The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Rai Sikhs: Tigers of border belt
Varinder Walia
Tribune News Service

The Rai Sikhs are known as “tigers of the border belt.” They earned this title as do not flee even during shellings from across the border.

Numbering about 20 lakh and spread in Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Ferozepore districts, they dot the entire 533-km Indo-Pak border. At present, the second post-Partition generation of Rai Sikhs guards the border belt.

“We are eyewitnesses to the destructions in 1947 and the 1965 and 1971 wars. We used to supply ration and milk to jawans by crawling during the bombardment,” says Harnam Singh, Sher Singh and Kesar Singh (all above 80), residents of Dagg village near the border.

Sardari Lal, son of Kehar Singh of the same village, said the Rai Sikhs cannot go to any other place as they do not have relatives in other parts of the state. At the time of Partition, the Rai Sikhs had migrated from Shekhupura district in Pakistan.

Narrating the experience of the Indo-Pak war of 1971, Shiv Kumar says, “Pakistan had captured the Indian BSF chowki at Fatehpur which was recaptured by Sikh 8 and Rajput regiments on December 17, 1971.

“During Operation Parakaram in early 2002, the Army trained our youth to lay mines. Villages Burj, Tur and Dag Tut were annexed by Pakistan in 1971. Our side had suffered immensely during the war.”

Rai Sikhs played a crucial role to keep up the Army morale high.

Today, they are into “dari” weaving, carpets and cultivation of vegetables.

The change came gradually in the past few years. One major reasons being that a large number of Rai Sikhs have turned towards the Radha Soami sect and given up distilling liquor.

They feel education can wash away the stigma of liquor business.

A large number of people have also become devotees of Dera Sacha Sauda, Sirsa, and this too has weaned them away from the liquor business.

The community was stripped of the criminal tribe label in 1952.

The community leaders allege that the police continued to treat them as suspects. Their leaders are for scheduled caste status for the community.

On the other hand, Shiv Kumar, a panch of Nagg, said out of 50 members of his joint family (including three brothers and their family members), not a single one had shifted to safer places even during tension on the border.

He said he had spent his entire service on the border and would love to die in the battlefield for the sake of country.

They had to put in a lot of hard labour to reclaim the land, which had been rendered waste due to the ever-changing flow of the meandering Ravi.

The river traverses many areas of the border belt before entering Pakistan. It was the hard-working Rai Sikhs who had made the land cultivable.

Technically, the land belongs to the Centre, the forest department and the state government.

Since the Centre, the state government and the forest department have not made serious efforts to make use of the land, many unscrupulous persons had succeeded in registering “girdawaris” fraudulently in their names.

Some paramilitary forces personnel had also got the “girdawaris” registered in their names. It speaks volumes about the apathy of all concerned.

Shockingly, the forest department had failed to cultivate the land for reasons best known to the authorities concerned. More than 4,700 acres was being put to use by Rai Sikhs across the fencing in Amritsar district alone.

Prof Sukhbir Singh, a lecturer of Punjabi at Khalsa College, who belongs to the border area, said the Rai Sikhs were the “sword arm” of the country in the true sense as despite poverty they served the nation in a big way during war.

He said he had never seen any Rai Sikh migrating to a safer place.

Interestingly, the Rai Sikhs play a key role during the Assembly elections as they have a considerable influence in all three border districts.

A senior member of the community, Mr Sher Singh, was elected MLA on the SAD ticket from Jalalabad, having more than 70,000 votes of the community. Similarly, the Guru Har Sahai constituency too has about 75,000 votes of the Rai Sikhs.

My City
Serene Ram Bagh in danger zone
Dr H.S. Gill

In the history of Punjab, Ram Bagh is mentioned as the summer capital residence of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1882-1839 AD).

It is ironical that the Maharaja chose Amritsar as summer capital, which was just 60 km east of the winter capital Lahore when there is no climatic difference in the two cities.

Apart from Maharaja’s religious devotion for Darbar Sahib, which he converted to Golden Temple, there was a reason that he created a dense green environment in Ram Bagh with rare trees which made a localised climatic change.

Even up to late 1960s a breezed coolness was felt on the rectangular road around Ram Bagh, which gradually decreased with urbanisation and subsequent increase in number of vehicles.

Even now there are two trees which are so dense and shady that sunrays cannot pass through. Some 30 years back there were rows of 52 pine trees on the east and southwest avenues.

Now the number of pine trees has dwindled to six. Many trees are having plant diseases notably three old trees are seen having developed outgrowths which may shorten their lifespan.

In 1982 a 150 years old peepal tree was cut to make space for the construction of a concrete fountain which too was demolished in 2002 to build Maharaja Ranjit panorama in the North West corner of the garden.

Ram Bagh has magnificent main entrance on the southern side facing the then main city. Just 200 metres north of the gate is the palace of the Maharaja which is aptly converted but not well preserved as Maharaja Ranjit Singh Museum.

This has failed to attract tourists. Just 50 metres away is a bathing pool with high boundary walls connected with an underground tunnel with the palace.

There are five-heritage building facing the palace, three of these are occupied by private clubs with outgrowths, thus encroaching 40 per cent of the garden area.

There are three dome shaped watchtowers on the three side of the palace which are in a dilapidated state.

Just opposite the northern gate on the Mall Road is the remnant of Thandee Khooee (cool well) which was once a famous strategic point in the city.

Further a small ‘hill’ top on the north east corner with flowers and curvy ‘hill’ tracks which was replaced by a concrete base to install the statute of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Till 1970 all the passages in the garden were ‘kucha’.

I only hope that Ram Bagh remains a paradise for health conscious visitors as an island of small forestry in the city.

Play safe — don’t lose vision

Play with colours, but not with vision. The festival of colours - Holi-takes a heavy toll each year. Children as always are soft targets and are more at risk. But adults are not immune to such injuries, claims ophthalmologists.

“The Holi colours containing chemicals could pose serious threat to vision thus result into blindness. Dry and water colours, which form ‘essence’ of Holi were most dangerous chemicals with synthetic materials, including heavy metals and lead - and there was no quality control in India,” claimed Dr Rajan Chugh, a renowned ophthalmologist.

The Holi colours could cause corneal abrasion, infection and corneal ulcer could occur and jeopardise vision. Some tips for playing Holi are: Good oiling of skin before getting ready for splurge; coloured balloons filled with water should be avoided and if used they should be thrown from a shorter distance and not targeting the eyes. Serious eye injuries like retinal detachment and blindness can be caused in such accidents. Playing Holi with tinted large sized glasses is just not the fashion statement - it actually avoids eye injuries and colours going into the eyes. Don’t allow the colours to be in contact with your body parts - dry or wet for morur goes into the eyes then washing the eyes with plain water is must before consulting an eye surgeon.

Mishri Bazaar losing its sheen

Amritsar, the holy city of Sikhs, is also known for its over 500 years old markets that been a witness to all ups and downs that the walled city has been a witness to.

The main markets that earned the city a big reputation were mainly Paparian Wala Bazaar, Mishri Bazaar, Dal Mandi, Majith Mandi and Mai Sewan Wala bazaar.

One of the most visited places is Mishri Bazaar or the candy sugar wholesale market, which is counted as one of the earliest known markets here.

Started in the 16th century in a long narrow lane near Sri Harmandir Sahib, Mishri Bazaar required people to pass through many narrow lanes of the city.

There was a time when a huge number of customers would visit Mishri Bazaar to buy “mishri” for their personal or business requirements in bulk.

But today the heavy traffic and congested place has affected the charm of visiting or being in this market.

Mishri Bazaar of the past is today a crowded place with so many shops of wholesalers putting their goods outside their shops due to the shortage of adequate place and the consistently running traffic has discouraged a lot of people to come here.

“We are ready to shift our factories outside this bazaar if the government ready to provide us land on subsidised rates,” said Kapil Dev, a manufacturer of sweet delicacies.

In the olden days, its proximity to Lahore attracted the traders from West and Central Asia to the Amritsar markets. Even today, several traders from all over Indian, especially Delhi exporters, come here to buy “muraba” and other delicacies.

There are over 30 shopkeepers who are doing a brisk business in “mishri”.

“I am running a family business, which was established by my forefathers and I have just kept the family tradition alive. Our shop is as old as the history of Amritsar is.”

“We are doing a brisk business of mishris,” said Gurcharn Singh, a trader and manufacturer.

Mishri Bazaar is home to all varieties of dry fruits.

Many shopkeepers claim that some of these varieties come from Afghanistan.

Though Mishri Bazaar is basically a wholesale market but one can also buy sweet candy in small quantity from some of the shops.

Many traders from as far as Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and other parts of the state come here and purchase large-scale quantity of “mishri”. — ANI

7 pc make it to higher education: Board chief
Our Correspondent

Out of the total school-going children across the state only seven percent are able to get higher education, lamented Dr H.S. Sidhu, chairman, Punjab School Education Board (PSEB), during his convocation address at Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College, Sarhali.

While appreciating the efforts of the college authorities for introducing the latest courses and providing quality education even in the remote area of the border district, Dr Sidhu exhorted the students to enter the world with latest knowledge in their respective fields. “The country is fast moving towards a status that would be envied even by the super powers of the world,” said Dr Sidhu.

However, he expressed concern over the falling standard of education in the state. He also conferred degrees on over 450 graduates and postgraduates of different streams.

Earlier, while reading out the annual college report, Mukhtar Singh, honorary secretary of the managing committee, said the college was now an established seat of higher education due to its quality education, excellent infrastructure, work culture and discipline.

He also highlighted the academic and co-curricular achievement of the college. He informed the audience that all academic and profession courses in arts, commerce and computer science was running successfully.

The managing committee also honored guest of honour Gurmeet Bawa, a renowned folk singer, who later entertained the audience with her melodies.

Regiment celebrates Raising Day
Tribune News Service

The officers and jawans of the 176 Field Regiment celebrated its 40th Raising Day on March 1 with enthusiasm and gaiety. Various philanthropic activities were held to commemorate the event which included donations bestowed upon the Missionaries of Charity and Central Khalsa Orphanage.

A blood donation camp was also organised on February 27 under the aegis of Chandigarh Chapter of Indian Red Cross Society wherein all ranks of the unit actively participated.

Holi bonanza

Bharti Airtel has reigned in slashing the entry cost of its ambitious scheme Blackberry. The subscribers availing the facility now have to pay Rs 249 per month. Earlier charges for the same were Rs 1, 099. Sunil Tandon, Senior Vice-President, Corporate and SME segment of Airtel, has informed that the monthly bill for the average subscribers of Blackberry facility is slated to take a dip by 40 to 45 per cent. He further added that Airtel has realised a need to offer an affordable choice to the customers who where earlier unable to experience the combined power of Airtel and BlackBerry.

Launch

City-based Khurana Jewelers has launched Forever-Mark diamond jewelry collection, which is based on a unique concept. According to Khuranas, the jewelry is based on a new global concept which personalizes solitaire with a unique number on the table of the diamond which is otherwise invisible to the naked eye. Khuranas will be the only jewelers in the city where the Forever-Mark solitaire jewelry will be available. A fashion show was held to mark the launching of the jewelry where famous models displayed various designs of diamonds.

Ex-servicemen rally

A huge rally of ex-servicemen, pledging doing away with numerous hiccups being faced by them at different levels, would be held on Saturday in New Military Station, Khasa. Senior military as well as administrative officers on the occasion will orient the ex-servicemen about employment opportunities available as well as government schemes in place for them. About 10,000 ex-servicemen, mainly from Army, are expected to participate in the mega rally. The organisers of the rally have informed that the initiative will be taken to apprise audience about self-employment schemes and subsequent procedures, which includes financial assistance schemes as well, being offered by various banks. A health check-up camp to be organised will provide free medicines.