Whenever one watches an interview, YouTube programme, public speech or social-media video featuring a junior or senior Sikh leader, one message is heard again and again: “Our fight is with the Centre.” This has become almost a standard political response to many of Punjab and Sikh society’s problems. There is no question that Punjab has legitimate and long-standing disputes with successive governments in New Delhi, and issues relating to federalism, Chandigarh, river waters, political rights, 1984 and other historical matters deserve continued democratic and constitutional discussion. But the time has come to ask another, equally important question: If our fight is always with the Centre, who will take responsibility for the problems that are firmly within our own control?
Punjab and the Sikh community have had decades to pursue these demands. Governments have changed, political parties have risen and fallen, movements have been launched, elections have produced new mandates and generations of leaders have promised to deliver justice and protect Punjab’s interests. Yet many of the same issues continue to appear in political speeches today that were being discussed decades ago. The uncomfortable reality is that the community cannot continue indefinitely with a politics based almost entirely on identifying an external opponent while avoiding a serious examination of its own institutions, leadership and internal failures.
The Anandpur Sahib Resolution of 1973 became a landmark in Punjab’s political history, with demands centred on greater state autonomy and other concerns. The Dharam Yudh Morcha of 1982 transformed these demands into a mass political movement. The tragic events of the 1980s then changed Punjab and the Sikh community forever. Operation Blue Star, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the anti-Sikh violence of 1984 and the subsequent years of militancy and counter-insurgency created wounds that remain deeply embedded in Sikh memory. Those wounds cannot and should not be erased.
But more than four decades have passed since 1984. The question now is whether remembering history has been accompanied by sufficient institution-building for the future. A community cannot remain politically frozen in the past forever. Historical justice must remain important, but so must education, employment, social stability, religious literacy, youth development, institutional transparency and economic opportunity. The younger generation needs a future, not only a political explanation for the failures of the past.
The most difficult questions concern those matters that do not require permission from New Delhi. Punjab controls substantial areas of policing, administration, education, public health and local governance. Sikh institutions control important religious, educational and community resources. Political parties control their own organisational structures and policies. Yet when problems arise, there is often a tendency to immediately redirect the discussion toward Delhi.
Take the 2015 sacrilege crisis and the subsequent controversies surrounding the police firing at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan. These issues have remained among the most painful and politically consequential matters in Punjab for years. Governments have changed and investigations have continued, but the demand for satisfactory justice remains. It is therefore reasonable to ask not only what the Centre did or did not do, but also what successive Punjab governments, investigative agencies, prosecutors and political leaders did or failed to do over all these years.
The same question can be asked about drugs. Punjab’s drug problem cannot simply be presented as a Delhi problem. Punjab has its own police force, administration, elected government, health system and rehabilitation infrastructure. If drugs continue to destroy families, then political leaders must explain what has actually been accomplished on the ground rather than repeatedly turning the issue into another Centre-versus-Punjab argument.
The crisis of youth migration also demands a similar examination. Every year, large numbers of young Punjabis look outside the state and outside India for education, employment and a better future. Instead of simply blaming economic policies elsewhere, Punjab’s leadership should explain why it has struggled to create sufficient opportunities at home. Young people do not leave only because of political slogans; they leave because they want jobs, security, dignity, education and a predictable future.
There is also the uncomfortable issue of political fragmentation. Punjab and Sikh society have no shortage of leaders. There are political parties, religious organisations, social groups, activists, scholars, lawyers and a highly influential global diaspora. Yet instead of building a common agenda, much of the political discourse remains divided between factions, personalities and competing organisations.
Every leader appears to have an explanation for why another leader failed. Every party claims that another party compromised Punjab’s interests. Every faction believes that it possesses the correct political formula. Meanwhile, ordinary Punjabis continue to face the consequences of problems that remain unresolved.This is where the phrase “our fight is with the Centre” becomes inadequate. A strong community can fight for its constitutional and political rights while simultaneously accepting responsibility for its own failures. In fact, internal accountability would make the community’s case against any government stronger. A community with transparent institutions, united leadership and measurable achievements has far greater moral and political authority.
The Sikh community should therefore begin judging leadership by results rather than rhetoric. How many serious community problems have been solved? How many young people have been helped? How much has drug abuse been reduced? How much improvement has taken place in religious education? How transparent are Sikh institutions? How many long-pending cases have actually moved toward justice? How much political unity has been achieved? How many promises made during elections have been fulfilled?
These questions are far more difficult than delivering a powerful speech against Delhi.The global Sikh diaspora should also ask these questions. Sikhs living in North America, Europe, Australia and elsewhere have enormous emotional, social and financial connections with Punjab. They support families, donate to institutions, invest in businesses and raise Punjab-related issues internationally. But the diaspora should not be treated simply as a source of money or political support. It has every right to demand a clear plan from those who claim to speak on behalf of Punjab and the Sikh community.
What is the five-year plan? What is the ten-year plan? Which issues can be solved by Punjab itself? Which issues require negotiations with the Centre? Which matters belong to Sikh institutions? Who is responsible for each issue? What are the deadlines? And what happens when promises are not fulfilled?
This is the accountability framework that is missing from much of the current political conversation.The Sikh community does not need another generation to grow up hearing only that someone else is responsible. It needs leaders who can say: “Yes, Delhi has responsibilities but we also have responsibilities.” It needs leaders prepared to acknowledge that Punjab’s problems cannot all be blamed on one government, one party or one institution.
The timeline of the last several decades should itself be a warning. 1966 brought Punjabi Suba. 1973 brought the Anandpur Sahib Resolution. 1982 brought the Dharam Yudh Morcha. 1984 brought an unprecedented historical rupture. The 1990s brought the painful end of militancy and the beginning of a different political era. 2015 brought another major crisis of confidence over sacrilege and police action. 2022 brought another overwhelming mandate for political change. Yet in 2026, many of the same fundamental questions are still being asked.
At some point, the community must stop asking only “Who is responsible?” and begin asking “What is our solution?”
There is nothing wrong with demanding accountability from the Centre. There is everything wrong with using the Centre as an explanation for every failure. Likewise, there is nothing wrong with defending Punjab’s interests. But defending Punjab also means confronting corruption, drugs, unemployment, migration, institutional weaknesses, political division and failures of governance within Punjab itself.
The next generation deserves better than another cycle of political promises followed by another cycle of blame.Sikh history has produced extraordinary examples of courage, sacrifice and collective mobilisation. The challenge of the present generation is to convert that strength into effective institutions, accountable leadership and measurable results.The question before Sikh leadership today is therefore simple but uncomfortable:
If we could not resolve many of our own community issues in 40 or 50 years, why should people believe that another few years of the same slogans and the same political approach will suddenly produce a different result?The answer cannot simply be another speech.The answer must be a plan.
Disclaimer: This article and accompanying images are for informational and illustrative purposes only. Some visuals may be AI-generated or digitally enhanced and may not depict actual events or persons.Views expressed are based on publicly available information and analysis