Question

about punjab agitation

Answer 1

In the 1950s, the linguistic groups across India sought statehood, which led to the establishment of theStates Reorganisation Commissionin dec 1953. At that time, the Punjab state of India included present-day states ofPunjab,HaryanaandHimachal Pradesh(some parts) along withChandigarh. The vast majority of the Sikhs lived in this Hindu-majority Punjab.TheAkali Dal, a Sikh-dominated political party active mainly in Punjab, sought to create a Punjabi Suba ("Punjabi Province").The Sikh leaders suchFateh Singhtactically stressed the linguistic basis of the demand, while downplaying its religious basis — a state where the distinctSikh identity could be preserved.[1]The Government of India was wary of carving out a separatePunjabi languagestate, because it effectively meant dividingthe state along religious lines: Sikhs wouldform a 60% majority in the resulting Punjabi state.[2]Fresh from the memory of the violent religion-basedpartition of Indiain 1947, thePunjabi Hinduswere also concerned about living in a Sikh-majority state. The Hindu newspapers fromJalandhar, exhorted the Punjabi Hindus to declare Hindi as their "mother tongue", so that the Punjabi Suba proponents could bedeprived of the argument that their demand was solely linguistic. This later created a rift between Hindus and Sikhs of Punjab. The case for creating a Punjabi Suba was presented to the States Reorganisation Commission. The States Reorganisation Commission, not recognising Punjabi as a language that was grammatically very distinct from Hindi,rejected the demand for a Punjabi-majoritystate. Another reason that the Commissiongave in its report was that the movement lacked general support of the people inhabiting the region.According to theStates Reorganisation Act, thePatiala and East Punjab States Union(PEPSU) was merged with Punjab. However, the state still did not have a clearPunjabi majority, as it contained a large Hindi-speaking area.Akali Dal's agitationThe Akali Dal leaders continued their agitation for the creation of a "Punjabi Suba" after the merger of PEPSU to Punjab.TheAkal Takhtplayed a vital role in organising Sikhs to campaign for the cause. During the Punjabi Suba movement, 12000 Sikhs were arrested for their peaceful demonstrations in 1955 and26000 in 1960-61.

Answer 2

Who are the soldiers of JNA