After Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s “UP type” remark, it is now Punjab Chief Minister ’Charanjit Singh Channi’s turn to target people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It exposes their contempt and a sense of regional superiority. It is also politically immature, given the UP elections are underway. But most of all, it’s the economy, Mr Channi. And you just revealed that you don’t get it.
In a roadshow with Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, Channi said, “Priyanka Gandhi Punjabiyan di bahu hai. Is waari katthe hoke ik paase ho jo. Eh jehde UP de, Bihar de, Delhi de Bhaiye aa gaye ne ethe raj karan, ehna noo vadan ni dena. (Priyanka Gandhi is Punjab’s daughter-in-law. This time I ask you to get on one side. Don’t let all these Bhaiye of UP and Bihar come inside Punjab who are trying to conquer our state).
It is possible that Channi was trying to attack the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) or the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) who have a strong support base in the two Hindi-speaking states. But then he has also ridiculed his own people, those who are the backbone of Punjab’s economy. ‘Bhaiye’ is a derogatory term used for migrant workers who hail mostly from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
If these Bhaiye could get jobs in their own states, it will be a catastrophe for Punjab’s already stagnant economy.
You go to Punjab today, and you will find a great amount of dissatisfaction with the jobs status in the state. Punjab is still primarily agricultural and industries are fleeing the state. With almost non-existent high-paying quality jobs, most Punjabis are either migrating abroad or to other states in India.
Whether it is the cycle industry or agricultural labour work or even the construction and other limited activities in Punjab, it’s being done on the shoulders of the same ‘Bhaiye’ that Channi doesn’t want to grow in his state.
Punjabis no longer want to farm in Bathinda, but you will see them flaunting on the tractors in Brampton. They are not the ones who will serve you at a roadside Dhaba, but they happily work on a minimum wage in Canada’s Tim Horton’s (a popular cafe that gives part time work to students).
So, who are you not letting in? Those running your economy? Think again.
Also read: Dear minister, we are UP ke bhaiye, and we’re done being typecast as Wasseypur characters
What if they do not really enter?
The Covid-19 pandemic has actually exposed how vulnerable Punjab is if there is ever a mass exodus of migrant workers from the state.
During 2020, when the coronavirus had devastated the granary of India, Punjabi farmers had troubles in getting workers for harvest. Apparently, as the labourers left the state, the local ones started demanding higher wages, which reportedly led so many panchayats to put a cap on the labor charges.
Punjab’s economy sings a sad tale. It hasn’t grown the way other states did. On my recent visit to Chennai when I went to its famous Ratna cafe in Mylapore, the man taking my order turned out to be from Bihar.
When I asked him why he didn’t opt for Punjab, he had told me that not only Tamil Nadu offered him a better wage, he was also less likely to face social discrimination the way his family did in Punjab.
Speak to any labourer in Punjab, they all say that Punjab is not their home, it never feels like home and they will leave even if they get Rs 2,000 less in their home state. And after all that, Channi wants to ‘not let them in’.
And why of all people Priyanka Gandhi – who is the general secretary of Uttar Pradesh Congress – clapping on it? Wasn’t she rooting for the party in the ongoing UP assembly election?
Imagine the furore if someone in Canada had said the same for the Punjabi diaspora who migrated, rose from rags to the riches and are fairly represented in power. What’s wrong if Bhaiyyaji does the same in Punjab?
Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)