas were deliberately left out of Punjab.

Punjabi Suba Agitation & Das Commission:

  1. Because of the two fasts by Sikh leader Master Tara Singh and _ great resentment among the Sikhs, on 31st October 1961 Govt. of India appointed yet another commission known as Das Commission to go into the merits of Punjabi Suba. Sikhs however, boycotted the commission as its terms of reference did not include investigation of discriminations against the Sikhs. On 31 January 1962, the Commission presented its report to the Govt. and stated that there was no discrimination against the Sikhs. The Sikh is rejected the findings of the commission and carried on the agitation. Meanwhile, Sant Fateh Singh, two had emerged as the acknowledged leader of the Sikhs, und2:to0k fast in August 1965 in order to move the Central Government but when that failed to move the Government, he threatened to immolate himself on 25th September 1965 if by then Punjabi Suba was not conceded. Due to 1965 Indo-Pak war and on assurances from the Government of India, this catastrophe was avoided. Finally on 9th March 1966, the Government of India grudgingly conceded the demand of Sikhs for a Punjabi Suba in principle. Every effort was made to make Punjabi Suba as truncated as possible.

The Hindu bias against Punjab is evident from the recent statement of S. Hukam Singh Ex-Speaker of Indian Parliament who quotes Mrs, Indira Gandhi in these words:

“Unfortunately Mr. Shastri had made S. Hukam Singh Speaker of the Lower House, Chairman of the Parliamentary ‘Committee on Punjabi Suba although he was very biased in favor of Punjabi Suba………… ! went to Mr. Chavan and said, had heard that S. Hukam Singh was going to give a report in favor of Punjabi Suba and that he should be stopped……… Once the Prime Minister’s appointee had declared in favour of Punjabi Suba, how could we get out of it? I felt very much concerned, and I went around seeing everybody. Of course once the report came, it was too late to change it.”

26 The Government of India instead of accepting the already demarcated boundaries of Punjabi speaking area under Sachar formula, _which was, a_ settled fact and was mentally agreed to by all the parties and approved by an Act of Parliament and had worked successfully for a decade, reopened the entire issue of demarcating the boundaries of Punjabi Suba by appointing a commission with mollified intentions.

Shah Commission:

  1. In 1966 Shah Commission was, therefore, appointed to demarcate Punjabi Suba, with two important terms of reference i.e. 1961 census was to be the basis of boundary demarcation and tehsil was to form the unit. Thus the dice was loaded against Punjab once again.

The idea of making 1961 census as the basis of working out Punjabi Suba was to truncate Punjab further, as during the 1961 census, practically all Hindus of Punjab had recorded Hindi as their mother tongue. This is evident from the comparative census tables in which Hindi speaking population in Punjab increased from 13.61 %% in 1921 to 55.54% in 1961, whereas Punjabi speaking population decreased from 54.08% to 41.09% during the same period. The making of tehsil as a unit for demarcating the boundary also proved detrimental to Punjabi Suba, as it kept almost 30° of area and large number of Punjabi speaking villages out of the Punjab with the above terms of reference. The Shah Commission, therefore, happily went ahead to truncate Punjabi Suba further by excluding certain Punjabi speaking areas from the areas agreed under Regional Formula.

  1. Although Haryana and Himachal had never made demands upon Punjabi areas and Haryana was to be carved out of Hindi region only, but the Shah Commission recommended that Kharar tehsil and Chandigarh of the Punjabi region should be given to Haryana and Una Tehsil of Hoshiarpur (Punjab) to Himachal Pradesh. While deciding the boundaries of Punjabi Suba the Shah Commission completely over-looked such factors as old decisions under Sachar Regional Formulas approved’ by Hindu and Sikh leaders and the Government of India, old census reports, historical factors and Panchayat resolutions. Sikhs protested against anti-Sikh attitude of the commission. Sardar Kapoor Singh M P. representing Akali Dal in Parliament vigorously opposed the findings of Shah Commission, so much so that the Prime Minister had to reverse some of the decisions of the Shah Commission by declaring Chandigarh as Union Territory and Kharar tehsil] as part of Punjabi Suba. However, while presenting Punjab Reorganizations Bill to the Parliament, Control of Punjab Rivers, all Dams and Head-works located in Punjab such as Bhakra and Beas Dam, Ropar and Hareke Head-Works was unconstitutionally taken over by the Central Government. On 1st November, 1966, the lame and truncated Punjabi Suba finally came into existence but common links such as a common Governor and High Court for Punjab and Haryana were maintained. This proved to the Sikhs that whatever may happen elsewhere in India, al! Punjabi speaking people particularly Sikhs would not be allowed to be together in one state nor will they be given any freedom to look after their affairs. The discontent with the decision of Government of India kept on simmering from 1966 to 1970. On 26th December 1966, Sant Fateh Singh threatened to immolate himself again, if the common links which Haryana were not snapped and Chandigarh was not given to Punjab. Government of India’s emissaries assured the Sant that these demands would be accepted, so Sant Fateh Singh postponed his threat of self-immolation. The Sikhs waited till the end of 1969 but nothing happened and the Sant again threatened to immolate himself on 1st Feb. 1970. Consequently there was great tension among the Sikhs. The Prime Minister intervened to save the Sikh leader and agreed to give her award.

Mrs. Gandhi’s Award of 1970 :

  1. Mrs. Indra Gandhi as Prime Minister gave her award on 30th January 1970, under which it was decided that (I) Chandigarh will be given to Punjab after 5 years (ii) The villages in the Union Territory will be divided between Punjab and Haryana as per the Regional Formula, (iii) Rs. 20 crores will be given to Haryana—half as grant and half as loan for building its new Capital, (iv) 114 villages of Fazilka and Abohar will be given to Haryana’ from Punjabi Suba along” with a corridor to connect these villages to Haryana after a boundary commission ~ goes into the matter (v) Punjab will have a big say in Bhakra affairs etc. This was again rejected by the Sikhs asitdid not do justice with Sikh ‘aspirations and showed bias of Mrs. Gandhi against Sikhs. They particularly objected to the principle of compensation under which the Punjab villages were proposed to be given to Haryana in exchange for Chandigarh, the Capital of Punjab. Moreover, the principle of a Corridor through Sikh villages to connect Hirdu majority area with Haryana was not acceptable to the Sikhs. The transfer of these 114 Punjab villages located in Ravi Basin would not only break contiguity with Sikh villages in Rajasthan but would also make Haryana a riparian State, thus acquiring legal claims to Punjab river waters and hydal power.

DHARAM YUDH MORCHA OF 1981:

  1. Hindus having rejected Punjabi language and culture, the Sikhs were now the main champions of Punjabi language and Punjabi Suba. The Indian Government keeps on dubbing the demands as communal but Sikhs have decided once for all to have a Suba, which is viable and brings maximum Punjabis into its fold. Since Nehru had done away with language column in 1951 census, and census of 1961 is controversial, reliable census figures are not available. Since all Sikhs speak Punjabi, this has become the basis of the Suba which should be demarcated on the principles of village as a unit, contiguity and other factors such as historical background, old reports, facilities for irrigation and communication, ‘administrative facilities and such other factors.

BRIEF CASE OF TERRITORIAL ISSUE

  1. It is therefore clear from the above, that after the country attained independence in 1947, according to the declared policy of Mr. Nehru and the Congress Party six linguistic states, viz.‘ Kerala, Karnatka, Tamil Nadu Andhra, Maharashtra and Gujrat were formed practically without any agitation but so far as Sikhs were concerned it was decided not to carve a Punjabi State in spite of intense agitation for the same. The lame excuse was that Punjab being bilingual, lot of Hindus living in the state did not want a Punjabi Suba. To support this theory, the Hindus in Punjab were encouraged to declare Hindi as their mother tongue in preference to Punjabi in the 1951 and 1961 Census, although all Punjabi Hindus speak Punjabi in their home. The disowning of their own mother tongue practically by all the Punjabi Hindus made the Sikhs realize that Hindus will never agree to a viable Punjabi State leave aside a Sikh homeland. Sikhs therefore launched their agitation for a Punjabi speaking State seriously. 57000 Sikhs courted arrest and scores were shot down by the police. Inspite of assurances given by the Congress leaders earlier, Nehru in an exclusive interview to the correspondent of the Time, London, declared that he would rather face a civil war on the issue of Punjabi speaking state than concede the Sikh demand.,’ But the two quick wars, one in 1962 against the Chinese and the other in 1965 against Pakistan, made the Government realize the need for placating the agitating Sikhs. Since Mr. Nehru died in 1964, a truncated Punjabi Suba was finally conceded in 1966. However, approximately 30% of Punjabi speaking areas were dishonestly merged with neighboring Hindu majority states so that Sikhs remain weak and divided and serve as hostages. Two new states were carved at the cost of Punjab for which there was neither any demand nor any Mass movement, whereas the supreme Sikh leaders such as Master Tara Singh and Sant Fateh Singh had to resort to fast unto death, hold out threats of self-immolation, and intensive agitations had to be carried out for 18 years before even this lame Punjabi Suba was conceded reluctantly and gracelessly. Even then, Chandigarh the Punjab’s capital was awarded to Haryana against the earlier ruling and precedents. When Andhra and Tamil Nadu were formed the city of Madras was given to the parent state of Tamil Nadu similarly Bombay was given to the state of Maharashtra being the parent state when Gujarat and Maharashtra were constituted. Punjab is the only exception in India, where the state capital inspite of its geographical location, was not given to the parent state but to the newly carved _ state of Haryana. When Sikhs agitated against this, the City was made a Union Territory so that the Central Government could exercise strict control over Punjab affairs. This act of Government of India sowed the seeds of the present agitation named as Dharam Yudh Morcha.

TERRITORIAL DEMANDS

  1. Sikhs now demand that all Punjabi speaking areas left out earlier should be merged with Punjab and Chandigarh should be handed over to the State. The other Punjabi speaking areas claimed by the Sikhs on the principles of language, contiguity and village as a unit is given below:-

“Dalhousie (Gurdaspur Dist), UNA Tehsil (Hoshiarpur Distt) Desh Area (Nalagarh), Pinjore, Kalka and Ambala Sadar (Ambala District), Shahbad and Guhla blocks (Karnal Distt.) Tohana SubTehsil, Ratia Block and Sirsa Tehsil (Hissat Distt) and six tehsils of Ganganagar Distt. (Rajasthan).

Sikhs neither demand a corridor nor are they willing to concede one to link up Sikh Hindu pockets located in. Punjab or in other states Sikhs have also lost faith in commissions appointed by the Indian Government as they have always worked to the disadvantage of the Sikhs through pre- meditated approaches at truncating Punjab.

WATER DISPUTE

  1. River Water Issue

Majority of the Sikhs are farmers or soldiers and the Sikh farmers in PUNJAB completely depend upon agriculture. The effective way to weaken Sikhs there- fore would be to stifle the agricultural economy by denying them waters and energy from their rivers. Although irrigation is a state subject which constitutionally and legally should be dealt with by the Punjab Government, but the Government of India has gradually encroached upon these rights to exercise complete control over the subject. They have done this by enacting PUNJAB Reorganization Act 1966. Incidentally, once again Punjab is the only exception in the country whose rivers are controlled exclusively by the Indian Government; all other rivers in the country are controlled by the respective State Governments.

  1. The river water dispute forms today the most important politico-economic issue in the Punjab. It has become source of tension between the state and the center and has embittered relations between Sikhs and Hindus. Unless the situation is handed in a Statesman like manner it may 8ssume serious proportions, as it affects the present and future generations of crores of Sikh farmers and industrialists. 34. Universally accepted principles and International as well as National laws and practices lay down clearly that only a riparian-State has the rights to use its river waters and energy. Therefore, any dispute regarding use of water can only be between two riparian States and not bet- seen riparian and non-riparian states. LG. Stark in his book ‘‘An Introduction of International laws’ remakes : ‘‘where a river lies wholly within the territory of one State, it belongs entirely to that State. Also where a river passes through several states, each state owns that part of the river, which runs through its territory”. Helsinki rules for interstate water allocation also lay down the same principles, which are further confirmed by Mr. N. D. Gulati of the Indus water Commission in his report of 1955. Hoffer, another authority on rivers, states : ‘“Supreme territorial power is thus sovereignty applied to a particular land or waters, the right to dispose them off to the exclusion of third state and their subjects” Barber, in his book “Rivers in inter- national law,” says, ‘State territory, which is thus, a principle sphere of “essentially domestic” matters, undoubtedly includes those waters flowing within it, the so called “‘national waters”.

Sumisarian lays down:

There is no limitation on the right of a state to divert the waters of a tributary, wholly within its territory, and the waters of a river which crosses an international boundary.”

  1. The crux of the problem is that there is no limitation whatsoever, on the rights of a riparian State. Smith a noted English authority concludes: