SRI ANANDPUR SAHIB—Chief Minister of Punjab, Parkash Badal, reiterated his stance on the SYL-Canal issue during the conference of Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) held at Sri Anandpur Sahib on the eve of Hola Mohalla on March 23. Badal stated that SYL-Canal was neither needed nor did Punjab have even a single drop of water to spare.
He claimed that the project of the SYL-Canal was approved by former Chief Minister Giani Zail Singh of the Congress party in 1980s. He also said that the Akali Dal had always been opposed to the construction of the SYL-Canal and would make any sacrifice to defend the rivers of Punjab. Blaming Congress and AAP for their double standards on the SYL-Canal issue, Badal claimed that both parties have hidden goals to make the state of Punjab deteriorate.
Chief Minister Badal told the crowds of Punjabis that the upcoming times would require them to get ready to make sacrifices to defend the only natural resource of Punjab that was being looted forcefully.
Organized by education minister, Dr. Daljit Singh Cheema, the conference of Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) witnessed a large gathering.
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This is invariably the problems created by identity and division politics.
Reunification of Europe and Germany has solved so many problems .
We must reunify Punjab ,Haryana and HP to live harmoniously together as Indians.
Deeply cynical plan to dilute power of Sikhs by then saying Sikhs in Punjab are no longer the majority even within their own homeland. Plus of course you create a legal technicality to get around the abuse of riparian law by saying ‘hey, look we are no longer diverting water from Punjab it is just being relocated within greater Punjab’. The Sikh homeland of Punjab would still be bereft of its water leading to further degradation of Sikh farmers lands. Also within this suddenly proposed ‘reunification’ what is going to be the language of PUnjab – is it still going to be Punjabi (which Punjabi Hindus abandoned to make Haryana in 1966) or will you make Hindi the language? The Punjabi language is also totally linked with the Gurmukhi that the Bani contained within Guru Granth Sahib is written in. Perhaps you will change the name of Punjab as well – after all by the time you are done with it won’t be land of five rivers but rather land of a couple of canals. Only one state in European union does all the big decisions and that happens to be Germany (so they got their way even without Hitler) clearly demonstrating what happens to the smaller partners in such unions and which would happen to Sikh homeland of Punjab if it were wrestled into submission by neighbouring Hindu majority States. As for killing our language well it is well known that for you to take away a people’s identity you need to get rid of the indigenous language – ask the Scots, the Welsh and Irish about what happened to their native tongues of Gaelic. Also you have the very real issue of giving referendum to Punjabis about ‘reunification’ which centres around self-determination or are you simply proposing that the Punjabis be subject to a shotgun wedding now and have no choice other than to take back Haryana 50 years after it seceded voluntarily by vote? Hardly democratic or equitable to the Punjab.
Let voters of Haryana ,Punjab and HP deicide on reunification based on a referendum.
So what happens if the voters of Haryana and HP vote yes (as such a vote would give them all the water and political power they could want over the Punjab) and Punjab votes no (as they would lose their water and political power over their own land)? This reunification ploy to circumvent riparian convention and dilute Sikhs politically in their own homeland isn’t fooling anyone and you’d quickly withdraw such a suggestion when it would lead the Sikhs of Punjab being given a vote / referendum on self determination. After all the Hindus of Punjab set the precedent in 1966 when they had the same referendum on self determination and voted to secede from Punjab to create Haryana and forsake Punjabi language for Hindi language in the first place.
What our fore fathers did we cannot be held accountable for that .
We can put it up for referendum the Re-Unification .
It can then be tried for a 5 year period and if not found practical then we can again go our own ways .
Don’t be so scared of trying .
No hell will fall we reunify .
I am a Sikh – they weren’t my ‘forefathers’ who forsook Punjab. When a partner leaves a union by voluntarily walking out and then tries to enter the forsaken bride’s home after FIFTY YEARS absence when he now needs support the bride would be stupid to take him back in when he talks of fidelity. You want ‘reunification’ then put in the referendum that the constitution of the newly ‘reunified state’ would reserve Punjabi as the first language and Sikhi as the State’s first religion (with all the resources of the state to promote these two points as well as the historical Khalsa Raj you would be trying to emulate with such a ‘reunion’) and that no water from present Punjab would be redistributed without Sikh majority’s permission. ‘It can then be tried for a 5 year period and if not found practical then we can again go our own ways. Don’t be so scared of trying.’
Just reunify Punjab,Haryana and HP and the problembwill be solved.
Great idea. Let’s reunify as you want and therefore reconstitute the Khalsa Raj with the Sikhs ruling as they did when they last owned all these lands under the Sikh Empire when both Hindus and Muslims were very content to live under Sikh auspices.
Badal should start by sacrificing himself.
The day that treacherous snake dies will be the best thing to happen in Punjab since the last few decades.