Sikh Religious Extremism - Punjabi Suba - Language Issues

Language Issues

In the 1950s, the country wide movement of linguistic groups seeking statehood in India resulted in a massive reorganisation of states according to linguistic boundaries in 1956. As part of the reorganization, the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) was merged with Punjab, which included large numbers of Punjabi as well as Hindi speakers. At that time, the Punjab state of India included present-day states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh (some parts) along with Chandigarh. The vast majority of the Sikhs lived in this Hindu-majority Punjab. The Government of India was wary of carving out a separate Punjabi language state, because it effectively meant dividing the state along religious lines: Sikhs would form a 60% majority in the resulting Punjabi state.

The Akali Dal, a Sikh-dominated political party active mainly in Punjab, sought to create a Punjabi Suba ("Punjabi Province"). Sikh leaders such as Fateh Singh tactically stressed the linguistic basis of the demand, while downplaying its religious basis — a country where the distinct Sikh identity could be preserved. Fresh from the memory of the partition, the Punjabi Hindus were also concerned about living in a Sikh-majority state. The Hindu newspapers from Jalandhar, exhorted the Punjabi Hindus to declare Hindi as their "mother tongue", so that the Punjabi Suba proponents could be deprived of the argument that their demand was solely linguistic. This later created a rift between Hindus and Sikhs of Punjab. The case for creating a Punjabi Suba case was presented to the States Reorganisation Commission established in 1955. The States Reorganization Commission, not recognizing Punjabi as a language that was grammatically very distinct from Hindi, rejected the demand for a Punjabi state. Another reason that the Commission gave in its report was that the movement lacked general support of the people inhabiting the region. Many Sikhs felt discriminated against by the commission.

However, the Sikh leaders continued their agitation for the creation of a Punjabi Suba. The Akal Takht played a vital role in organizing Sikhs to campaign for the cause. During the Punjabi Suba movement, 12000 Sikhs were arrested for their peaceful demonstrations in 1955 and 26000 in 1960-61. Finally, in September 1966, the Indira Gandhi-led Union Government accepted the demand, and Punjab was trifurcated as per the Punjab Reorganisation Act.

Areas in the south of Punjab that spoke the Haryanvi dialect of Hindi formed the new state of Haryana, while the areas that spoke the Pahari dialects were merged to Himachal Pradesh (a Union Territory at the time). The remaining areas, except Chandigarh, formed the new Punjabi-majority state, which retained the name of Punjab. Until 1966, Punjab was a Hindu majority state (63.7%). But during the linguistic partition, the Hindu-majority districts were removed from the state. Chandigarh, the planned city built to replace Punjab's pre-partition capital Lahore, was claimed by both Haryana and Punjab. Pending resolution of the dispute, it was declared as a separate Union Territory which would serve as the capital of both the states.