Why Punjab has fallen deeper into the abyss
AS I heard the news of the attempt to assassinate Sukhbir Singh Badal, my mind flashed back to the April of 1983 and the killing of AS Atwal (DIG), an outstanding police officer and a gem of a person. Atwal was martyred while on duty with the limited resources he had while facing an armed militancy. Sukhbir survived — barely. The individual heroics of a policeman saved the day, but how a known terrorist with Pakistani training and support was allowed to not only recce the area but also approach a Z plus protectee is a question that remains to be answered.
They say that history repeats itself but in the case of Punjab, we seem to be approaching the cycle with alarming speed. The conditions being created are similar, but as, yet, we do not have a full-blown militancy.
The Punjab countryside is awash with unemployed youth who indulge in petty crimes and feed the drug industry. A lot of them have organised themselves into armed gangs, available for kidnappings, killings and inter-gang warfare. Their tentacles reach into Canada, the USA, Australia and, of course, Pakistan. They even operate from within jails — how is this possible?
The youth are unemployed as agriculture has been, for the past many decades, a failing proposition for most marginal farmers. Punjab was never given priority for industrialisation as it was considered a border state and was landlocked. Even today, with its huge diaspora, air connectivity to the rest of the world remains a distant dream, with paltry routes being assigned to its international airports. Employment in the defence and paramilitary forces is no longer of the scale it used to be. Also, most youth are unemployable in skilled professions because of a failed education system.
In the 1960s and 70s, the region had four of the top medical institutions — Amritsar medical college, CMC, Ludhiana, Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, and the PGIMER, Chandigarh. Today, barring the PGI, the rest are poor reflections of their old days as poor funding and administration has eroded them. Panjab University commanded immense respect, boasting a successful alumnus in all fields of life; today, it's a shadow of its former self. The odd IIT or private institution that has come up is a case of too little. There seems to be no well-conceived plan to create suitable employment. Why are the youth running to foreign shores for basic education and jobs? Why are they not productively employed here?
I recall the theory of 'Masterly Inaction', initially practised by John Lawrence (Viceroy of India) in the 1860s through his policy on dealing with Afghanistan after the death of its Emir, Dost Mohammad Khan, and the subsequent civil war. This policy helped the British consolidate their Indian empire. Its adaption on the home front is leading to the creation of a failed state. The concept of proactive administration, which identifies problems, finds solutions, engages in planning for its citizens, has changed to 'masterly inactivity', a conjuror's trick of creating an illusion of activity where there is none.
Punjab alone is not at fault, Delhi also is missing in action. There is no acknowledgement of our problems. A proxy war was waged on the country through instigating, funding and promoting militancy in the state by Pakistan for two decades. What happened from 1970 to 1995, the days of horror and nights of massacres inflicted on us, is well known.
The Government of India resources were poured into fighting the militancy, but it was the blood of Punjabis that soaked its fields. Things were brought under control, but the political, administrative and economic fabric was destroyed. The situation required an initiative — a 'master plan'. It required political and administrative leadership of the highest order, but this was not to be. There has been no coordinated plan to pull Punjab out of this morass, no injection of financial or administrative support to help revive it. People forget the sheer scale of human tragedy during this time — over 3,000 police and paramilitary personnel were martyred. The Centre should have taken the lead and Punjab followed in its effort to revive. Instead, we fell into the hands of self-seeking politicians and corrupt administrators. The decades since then have been the lost decades, with immigration being the perceived salvation.
For long, Punjab has borne the brunt of invasions from the Northwest, countless armies have passed through and, yet, we persevered. Once the 'Misls' were formed and then, with Maharaja Ranjit Singh at the helm, Punjab found its leadership and no invader dared to cross the Khyber Pass. The British understood this and divided the region, thereby ensuring that the old strength would not be easily revived. In 1947-48, Punjabis were devastated due to the mass migration of Sikhs and Hindus and the bloodshed that accompanied the Partition. Farmers were deprived of their land, businessmen of their businesses. They, somehow, got through the first few months until the rehabilitation work was done.
However, the Punjabis did not ask for doles and none were offered. The farmer started with whatever land he was allotted, the affluent businessman started with a small shop. Through the sheer grit of its people, political foresight of its leadership and acumen, integrity and hard work of its administrators, Punjab was soon on its feet and galloping towards the glory days of the Green Revolution and booming business. We became the granary of India and its sword arm. For a time, Punjab led the country in most fields of human development. However, this was not to last. Gradually, the extremist thought was born and nurtured and the darkness came. The Green Revolution and its initial momentum were derailed by a lack of future planning, education and training of farmers. Tertiary industries in food processing, which should have accompanied an agrarian economy, never came up. The dwindling landholdings and the transition to commercial farming, along with its debt burden caught up with small farmers.
Today, as Punjab declines further, we once again risk opening our country to the interests of foreign powers, who for long have been inimical to us. The border is hot as smuggling of drugs and weapons reaches unprecedented levels. A strong, prosperous Punjab would benefit not only its own people but, as has been seen in the past, also become the country's bulwark and the vanguard. The wars of 1947, 1965 and 1971 were fought on this soil with the brave men of this state contributing stupendously. The list of martyrs in the war of Independence is full of names from this region.
The state and the Central leaderships must take cognisance of the precarious situation and chart a plan.
