11-BOOK REVIEW:TROUBLED WATERS OF PUNJAB   Part 6.
BY VIJEPAL SINGH MANN (2003)[112P] ISBN:81-7764-376-2
BOOK REVIEW: KAVNEET SINGH               
Chapter 12……
_The established national norm for fixing the quantum of river water supply is that_ _availability is taken at about 75% of “mean annual Supply”. In Punjab it is 100%. Is_ _Punjab_ _not in India?....[Page 53]_
Every law thwarted by the Center simply for the sole purpose of making the Sikh farmer of Punjab suffer due to the inherent racist mindset and communal policies in the name of national equity.
Chapter 13…..
_The demand for water directly affects the social fabric as is evident from the deep-rooted_ _relation between canal water, prosperity and social obligations of our culture. As far as_ _Punjab is concerned, with the land holding_ _becoming smaller, the intensity of agriculture_
_going up, the per acre investment of the farmers of Punjab are amongst the highest in the_ _world……..Sadly the returns are almost the same as two decades ago……[Page 56-57]_
Since the vast majority of the farms are hereditary ownership; therefore are owned free and clear. Even then the debt is gut wrenching due to expensive capital expenditure for the equipment, fertilizer, seeds and the cost of water. Major economic issues affecting the farmers, the backbone of Punjab have never been addressed adequately. Even if an unbiased third party looks into it at all the problems of the past 60+ years the injustice meted out to the Sikh farmers has been horrendous. A patronizing attitude with a vicious ethno-religious hatred by the ruling Hindu majorityhas made Punjab stuck in a ever cyclical slow death strangulation; vice like grip. UN
reports in 2008 state that, based on the current situation by 2030 Punjab is going to become a desert. Between the theft and illegal distribution of river water by the Center to other states, the depletion of sweet usable underground water, water logging and salinity of the soil the ultimate economic ruin of the Punjab is ominously on the horizon.
A must read book by anyone interested in riparian rights, center-state relations, economics of Punjab and a gist of one of the most contentious issues of the Sikh-Punjab problem. In recent times the vast majority of the political leadership of Punjab has been co-opted, therefore all the major issues including the water issue has been silenced, except for an occasional protest which is either ignored or sternly put down by force.
POSTED BY
PARMJIT SINGH SEKHON