The strange death of Punjab

• Punjab is a flat, deforested and overpopulated patch of agricultural land. 
• This fertile land of five rivers has been a gateway for various armies invading the subcontinent. Punjab is one of the smallest state of India but is the biggest contributor to food grain. It contributes more than 20% of the food grain produced in India.
• As per 2011 Census, Punjab has a population of around 2.77 crores. Sikhism is the most practiced faith in Punjab, and 57.69% of the population belongs to the Sikh faith [59.9% in 2001 census]. Around 38.49% of the population practices Hinduism. Other faiths include Islam 1.93%, Buddhism, Christianity 1.26% and Jainism.
• In the state of Punjab there were approximately 120,000 active bore wells in 1970 but by 2010 that number had increased to nearly 1,300,000. Overuse of fertilisers and pesticides has resulted in lesser proliferation of rainwater and pesticides and the ground water had also turned polluted. Water of all five rivers in the state had been polluted due to discharge from dirty sewers and industry water. The state is facing acute water shortage as the groundwater is depleting at a higher rate than its replenishment. 
• The region erupted in the summer of 1947 seeing one of the greatest migrations in human history. Lahore, once the capital of Ranjit Singh’s empire and the birth place of Guru Nanak, happened to fall on the Pakistan side of Punjab, and a once cosmopolitan city was subsequently largely ethnically cleansed of its Sikh population. 
• Tensions on the Indian side of Punjab were reignited during the insurgency of the 1980s when Khalistani separatists fought for an independent homeland.
• The Punjabis of India were rewarded for their endurance, and for some time they enjoyed the luxuries which came with residing in the richest state in the country. 
• Over the last decade, the State appears to have taken a turn for the worst. The final nail in the coffin for the Sikhs is not coming from a foreign invading forces, nor is it coming from the Indian government. Rather, the Punjabi people are themselves to blame. This is not a genocidal tragedy inflicted by bullets, but rather an epidemic of drugs, widespread alcohol addiction, female infanticide, low birth rates, farmer suicides, caste discrimination, mass outward emigration and religious conversion.
• It is astonishing as to how a prosperous and seemingly innocent society has cascaded into becoming the narcotics haven of India.
• Amongst the youth of Punjab, 52% were found to be addicted to drugs, which is 18 times higher than the national Indian average of 3%. 
• The statistics regarding alcohol consumption are just as worrying. Nearly 33 crore bottles are consumed in Punjab annually.
• Sikhs are also known to have the most uneven sex ratio in the whole of India, with 900 females for every 1000 males. This should be their biggest disgrace and embarrassment.
• The fertility rates of Punjabi-Sikhs are so low that it begs the question as to whether they would continue to exist in India in the not-too-distant future. 
• Outward migration and lower fertility rates are not the only factors that explain the Sikh demographic decline. A climate of religious confusion and a lack of Sikh leadership have created a vacuum for missionaries and other religious sects to exploit.
• Unfortunately, the discussion regarding Punjab amongst western Sikhs only seems to concern the events of 1984 – the invasion of the Darbar Sahib complex, the pogroms of Delhi and the military curfews which turned the district into a garrison state. They have every right to stand in remembrance of this terrible episode in history. Nonetheless, the dialogue must move beyond this, and their attention should be focused on the Punjab of 2017 i.e. The Punjab of today.　
• It is important that they accept responsibilities for their own failures. For too long have they pointed fingers towards the central government. They seem to believe that everything is a part of a grand conspiracy by the ‘Hindu elite’ to intentionally destroy and undermine Sikhs. 
• Central government is certainly not doing enough to monitor the porous borders of Punjab to prevent the flow of opium. Recreational drugs are more accessible in the Punjab than any other State, and Punjab police often turn a blind eye to this. But ultimately, Punjabis bear the responsibility of consuming them. Though more law and order is needed, this is a grassroots movement, which should instead be focused on education and raising awareness.　
• If Punjabis have survived the authoritarian regimes of the past, then they have every reason to make their mark and flourish in a multicultural democracy, albeit an imperfect one.

Read the source article