There is no land in India — perhaps in the world — as steeped in sacrifice and honour as Punjab. This is the soil watered by the blood of martyrs, the birthplace of the Gurus who taught fearlessness and equality, the home of soldiers who defended every frontier, and the fields that turned a starving nation into a self-sufficient one. Our story is written not in ink but in sacrifice, courage, toil and spirit. No one can take this away from us. This is our eternal pride.
But here lies the harsh truth: we cannot remain prisoners of our own past. For how long will we demand respect only because of what our forefathers did centuries ago? History is sacred, yes — but it cannot become a permanent entitlement. Pride must propel us forward, not freeze us in nostalgia.
Punjab today is a victim of its own stagnation. We celebrate our history but shun our future. We play the victim card, inflate egos, block debate, and mistake viral reels for knowledge. For decades, a political party thrived by feeding paranoia — convincing us that Sikhism was forever in danger. But let us be clear: Sikhism, born of Guru Nanak’s vision and defended by the supreme sacrifices of our Gurus, is far too vast to be threatened by any; any political agenda. The danger lies not to the faith, but to our ability to think boldly, to act wisely, to reform and evolve courageously. Evolution is the basic truth of very mankind. De-evolution is disaster.
To make matters worse, political bankruptcy has hollowed Punjab from within. Vote-bank politics, religious sloganeering, caste divisions and the absence of long-term vision have plunged the state into a dark hole. Instead of governance, we were given gimmicks. Instead of policy, we were fed paranoia. Instead of planning for industry, education, and jobs, leaders chose the easy route of polarisation. The result is visible: migration of our youth, collapse of our agrarian model, and an economy gasping for breath.
Perpetually blaming Delhi suits the rulers — it keeps their politics alive — but it damages the very interests of Punjabis. The hard truth is that evolving is the only solution. Being prisoners of history is not just unwise; it is suicidal.
Is former Member of Punjab Public Service Commission
A farmer and keen observer of current affairs
Our obsession with anti-corporate rhetoric has shut the doors on opportunity. Investment is seen as betrayal, reform as conspiracy. We claim to be anndata but refuse to discuss sustainability or diversification. We push away industry and then complain of unemployment.
And so the time has come to make a choice. Either we keep rehearsing the past, comforting ourselves with memories while our children leave, our farms dry, and our villages hollow out. Or we rise again — not on slogans, but on vision. Not on fear, but on knowledge. Not on nostalgia, but on innovation. The diaspora must stop being content with outrage and remittances — it must build bridges of investment and ideas. Those at home must stop playing victim and start demanding accountability, education, and enterprise.
History gave us unmatched glory. But only the future can give us dignity. Punjab must decide: will it remain a museum of sacrifice, or will it become a workshop of possibilities? The choice is ours — and the time is now.