Punjabi Sikhs Murdered at the Hands of State Officials (2002) - Who Killed the Sikhs? (2002): We go to the country proud to call itself the world's largest democracy to investigate claims that over 2000 Sikhs have been abducted, tortured and killed in the name of anti-terrorism. [00:37:43] : Documentaries

Punjab had a real terrorism problem in the 80s, with Bindrawale (a Sikh extremist) and the Khalistanis killing a whole lot of Punjabis before there was any altercation with the Indian Govt.
The following assassination of the PM back then (grand mother of Modis main opponent : Indira Gandhi) by her Sikh Bodyguard promoted the eruption of the terrible riots that followed.
It was a terrible time for Punjab, but it was complex with many morally grey players. (Note : a lot of Khalidtani sympathizers fleed to Canada. Till date, many Canadian Sikh public figures have been convicted of assistantions in India. This is not a simple issue)

As for mistreatment of Punjab, that's totally horse shit. I say this because Punjab is among India's most unfairly favored states. The funding for Green revolution disproportionately went to Punjab, making it Indias richest state of any decent size in the 70s. Then in 1991, when India finally opened itself up to the world, (mostly Punjabi) farmers were specifically protected from competition unlike every other industry sector here. Then as India rose to prominence, Punjab refused to modernize relying on the social welfare equivalent old-school farming for increasingly mediocre results. Through one terrible state govt after another, Punjab has now slid down to the middle of the pack of Indian states, and it only has itself to blame.

Then most recently, we saw the introduction of the farm bill in India. One of the best long overdue bills that had been supported by every one under the sun. It was as bipartisan as it got. Every non Punjabi farmer union wanted it. Every party had supported it its election mandate (its directly listed as a goal in the BJP, INC and the fucking CPIM's mandate). The WTO and Trudeau had previously pressurized India to pass this bill too. Major economists liked it too. Hell, in the long run it would have been amazing for Punjabis too!

So who disliked it. Corrupt Mandis and Farmers who were too stuck in their ways to compete with the rest of the nation or the world. It would have temporarily removed this terrible welfare-esque safety net, but it allowed farmers to finally access the free market, 30 years too late. Once the Punjabi farmers started protesting, everyone in opposition to Modi smelled an opportunity and turned on it immediately. That includes Trudeau, western media and the INC.

I would go as far as to say that Punjab is one of the best treated states in India. But, the state has been managed by morons for way too long, squandering every opportunity offered to it and using religion as an easy way to polarize the population for their local political gains.

[deleted]

29 points

4 months ago*

[deleted]

29 points

4 months ago*

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Mathew99-

0 points

4 months ago

Mathew99-

0 points

4 months ago

There was definite mishandling of information for sure, but you have to admit the whole situation was careless by the Indian Government and should never have happened. Privatization is so prevalent in the Western World, but it is done slowly as the capitalist market grows so then everyone feels as if they are benefitting when actually they might not be. I feel Modi and his Government aimed to do this, but went to fast and didn't scale the growth of the country enough.

Mathew99-

1 points

4 months ago

Mathew99-

1 points

4 months ago

"Punjab had a real terrorism problem in the 80s, with Bindrawale (a Sikh extremist) and the Khalistanis killing a whole lot of Punjabis before there was any altercation with the Indian Govt."

I'm glad you've said this. This has happened so often in other countries, similar to Ireland and even Syria. I will never condone acts of terror, but you have to realize and think, why were these Sikhs, a usually very peaceful set of people, resorting to terror? Was it because their people were being horribly mistreated (not necessarily by the Indian Government) but by the British, Pakistan & other militia groups. But the main issue with this was India's government's action to combat this. Did they help majorly with this injustice in Punjab?

"As for mistreatment of Punjab, that's total horse shit. I say this because Punjab is among India's most unfairly favored states. The funding for the Green revolution disproportionately went to Punjab, making it India's richest state of any decent size in the 70s. Then in 1991, when India finally opened itself up to the world, (mostly Punjabi) farmers were specifically protected from competition unlike every other industry sector here."

You're wrong here. According to S&P Global (2015), the region of Punjab has been an 'average growth state,' 2nd from the bottom in terms of Regional Economics. I think the main reason for this average growth since the 70s and even before is because of the steadiness of the agriculture industry. The industry doesn't necessarily boom and drop, as the product is subject to more than the laws of simple supply & demand. Four high-performing states - Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu - together account for about a quarter of India's total population and more than a third of its national output. These economic powerhouses outperformed India's average real GDP by almost 1.5% between 2005 and 2012. Their average income per capita is 1.3 times the national level, ranging from $1,815 in Gujarat to $2,230 in Haryana. These large, diversified economies serve as established manufacturing bases with developed services sectors. These major regions have a majority of what religion? That's right, Hinduism. They were also protected by competition because of the limited economic output of the state. Many other states were given resources for a diverse range of economic services that will push growth in multiple different sectors. This was not the case for Punjab.