Facts & Figures About Punjab Today

[RebelSingh]

Urdu, Hindi, farsi, Sanskrit, Braj Basa etc should also be taught but as minor subject courses to get extra credits if it is in the interest of the students. All languages are good in my opinion, even Hindi. But the status Hindi is given in Punjab is unnecessary in today's economic and education reality. Instead, English should be given that status. And Hindi along with other languages should be taught as minor courses so students are well rounded.

i would like if they taught shahmukhi panjabi script, coz some of our grandparents could only read shamukhi, n not necessarily gurmukhi. Also jus for the fact of the zafarnama and the fact that it was the language of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's court, persian/farsi shud b taught too.

[proactive]

Shahmukhi script is not an ideal script for writing Punjabi. Recently this was shown up as when the prisoner Surjit Singh was to be released his name was confused with Sarbjit Singh as in Shahmukhi script they are written virtually the same. Also my dad who is used to Shahmukhi script says that many words can be confused with other words as Shahmukhi script does not have the letters to represent some of the sounds of Punjabi.

[RebelSingh]

Shahmukhi script is not an ideal script for writing Punjabi. Recently this was shown up as when the prisoner Surjit Singh was to be released his name was confused with Sarbjit Singh as in Shahmukhi script they are written virtually the same. Also my dad who is used to Shahmukhi script says that many words can be confused with other words as Shahmukhi script does not have the letters to represent some of the sounds of Punjabi.

ok seen, oh well.

u kno, now that i think about it, the arabs wen they invaded persia, cudnt pronounce certain words, coz of the difficencies in their language, which is y they call persian language, farsi, coz they cudnt pronounce letter "P" and 'parsi', which is wat the exiled parsi/zoroastrian community call themselves in india.

[Shamshere]

i would like if they taught shahmukhi panjabi script, coz some of our grandparents could only read shamukhi, n not necessarily gurmukhi. Also jus for the fact of the zafarnama and the fact that it was the language of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's court, persian/farsi shud b taught too.

People were annoyed that Persian was the official language of Punjab. Iran is nowhere near Punjab so why should we use their language? Only a handful of people could speak Persian in Punjab during Maharaja Ranjit Singh's time. The Mughals and Afgans are long gone and we don't need any remnants of their culture.

The few people who can read Shahmukhi in Punjab due to prepartitioned Punjab will be dead in 10-20 years. I don't think the youth would take too kindly to learning an Islamic script.

[N30S1NGH]

Main thing we need to concentrate on to get our sikh youth back in education, but not for them to come abroad but for them to work in punjab and work in public sector.

RSS is not some banana republic group (never under-estimate your opponent, study them from all angles instead of blowing the usual trumpet oh- they are ought to get us!!..gee- no wonder, tell us something which we don't know!!) they all have great strategy/ projection for next 30 years of punjab in place to remove sikhs or other minorities from public sector jobs, its full take over India from all aspects!! just like sunni w a habis sullehs do....!!...they keep exploiting sikhs as they know sikhs in nature (thanks to punjabi tribal mentality) are hot headed ones...on one hand, they keep funneling alcohol and drugs in punjab so youths cannot take education- cannot get back in public sector jobs and on another hand, they keep exploiting situations spourting radhaswamis/nirankari deras everywhere in punjab, so there is an divide and hostility and which make sikhs look like extremist.!!

Education is key in punjab...awakening can come from people of Punjab once they all realize "election" is more than just free alcohol party for everyone!!

Sikhs need to take a step back, study them fully and form an long term strategy in punjab (learn how to play chess games with these guys) - proxy war instead of "usual" rhetoric speech/panthic.org guerilla photo war journalism..!!

[Singh559]

Main thing we need to concentrate on to get our sikh youth back in education, but not for them to come abroad but for them to work in punjab and work in public sector.

RSS is not some banana republic group (never under-estimate your proponent, study them from all angles instead of blowing the usual trumpet oh- they are ought to get us!!..gee- no wonder, tell us something which we don't know!!) they all have great strategy/ projection for next 30 years of punjab in place to remove sikhs or other minorities from public sector jobs, its full take over India from all aspects!! just like sunni w a habis sullehs do....!!...they keep exploiting sikhs as they know sikhs in nature (thanks to punjabi tribal mentality) are hot headed ones...on one hand, they keep funneling alcohol and drugs in punjab so youths cannot take education- cannot get back in public sector jobs and on another hand, they keep exploiting situations spourting radhaswamis/nirankari deras everywhere in punjab, so there is an divide and hostility and which make sikhs look like extremist.!!

Education is key in punjab...awakening can come from people of Punjab once they all realize "election" is more than just free alcohol party for everyone!!

Sikhs need to take a step back, study them fully and form an long term strategy in punjab (learn how to play chess games with these guys) - proxy war instead of "usual" rhetoric speech/panthic.org guerilla photo war journalism..!!

Completely agreed brother.

We need role models that encourage education and Sikhi. Merely puppetting rss is out to get us won't defend you or your community from the risk they pose.

[zoltansingh]

Since Haryana is brought to this topic, let us please make it clear that the only reason why Haryana is doing well is NOT because it is better governed or because it's people are more industrious. It is in the good fortune of Haryana that they have Gurgaon city. That city has also progressed only because of it's close proximity to New Delhi. Many foreign companies want to invest in or near New Delhi. Since New Delhi has lack of space, they invest in cities that are near Delhi such as Gurgaon(Haryana) and Noida(UP). The land is cheaper in these cities than in Delhi. Other than Gurgaon, the rest of Haryana is so backward that it is like stepping back a 100 years. Some villages do not even have electricity. Gurgaon is the only reason why Haryana appears to be better than Punjab and Gurgaon's success has nothing to do with Haryana itself. We think Punjab's sex ratio is bad, Haryana's is worse. They also top the list in honour killings in India. Caste is a bigger problem in Haryana than it is in Punjab.

I totally disagree with the point made. I have been travelling to Punjab and Haryana since the mid 1980s when Gurgaon was still a little pind. Having relatives in both these states allows you to see who is actually doing well. Lots of Sikhs live in northern Haryana in districts bordering Malwa. These areas were once owned by powerful jagirdars. Punjabis bought this land and set about fermenting the green revolution in Haryana. Through their hard work they have uplifted themselves out of poverty.

Comparing my relatives living standards in Fatehabad district of Haryana and restidar in Jalandhar, I can honestly say that the ones living in Haryana have always been better off. They bought Maruti cars in the early 90s when Mamma Jalandharia was still riding in Basti Baba Khel on his Bajaj chetak, they had colour televisions in the mid 80s when Jassa Jalandharia was still watching Mahabharat on his Salora black and white 12 inch. They have had air conditioning and diesel gen. sets since the early 90s whereas the Jalandharia have only started buying inverters. Most of the bling houses you see in Punjab are built with money sent back by illegal immigrants in Europe, the bling houses in Haryana are built through farming generated income by locals.

The only backward areas are the water logged southern districts of Haryana. I doubt very much you have ventured to areas such as Fatehabad, Hissar and Sirsa district. Nothing backward about these areas. In fact we regulalry cross into southern Punjab districts such as Sangrur, Mansa etc and you instantly notice a drop in living standards.

[Jonny101]

I totally disagree with the point made. I have been travelling to Punjab and Haryana since the mid 1980s when Gurgaon was still a little pind. Having relatives in both these states allows you to see who is actually doing well. Lots of Sikhs live in northern Haryana in districts bordering Malwa. These areas were once owned by powerful jagirdars. Punjabis bought this land and set about fermenting the green revolution in Haryana. Through their hard work they have uplifted themselves out of poverty.

Comparing my relatives living standards in Fatehabad district of Haryana and restidar in Jalandhar, I can honestly say that the ones living in Haryana have always been better off. They bought Maruti cars in the early 90s when Mamma Jalandharia was still riding in Basti Baba Khel on his Bajaj chetak, they had colour televisions in the mid 80s when Jassa Jalandharia was still watching Mahabharat on his Salora black and white 12 inch. They have had air conditioning and diesel gen. sets since the early 90s whereas the Jalandharia have only started buying inverters. Most of the bling houses you see in Punjab are built with money sent back by illegal immigrants in Europe, the bling houses in Haryana are built through farming generated income by locals.

The only backward areas are the water logged southern districts of Haryana. I doubt very much you have ventured to areas such as Fatehabad, Hissar and Sirsa district. Nothing backward about these areas. In fact we regulalry cross into southern Punjab districts such as Sangrur, Mansa etc and you instantly notice a drop in living standards.

You are giving the example of Sikhs living in Haryana to show that Haryana is better governed than Punjab. My friend, Sikhs are an industrious people no matter where they live. In pre partition Punjab, when Sikh soldiers were given land in the Sandalbar area by the British, nothing was growing there. The Sikhs settled that whole area and made areas such as Lyalpur, Sahiwal(montgomory),Sargodha into the best agriculture districts in British India. Same is true for SIkhs who after partition moved to Haryana. Just compare the Sikh with the Hindus of Haryana. Sikhs replicated their success In UP, Uttarakhan, MP and Rajasthan. When Sikhs had bought land in those areas and settled in large numbers, they managed to thrive and be more productive and successful than the local non Sikh counter parts. Does that mean that UP, Uttarakhand, MP, Rajasthan are also better governed than Punjab? I dont think so.

Other than Gurgaon, Haryana has nothing to show for. Gurgaon is the only reason Haryana is doing well. Has another city in Haryana replicated Gurgaon's success? NO. And Gurgaon's success has nothing to do with Haryana itself. Just because it is next door to Delhi and Delhi has shortage of land and so Gurgaon in Haryana and Noida in UP being close are seen as areas of interest for foreign investment. Even the people settled in those cities are hardly the locals. It is mostly educated Indians from other states especially educated people moving from Delhi and Punjab.

[zoltansingh]

Jonny read what you wrote yourself:

Other than Gurgaon, the rest of Haryana is so backward that it is like stepping back a 100 years.

Likewise other than a handful of cities in Punjab the rest is backward and like stepping back 100 years. For 20 years the road from Jalandhar to Kala Sangha was a dirt track, potholes everywhere as if you were in Bihar.

The Gurgaon scenario can easily be applied to Punjab as well. Who would have heard of places like Dera Bassi, Zirazkpur etc had Chandigarh not been set up down the road?

Also on your next visit to Punjab go down to the areas in the south (villages around Abohar etc) and you can also step back a 100 years in Punjab itself.

Also from my last visit to both states I noted that village link roads were much better in Haryana than in Punjab. The only development in Punjab I noticed were ugly flyovers being built everywhere.

The areas of Haryana with large Sikh population have far better infrastructure than those in southern Punjab and also the Sikh areas of UP. There must be a reason for this, its not as if these areas were better developed prior to the creation of Haryana and Himachal. If you cross the border from northern Haryana into Punjab you instantly notice the lack of development and feel as if you are in Mogadishu.

[Jonny101]

Jonny read what you wrote yourself:

Likewise other than a handful of cities in Punjab the rest is backward and like stepping back 100 years. For 20 years the road from Jalandhar to Kala Sangha was a dirt track, potholes everywhere as if you were in Bihar.

The Gurgaon scenario can easily be applied to Punjab as well. Who would have heard of places like Dera Bassi, Zirazkpur etc had Chandigarh not been set up down the road?

Also on your next visit to Punjab go down to the areas in the south (villages around Abohar etc) and you can also step back a 100 years in Punjab itself.

Also from my last visit to both states I noted that village link roads were much better in Haryana than in Punjab. The only development in Punjab I noticed were ugly flyovers being built everywhere.

The areas of Haryana with large Sikh population have far better infrastructure than those in southern Punjab and also the Sikh areas of UP. There must be a reason for this, its not as if these areas were better developed prior to the creation of Haryana and Himachal. If you cross the border from northern Haryana into Punjab you instantly notice the lack of development and feel as if you are in Mogadishu.

Jonny read what you wrote yourself:

Likewise other than a handful of cities in Punjab the rest is backward and like stepping back 100 years. For 20 years the road from Jalandhar to Kala Sangha was a dirt track, potholes everywhere as if you were in Bihar.

The Gurgaon scenario can easily be applied to Punjab as well. Who would have heard of places like Dera Bassi, Zirazkpur etc had Chandigarh not been set up down the road?

Also on your next visit to Punjab go down to the areas in the south (villages around Abohar etc) and you can also step back a 100 years in Punjab itself.

Also from my last visit to both states I noted that village link roads were much better in Haryana than in Punjab. The only development in Punjab I noticed were ugly flyovers being built everywhere.

The areas of Haryana with large Sikh population have far better infrastructure than those in southern Punjab and also the Sikh areas of UP. There must be a reason for this, its not as if these areas were better developed prior to the creation of Haryana and Himachal. If you cross the border from northern Haryana into Punjab you instantly notice the lack of development and feel as if you are in Mogadishu.

Zultan Singh Jee, Punjab has Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandar, Patiala as major cities and these cities have grown based on the hard work of Punjabis. Haryana does not have cities of this magnitude. It only has Gurgaon which is a direct consequence of foreign companies investing in the area. Haryanvis have nothing that they can call their own. It's best areas are the Punjabi speaking areas of Northern Haryana which was largely settled by Punjabi refugees after 1947. Those are Punjabi people, I don't see why you are giving Haryanvis the credit for their success. Punjab has been demanding for decades that Haryana transfer those areas back to Punjab where they belong.

The flyovers are necessary for today's Punjab. As more and more people are buying cars, the traffic is getting unbearable. The flyovers are easing the traffic congestion. Can't say the same for Haryana since Haryanvis(non Punjabi ones) don't have as much cars as Punjabis so they don't feel flyovers as necessary yet. The Punjabis of Haryana are mostly children of people who came from west Punjab(pakistan). Those people were a very industrious people who had made Sandalbar into the most productive area in pre partition India. No wonder they have made a success where every they settled. Go to UP, Uttarakhand, MP, Rajasthan and see how successful the Punjabis are in those areas. They are more successful than the locals(non Punjabis). I fail to understand why you give Haryanvis the credit for the success of Punjabis settled in northern Haryana.