Is India paving way for a creation of Khalistan?

 

Dr. Devendra Kothari

Population and Development Analyst

Forum for Population Action

The stalemate over the three-farm laws continued for the 67th day today (January 31, 2021) around the border of the national capital where thousands of farmers are protesting in open against the new legislation passed hurriedly by the Parliament in the last September. The farmers from all over India are participating in the agitation but it is heavily dominated by the farmers from the state of Punjab. 

At a time when farmers are protesting against the three farm laws, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on December 15, 2020 that a conspiracy is going on in and around Delhi to confuse farmers. Other BJP leaders took clue from this statement and linked the farm agitation to Khalistan sympathizers. “Khalistani link” was alleged by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Several experts and political parties have strongly condemned Haryana CM Khattar’s statement terming protesting farmers as “Khalistanis”.  “This is a conspiracy to defame the farmers and their agitation to pave the way for its repression with brutal force,” said Sukhbir Singh Badal, President of Shiromani Akali Dal, and former close supporter of the Modi Government. 

Such statements by the ruling BJP party may really push the people of Punjab towards the Khalistan movement, which has already created troubles in the past. 

What is the Khalistan movement? The fight for a separate Punjabi State owes its origins to the Punjabi Suba Movement. The Akali Dal – Sikh- dominated political party-sought to create a separate Sikh province or state.  When the State Reorganisation Commission, constituted to assess the demand for separate states by the linguistic groups, made its recommendations, it rejected the Akali Dal’s demand. 

But after a series of violent protests, the Indira Gandhi government relented in 1966. The existing state was trifurcated into Punjabi-majority Punjab, Hindi majority Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Some hilly regions of the state were merged into Himachal Pradesh. However, the seeds of Khalistan had been seeded. 

Before we discuss the current farmers’ agitation and causes behind it, let us briefly deliberate on the Green Revolution.

 

The Green Revolution in India began in the mid-1960s marking a transition from traditional agriculture in India and the introduction of high-yielding varieties of seeds and the associated agricultural techniques. High yielding varieties of seeds were first introduced in the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana and parts of western Uttar Pradesh, the leading Campaigners of the current agitation. 

Among the Indian states that is said to have benefited most from the green revolution in India was the state of Punjab, where food-grains production increased from 5.37 million tonnes in 1965-66 to 32 million tonnes in 1995-96. 

Most of the state lies in a fertile alluvial plain with many rivers and an extensive irrigation canal system. Despite covering only 1.53% of its geographical area and  less than 2.5% of India’s population, Punjab makes up for about 20% of India's wheat production, around 12% of its rice production, and around 10% of its milk production, and  thus  Punjab became the    'India’s breadbasket'. 

At the international level, this represents three per cent of the global production of wheat and rice. And, Punjab became the most developed state of India. Its per capita income in 2006 was 28,605 was way ahead of the national average of just Rs. 6,929. Punjab also claimed a 100 per cent rural electrification as well as almost 99 per cent connectivity of villages by paved road against the national average of just 44 per cent. 

In 1990, when I was exploring reasons behind the Blue Star Operation, I noted that the newly achieved prosperity prompted many Punjabis, especially the youth to think in terms of a separate country of Khalistan. It was argued that by selling agricultural products like wheat to India and others, Punjab could become  a developed country like the USA and Canada. And, such sentiments were used by the extremists like Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was reportedly backed by Pakistan's ISI, had made his demands clear - he wanted the Indian government to pass a resolution which would allow India to be divided, thereby creating a new country for Sikhs called 'Khalistan' -  the land of pure. 

Radical separatist Bhindranwale had started laying the groundwork for his demand in 1982, and by mid-1983 managed to gain support for his plan to divide India. In mid-1983, Bhindranwale and his armed militant group entered the Golden Temple and took over its control. They then set up a base inside. Taking back the control of the Golden Temple from armed militants and preserving its sanctity was not easy. Being the holiest site for Sikhs made the decision even tougher to take. However, after nearly a year of consultations and trying to negotiate, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi decided that the only option left was to carry out a military operation against the militants.  This led to the Operation Blue star. It was carried out between June 1 and 10, 1984 to capture Bhindranwale   and his armed followers. [1]

Now the question arises why the farmers from Punjab among others are agitating against the three farm laws? 

While the Green Revolution provided some solutions to the problem of food security in India, Punjab began to face a completely new range of problems: Decaying soil, pest-infested crops and indebted farmers. Further, the price Punjab has paid for India’s food security comprises cancer, renal failure, stillborn babies and birth defects. A large-scale use of pesticides and synthetic nitrogen fertilisers has magnified this situation. 

As a result, the economy of Punjab has been facing problems. Now its economy is the 15^th largest state economy in India with ₹5.75 lakh crore (US$81 billion) in gross domestic product and a per capita GDP of ₹167,000 (US$2,300), ranking 16^th amongst Indian states. Punjab ranked first in GDP per capita amongst Indian states in 1981 and fourth in 2001, but has experienced slower growth than the rest of India in recent years, having the second-slowest GDP per capita growth rate of all Indian states and UTs between 2000 and 2010, behind only Manipur. The state's economy is mainly dominated by agricultural production and small and medium-sized enterprises. 

In Punjab, mainly the two cereal crops, wheat and rice, are grown in rotation during a year. Rice is the principal crop of the Kharif season and wheat is the principal crop of Rabi season. 

Here the concept of Minimum Support Price (MSP) is a great support to farmers and their economy. MSP is set by the government for certain agricultural products like wheat and rice, at which the products would directly be bought from the farmers if the open market prices are less than the cost incurred. In other words, when the market price falls below the declared MSP, the government would purchase the entire quantity from the farmers at MSP. (For the MSP calculation, the Swaminathan Committee, 2007 suggested a formula: cost of production + 50 %.) The chief objectives of setting up MSP are:

 

1. Support farmers from distress sales
2. To procure food grains for public distribution 

Why are farmers against the three farm laws? It is because the passed law does not cover MSP for their products and they feel that in the absence of MSP, the corporate sector will exploit them. 

The government of India’s refusal to make the MSP as a part of the laws has deepened doubts of the farmers.   

Even after Prime Minister Modi's repeated assurance that these farm laws will neither end the minimum support price regime nor the mandi system, thousands of farmers have been staying put in the bitter cold  (around freezing poin) outside Delhi. The former Agricultural Minister and a farmer itself, Shared  Pawar said the new laws will adversely impact the MSP procurement infrastructure thereby weakening the mandi system. MSP mechanism has to be ensured and strengthened further, he added. 

Further, the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), both are part of the ruling party BJP and RSS, have urged the Modi government to ensure that MSP, which guarantees a certain level of returns on produce, it should be   a part of purchases inside and outside mandis. 

After so many days of protest in Delhi and several rounds of meetings, the government is still adamant that it will not withdraw the farm laws. The farmers have hardened their stand on repealing the laws. Where is this protest heading with no conclusion in sight? 

When the government of India and its ministers say openly that   the present farm agitation, initiated by the farmers of Punjab, has been managed by the Khalistan sympathizers, what does it mean? Anyone can conclude that the government is preparing a ground for the reemergence of Khalistan movement? 

The government should not blame the Khalistani sympathizers; I understand opposing parties’   leaders can talk like this but not the ruling party. 

Three passed Bills are needed to make the farming profitable, but in the way they were cleared create doubts. I suggest that the Modi government should pass the fourth Bill and make MSP mandatory for next three years. It will give sufficient time to the farming community to adjust with the new realities. 

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[1] Brar, K.S. (1993). Operation Blue Star: the true story.  UBS Publisher's Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Also refer article (2018): 34 Years On, A Brief History About Operation Bluestar, And Why It Was Carried Out” at: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/operation-bluestar-34th-anniversary-a-brief-history-about-operation-bluestar-and-why-it-was-carried--1863385