Do only the diaspora Panjabis want independence from India?
or Is it the case that only diaspora Panjabis want freedom and not Panjabis in India itself?
Indian State employees and Indian Nationalists in general often claim that only the Panjabis living outside India demand sovereignty while the Panjabis living in India have no interest in such an outcome and they are enjoying their “freedom” in India already. This is something they feel needs to be called out in every discussion related to sovereignty of the Panjab.
In almost every case the basis of the argument is anecdotal, which is a fallacy in this case. There was never a survey or a referendum on this question, because the Indian State would never allow such a referendum. So, no one knows what percentage of Panjabis want freedom. Since I criticized the use of anecdotal evidence as a basis for such an argument, I will use evidence of a different kind.
Why would any Panjabi want freedom? — a brief case for freedom
Many people (both in the West and in the East) assume that India is a Federal State and also a Liberal Democratic one, but that is not the truth. It’s more like a unitary state which provides almost no civil rights to its citizens and although it does have voting every five years, there are provisions in the Constitution which call democracy into question. Being part of this “Union”, Panjabis gets the following:
- They lose control over their water and natural resources. They are controlled by the Union Government (also known as the Government of India) which is unaccountable to us. So, if Panjabis want to get anything done, they need to beg those in power in the Union Government (Seventh Schedule in the Constitution of India)
- Their province gets ruled by a Governor appointed by the Union Government. That Governor has all Legislative and Executive power in Panjab. Panjabis can’t spend money from their own provincial treasury or make laws without the Governor’s permission (Article 154, 155, 163, 200, 201 and 207).
- They have no civil rights and are not protected from arbitrary arrest. Those in power in the Union Government are free to exercise military force against Panjabis and there is nothing they can do to protect themselves (Article 19, 22 and 25).
These above points are backed by the Constitution of India and are explored further, with source material from the Constitution, in my book “Constitution of India Simplified”. Also, the above argument applies to you as a Panjabi regardless of whether you are a Hindu, a Muslim or a Sikh. It also applies to other nationalities like Kashmir, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Bengal etc as much as it applies to Panjab. In other words, the political setup of the Indian Union is such that States have only got to lose by entering the Union, and there is no rational case to be made otherwise.
Why is there no organized mass movement for sovereignty in Panjab today?
Let us divide the population of Panjab into two groups: Group A consists of those who do not want sovereignty and Group B consists of those who do. Group A usually consists of people who are not familiar with either the Constitution of India or with the political and economic history of Panjab while Group B usually consists of those who are.
In a free society, it would be up to individuals in Group B to convince those in Group A, since I hold that a rational case can only be made for sovereignty. But in India, since there are no civil rights, those in Group B are legally constrained. The Indian State has laws in place according to which you can be imprisoned if you speak anything against the “unity and integrity” of India. One such law is the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967 (also known as the UAPA). The following are the relevant extracts from that law.
(2)(o) “unlawful activity”, in relation to an individual or association, means any action taken by such individual or association (whether by committing an act or by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representation or otherwise), —
(i) which is intended, or supports any claim, to bring about, on any ground whatsoever, the cession of a part of the territory of India or the secession of a part of the territory of India from the Union, or which incites any individual or group of individuals to bring about such cession or secession; or
(ii) which disclaims, questions, disrupts or is intended to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India; or
(iii) which causes or is intended to cause disaffection against India;13. Punishment for unlawful activities. —
(1) Whoever —
(a) takes part in or commits, or
(b) advocates, abets, advises or incites the commission of, any unlawful activity, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.(2) Whoever, in any way, assists any unlawful activity of any association declared unlawful under section 3, after the notification by which it has been so declared has become effective under sub-section (3) of that section, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both.
(3) Nothing in this section shall apply to any treaty, agreement or convention entered into between the Government of India and the Government of any other country or to any negotiations therefor carried on by any person authorized in this behalf by the Government of India
Section (2)(o) defines an Unlawful Act and Section 13 provides for its punishment. According to these sections, presentation of a case for sovereignty to another person is an “unlawful act” and is something for which you can be imprisoned.
Thus, you will put yourself at serious risk if you speak regarding sovereignty to someone in person, or post about this on FB, Twitter, Snap, Quora or any other online site. Now, I want to call out that this Law was not created by Panjabis but by the Union Government of India which is not accountable to Panjabis. And people regularly get imprisoned under this Law in Panjab and throughout India. You can refer to another article of mine for a detailed discussion of this law, its constitutional basis and other such laws in India.
Given the enactment of these laws, is it surprising that there is no mass movement related to sovereignty in Panjab today? There was an armed rebellion in Panjab starting in 1986 that aimed at restoring sovereignty, but it was crushed brutally and now there are laws in place that prevent Panjabis from organizing in first place. These are the same kind of laws that were in place during British times to prevent people from organizing against the British Empire.
Is this an honest question?
When Indian State officials ask this question, are they being honest? If it was clear beyond a doubt that Panjabis in India want freedom, will the Indian State provide it? The answer is no. We know this because they did not provide any freedom to Panjab when people in Panjab were actively fighting for it. They also are not granting freedom to Kashmir which is so volatile at the moment that the Indian State needs a standing army over there just to prevent that country from erupting in protests.
The only reason this argument is used is to de-legitimize those Panjabis who have escaped India and are living in Western countries which provide much more freedom for citizens to raise these kinds of issues. The Indian State can use its military force to control those living in India, but it cannot do much about those outside. Hence, its officials resort to this argument.
Conclusion
Panjab was annexed by the British East India Company in 1849. When the British left South Asia in 1947, instead of liberating us, they transferred the occupation to the newly formed republic of India. Indian leaders enforced a Constitution upon us that was never ratified by us. Panjabis do not have the freedom to pursue their interests and their resources are being controlled by non-Panjabis. Panjab needs to be liberated. In fact, this entire subcontinent needs to be decolonized. All the nations that were conquered by the British Company deserve self-determination.
References
- Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967: https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1389751/
- The Constitution of India: https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/India_2015.pdf?lang=en
- The Constitution of India Simplified: https://medium.com/@anmolsingh95/the-constitution-of-india-simplified-671ad8e57f6b
- A discussion of India’s anti terror laws: https://medium.com/@anmolsingh95/why-are-indians-so-shocked-by-the-recent-amendment-to-an-anti-terrorism-law-298ddca58529
- How an earlier movement for sovereignty in Panjab was crushed: https://medium.com/@anmolsingh95/how-did-the-khalistan-movement-end-b045d1ee732d
