Economic Reasons

 Bijla Singh

Hindu Brahmin has always wanted to destroy Sikhi since it was first started by Guru Sahib in the 15^th century. Policies of Brahmin ruler towards Punjab are to make Sikhs starve in hunger so that they live a poor life. Indian government took away capital of Punjab, water, electricity, land, crops and everything else that would make Sikhs’ lives enriched. Sikhs have been deprived of sovereignty, jobs, military enlistment reduced from 40% to almost 2% (during war times it is 98%), and right to water and electricity which are being given to other states for free. The government put limits on the farming land as to how much it can be purchased which is mostly owned by Sikh farmers. There is no such limit in the cities due to presence of majority of Hindu population.

Punjab doesn’t even have the right to control its own electricity. All electricity produced from hydro projects is being given to neighboring states Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi but Punjab has to get electricity from thermal plants being run on coals, which is a lot more expensive than the one produced by Punjab’s waters. Punjab has to buy coal from other states at expensive rates and then run thermal plants to produce electricity to use it. Burning of coal is also harmful to the environment.

Agriculture

About 75% Sikhs in Punjab are farmers and are in agriculture. Their hard work is known to everybody in India. They work hard and produce crops to that can be used to feed most of the Indian population. Wherever Sikhs went they worked hard and became successful. Whether it was California, Toronto, Kenya, or Ethiopia, Sikhs worked hard and showed that they do not know how to beg and do not depend on the government. Whether it was jungles of U.P. or desert of Rajasthan, Sikhs turned it all into productive cultivated land.

Punjab produces more crops than any other states in India even though most of the water is being given to other states but still Sikhs work hard and manage to produce the necessary crops. Sikhs do not have the right to set the prices on their crops instead commissions setup by the government determine the price.

Sikhs spend thousands on buying tractors, fertilizers and all the necessary equipments to produce the crops. All the necessary equipments that are used in Punjab are built in other states and Sikhs have to pay high prices for them. When the crops are ready to be sold in the market Sikhs do not even have the right to set prices on their own crops. The government has established a Price Set Commission. This Commission sets the prices. More the crops produced less the prices are set. During the harvest season the prices are decreased drastically. It is a very idiotic way but why is it done? Because this way the only thing Sikhs will think about is paying the loans back. After independence, in a few years Khalistani people will be very rich and happy because there will not be any government to loot everything. Farmers will have the full rights to set their own prices.

According to Illustrated Weekly of India (10-16 June 1984) Sikhs borrowed 1200 crore rupees (1 crore = 10 million) to setup tubewells and other utilities for their lands. Adding to that the fertilizers, tractors, hard work and time investment would tell us the real prices of the crops produced. Sikhs work hard and pay the prices then they must have the right to set the prices but they don’t and that is because Sikhs are not free in India. They are being treated like slaves.

According to the report, 60% of the farmers are in debt in Punjab but only 40% in Haryana. It is very sad that banks in Punjab do not give loans to Sikh farmers. Sikhs have to get loans from brokers or loan commissioners who charge anywhere from 24% to 36% interest rate. In 1997 about 25,000 crore rupees rotted in the banks for nothing. It could have been given to farmers on 10 or 12% interest rate. The question arises that why wouldn’t the government do anything about it? The only reason is that the government wants to keep Sikhs as slaves in India which is only possible if they are in so much debt that they cannot even pay back. Sikh farmers have started to commit suicides because they cannot pay their loans back even after selling their crops. This is the first time in history that Sikhs are committing suicide. In fact, they don't have any choice. They are being forced into it.

Punjab has about 8.4 million acres of land for farming but only 3.4 million gets the river waters. Five million acres of land does not even get a single drop of water from the rivers of Punjab. 5.5 million acres is cultivated by tubewells and 1.3 million acres stay untouched. Even then most of the water is given to other Hindu states. Why? Because Sikhs are not free in India.

According to the constitution a state has all rights and full control over its waters but what happens to this law when it comes to Punjab? It is thrown out the window. The government has thought of all the possible ways to destroy Punjab economically to keep Sikhs as its slaves. All the dams are controlled by the government. Electricity is being given to other states. Once Sikhs gain independence the economy will grow and Khalistan will become a rich state. Indian states will have to pay for water and electricity. There will be no need to go to foreign countries anymore. Why would there be when your own home country can provide you with better life and more opportunities than other countries. No matter how happy you are in a foreign country just remember one thing: you are still a foreigner and an alien there.

Water Issue

The government is trying everything to destroy Punjab economically. It is not a matter of concern even if all of the farming land dries out but the water must be given to Hindu states for free because the Hindu government runs the country. Within the next ten years, tubewell system would fail which means 60% of the land will turn into desert. Whilst Punjab river waters are being given away to other states through canals, Punjab's farmers are suffering through lack of drinking and farming water.

Haryana was Punjab and so were some parts of present-day Himachal Pradesh. These areas had the riparian rights in waters of the erstwhile Punjab state. Rajasthan had no riparian right. Surplus water was earlier sold to that state on a nominal price. However, through time the price tag was changed to free supply because of the subjectively perceived national interests, not at the cost of the nation, but of Punjab. Prolonged use is now being perceived as natural right.

It was decided by the government that Haryana has the right to 40% of the water and Punjab has the right to 60% of the water. But Haryana is already drawing water from Punjab rivers more than its due. Where is then the need for an additional canal to take water to Haryana from Punjab rivers? Haryana's water availability amounts to some 14.38 MAF as compared to Punjab’s allocation of 14.4 MAF. The land irrigated in Punjab is 8.4 million acres and that of Haryana is only 4.5 million acres figures as per the report of the Irrigation Commission, 1972). So instead of raising hue and cry Haryana needs to utilize its water resources more efficiently.

Also, no one is listening to the Punjab plea that waters flowing in the Punjab rivers have declined from 17.17 MAF assessed in 1981 to only 14.37 MAF now.

It needs to be understood that today more than 60% of the irrigation water used in Punjab is the underground water lifted through tubewells. Less than 40% is canal irrigation. With this, the water-table is receding at the rate of 36 to 42 inches per year in most parts of the central districts. Centrifugal pumps in these areas have gone dysfunctional. Submersible pumps have been installed costing about Rs 1 lakh each. This has put the farmers under heavy debt. If canal water supply is reduced by 10 per cent, the water-table will recede by more than 50 inches per year. If this trend continues, Punjab will be a barren state in less than a decade.

In addition to diverting Punjab’s water to other states for free, Punjab and farmers have been forced to rely on agriculture and grow rice due to the small margins imposed by the central government on other crops. This results in using the land to its full capacity and depletion of water and minerals. Due to increase use of cheap and harmful fertilizers, chemicals and pesticides the land water of Punjab has been contaminated and become the cause of diseases like malaria and cancer. Punjab has been prohibited from investing in alternate industries resulting in unemployment of educated and newly graduate Sikhs. This was all pre-planned by the government to break the backbone of Punjab’s economy and prevent the Sikh generations from becoming progressive and economically successful.

Industry

A country cannot just depend on agriculture because a country must have an industry. Industry is the backbone of the country. When it came to Punjab it was treated like a stepson by the Indian government because nothing was setup in Punjab. Punjab has been successful in some small industries but no big industries were setup by the government. If some big industries are setup then small industries will come into existence automatically.

In March 1995, Punjab had total of 118,716 registered industries and about 19,730 million rupees were spent on these and about 1 million workers were working in these industries. In 1993-94 there were 475 big and middle factories in Punjab. About six bicycle factories and about two thousand factories that made some parts of the bicycles but no big factories like Binni factory in Punjab. There are sugar mills but very small. Batala and Gobindgarh have steel mills but nothing big like the one in Rurkela. About 50 sports factories but only 24 make their own products. Middle type industry has made some progress in Punjab. There are many small industries that make biscuits, hardware tools, electricity products, scooters, car parts and other parts.   

According to the law, the government must spend 60% of the state’s revenue on its economic production and the remaining 40% can be used for other purposes. This is the law that applies to every state except Punjab. Less than 40% money is spent on Punjab and rest is given to the other states. Punjab is charged highest interests but when it comes to spending money almost nothing is spent on Punjab because Sikhs are the majority. The central government treats Punjab like it is a foreign enemy country. The government put 197 projects in Maharashtar, 136 in Gujrat, 114 in Uttar Pradesh and only 19 in Punjab. In total budget of 15,668 crore (1 crore = 10 million) rupees the government gave only 345 crore to Punjab. When it comes down to economic growth Punjab is always the last state to get something if anything.

In 1996-1997 the government made plans to improve the states that were more backwards and Punjab fitted right in this category. Obviously it was not chosen but its neighbor state Haryana was chosen and following four projects were established in it.

1) To establish an industrial township using help of Japan.

2) To establish an Indo-German industrial company.

3) To build a software technologic company.

4) To establish an export corporation industrial company.

The government has taken everything from Punjab to make it a dependent state on the Hindu government. Most fertilizers in India are used by Punjab but government put the mills that produce fertilizers in states that do not even use 3% of it. Tractors are mostly used in Punjab but factories are setup in Tamilnadu. Sikhs have to buy tractors at higher costs. Punjab produces cotton crops for which Sikhs are not paid the fair price. Government runs factories in other states like Ahmdabad (Gujrat) using cotton produced in Punjab. If factories in other states can be run using cotton produced in Punjab then why can’t these factories be setup in Punjab? It is possible but the brutal government won’t allow it. Sikhs work hard but Hindus get all the profit. This is the policy of the treacherous Hindu government. 

Policy of the government is very simple: money and land of Punjab but all workers Hindus. What kind of democratic government is this? All the work is being given to Hindus so that young Sikhs stay unemployed. Even after all this discrimination, Sikhs are becoming successful. Just imagine how successful will Sikhs be in their own homeland.

Miscellaneous

Punjab has 54,305 kilometers of roads, 3,930 km railway lines and two airports. About one million people use government buses everyday and 40% of the total buses are private. Indian government announced to make an international airport in Amritsar in 1996 and one national airport in Jalandhar but not much has been done ever since. The government in Punjab has been changed many times but no one did anything to complete the project even though majority of people in India who travel to foreign countries are Sikhs. More the airlines are allowed to land at an International Airport of Amritsar, more the revenue will be generated for Punjab. It would make it much easier for Sikhs from foreign countries to travel.

According to survey in 1995, Punjab has 12,509 primary schools, 1,516 middle schools, 2126 high schools and 847 higher secondary schools. There are three universities in Punjab: Punjab University, Guru Nanak Dev University and Punjabi University. Punjab has 38 Engineering colleges, 355 undergraduate colleges, 75 post graduate colleges and 57 MBA colleges. Punjab has 265 hospitals, 2151 dispensaries, 446 primary health centers and 38 community health centers. Every city and village has electricity. After independence within few years Khalistan will be like Japan. 

Khalistan – Our Future

Majority of the Sikh population in Punjab is in debt and struggling just to survive. Hopeless young Sikhs have either turned to drugs or left Punjab for good. Many of the labor jobs have been taken over by the immigrants from other states at a lower pay scale. Further, they have the right to vote and own property. Such immigrants do not speak much Punjabi and hold no allegiance to the state’s interests. They vote for non-Sikh political party, Hindi as primary language of Punjab and other states’ rights to more water of Punjab. Thus, not only disabling the Sikhs from economic progress but also serving as a great tool to turn Punjab into a Hindi speaking state. Before we know it our language, culture, religion and little political power and say we have will be no more and Sikhs will be forced to either leave the country or work as slaves in the same land they once used to own.

This will be the future of Punjab if Khalistan is not established. In Khalistan, farmers will have subsidies to keep the land free of cropping and right to price their own crops. Farmers will also have the right to sell their crops to foreign companies or governments. The state government will have full control over the use of its water and help of the central government to diversify its economy and invest more in alternate industries to provide jobs and better future opportunities for the educated ones.

Sikhs are engineers, doctors, businessmen, scientists in foreign countries and successful professional. Why will they not work hard for their own homeland and make Khalistan richer than Japan and Germany? Name a profession that Sikhs did not succeed in? Sikhs are hard working people and can do a lot more for their own home country. Sikhs have spilled their blood for the land of Punjab. Whichever direction the bullet came from, Sikhs stood in the way and sacrificed for freedom. If Sikhs can fight oppression and foreign rulers to free Hindus from centuries of slavery then surely Sikhs can do the same for themselves.

If a small country like Israel can become a powerful country then why can’t brave hard working Sikhs turn Khalistan into a powerful country? There will be no shortage of big and small industries. We have to start at some place. One cannot expect a country to have everything in the beginning. India, Pakistan and even USA had little to nothing when they gained independence. Progress takes time and economy grows and evolves over time.

Independent Khalistan will show the real equality. There is so much discrimination in other countries including USA. There will be no caste and discrimination based on religion. Women will have full rights. Khalistan is fully capable of becoming an independent country. Hard working Sikhs in all professions live there and will be living there. Sikh farmers will fill up the storage houses with food. No one will starve and no one will be turned down from work because of their religion or race. Indian government is stopping Sikhs in Punjab from becoming successful and turning Punjab into the richest state in India. Sooner Khalistan becomes free sooner it will become richer. Indian government is well aware of it and this is why they want to destroy Sikhism. It is unfortunate that the Indian government knows about the power of Sikhs more than Sikhs know it themselves. 

There is much room for improvement but we as Sikhs need to realize that Punjab and its people need our help. We as a Nation need to unite together and establish Khalistan to ensure that no one becomes victim of government’s prejudice and everyone gets to enjoy the economical prosperity. Time is not far when Sikhs will destroy the Indian government and setup a true government faithful to everyone. Sikhs will host Nishaan Sahib over Red Fort and Khalsa shall rule.

Source: How Sikhs became Slaves by Saroop Singh Narang