Let’s not forget cost of ineptness

Gurbachan Jagat

A cursory glance at the statistics available on Punjab will give you an insight into the decline of a once prosperous state, having a top-three ranking in the 1960s, ’70s and the early ’80s in GDP growth and per capita income, to somewhere at the bottom of the barrel. So, how did our “leaders” achieve this and at a time when the rest of the nation took off post-liberalisation of the economy? This decline was achieved in the short time of two decades when the state was governed by the Centre during President’s rule and the elected governments as normalcy returned. The Congress and the SAD, along with the BJP, have been the ruling parties during this period. All three can take credit for this “achievement”. The current incumbents were put in place on the back of a powerful farmers’ movement; it was a rejection of the establishment and a vote in favour of change. This decline can be attributed to many factors, some self-made, others encouraged by foreign powers during militancy. But suffice to say that moderate politics took a back seat as extremist elements took over the space vacated by rational voices, with disillusionment setting into the minds of the common people. Governments retaliated with a heavy hand and the casualty was the decline in almost all spheres of human well-being, be it health, education, per capita income, etc. A parallel occurrence was the decline of trade union activity.

Trade union movements are still active across the UK, Europe and to some extent, the US. In the UK, as of now, the railways, transport, nursing, immigration staff are on periodic strikes, leading to major disruptions. There is no public outcry because the unions consist of common people and reflect their grievances. The awareness of employees leads to union activity, facilitating an interface with the government and larger industrial bodies. Trade union activity has shown a marked decline in India over the years. Earlier, almost all political parties had separate wings for farmers, students, teachers, bank employees, railways and transport workers’ unions. In fact, in the 1960s and ’70s, the major work of the police force lay in facing agitations by various unions. There was a competition to get an edge in their activities because of the plethora of unions owing allegiance to different parties. The unions were able to channel the difficulties of the people and project them to the government.

However, it is not to say that all union activity was benign; often they attempted to blackmail governments by putting up unreasonable demands and then disrupting services. Today, people are more aware of their problems and the role of government through the Internet. They are aware of the increasing stranglehold of corporates, the stagnant economy, inflation, etc. In the absence of strong trade unions and an unresponsive media and political parties, the government faces no organised opposition. The helplessness leaves people with the only option of taking up the flag themselves. We saw this in the farmers’ agitation on the doorsteps of Delhi. There were various farmers’ unions who were active regionally but divided ideologically.

The farmers were agitated over the unfair laws promulgated by the Centre. All Opposition parties failed to take up their cause and chose to remain silent and neutral. Once the march to Delhi started, it became a river of protest, a flood of fury, almost evangelical in its mission. The awareness of the people and their pent-up emotions took everybody by surprise, even forcing the various farmers’ unions to coalesce and form a ‘Sanjha Morcha’. The cause overshadowed the ‘egos’, the people watched the leadership like hawks. Many were the rumours of leaders trying to strike deals, especially because of the impending elections in Punjab, but the unity held. There were also attempts by more extremist factions to take over the ‘Morcha’, but they were successfully thwarted. Through summer, monsoon, winter, they remained steadfast, refusing to wilt. They were awake, aware and emerged successful even in the absence of political support.

The Punjab elections came, the betrayal began and unity dissipated. However, the people in their mindfulness swept away all parties but one. Hopes for a new awakening arose. There is always a time lag between promise and performance; the farmers understood it, the poor of the cities understood it. Patience, fortitude are their ingrained qualities. But then, problems arise which demand solutions, small problems to you and me but not so to the people affected by them. They want redressal, not committees. In the absence of government action and political support, this situation leads to action by the local people.

Take the example of Mansurwala in Ferozepur district where a problem was brewing for quite some time regarding a distillery. The people of the area complained to the local authorities regarding polluted water, rise in ailments and cancer cases, damage to crops, etc, but all to no avail. I would have expected the DC to visit, talk to the people, apprise the government and seek immediate action. Nothing happened. People’s fear increased as the government failed to give clarity and relief. The villagers got active and some farmers’ unions also entered the fray. A ‘morcha’ was started with hundreds arriving and sitting in support. The government resorted to the time-honoured response of setting up multiple committees to visit the spot and recommend measures “if there was a problem”. The people are aware, determined and the government will have to act promptly with transparency and decisiveness; the 2,000-odd policemen are not the solution. Where in all this are the Opposition parties? Why is it that the people are having to take up extreme steps on their own — blocking and shutting down a factory is extreme. But, what options are you leaving the people with? The bureaucracy, we know, is knotted in red tape, the judiciary hamstrung as it is… where are people supposed to go? It will start with protests… what it culminates in is another matter. Once the people take to the streets, the chances are that facts will be replaced by rumours, and rumours lead to disasters.

Coming to urban areas, Latifpura in Jalandhar is now a household name. Even today, we hear the stories of the horrors of Partition. On arrival in Punjab, the refugees took shelter wherever they could. Gradually, they moved into permanent allotted land. Fifty-odd families set up home near the village of Latifpura, probably mud and brick houses. They continued to stay till the other day when they were told that they were in illegal occupation of government land and had to vacate it. They pleaded, but nobody heard their voice, neither in Jalandhar, nor in Chandigarh. I believe they were offered measly flats. One day, the bulldozer came and demolished the homes — what a victory, all hail the conquerors. And where are those homeless people? Under the open sky and on frozen earth, bereft of all human dignity. Once again homeless, but this time in their homeland, rendered so by their own people. If they are refugees from 1947-48, can’t the governments of Independent India, both in the state and the Centre, be magnanimous and let them live on these 3 acres? I know this land would be a goldmine for some who already have more than enough. Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s photograph today is plastered all over Delhi and Punjab. I wonder what he would have to say about this. Bhagat Singh was not a mere thrower of bombs, he was a political activist and a social revolutionary. Widely read, he was an original thinker who understood that one had to go beyond political freedom and into the realm of social justice. Only Faiz Sahib’s words can describe what his feelings would have been:

Yeh daag-daag ujala, yeh shab gazida seher

Woh intezaar tha jiska, yeh woh seher to nahin

Yeh woh seher to nahin, jis ki aarzoo lekar

Chale the yaar ki mil jaayegi kahin na kahin

Falak ke dasht mein taaron ki aakhri manzil

(This stained, spotted light, this dawn

battered by night

This isn’t the dawn we awaited so eagerly

This isn’t the dawn we had yearned for

We had, friends, set out hoping to find

The cherished destination of stars in the sky)

Due to the abdication of responsibility by the government, local administration and political parties, the space is left open for action by extremists. Nature abhors a vacuum and we have seen the consequences of this in Punjab.

— The writer is ex-chairman of UPSC, former Manipur Governor and served as J&K DGP

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.