The state of Punjab, India is in focus once again. With the loss of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi elections, the spotlight was on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led AAP government in Punjab. Arvind Kejriwal, the convener of AAP called all the AAP MLAs from Punjab and had a meeting with them in the capital New Delhi, at the Punjab Bhawan. As it is, CM Mann and a large number of his ministers and MLAs were already campaigning in Delhi for the last one month. So much for governance in the critical border state of India.
Being a western border state opposite Pakistan’s largest province also called Punjab, the Indian state of Punjab is strategically as important as J&K. The state shares a 425 km long border with Pakistan which is fenced and manned by the BSF. To the North, it borders J&K, has Himachal Pradesh to its Northeast and has Rajasthan and Haryana to its South. The current population of the state is about 3.17 crores, out of which about 58 per cent are Sikhs, 38% are Hindus and balance are other minorities. Punjab had great bonding between Sikhs and Hindus; many families followed both the religions in the past. But such bonhomie has considerably reduced now.
Punjab witnessed active militancy from mid-1980s to mid-1990s for the demand of a separate Sikh state called Khalistan. The armed secessionist movement was largely handled by the Punjab police and paramilitary forces, with Army being employed occasionally. The turning point came after conduct of 1992 assembly elections under the shadow of the gun, which had a low voter turnout of just 24 per cent. With some effective anti-militancy operations, the Khalistan movement weakened and faded away by the mid-1990s. But the movement continued to be supported by various Sikh organisations operating from the foreign soil and backed by Pakistan’s ISI. Last year, the Government of India has extended the ban on the Khalistani outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) for another five years. SFJ is a secessionist group headed by Gurpatwant Pannun and has bases in the US, Canada and UK. We also continue to hear statements of support to Khalistan from the Canadian soil.
Punjab is called the ‘granary of India’ because despite covering just 1.53 per cent of India’s geographical area, the state produces about 20 per cent of wheat, 12 per cent of rice and 10 per cent of milk. Of late, the agriculture growth in the state has stagnated because farming is controlled by the Jat Sikh community and this influential lot is into politics. The young generation of Jat Sikh is not inclined towards agriculture and majority of the farming depends on the migrated labour class, particularly from the states of UP and Bihar. But most disturbing is the farmer’s agitation for the last three years. Ostensibly for demanding MSP for the crops, the agitation is controlled by the rich farmers with support from the inimical forces within and outside the country. The continued agitation has already caused immense damage to the trade and industry in the state. On top of it, the focus on governance by the AAP government is clearly missing in Punjab.
The most disturbing phenomenon in Punjab in the last decade is the drug menace. With easy availability of money, considerable section of the Punjab youth is addicted to a variety of drugs, with a well-established supply network of local, interstate and international drug traffickers. It is not difficult to assume that the police, local administration and the politicians are involved in this racket. There has been leakage from the Pak side through the border too, particularly with the help of drones. There have been continuous attempts made by Pakistan in the Punjab -Jammu region in the last two years through drones acting as courier of drugs and war like stores. In my opinion, Pak’s ISI has made a systematic plan to push the youth of Punjab towards drug dependence and keep them away from the national call. Surprisingly, little has been done to wean away the youth, particularly the Sikh from the scourge of drugs, in the recent times by the Mann government.
Sikh fundamentalism is once again raising its head in Punjab. 11 police stations and police posts have been threatened with bomb attack in the last three months. Babbar Khalsa has claimed responsibility for a low intensity blast inside the residence of a policeman in Batala on 17 February. I get a sense that the Hindu-Sikh relations are more tenuous in Punjab now, though outwardly they may appear normal. Aided and abetted by the foreign money and resources, slowly and steadily the inimical forces have been able to create the societal and religious divide. It may be noted that the Indian Armed Forces, particularly Indian Army has proud Sikh troops and radical elements continue to target them psychologically. On top of it, we have a large number of youths from Punjab who have been deported by the US recently and these unemployed youth could be recruited by the terrorist organisations. The intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies have to be extra vigilant to prevent rise of terrorism in the state of Punjab.
Political dynamics have also undergone a change in Punjab. AAP got thumping majority in the state assembly. The fourth player in Punjab politics AAP after Akalis, Congress and BJP received tremendous public support in the elections and has largely tried to replicate Delhi model of governance on Punjab. It means that the Punjab government was being remotely controlled by the AAP convener. The problem with such governance is that it looks for short term dividends and the larger perspective, particularly on matters of security gets neglected. I also feel that that the strategic culture and inclination to govern a sensitive state like Punjab is missing to a large extent in the current state dispensation.
Punjab has always benefitted with the assistance from the Centre. Akali and BJP coalition in Punjab could do some great infrastructure development in the state. But in the last eight years, the state government in Punjab has been at loggerheads with the PM Modi government. Punjab is already into heavy debt and is barely able to do essential governance functioning with its revenues. Any instability and lack of governance in Punjab results in national security getting compromised. The political intransigence between the Centre and the State government should not constrain the matters of national security. India can ill afford an unstable and perilous Punjab along with a disturbed J&K, which our adversaries within and outside continue to conspire. Punjab calls for urgent attention of the national leadership.
