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Mahesh

17/04/22 17:21 PM IST

Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal stake claim to Chandigarh

  • WHAT
  • WHY
  • WHEN
  • WHERE
  • WHO
  • HOW
What prompted the passing of the resolution?
  • The longstanding dispute between Punjab and Haryana over Chandigarh flared up this week after the Centre notified Central Service Rules for employees in the Union Territory instead of the Punjab Service Rules.
  • The Centre had earlier tweaked rules for appointments to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) — recruitments can now be done from anywhere in India, instead of just Punjab and Haryana.
  • The Punjab Assembly in a special session passed a unanimous resolution reiterating the state’s claim on Chandigarh.
  • In 2018, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar suggested that a special body should be set up for the development of Chandigarh.
  • But the idea was rejected by then Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, who said Chandigarh indisputably belonged to Punjab.
  • Haryana has been demanding a separate High Court, and has passed a resolution in the Assembly demanding 20 rooms in the Vidhan Sabha complex that have been in Punjab’s possession.
  • The Punjab government’s one-sided resolution has no meaning. …This is not only a subject of Punjab, it is a subject of Haryana and even…Himachal Pradesh… Chandigarh is the capital of Punjab and Haryana…aur dono ki hi rahegi (and it will remain the capital of both).”
  • This resolution was the seventh of its kind brought by the government of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in Punjab Assembly.
  • The first resolution was brought on May 18, 1967 by Acharya Prithvi Singh Azad, and the second by Chaudhary Balbir Singh on January 19, 1970, both during Gurnam Singh’s government.
  • Sukhdev Singh Dhillon brought a resolution on September 7, 1978 when Parkash Singh Badal was Chief Minister, and Baldev Singh Mann brought a similar resolution on October 31, 1985 during Surjit Singh Barnala’s government. Another resolution, also during Barnala’s government, was brought by Om Parkash Gupta on March 6, 1986.
  • Gurdev Singh Jhoondan brought a resolution during Badal’s government on December 23, 2014.
Why has Punjab staked its claim on Chandigarh?
  • The immediate provocation this time has been two recent decisions of the Central government, both taken in the aftermath of SAD breaking ties with the BJP over the now withdrawn farm laws.
  • In February, the Centre amended the rules governing the functioning of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), constituted under the 1966 Act, changing the eligibility criteria for the two full-time members of the Board which have, though technically open to all Indian officials, by convention gone to officials from Punjab and Haryana.
  • Officers from the two States may not be able to meet the new eligibility criteria given the technical qualifications specified.
  • All stakeholders in Punjab and Haryana have objected to this move though Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar was more muted in his response.
  • Second, following the March-end announcement by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Centre issued a notification bringing Chandigarh UT administration employees under the Central Services Rules with effect from April 1, 2022 replacing the Punjab Services Rules.
  • Coming within weeks after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rose to power in Punjab, this move was interpreted not just as a continuation of the Centre’s contentious relationship with the AAP government in Delhi, but also as an affront to Punjab’s claim over Chandigarh.
Chandigarh Position 
  • Employees and unions of the Chandigarh administration have mostly welcomed the change in service rules since the Central provisions carry more benefits, especially on retirement age and other allowances, though pay scale-wise Punjab rules are considered better.
  • After decades of existence as a UT, Chandigarh has developed a distinctive cultural character.
  • Given its geographical location at the intersection of three States, as well as the presence of many educational institutions, medical establishments and the Army and Air Force, Chandigarh has developed a unique cosmopolitanism and become a magnet for the youth across the north western region. City residents thus favour the status quo.
  • The Chandigarh units of political parties, in contrast with their Punjab party units have time and again reiterated retention of the status quo.
When was the Issue supposed to be resolved?
  • Chandigarh was made the capital of Punjab in The Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulation) Act, 1952, became the common capital of both Punjab and Haryana, and properties were divided between the states in the ratio 60:40.
  • The States Reorganisation Act, 1966, did not make changes in the arrangement arrived at in 1952.
  • During the reorganisation of Punjab, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had announced that Haryana would get its own capital. And on January 29, 1970, the Centre announced that “the capital project area of Chandigarh should, as a whole, go to Punjab”.
  • Indira’s government took this decision after Fateh Singh, leader of the Punjabi Suba movement, threatened self-immolation if Chandigarh was not transferred to Punjab.
  • The Centre had considered dividing Chandigarh into two parts, but ultimately decided against it.
  • Haryana was told to use the office and residential accommodation in Chandigarh for five years until it built its own capital.
  • The Centre offered a Rs 10 crore grant to Haryana and a loan of equal amount to build the new capital.
Where did the Issue first present itself?
  • The issue came into being along with the formation of the state of Haryana which can be largely credited to the Hindi language movement of Punjab that started on 30 April 1957 and lasted till 27 December 1957 in Hindi-speaking areas of Punjab as the demand for a separate state for the Hindi speaking people of the united Punjab had risen.
  • This movement was started in retaliation to Punjab Governments decision to impose Punjabi on Hindi-speaking parts, and when people resisted, government tried to stop the movement by mass arrests, imprisonments and some of arrested activists were tortured in the prison.
  • Around the same time another movement for leftover Punjabi-speaking parts started, this Punjabi suba & Punjabi language movement demanded under which Punjabi and gurmukhi to be made official in after division.
  • And Subsequently On 1 November 1966, Haryana was carved out on the basis of that the parts of Punjab which were to be Haryana's "Hindi-speaking areas."
  • Haryana state was formed on the recommendation of the Sardar Hukam Singh Parliamentary Committee. This committee was formed on 23 September 1965.
  • On 23 April 1966, acting on the recommendation of the Hukam Singh Committee, the Indian government set up the Shah Commission under the chairmanship of Justice J. C. Shah, to divide and set up the boundaries of Punjab and Haryana.
  • The commission gave its report on 31 May 1966.
  • Haryana was carved out of undivided Punjab via the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966, and the new union territory Chandigarh was created, bringing it under the direct control of the Centre.
  • Chandigarh became the common capital of both Punjab and Haryana Punjab and Haryana with the properties divided between the states in a 60:40 ratio.
  • The UT was identified as the capital of Punjab in the Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulation) Act, 1952.
  • This was not changed in the reorganisation act of 1966


Who outlines the fundamental principles for reorganization of states in the country?
  • The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines.
  • The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 remains the single most extensive change in state boundaries since the independence of India in 1947.
  • The Act came into effect at the same time as the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, which (among other things) restructured the constitutional framework for India's existing states and the requirements to pass the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 under the provisions of Part I of the Constitution of India, Article 3.
  • Between 1947 and about 1950, the territories of the princely states were politically integrated into the Indian Union.
  • Several states were merged into existing provinces; others were organised into unions, such as Rajputana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Bharat, and Vindhya Pradesh, made up of multiple princely states; a few, including Mysore, Hyderabad, Bhopal, and Bilaspur, remained separate states. The Government of India Act 1935 remained the constitutional law of India pending adoption of a new Constitution.
  • The new Constitution of India, which came into force on 26 January 1950, made India a sovereign democratic republic.
  • The new republic was also declared to be a "Union of States". The constitution of 1950 distinguished between three main types of states and a class of territories:
  • Part A states – which were the former governors' provinces of British India, were ruled by a governor appointed by the president and an elected state legislature. The nine Part A states were Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh (formerly Central Provinces and Berar), Madras, Orissa, Punjab (formerly East Punjab), Uttar Pradesh (formerly the United Provinces), and West Bengal.
  • Part B states – which were former princely states or unions of princely states, governed by a rajpramukh, who was usually the ruler of a constituent state, and an elected legislature. The rajpramukh was appointed by the President of India. The eight Part B states were Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Bharat, Mysore, Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), Rajasthan, Saurashtra, and Travancore-Cochin.
  • Part C states – included both the former chief commissioners' provinces and some princely states, and each was governed by a chief commissioner appointed by the President of India. The ten Part C states were Ajmer, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Coorg, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Cutch, Manipur, Tripura, and Vindhya Pradesh.
  • The sole Part D territory – was the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which was administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the central government.
  • The States Reorganisation Commission was preceded by the Linguistic Provinces Commission (aka Dhar Commission), which was set up in June 1948.
  • It rejected language as a parameter for dividing states. Later, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appointed the States Reorganisation Commission in December 1953, with the remit to reorganise the Indian states.
  • The new commission was headed by the retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Fazal Ali; its other two members were H. N. Kunzru and K. M. Panikkar. The efforts of the commission were overseen by Govind Ballabh Pant, who served as the Home Minister from December 1954.
  • The States Reorganisation Commission submitted a report on September 30, 1955, with recommendations for the reorganisation of India's states, which was then debated by the Indian parliament.
  • Subsequently, bills were passed to make changes to the constitution and to administer the reorganisation of the states.
How was the issue tackled?
  • There were talks initially about dividing the city of Chandigarh but the government explained why it had decided against dividing the city of which a communique said its ‘layout, architecture and beauty have evoked wide admiration and the city has acquired an international reputation’.
  • The Akali Dal in August 1982, expressed its dissatisfaction over the Punjab Reorganisation Act and launched the Dharam Yudh Morcha along with Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale with the object of realising the goals of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution of 1973.
  • The main contentious issues were the inclusion of Punjabi speaking areas in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh been given UT status.
  • Eventually on July 24, 1985, the Rajiv-Longowal Accord was signed between then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Akali leader Harchand Singh Longowal.
  • Where it was decided that Chandigarh would be given to Punjab, and January 26, 1986 was fixed as the date for the actual transfer. However, less than a month after the signing of the accord, Longowal was assassinated by militants.
  • In 2018, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar suggested that a special body should be set up for the development of Chandigarh. But Capt Amarinder Singh then CM Punjuab rejected this and claimed that Chandigarh indisputably belonged to Punjab.
  • Haryana has been demanding a separate High Court, and has passed a resolution in the Assembly demanding 20 rooms in the Vidhan Sabha complex that have been in Punjab’s possession.
  • Chandigarh, described as a ‘planned city’ emblematic of ‘Nehruvian modernity’, is a greenfield city, which was commissioned by the government in independent India to replace Lahore, which went to Pakistan after Partition, as the capital of of Punjab.
  • Designed by Le Corbusier in association with Pierre Jeanneret, it is located on the foothills of the Shivalik Himalayas on village land acquired from what was then the Kharar tehsil of Ambala district. It was the capital of undivided Punjab from its inauguration in 1953 till 1966.
  • Under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 following the Punjabi Suba movement, Haryana was carved out of the Hindi-speaking regions as a separate State while the hill regions of Punjab were merged with what was then the Union Territory (UT) of Himachal Pradesh.
  • Chandigarh was made a UT and has remained the joint capital of Haryana and Punjab with State assets divided between Punjab and Haryana in the ratio of 60:40.

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