Centre urges humanitarian approach in BBMB row, cites Bhai Ghanaiya’s selfless service

The Centre today invoked the legendary story of Bhai Ghanaiya to refer to the need for adopting a humanitarian approach on sharing of water during the hearing of the ongoing Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) water dispute case.

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Appearing before the bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel, Additional Solicitor-General of India Satya Pal Jain indicated before the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the dispute was not merely about water allocation but also upholding the values of compassion and service to all.

Quoting the example of Bhai Ghanaiya, Jain submitted that he served water indiscriminately to wounded soldiers from both the Sikh and Mughal armies during the Battle of Anandpur Sahib, despite opposition.

Bhai Ghanaiya expressed his inability to discriminate between the wounded, following which Guru Gobind Singh, blessed Bhai Ghanaiya’s actions based on the spirit of universal compassion. Guru Gobind Singh asked him to apply balm in addition to serving water to the injured indicating the principle of selfless service beyond sectarian divides.

The Centre’s assertion as the proceedings neared conclusion this afternoon gains significance in the backdrop of the high court’s earlier remark during the initial hearings: “We are doing this to our enemy country. Let us not do this within our states.” The court had cautioned against adopting a hostile stance in inter-state disputes, underscoring the need for a cooperative spirit.

The contrast between the high court’s earlier caution — warning against treating another state as an adversary — and the Centre’s closing moral appeal, urging Punjab to emulate Bhai Ghanaiya’s example, frames the underlying tension in the case.

The Centre also accused Punjab of “bullying” all institutions, including the courts, and refusing to comply with directions including those issued by the court. The assertions came as the bench reserved its verdict in the matter.

Jain asserted that Punjab was deliberately misrepresenting facts to avoid compliance. He asserted that Punjab’s stand — that the May 2 meeting was only about law and order, and no decision on water release was taken — was “factually incorrect, legally unsustainable, and completely misleading”. He added that Punjab’s own officers were present at the meeting but they did not come out with a contradiction.

Referring to the controversy over the release of additional water to Haryana, Jain submitted that the decision to release 4,500 cusecs of water to Haryana was taken during the meeting chaired by the Union Home Secretary.

He maintained that a Press Information Bureau (PIB) note, issued at 6.43 pm on the same day, clearly recorded the decision, which was subsequently published in leading newspapers. “None of the Punjab officers who attended the meeting has, till date, either contradicted or denied the fact that such a decision was taken,” Jain told the court.

He also placed before the court a list of participants, which included the Union Power Secretary, the authority responsible for decisions on water allocation, as per the statutory framework. The ASG stressed that Punjab’s repeated claims regarding the May 2 meeting were a deliberate attempt to undermine lawful decisions and evade compliance. “The state does not want to comply with any direction, including those issued by the court,” he stated.