Haryana also needs a capital of its own

A wide range of political formations in Punjab held rallies and meetings to commemorate the death anniversary of Sant Harchand Singh Longowal last week. He was killed by militants on August 20, 1985, for signing an accord with the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.Representing the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), he had reached an agreement with the Union government on several contentious demands of Sikhs, for which his party had been agitating for years. As is well known, the Akali movement, though initially raised "secular" demands, it soon took a violent form, with a section of Sikh militants demanding a separate state for Sikhs.Given that Sant Longowal had signed the pact in the backdrop of the Indian armed forces' attack on the Sikh holy shrine in Amritsar, the murder of Indira Gandhi and widespread violence against innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other cities, led other prominent Akali leaders to distance themselves from both the accord and Sant Longowal.It is 40 years after his death that his legacy is being claimed by different factions of the SAD, even declaring him a martyr for the cause. While recalling his sacrifice, leaders of the two prominent factions of the SAD invoked the Rajiv-Longowal accord. They reminded their audience and the Union government that the promises made by it in 1985 had still not been implemented — the most prominent of them being the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab as its capital. By implication, Chandigarh should no longer be a union territory and should no longer be the capital of Haryana.It was on September 1, 1966, nearly 59 years ago, that Haryana became a separate state. In the federal history of independent India, every time a new state is created, it also gets a new capital city of its own. By virtue of being the seat of legislative power, the capital city attracts a wide range of institutions: educational, medical, social, juridical and many more. It is in the capital city that a new region-specific middle-class elite consolidates itself. Besides seeking mobility through education, employment and engagements with such modern-day institutions, this middle class articulates an identity for the region.The process is very similar to the growth of nationalism during the late 19th and early 20th century India. The cities of Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi acquired prominence not merely as industrial cities, they also shaped the Indian middle-class elite and identity of the new nation. Likewise, cities like Gandhinagar, Dehradun, Ranchi and Raipur provided such spaces for the newly formed states to consolidate their regional aspirations and identities. More recently, when the state of Andhra Pradesh was separated from Telangana, it also envisioned a new capital city for itself, Amaravati.As a part of the Indian union, Haryana has emerged as a significant state over the past 59 years. With a population of more than 2.5 crore, it is counted among the 'large-sized states'. It has not only successfully emerged from the shadow of Punjab but also surpassed it in many respects.Haryana ranks among the top five states in terms of the popular indicators of economic growth, leaving behind Punjab. Even though its share in the national population is a little above 2 per cent, its contribution to national income is close to 4 per cent.However, a closer look at the social and economic life on the ground in the state presents a rather disheartening picture. Despite being among the prominent states, it lacks a sense of its cultural self. Most of its urban population is concentrated in the National Capital Region (NCR). While Gurugram may figure among the top happening cities of South Asia, it has very little to do with the social and cultural life of Haryana. Likewise, the new private universities near Sonepat are beginning to be ranked among the institutions of academic excellence by global ranking agencies. Still, they contribute very little to the educational well-being of the state.For Haryana, such urbanisation has only created a class of real estate agents and a small number of individuals/households with a large volume of wealth acquired through the sale of agricultural land, but with no meaningful economic engagement.Unfortunately, there are not many people who speak up for Haryana and articulate the aspirations of its youth and the ordinary people. Like most other regions, its political elite has, strangely, mostly been indifferent to such cultural and social needs of the state.The most critical reason for such a fragmented nature of the regional social and political elite has been the absence of a capital city, a centre of social and political life where such a voice could have been articulated and heard.Whether Chandigarh remains a union territory or is transferred to Punjab does not benefit the long-term interests of Haryana. Instead of wasting its energy on resisting such a transfer, Haryana needs to negotiate with the Union government for a capital city of its own, which houses its legislative Assembly, offices of the state government and a high court of its own that could enable the state to acquire an identity for itself.Surinder S Jodhka is a professor at Centre for the Study of Social Systems, JNU.

Haryana also needs a capital of its own

Surinder S Jodhka

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