NEW YORK, USA—US-based Human rights body ‘Sikhs for Justice’ has announced to take the legal dispute over the Satluj Yamuna Link -(SYL) Canal into the International Court of Justice situated in Hague (Netherlands). The Sikhs for Justice is ready to submit an application for ‘Punjab Water Referendum-2017’ on the SYL-Canal issue.
In a press note shared with Sikh24, legal advisor S. Gurpatwant Singh Pannu has said that sorting out the SYL-Canal dispute in favor of Punjab was no more in hands of political parties of Punjab. He further said that if Punjab masses will support his initiative for ‘Punjab Water Referendum-2017’ by voting then he would be able to present the SYL-Canal issue in a fair manner before the International Court of Justice.
“The voting lines for ‘Punjab Water Referendum-2017’ will start from December”, he added.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946. The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
It may be recalled here that the Supreme Court of India had given its verdict against Punjab on November 10, annulling the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act-2004 which was passed in 2004 by the Punjab assembly. The Apex Court had said that the Punjab state assembly doesn’t possess any right to annul a two sided agreement.
Although at the behest of Punjab government, the Revenue Department of Punjab has de-notified the land, acquired for SYL-Canal, to it’s original owners.
There is still, however, panic among Punjab masses as the central government could deploy paramilitary forces at anytime, to complete the portion of SYL-Canal in Punjab.
Riparian laws are applicable between Nations and not within Nation.
I have already explained to you that riparian laws are like human rights legislation – they are above the petty laws that States create for themselves and are formulated to prevent minorities rights being trampled on. Nazi Germany had a Jewish registration act that ‘legally’ allowed it as the government to register its Jewish citizens so it could ‘legally’ discriminate and persecute them. If you go into someone else’s house and take their property without their consent it is still theft even if the state says it is not a crime because it decides the thief does not need permission from the householder if the householder happens to be a Sikh. Right is right and wrong is wrong no matter what kind of laws you want to set up to pervert the course of natural justice.
I just said that reunite and see the problem just melt away.
These problem always arises when you divide states without adequate understanding the problems it creates.
Punjab,Haryana and Himachal have always been one state and that is how they should remain.
Let us not add to problems when we have bigger problems to solve.
‘Reunite and just see the problem melt away’? I fear you have no understanding of the laws of physics. A quart into a pint pot does not go and you don’t rob Peter to pay Paul. The Punjab as an agrarian state (i.e. a state that is heavily dependent on agriculture and the water that is the life blood of those crops) does not have enough water as it stands to water its own soil let alone have it siphoned to give freely to other non-riparian states like Haryana and Himachal. As for ‘Punjab,Haryana and Himachal have always been one state and that is how they should remain’ your RSS friends should have told this to the Punjabi Hindus back in the 1966 referendum when they encouraged them to abandon the land of Punjab and its very language. They left of their own free will and with desire for self determination and must live with the consequences of their decision to turn their back on Punjab and in the case of Haryana just this qweek they have openly discriminated against a Sikh demanding he break his faith to sit an examination in contravention of his constitutional and religious rights – a disgraceful episode of discrimination you have singularly failed to comment upon. The Sikhs of the Punjab stayed loyal to this soil of Punjab and it together with its precious resources (what there is left of them after being looted for so many decades) belong to us and we have no desire to suddenly take back Haryana and HP just because they want free unhindered access to our water. You want Haryana and HP back into Punjab then they will have to submit to Sikh leadership and readopt the Punjabi language and hand Chandigarh straight back to Punjab as its sole capitol. Are you content to do that? Of course not. All your cynical plan is to swamp Punjabi Sikhs with Haryana and HP citizens (non Sikh majority) and then claim there is no problem as Sikh majority in Punjab no longer exists therefore illogically the water problem no longer exists. The last time Punjab was so legalistically annexed / looted / pillaged was by the British East India Company and the Khalsa Raj was brought to its knees with the aid of collaborators and traitors – your intention is the same.
Just reunite Punjab ,Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to solve this simple problem.
Follow EU or German model of re unification.
How does that help Punjab? All it would mean is that her objections would be completely overruled by saying the majority population are now no longer Sikh – oh, I see the point you are actually making. A woman who is forsaken by her husband for more than fifty years has little self respect or intelligence if she takes back her husband into the home she has fashioned for herself only when he comes back to her as a last resort, having abandoned her, rejected her, abused her when he is now homeless.
Riparian laws are like Human Rights – they are universally accepted laws for decent acceptable behaviour designed to eliminate any wriggle room for unscrupulous governments thinking they can trample on the rights of their peoples. The Punjab is an agrarian state and has always been so even in the time of the Khalsa Raj. You don’t have the right to pull the rug out from under the feet of the Punjabi people. If you think so then hold a referendum in Punjab and ask the Punjabi people are they willing to have their precious water stripped from them. Even your puppet Badal is pretending to stand up for the Punjab water as he knows he could not possibly publicly go against the will of the Punjabi people on this vital issue. If you go into someones house and take whatever you want without permission it is called theft and is a crime.
Chardi Kala of Sikhs for Justice always!
THANK YOU SIKHS FOR JUSTICE, YOU’RE A GREAT ORGANIZATION THATS SPEAKS OUT AGAINST INJUSTICE!
KEEP DOING GREAT WORK AND NEVER FORGET THE SACRIFICES SIKHS HAVE GIVEN FOR THEIR PEOPLE, WE OWE THEM JUSTICE, SIKHS DESERVE JUSTICE