Amity in Punjab

Mutual interest has ensured peaceful co-existence in Punjab, reports Jupinderjit Singh

MIGRANTS from UP and Bihar are under "hate" attack in Mumbai. Provoked by politicians harping on on rights of the natives, with an eye on garnering votes, the very fabric of Indianism and the idea of co-existence has been sadly given a go by. It is not the first time that this kind of forcible effort to drive away migrants from UP and Bihar has been seen in the country. Nor has it been confined to Mumbai only.

Punjab has witnessed many such upheavals. Fed by agricultural and industrial labour lobbies, there have been many instances when it seemed local Punjabis and migrants were heading for a major confrontation with an equal and more strong reaction against Punjabis living in these two states.

However, the people for this state (known for being aggressive, hot- tempered and weapon lovers) have upheld the theory of co-existence and mutual progress. This despite a strong provocative rhetoric by politicians and ugly incidents.

Migration from these two states to Punjab and other parts of the country has often been discussed as a volatile future confrontation factor with many sociologists and police officials even going to the extent of claiming in seminars that this could lead to civil war kind of situation and even revival of terrorism in Punjab.

Migrants were attacked, killed in dozens during the dark days of terrorism in Punjab. The killing of labourers employed with the digging of the Satluj –Yamuna Link canal is etched permanently on the state’s history.

Terrorists have been specifically targeting migrants travelling in trains and buses killing them cold-bloodedly with the aim of inciting tempers. Migrants have even been targeted in Jammu and Kashmir to drive them out.

Even recently, an alleged group of Babbar Khalsa International terrorists triggered a bomb in Shingar Cinema Ludhiana, where a Bhojpuri film was being screened and the audience was only migrants. Still, there was not even a single instance of any showdown between the Punjabis and migrants in this state or UP and Bihar.

There have been voices of concern and some of them are serious ones raised by sociologists on how the migrants were changing the social fabric of Punjabi society. There have been issues concerning spread of diseases from migrant colonies due to their way of living, often due to their financial condition.

There are fears that Punjabis may lose out to the migrants in the final run in the political and economic scenario. Punjabis have been scripting success stories in foreign countries and climbing up the political and economic ladder. They are equally concerned at losing out to migrants in the same fields back home. The police is particularly besieged with daily problems of preventing, detecting crime committed by migrants against their own community and Punjabis as well. Despite these factors, the concerns have never taken the form of such hate crimes as witnessed in Mumbai.

Three years back there was a clash between locals and migrants in Ludhiana that forced intervention. The clash took place when residents of a colony and shopkeepers objecting to a protest dharna by migrants.

It warranted intervention by the Centre as well as special visit of Ministers from UP and Bihar to the state. But all those were part of confidence- building measure aimed at maintaining the peaceful option of co-existence. Politicians from UP, Bihar and Maharashtra as well as the citizens of those states need to take cue from Punjab in this matter.

At the same time, Samajwadi leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh apart from those in Bihar may be politically correct in taking on the Thackerays in support of migrants but it is probably the most opportune time for them to look within the state also and answer why such huge population of the two states is forced to search for livelihood.

They can do better to answer why despite having such mineral resources, fertile Yamuna, Ganga and other river plains, the residents search for greener pastures. During a research on the demographic effects of migration in Punjab, this writer had the opportunity to study these people closely. It was shocking to find out that out of 300 respondents (including labourers and domestic help), nearly 75 per cent said they earned between Rs 30-50 in UP and Bihar with jobs not available for more than 15-20 days a month. Eighteen per cent of those said they earned less than Rs 30 daily.

More than 80 per cent said they migrated due to unviable agriculture, unemployment and low wages. No wonder only 18 per cent of the respondents said they planned to return home and that too if they get good employment, irrigation facilities an education for their children in their native states.

Perhaps, Thackerays would also contribute their bit in understanding the meaning of co-existence and mutual progress when they find out how many original Mumbaikars have made Bollywood popular globally than the migrants like Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrugan Sinha, Mithun besides Sahir Ludhianvi, Dharmendra who came at a time when Maharashtrians did not have a threat from migrants.

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