‘Forethought and planning’, besides being important ‘principles of war’, are as applicable to development, governance or administration as to the art of war. I remember the period from the 1980s to 1993, during which the people of Punjab were terrified of bloodshed due to the then prevailing insurgency which resulted in many innocent killings and resultantly migration of industry to neighbouring states and the NCR. At that time, the whole country and the governments, both at the Centre and the state, were worried about the future of Punjab because the latter was, and continues to be, extremely important to India’s security against our western adversary, Pakistan.
Pakistan’s animosity towards India hasn’t ceased for India to be complacent. But unfortunately, post-normalcy in 1993, authorities on our side of the border took peace for granted which enabled our adversaries to orchestrate recent violent incidents. Unfortunately, during the last few years, the most important issue of discussion in the media has been Punjab’s debt to the Central government as the cost of deployment of Army and Central police organisations to counter-terrorism. Such claims have not been heard of against the Northeastern states and J&K despite Central security forces and the Army having been deployed in these states for a much longer period in much larger strength. It is pertinent to mention that Punjab is as much a border state as some of the other insurgency-affected states. Terrorism in Punjab was as much a proxy war from across the border as in J&K and not to forget that the people of Punjab have been at the forefront during wars with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971.
In a reply in the Rajya Sabha on March 27, 2023, the Ministry of Defence revealed that Punjab tops the list of war widows in the country. Punjab is home to 2,132 war widows (Veer Naris) out of 14,467 of the entire country. It is also pertinent to mention that recruitment into the Army is based on pro rata of the population eligible for recruitment called EMPR (Eligible Male Population Ratio). Punjab constitutes just 2.3 percent of the country’s population, which entitles it to have a similar percentage of soldiers in the Army. It is also often forgotten that Punjab led India’s Green Revolution and continues to be one of the biggest contributors of food grains to ensure India’s food security. With our godowns overflowing with food grains, food production is taken for granted but the recent global inflation due to the Ukraine War highlighted the critical role of agriculture and foodgrain reserves. These figures clearly highlight that the contribution of the people of Punjab to India’s security, both military and food, has been unparalleled.
People of the state feel that despite such selfless contributions to national growth and security, Punjab, today, is a forgotten state in terms of investment, industrial growth and jobs. Very few central institutions have come up in Punjab during the last decade compared to other states like Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. It is surprising that even for events of national security importance like the ‘Combined Commanders Conference’, the preference to host is given to states like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and not Punjab, which is home to maximum martyrs and war widows. When we operate in states like J&K and Northeast, a lot of emphasis is given to winning the ‘hearts and minds’ of the population. Punjab, despite being a border state who is on the target list of Pakistan both during peace and war, no effort is dedicated to this emotional aspect which is badly needed for the people of Punjab who have been the flag bearers of the slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ through their actions.
The national leadership visits Punjab only prior to the Assembly elections unlike other states, where several developmental projects are inaugurated, maybe because it doesn’t elect too many Members of Parliament. As a result, a large number of youths who would have otherwise aspired to join the Army or the police now have the sole ambition of migrating to Canada, Australia and the US, making investments in those countries by selling their agricultural land, a trend which may have a long term adverse impact on India’s human resources, economy and national security.
The middle-class youth who stay back in India are the targets of the drug mafia which, for sure, appears to be well-organised. Continuous supply of drugs is like slow poison eating up the youth and the state from the inside, the effect of which is already being felt but the governments and the administration feign ignorance. It is hard to believe that drugs can flow so effortlessly in the state without the knowledge or maybe connivance of the police and the administration. Having operated alongside the Punjab police, it is difficult to believe that the police and the administration cannot control the drug menace in the state if they decide to.
Pakistan does not miss any opportunity to create disturbances in Punjab. It is understood that the ISI has a special desk called K2 (Kashmir and Khalistan) which is tasked to exploit the fault lines in India’s border states. Since 1993, the economic development of Punjab has not been given the kind of attention it requires. Political bickering, corruption and divisiveness have replaced governance and development.
Unfortunately, our governments act only when a crisis knocks at the door neglecting the principle of ‘forethought and planning’. It seems the national and state leaderships are unable to visualise the level to which the security situation can deteriorate unless the current security challenges facing Punjab are tackled in a proactive manner.
The Roadmap to Take Punjab Forward
Firstly, the economy of the state must be rejuvenated through investments and manufacturing to reduce dependence on agriculture.
Secondly, all efforts must be made to deal with the drug menace with an iron hand before it eats up a few generations of youth.
Thirdly, good quality education including skill development leading to respectable jobs is a necessity to prevent en masse migration abroad.
Lastly, the administration needs to provide corruption-free efficient governance and also win the ‘hearts and minds’ of the people of Punjab to prevent potential alienation or exploitation by anti-India forces.
Remember, Punjab is too sensitive a state from the national security perspective to be neglected. Don’t take the existing peace for granted because someone across the border is working very hard to disturb it.
Lt Gen Balbir Singh Sandhu (Retd) was head of Army Service Corps. He is a distinguished fellow at United Service Institution of India. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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