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Tussle over Udham Singh Nagar could lead to violence in tranquil UP hillside

Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

The question of including Udham Singh Nagar in the proposed new hill state of Uttaranchal may give rise to violence in the otherwise quiet and serene hills of Uttar Pradesh.

Such apprehensions have been aroused on account of the reaction of those who are in favour and against the inclusion of the newly carved district (out of the popular hill resort of Nainital) in the new hill state. The affluent Sikhs, supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party's ally, the Akali Dal, are hell bent on having Udham Singh Nagar retained in UP, while ordinary citizens of this district as well as the six million overall population of the UP hills find no reason why such a step should be initiated at this juncture, when they are on the threshold of fulfillment of their cherished dream -- an independent hill state.

A well-attended meeting of the Lucknow-based Uttaranchal Cultural and Public Welfare Committee in Lucknow on July 8, expressed "shock at the attitude of the Akali Dal leaders demanding exclusion of Udham Singh Nagar from the proposed hill state." The committee's president, Dharam Singh Kandari wondered, "What provoked the Akalis to raise such an unreasonable demand, which amounts to direct interference in the working of another state, where the party incidentally has no existence?"

The committee has, through a resolution, urged the state and central governments "to ensure that such decisions are not taken on religious or sectarian considerations, but on the basis or geographical and historical factors alone."

The Uttrakhand Vikas Manch, another representative body of the hill population, has also raised serious objections against the Akali demand. "Little do they realise that two major Sikh shrines -- Reetha Saheb and Hemkund Sahab -- are in the thick of the hill region; now will they also seek shifting of these shrine?" asked the Manch convenor, Harshpati Ghildiyal.

Hill movement activist Rajiv Lochan Sah, journalist Govind Pant Raju and social scientist Chandresh Shastri see no logic in the separation of Udham Singh Nagar from its "roots" in Uttarakhand. Raju, who also holds a doctorate in the history of Kumaon hills, seeks to draw the attention of the Udham Singh Nagar Sikhs to the background under which they were settled here after Partition. "It was a goodwill gesture on the part of UP's first chief minister Gobind Ballabh Pant to offer the terai belt of Kumaon for the resettlement of Sikh refugees," he pointed out, adding, "And it was on his persuasion that the nomads from Pithorgarh, who migrated from the upper reaches to spend their winter in the foothill region, relinquished their claim to these lands."

Members of the Udham Singh Nagar Raksha Samiti -- a group favouring separation of the district from the proposed state -- however refute this argument. "Please do not forget that when this marshy mosquito- infested area was given away to Sikh refugees in 1947, nothing would grow there; it is we who toiled to make this land cultivable and rich."

Today, sprawling holdings stretching even up to 2000 acres in this region are owned, among others, by Akali Dal leader and Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal himself. Other massive landholdings are by several top Punjab politicians belonging to both Akali Dal as well as the Congress, besides famous film personalities, who took advantage of the relaxed land ceiling laws because of the special circumstances under which settlements were made there.

What seems to be worrying them now is that a new state might not continue with the same exemption.

In fact, that is the psyche clearly reflected in the remark of Satwant Singh, a young modern farmer, educated in a posh public school of Nainital. He argues, "The Uttarakhandis want Udham Singh Nagar simply because of its wealth, but we are not going to allow this."

UP's minister for hill development, Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal, is of the view that it is only a small section of the Sikh community that does not want merger of Udham Singh Nagar with Uttarakhand. "You see, since it will affect the vested interests of affluent farmers, they are ones who are raising all the objections," Pokhriyal told this scribe, while asserting, "The common man, including the Sikhs, is very much for becoming a part of Uttarakhand."

Uttarakhand activist Sah points out, "It is very apparent from the Akali demand that they want the best of both the worlds."

Social scientist Chandresh Shastri, who has done much research in the hills, finds certain other economic factors too dominating the Akali psyche at this juncture. "There are at least 150 rice mills in Udham Singh Nagar and what the more affluent Sikh farmers seem to be apprehensive about is the possibility of an end to the free movement of paddy between the new state and Uttar Pradesh, which is bound to affect their business n a big way," he points out.

At the other end, the Udham Singh Nagar Raksha Samiti has chalked out its agitational programme that includes strikes and demonstrations.

With sentiment brewing on both sides, and the BJP's sworn political foes like Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and his ardent CPI-M supporter Harkishen Singh Surjeet stoking the fire, the stage is surely set for a serious confrontation that could disrupt the peace and calm of the otherwise tranquil Himalayan belt.

EARLIER REPORTS:
Udham Singh Nagar an integral part of Kumaon, says K C Pant
Akalis oppose inclusion of UP district in Uttaranchal

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