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Akalis' visit to Udham Singh Nagar sparks off apprehensions

With tension mounting over the question of including Udham Singh Nagar in the proposed hill state of Uttarakhand, intelligence sources apprehend large-scale violence in the otherwise quiet Himalayan foothills.

Exacerbating tension was the recent visit of Akali Dal-Mann chief Simranjeet Singh Mann with a band of 150 supporters from Punjab. Mann traversed every nook and corner of the long strip of Udham Singh Nagar that was sliced off the famous hill resort of Nainital to be made into an independent district some three years ago. Terming it as a challenge to Akali pride, Mann exhorted the local Sikhs not to allow the inclusion of this district in Uttarakhand. "I am with you and would be willing to go to any extent to support your cause," Mann was reported to have told locals in the area.

Justifying the demand for exclusion of the district from the new hill state, Mann told Rediff On The Net over telephone, "It is we who tilled the soil for all these decades, our people had to face the onslaught of tigers, leopards and leeches in the marshy forest covered lands when they landed there after Partition in 1947." He did not deny that all the land was gifted to the Sikh refugees, but went on to assert, "Just go through history and see how these lands used to be then and look at them now; the difference is like between hell and heaven."

Close on the heels of Mann came a leader from his rival outfit, the Akali Dal-Badal, and speaker of the Punjab assembly, H C Atwal. Though not as aggressive in his utterances, Atwal also went around meeting Sikhs in the region, holding out assurances of Parkash Singh Badal's full support to their cause.

This is being seen as direct intervention in the internal affairs of another state, by those who see no logic behind the Akali demand. "How could one forget that if anybody took the initiative of rehabilitating Sikh refugees here, it was none other than the hills' strongman Gobind Ballabh Pant," points out Uttarakhand activist Rajiv Lochan Sah of Nainital over telephone. "And there is enough evidence to testify how Pant persuaded the Tharu and Burhas tribals to relinquish their claim to these lands in favour of the more needy refugees."

Today, what lies at the root of the issue is the extensive landholdings by yesteryear's Sikh refugees who have turned into affluent farmers. The fact that a bulk of the land is concentrated in a few hands testifies to the charge that much of the land is under the illegal possession of influential and affluent Sikhs. It is an open secret that Punjab Chief Minister and Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal's holdings stretch over 2000 acres. Of course, it is another matter that to circumvent the land ceiling laws that do not permit landholdings of more than 18 acres, a large chunk of this property is held in the names of different members of the Badal family.

The Akali Dal leader, who was responsible for igniting the Udham Singh Nagar fire, has found certain other ways to save himself from possible action under a new dispensation. Recently, the well-known Badal Farms put up a couple of hoardings to advertise the sale of a part of its holdings.

Like Badal, there are many others who smack of opulence. You name a thing and you can be sure of finding it in any of the luxurious bungalows that span the length of the rich Terai belt, where Jim Corbett once trod in search of man-eaters. And it is these modern zamindars who are more worried than anybody else about the inclusion of Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand.

What surprises those who have been associated with the movement for so many years is the double-speak of the Sikh leaders. "They have derived all the benefits, including subsidies accruing to them by virtue of being part of the hills right from the time of Independence and today they put up the plea that they are culturally different from the hill people, so they must continue to remain with UP," argues Rajiv Lochan Sah.

Another activist, Mahesh Joshi, wanted to know, "How do these people claim to be culturally aligned with UP, I fail to understand. Don't be surprised if tomorrow, some of them ask for a corridor to Punjab on the same plea." Significantly, the once much-hyped map of Khalistan depicted UP's Terai belt (including Udham Singh Nagar) as an integral part of the putative Sikh State.

Udham Singh Nagar, to jog one's memory, was carved out of Nainital by none other than the then chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party leader, Mayawati.

Meanwhile, the Shiromani Akali Dal appears to have softened its stand on the withdrawal of support to the A B Vajpayee government on the Udham Singh Nagar issue and is now emphasising that the party would oppose the Uttaranchal bill as and when it comes up before Parliament.

The new stand was apparent when Badal, after separate meetings with Prime Minister A B Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani, parried all questions relating to the issue and withdrawal of support.

Badal maintained that the party would take a decision only after the bill was introduced in Parliament, apparently giving breathing space of at least four months to the ruling coalition. (The winter session of Parliament, when the bill could come up, is scheduled during the second week of November).

The Akali Dal had threatened to withdraw support to the BJP-led coalition government at the Centre on August 6, if Udham Singh Nagar was not excluded from the proposed hill state.

Additional reportage by UNI

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