Panjab Governor Resigns

Panjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Banwarilal Purohit resigned on 3 Feb, the office he held since August 2021. This was after a meeting with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. He is a three-time MP and earlier served as the governor of Tamil Nadu and Assam. Shortly after the AAP came to power in Panjab, Purohit sent off a series of letters to CM Mann seeking clarifications on several issues, even warning that he would recommend the President’s Rule and launch criminal proceedings if his queries went unanswered. Recently, after a more than six months delay, he gave his nod to three pending Bills earlier passed in the state assembly (SDW Vol. 1 Issue 5, Story 1). Purohit’s resignation comes days after the Chandigarh mayoral polls, in which the AAP and INC combined raised allegations of rigging and moved the Supreme Court to challenge the results. The BJP swept the polls, retaining all three posts. Manoj Sonkar was declared the winner with sixteen votes. The BJP had a total of fourteen plus one vote, likely by SAD and one more by BJP Member of Parliament Kirron Kher. The AAP and INC had thirteen and seven votes each but got a total of twelve votes after eight were declared invalid. On 5 Feb, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said, ‘Won’t allow democracy to be murdered like this,’ and directed the entire record of the elections be sequestered under the custody of Punjab and Haryana High Court Registrar General. Given the Supreme Court’s track record on important judgments, it is prudent to not go by the rhetorical statements of judges and wait for the final decision. 

The Interim Union Budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 was tabled in the Parliament by Indian Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman on 1 Feb. This was the sixth budget presented by the current FM and the last one of PM Narendra Modi-led government's second term. The full budget will be presented in July 2024 after the new government is formed after the Lok Sabha Elections. The budget focused on fiscal consolidation, infrastructure, green growth, and railways. No changes were made to the tax rates. The Fiscal Deficit target for FY25 was set at 5.1% of the GDP, while the FY24 target was also revised down to 5.8%. Despite a hit to farm incomes due to recurrent climate shocks and export curbs to check domestic food prices, the interim budget slashed funding for some key agriculture schemes. The flagship crop insurance scheme was allocated $1.7B for 2024-25, lower than the $1.8B spent in 2023-24. Funds for another key scheme PM-AASHA—which is used to purchase crops like pulses and oilseeds from farmers at minimum support prices—were slashed to $209M in 2024-25 from $265M in 2023-24. Surprisingly, the cut was despite the government launching a portal for the procurement of pulses last month. Panjab industry expected the union government to bring fuel under Goods and Service Tax, and exemptions on freight charges, but they did not come through. Panjab FM Harpal Cheema said, ‘injustice’ to the state is pretty evident in the interim budget.

Reports say the US government has held back delivery of 31 MQ-9A Sea Guardian and Sky Guardian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV or drones) to India until New Delhi carries out a ‘meaningful investigation’ into the conspiracy to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Washington also held back smaller Indian acquisitions, including a proposal to buy six Boeing P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft. These are to supplement 12 P-8I Poseidon aircraft that the Indian Navy already operates. The Indian Ministry of Defence’s internal approval for the now-stalled drone procurement came in June 2023, a week before Indian PM Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington. This was also the time when the conspiracy to kill Pannun – allegedly set in motion by an Indian security official, according to a federal indictment made public in November 2023 – shifted to high gear. Pannun is a dual US and Canadian citizen, is based in New York, and is accused of terrorism by India. The prime conspirator in the assassination attempt, Nikhil Gupta, is in jail in Prague and may soon be extradited to the US (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 5, Story 2). The objections were by Senator Ben Cardin, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SDW Vol. 1 Issue 13, Story 2). Following assurance from the administration, the Senator withdrew his objections. On 1 Feb, the US Congress was formally notified of the possible sale of 31 MQ-9B high-altitude long endurance armed UAV to India. A US Embassy spokesperson said, ‘Congress now has 30 days to review the proposed sale. Upon conclusion of the review, India and the United States may conclude the sale with a Letter of Offer and Acceptance.’ Defense officials stated deliveries begin three years from the signing of the contract.

On 28 Jan, Sikhs in San Francisco voted on the Khalistan Referendum. Out of an estimated 250,000 Sikhs in the Central Valley or the Bay Area, about 125,000 came out to vote. The San Francisco vote follows votes in London, Geneva, Rome, Toronto, and Vancouver (SDW Vol. 1 Issue 1, Story 4). The next vote is in Sacramento on 31 Mar. Proposed by Sikhs for Justice, a US-based group, the referendum was borne out of an ongoing history of persecution in India and advocacy for increased religious freedom for the Sikh community. The next day, multiple propane tanks exploded near a Gurdwara in Sacramento. The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said the accident happened at a building on the property directly across from the Gurdwara Sacramento Sikh Society along Bradshaw Road in the Vineyard community. ‘My heart was racing, especially given all the recent events,’ said Bobby Singh, an activist. ‘I feared the worst.’ The Gurdwara building was blackened and suffered heavy damage. As recently as last Sunday, as many as 200 children attended Sikh education classes there. 'Thank God no one was hurt,' Singh said. Several Sikh activists say they want the fire thoroughly investigated. Two days later, on 1 Feb, in Canada’s city of Surrey, unknown people opened fire on activist Simranjeet Singh’s home. A spokesperson for the British Columbia Gurdwaras Council said Simranjeet Singh was a friend of slain pro-Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is investigating the incident.

The latest data from the All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report 2021-22 shows that the migration of students from Panjab to countries such as Canada and Australia has started emptying the state’s colleges and universities. According to the AISHE report, total enrollment in higher educational institutes nationwide has increased from 36.6M to 43.2M in the past years. But in Panjab, the trend has reversed – it has decreased from 959K to 858K. As per the report, Panjab’s Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) stood at 27.4%, below the national average of 28.3%. GER is a key indicator of the level of participation in higher education within a given population. In other news, Canada's immigration minister, Marc Miller recently announced that those seeking spouses with high scores in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in order to move abroad without an open work permit will not be eligible for migration. It is common for families to place matrimonial advertisements seeking IELTS-passed girls, with the groom’s family covering the wedding expenses, sending the girl to Canada, and bearing the financial burden ­­– often exceeding ₹25 lakhs ($41K CAD). A 1990 to 2022 study by Panjab Agricultural University (PAU) titled A study on overseas migration from Rural Panjab: Trends, Causes, and Consequences, revealed that 9.51% of Panjabis migrated abroad on a spouse visa. Notably, over 50% of these migrants were males. While marriages should not be abused for migration, this move will harm the immigration business and affect families and the economy.

Widespread rain and hail in Panjab on 2 Feb ended a two-month dry, cold, and largely sunless spell, benefitting kharif (fall harvest) crops (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 4, Story 9). According to agricultural experts, the rain will prove a boon for kharif crops, particularly wheat. Some districts also experienced hailstorms but their impact has not been adverse. While the rains indicate a good wheat harvest, farmers' woes do not end. The Customs Commissionerate of Ludhiana has kept in abeyance an order that has caused 30-40 containers of Basmati rice booked for shipment to West Asian countries to pile up, stuck at the inland container depot in Ludhiana. Meanwhile, in the wake of the staggering decline in kinnow prices in Panjab, a team led by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) vice-chancellor (V-C) Satbir Singh Gosal initiated a critical assessment during a recent visit to citrus orchards and packing facilities in Abohar. Experts have identified a host of factors contributing to this alarming situation: inadequate marketing services, the absence of a processing industry, and rejections due to heavy metal traces and chemical residues. Prevalent size-based grading and auto pollution have further compounded the crisis. Stakeholders attribute low rates to a three-times hike in customs duty by the Bangladesh government from ₹20 per kg in 2019 to ₹63 per kg last year. The farmers can’t take their orchards away from the roads; the government must frame traffic policies, start processing units, introduce better grading systems, and lobby Bangladesh to reduce import duty. 

On 1 Feb, Haryana’s BJP CM Manohar Lal Khattar announced that a grand memorial near Pipli will preserve relics and memories of Sikh Gurus in Haryana. The memorial aims to inspire future generations with the Gurus' message of humanity in addition to serving as a tourist center. Khattar was speaking at the release of the book Haryana Sikhs and Khattar and also mentioned memorials being built in Lohgarh and Badh Khalsa. In response, the Haryana Sikh Forum (HSF) asked what happened to Khattar’s promise to the community to develop Guru Gobind Singh University. In a joint statement, HSF convener Engineer Balbir Singh and president Jasdeep Singh Bedi asked why the announced development of GGSU in Northern Haryana in Panchkula or Ambala has not yet been fulfilled. The CM made that announcement seven years ago on 12 Feb 2017, in a state-level function organized in Karnal on the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh. According to the last census in 2011, after Panjab, Haryana has the highest number of Sikhs (1,243,752), making up 4.91% of the total population of the state. Such announcements by the CM are the BJP’s attempts to appeal to Haryana Sikhs. In 2022, the Supreme Court upheld the formation of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC), which broke away from SGPC and took state Gurdwaras under its control. However, to date, the HSGPC has not been able to conduct elections to form their management committee and remains under BJP’s control in the state (SDW Vol. 1 Issue 7, Story 5).

On 15 Jan night, 26-year-old Vishal Kapoor from Delhi ventured on the streets of Phagwara looking for the home he had lived in as a child with his grandmother. Since it was intensely cold, Kapoor took sanctuary at Chaurra Khooh Gurdwara. Nihang Sikh Ramandeep Singh from Mangu Math, Ludhiana made Kapoor confess on video that he had come to the Gurdwara to commit sacrilege, then killed Kapoor. After the crime, Singh recorded himself admitting to the murder and posted both videos on social media. Singh then hid in one of the rooms of the Gurdwara, refusing to come out till other Nihangs came and feted him. He was then taken away by the police. Singh confessed to the police he committed the crime for ‘publicity and glory.’ In another incident on 28 Jan, on the birth anniversary of Sikh warrior Baba Deep Singh, tension gripped Gurdwara Janam Asthan Baba Deep Singh at Pahuwind village in Tarn Taran district. The issue started with the president of the Gurdwara Management Committee Colonel Harsimran Singh (Retd) asking Nihang Sikhs to move their tent from a public space and remove Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s poster from where it was placed near the Jorha Ghar (shoes of devotees). When the Nihang Sikhs refused to do so, Col. Singh himself removed the poster. Sensing trouble, police entered the Gurdwara and escorted Col. Singh out in a car. In both cases, the Nihang Sikhs have displayed unruly behavior. Off late, the numbers of factions of Nihangs have also grown including those supporting the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The community must find ways to govern, including the Nihangs (SDW Vol. 1 Issue 15, Story 8).

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal has supported the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal of the Modi government. Badal reasons, ‘Before 1967, there used to be a single election across the country. People would go and vote for Lok Sabha members and Vidhan Sabha members on the same day. It is only after some of the state governments were destabilized that the system started falling apart and elections in states began to be held separately from the Lok Sabha elections.’ For a while now, Indian PM Narendra Modi has advocated for the concept of One Nation, One Election. The idea is instead of conducting elections in each state when a state’s five-year government term is over, India should conduct one election over a stipulated time for both the states and the nation. This comes from BJP’s reading that they enjoy immense popularity in various states, especially in the north and east of the country. BJP estimates they could influence such an election with a nationalistic flavor and win in those states where they do not have a great presence. However, such an election could be detrimental to regional parties that are not in a tie-up with BJP such as the Trinamool Congress in Bengal and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu, and others. Though SAD is a regional party, its support of the concept shows they are interested in coming closer to the BJP and re-stitching its alliance that lasted from 1996 to 2020 when they broke ties over the draconian Farm Laws. 

On 2 Feb, environmentalists from Panjab and a few from the world gathered at the Harike wetland to mark World Wetlands Day. The wetland is the meeting point of the Satluj and Beas rivers. The riverine area covers 4,100 hectares spread across Ferozepur, Tarn Taran, and Kapurthala districts. Harike attracts scores of migratory birds and is home to the river dolphin besides other aquatic birds, animals, and reptiles. The wetland draws many birdwatchers and activists every year on the occasion with activities to campaign for protecting its rich biodiversity to foster a love for the environment. The 13th edition of the event had music, poetry, discussion, and boat rides, and was organized by NGOs Bhoomitra, Inner Wheel Club, Taran Taran unit, Punjab Action Committee (PAC), Mattewara, and INTACH Panjab. The message was: ‘Stay close to nature and preserve it.’ This is because of grave concerns about environmental pollution in the wetlands. Jaskirat Singh of PAC said that the visible color change of the Satluj and Beas rivers to black and green respectively is an indicator of the unaddressed pollution problem of Panjab. ‘The reason for the color change is the discharge of effluents and sewage from channels like Buddha Dariya and Kala Sanghian drain that dump wastewater of industrial towns of Ludhiana and Jalandhar into the Sutlej’ (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 2, Story 3). Recently, Balbir Singh Seechewal, now a member of the Rajya Sabha appointed by AAP, has been appointed the head of the Buddha Dariya Task Force. However, given his clean chit to the Malbros Distillery at Zira, it is doubtful if he would go against the water-polluting industry.