History

Main article: History of the Punjab


Ranjit Singh, Maharaja of Punjab ca. 1835–40
The Partition of India in 1947 split the former Raj province of Punjab; the mostly Muslim western part became the Pakistani province of West Punjab and the mostly Sikh and Hindu eastern part became the Indian province of Punjab. Many Sikhs and Hindus lived in the west, and many Muslims lived in the east, and so partition saw many people displaced and much intercommunal violence. Several small Punjabi princely states, including Patiala, also became part of India. In 1950, two new states were created; the former Raj province became the state of Punjab, while the princely states were combined into the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). Himachal Pradesh was created as a union territory from several princely states and Kangra district. In 1956, PEPSU was merged into Punjab state, and several northern districts of Punjab in the Himalayas were transferred to Himachal Pradesh.


The golden throne of Maharaja Ranjit Singh
The capital of the undivided Punjab Province, Lahore, ended up in Pakistan after partition, so a new capital for Indian Punjab was built at Chandigarh. After years of struggle by the Akali leadership(Punjabi Suba Movement) and detention of thousands of sikhs and loss of many lives Punjab was divided on linguistic basis.On 1 November 1966, the mostly Hindi-speaking southern half of Punjab became a separate state, Haryana. Chandigarh was on the border between the two states, and became a separate union territory but serves as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. Chandigarh was due to transfer to Punjab in 1986, but this has been delayed pending an agreement on which parts of the Hindi-speaking areas of Abohar and Fazilka, in Firozpur District, should be transferred to Haryana in exchange.
During the 1970s, the Green Revolution brought increased economic prosperity for the Punjab, mainly due to Pratap Singh Kairon, the late Sikh leader. However, a growing polarisation between the Indian National Congress led central government and the main Sikh political party, the Shiromani Akali Dal, began to widen during the 1970s. The hostility and bitterness arose from what was widely seen by the Sikhs as increasing alienation, centralization and discriminatory attitudes towards Punjab by the Government of India. This prompted the Shiromani Akali Dal to unanimously pass the Anandpur Sahib Resolution which among other things called for granting maximum autonomy for the Punjab and other states and limiting the role and powers of the Central Government.


Dalip Singh Sukerchakia, the last Maharaja of Punjab
Some Sikhs demanded equal rights that were promised at the time of partition while some wanted an independent state called Khalistan and a number of militants began targeting officials and people opposed to their point of view whom they termed as agents of the Central Government . Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was the leader of Damdami Taksal, a 300-year old Sikh educational organisation, and in later years was called the leader of the separatist movement, even though during his life he never voiced support or opposition to the idea of Khalistan, he merely claimed that if the Harmandir Sahib was attacked, then and only then would Khalistan become a reality. The idea of Khalistan was something that was given prominence by the Govt. as it gave the impression that Sikhs were terrorists who were looking for trouble. Jarnail Singh, along with his supporters, sought shelter inside the Akal Takht in the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Fearing arrest, Bhindranwale with help from Major General Shabeg Singh, unofficial hero of 1971 war who had been implicated in false cases and even refused a trial because he had upset Indira Gandhi by refusing to arrest Jai Prakash Narain,took refuge in the heavily fortified temple. The Indian army finally assaulted the Golden Temple to take out the armed militants in June, 1984, when thousands of pilgrims had thronged the Temple for celebration of Shaheedi Gurpurab. However, Operation Bluestar was poorly planned and coordinated, leading to heavy military and civilian casualties. The loss of thousands of innocent lives was claimed as poor coordination by the Indira Gandhi Govt., but Sikhs the world over knew it was a deliberate attempt to "break the back of Sikhs" as thousands of bodies were dumped into municipal lorries and illegally cremated, before the foreign media was allowed to enter Amritsar. After Operation Blue Star, nearly all of the Akali leadership was thrown into jail and so were thousands of pilgrims. In the months to follow, Operation Woodrose, was launched by the army to capture the militants who had fled to the villages near Pakistan border and camped there.
As a result, the situation in Punjab deteriorated into anarchy with a rise in militancy. By the early 1990s, after many years of violence across Punjab, the militants' struggle for Khalistan had lost much of the sympathy gained after the assault on the Golden Temple and what little armed resistance remained was eliminated and forced underground. In the following years there was concern over alleged human rights abuses conducted by the central and state government against Sikhs, and many human rights organisations were not allowed in the Punjab at the time.[9]
Punjab's economy was acutely affected in the 1980s and early 1990s. However in recent times, there have been serious attempts by the Central Government to diminish resentment and strong feelings of Punjabis over the issue. Punjab's economy is now on the path to recovery. However, corruption and violence continues to hamper the state. In recent times, there is growing concern in the state about the immigration of labourers from other Indian states such as Orissa, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Around 10% of Punjab's population is now made up of migrants from these states. The Sikhs are concerned that they will soon become a minority in the state, and allege that the unchecked immigration is encouraged by the government.[10] The pro-Khalistan organization Dal Khalsa (International) has blamed the problems like rising crime rate and unemployment on immigration. On the other hand the leaders like Tarsem Jodha have stated that immigration is vital to Punjab's economy since the landlords of Punjab have always relied on immigrants for labour.[10]


                                                                                              ••KAMLA PNJABI••