Many old legends about Punjab are still in circulation. These are mostly used by travelers, journalists, social scientists for introductory purposes. One such account is that Punjab is the “breadbasket of India, Homeland of the Sikhs, the sword Arm of India” — all these describe the “prosperous” state of Punjab.
The timeline of such complimentary expressions leads one far into circuitous paths of the history of the region, and also raises questions of its relevance in the present context. If it is the breadbasket of India why is there no respect for it? If it is the Homeland of the Sikhs why don’t they have rights to their own waters, and why don’t they have their own capital in free India? If it is the Sword Arm of India why is their loyalty suspect even after an overwhelming sacrifice to the cause of freedom? If it is a prosperous state then why Sons of Soil are pressed as far as to knot their turbans around their necks?
The answers to these questions may compel one to make a fair assessment of the unfolding conditions in the history of the state. It may unravel startling strategic information about rulers of India since ancient times. The influence of the author of Artha Shastra, Chanayaka runs deep in the Indian consciousness. Kutalya’s theory - straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first – must be the dynamics of those at the helm of affairs. While donning the garb of a ruler, the first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru already had chalked out his path the clues of which he gave in his book Discovery of India.
The overwhelming question facing Nehru was how to depoliticize Punjabis so that they become serviceable to the impeccable grand design conceived by him in collusion with Mahatma Gandhi. Accordingly, Punjab needed to be torn apart into many divisions simply because harmony of Sikhs, Dalits and Muslim didn’t augur well for the Hindu hegemony. The next step was to confuse the expression of Sikhs’ political desire. They knew that it could be achieved only through a laudatory language. The purpose was to reduce Punjabi young man to merely a security guard of the Bold and Beautiful of New Delhi. The British had already taught them how to browbeat Punjab with congratulatory language than with the show of force.
The hard earned freedom, peace and the progress achieved in human relationships after the fall of Mughals were sacrificed at the altar of Chanakya’s vengeful philosophy. The leadership of Nehru and Gandhi built pillars of pride in the pre-Christian era to overlook everything that came in between Chanakaya and Gandhi. According to such a view Alaxander wouldn’t have packed up from India, had Chanakya not born to rule and provide counsel to the King Maurya. Similarly, the British wouldn’t have left the shores of India, had Mohan Dass Karam Chand Gandhi not born to turn the tide in favor of new breed of rulers.
The official website of Punjab Government describes a Punjabi in the following terms, “ the typical Punjabi is an extrovert, a sociable fellow who likes to eat well, dress well, Even if he is in a tight spot, he would like to twirl his moustache and say “Chardi Kala.” The picture that is posted on the website is of a farmer with a casual Safa (turban) on his head. It may be disdainful to the description of a Punjabi as being well dressed, well fed and well bred. The fact of a Punjabi farmer’s vanity in twirling his moustache even though totally bankrupt is more a subject of farce in the hands of the government than alarm to redress his hard luck. The official inscription of the character of a Punjabi by Punjab Government looks like a literal translation of an old adage “Lahor de shaukeen vojhe che gajran” (fashionable young men of Lahore have carrots in their pockets).
The plight of farmers has been a burning topic for more than a decade. Studies have been carried out on farmer suicides in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. It is surprising to note that a majority of research to ascertain causes for suicide and carried out by the National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad disregarded suicides by farmers in Punjab. These suicides may have gone unacknowledged for multiple reasons the foremost being the complexity of Punjab’s case. It appears as if acknowledging Punjab’s plight would trigger its youth’s ire.
There is credible evidence that the Punjab farmer is going from bad to worse in the face of penalizing attitude of the government. Punjab remained a case of special interest of governments in the 400 years of its history. The Indian government has treated Punjab not differently from the colonial rule of the British and theocratic reign of the Mughals. The British were focused only to obfuscate the political will of the Sikhs and blunt their religious enthusiasm, but the center government after independence has shown that it would go one step further in wrecking the state economically as well.
The breadbasket status of Punjab has diminished in an age of commercial farming as both wheat and rice are not in great demand. Farmers have to beg government officials to get a minimum price for their crops. This kind of distress sale, profits the middle man while pushing the farmer further into debt. If he still does twirl his moustache in Chardi Kala, it is his false pride that has been instilled in him by the Brahminical tradition. Debt ridden he will live like a dependent slave in the factual sense, and as a comical and vainglorious character in the social sense. Such a Punjabi is the desirable product of Indian political system that has been dancing to the Bhangra beat of Kutalya’s maxims ever since Punjab enthusiastically came forward to become the Arm Sword of India.
Non-institutional creditors extend loans to farmers with a view to indirectly own his precious land. Unable to pay off his debt he starts giving in to the conditions of mortgage finally abdicating his ancestral right to the land. Additionally, open economy has compounded the trouble by bringing a plethora of consumer items to the market. The farmer as a consumer gets T.V. Fridge, scooter, cars on easy credit, but when there is crop failure compounded by the procuring agencies’ lack of interest, all exits become inaccessible to him rendering him incapable of getting out of debt. The rising debt builds up a vicious circle finally forcing him to don the noose around his own neck.
The social status attached to certain castes forces people to spend more than their income. Although Sikh Gurus had dismantled the age old caste system through the Order of Khalsa, however, it was reintroduced by the Brahminical regime and British colonialism. While arranging marriage of their sons and daughters, most farmers ape others in an effort to entertain their guests thereby stretching their financial resources.
The depression experienced by the Punjab farmers is also due to a prolonged atmosphere of negativity in all walks of their life. Sacrifice, sincerity, hard work and patriotism haven’t been rewarded in the last five decades of Indian independence. On the other hand, manipulative individuals have not only been promoted to high ranks, but also given sweeping powers to browbeat the naive farmers for showing their allegiance to pro-farmers parties.
As to the question of prosperity of Punjab, it may be said that the Diaspora’s flow back of wealth sustained Punjab’s economy more than any program of the Center or the state government. Rural youth migration to the Middle East, West, and Australia facilitated survival of a certain section of farmers at home. Punjabis’ involvement in cab, trucking, and dhaba business had a lot to do with elevating the economic status of the state. However, the withdrawal of Punjab’s quota from the armed forces, restriction on migration to the west, witch-hunting of Sikhs in other states, are some of the factors in driving the farmers nuts in their own state. The inhospitable police rule, disappearance of human rights advocates along with many youths in custody created panic and pain.
The solution to Punjab farmers’ problem doesn’t lie in addressing it in an adhoc manner. The radical change in the attitude at the top appears a total impossibility. It appears that New Delhi’s fixation with Kutalya’s maxims will stay the course, no matter who holds the Prime Minister’s office. No central leader allowed Punjab to cherish “the glow of freedom” as it was promised in response to Punjabis throwing their lot in favor of the majority rule. Such promises were made more to alienate Punjabis than to integrate them with other sections of society.
The image of Gurdev Singh hanging from a tree at the Nadhala Mandi site must have aroused mixed feelings in the onlookers. For some his will to life collapsed due to his family problems. For others, it was another incident of suicide. But for the farmers who shared the same pain, he became a sacrifice to their cause. Two days before his suicide farmers had protested at Nadhala Mandi and laid on Rail tracks in Amrisar District. Earlier, in September 30, 2004, another Gurdev Singh of Maur Charat Singh Wala not only shared the same name but also the same circumstances and desperation to become a martyr to the cause of farmers. He was lying on the rail tracks when a goods train crushed him to death. The incident had created a prolonged confrontation with the government. Farmers were not allowed to attend his Bhog (funeral) ceremony.
In South Korea, a 56 year old farmer activist, Lee Kyung Hae had stabbed himself to protest at WTO ministerial conclave at Cacun. The famous French author Albert Camus examines the motif of suicide in his writings. The suicide is a fundamental issue of moral philosophy and it is not an option. Camus discusses the issue in his works such as Reflection on the Guillotine, The Myth of Sisyphus, Caligula and The Fall. A few quotes from Albert Camus will throw light on the issue:
. Men are never really willing to die except for the sake of freedom; therefore, they do not believe in dying completely.
. There are places where the mind dies so that a truth which is its very denial may be born.
. We always deceive ourselves twice about the people we love—first to their advantage and then to their disadvantage.
. Without freedom, no art, art lives only on the restraint it imposes on itself and dies of all others.
