S.A.S. Nagar, June 10: Lok Raj Punjab has questioned the AAP government as to what change is it bringing about by destroying 24,311 acres of fertile agricultural land of Punjab, which houses a large number of historically important Punjabi villages. Lok Raj Punjab President Dr. Manjit Singh Randhawa, former Chairman and Engineer-in-Chief of Punjab State Electricity Board, Engineer Harinder Singh Brar, and student leader Yadvinder Singh Yadu have questioned the government as to who else, if not migrants, it wants to settle in these urban colonies and flats by setting up polluting factories of big capitalists on such a large scale under the Bharat Mala Project and by creating urban estates that are far beyond the needs of the population of Punjab.
In a statement issued here, the above leaders have appealed to the affected villages to pass resolutions of protest in the Gram Sabhas and hoist protest flags, as it is necessary to legally record the dissent in writing, the constitutional right of the Gram Sabhas to stop this forceful act. He said that the present Punjab government should refrain from such tampering with the heritage of Punjab.
He said that the present state government should understand that every inch and every village of the land of Punjab, inherited from the saints, Gurus and Pirs, is stained with the blood of little Punjabi warriors in countless wars against the invading dictators, and the priceless history of the proud Punjabi civilization is buried in its lap.
He said that every village of Punjab, from ancient times, in Guru history, and in the records of the Government-e-Khalsa during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, holds a prominent identity as a historical administrative unit, and erasing the existence of thousands of villages in the name of development is erasing the history of Punjab.
He said that many villages touched by the feet of Sikh Gurus have been sacrificed for modern urbanization, such as those related to the fifth and sixth Gurus in Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, those related to the ninth Guru in Patiala, Sangrur, and those related to the sixth, seventh, ninth and tenth Gurus in Mansa, Bathinda, Barnala, Faridkot, Moga, Muktsar in Malwa, and those related to the tenth Guru Sahib in Ludhiana and Ropar. By doing so, erasing the traces of precious heritage for future generations is an attempt to turn history into myth, which the people will never allow to happen.
He said that unnecessary tampering with the land of Punjab, without considering the historical aspect, will erase the history of Punjab forever for future generations and researchers. This incident is completely unacceptable. Therefore, Punjab has no need for this unnecessary project created in the mind of Delhi.