Panoramic view on Punjab

Manjit Singh Kang

The book under review, Resurrecting Punjab, represents K.S. Chawla's first-hand account, as a journalist, of political events spanning about 50 years, beginning around the 1970s. The author covers various political events and his personal interactions with Punjab politicians. There is no better way to convey history to the younger generations than through narration of eye-witness accounts. Chawla does that superbly. The eye-witness accounts add authenticity and are gripping. In the four-page 'Introduction', Chawla talks about the post- Independence migration of people from West Punjab (Pakistan) to East Punjab (India) and their rehabilitation. He discusses how Partap Singh Kairon, the then Chief Minister of Punjab, made efforts to industrialize East Punjab and strengthen agriculture by establishing Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, which helped usher in the 'Green Revolution' in the late 1960s. He points out that successive state governments have neglected the farming community's welfare. Youth emigration from Punjab to foreign lands in search of greener pastures and the current drugabuse epidemic in Punjab are also prominently mentioned in the Introduction.

K.S. Chawla Chawla has covered, in the first 21 chapters, the lives of politicians and their interactions with one another in the political arena of Punjab after Independence of India. Chapter 22 titled "How became a journalist" is obviously not related to political events or politicians. It is an interesting account of how or why the author chose journalism as a profession.
At the end, in the Appendix, Chawla describes the harrowing escape of his family from West Punjab (Pakistan) to East Punjab (India) at the time of Independence (bifurcation of British India into India and Pakistan) and the struggles and hardships that his family had to face. Chawla's account of happenings is quite riveting.

Chawla talks about the post-Independence migration of people from West Punjab (Pakistan) to East Punjab (India) and their rehabilitation.

Chapters vary in length from 2 pages (Chapter 7: 'Justice (Retd.) Gurnam Singh Returns as Akali Chief Minister After Elections (1969)' to 32 pages (Chapter 2: 'The Akali Slide'). In addition to Chapter 2, Chapter 8 ('The Twilight of the Congress' = 22 pages), Chapter 10 ('Akali Surge: The Emergence of Parkash Singh Badal' = 28 pages), and Chapter15 ('Sant Harchand Singh Longowal' = 23 pages) are substantially long. The reader will find that there is no chronology across chapters. Each chapter must be treated as a separate entity. Chronology of events does exist within each chapter, however. The reader will also find that because the same actors are involved in multiple chapters, some information is repetitious, which the author himself has acknowledged in the Preface. All events mentioned in the book are based on Chawla's memory. One is impressed by Chawla's recall of events and details. Take for example an interesting episode where Parkash Singh Badal could not handle the

"I had very good relations with Talwandi and one day, he came to tell me that he had talked to Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra and CPM leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet and told them that Badal would not come out of depression unless he was declared chief ministerial candidate of the Akali Dal for Punjab."

job of Agriculture Minister at the Center in Morarji Desai government and went into depression after resigning the cabinet post. Badal had been admitted to Post-Graduate Institute (PGI) Chandigarh for treatment. Chawla describes the story as follows (see page 49): "When Badal was in the PGI, Jathedar Talwandi, who was heading the Akali Dal, came to the rescue of Badal. I had very good relations with Talwandi and one day, he came to tell me that he had talked to Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra and CPM leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet and told them that Badal would not come out of depression unless he was declared chief ministerial candidate of the Akali Dal for Punjab. According to Talwandi, all three of them went to see Badal in the PGI and told him that they had decided to make him the chief minister of Punjab. Talwandi told me,
'As soon as we told him (Badal) about our decision, Badal jumped up in his bed and his depression vanished.' The credit for bringing Badal back to Punjab politics solely goes to Talwandi." While the book is generally well written, some typos and convoluted sentences, apparently missed during proofreading, do exist.
K.S. Chawla should be commended for putting in writing his experiences and interactions with Punjab politicians. I am sure the younger generation will get to read the history of Punjab politics and Chawla's contemporaries will reminisce the important events that have shaped Punjab.

Dr. Manjit S. Kang, Former Vice Chancellor, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana Adjunct Professor, Kansas State University, Manhattan (USA)



		EDITOR'S MAIL EDITOR'S COMMENT FRANKLY SPEAKING REALPOLITIK ISI WEB DRUG MENACE IN PUNJAB FARMERS' LOAN WINDOW ON M.P. HIMACHAL AGONY LOOKING BACK SIGNS OF THE TIMES PAKISTAN TODAY DRAGON DRILL IN TIBET MODI'S DIPLOMACY GLOBAL AFFAIRS REVIEW ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS HITS & MISSES DIARY BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR CHANGING TIMES THIRD SEX YOGA IN DAILY LIFE A SPRITUAL GURU ART OF LIVING Issue:August' 2018 Subscribe Now	BOOK BAZAAR Panoramic view on Punjab Manjit Singh Kang The book under review, Resurrecting Punjab, represents K.S. Chawla's first-hand account, as a journalist, of political events spanning about 50 years, beginning around the 1970s. The author covers various political events and his personal interactions with Punjab politicians. There is no better way to convey history to the younger generations than through narration of eye-witness accounts. Chawla does that superbly. The eye-witness accounts add authenticity and are gripping. In the four-page 'Introduction', Chawla talks about the post- Independence migration of people from West Punjab (Pakistan) to East Punjab (India) and their rehabilitation. He discusses how Partap Singh Kairon, the then Chief Minister of Punjab, made efforts to industrialize East Punjab and strengthen agriculture by establishing Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, which helped usher in the 'Green Revolution' in the late 1960s. He points out that successive state governments have neglected the farming community's welfare. Youth emigration from Punjab to foreign lands in search of greener pastures and the current drugabuse epidemic in Punjab are also prominently mentioned in the Introduction. K.S. Chawla Chawla has covered, in the first 21 chapters, the lives of politicians and their interactions with one another in the political arena of Punjab after Independence of India. Chapter 22 titled "How became a journalist" is obviously not related to political events or politicians. It is an interesting account of how or why the author chose journalism as a profession. At the end, in the Appendix, Chawla describes the harrowing escape of his family from West Punjab (Pakistan) to East Punjab (India) at the time of Independence (bifurcation of British India into India and Pakistan) and the struggles and hardships that his family had to face. Chawla's account of happenings is quite riveting. Chawla talks about the post-Independence migration of people from West Punjab (Pakistan) to East Punjab (India) and their rehabilitation. Chapters vary in length from 2 pages (Chapter 7: 'Justice (Retd.) Gurnam Singh Returns as Akali Chief Minister After Elections (1969)' to 32 pages (Chapter 2: 'The Akali Slide'). In addition to Chapter 2, Chapter 8 ('The Twilight of the Congress' = 22 pages), Chapter 10 ('Akali Surge: The Emergence of Parkash Singh Badal' = 28 pages), and Chapter15 ('Sant Harchand Singh Longowal' = 23 pages) are substantially long. The reader will find that there is no chronology across chapters. Each chapter must be treated as a separate entity. Chronology of events does exist within each chapter, however. The reader will also find that because the same actors are involved in multiple chapters, some information is repetitious, which the author himself has acknowledged in the Preface. All events mentioned in the book are based on Chawla's memory. One is impressed by Chawla's recall of events and details. Take for example an interesting episode where Parkash Singh Badal could not handle the "I had very good relations with Talwandi and one day, he came to tell me that he had talked to Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra and CPM leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet and told them that Badal would not come out of depression unless he was declared chief ministerial candidate of the Akali Dal for Punjab." job of Agriculture Minister at the Center in Morarji Desai government and went into depression after resigning the cabinet post. Badal had been admitted to Post-Graduate Institute (PGI) Chandigarh for treatment. Chawla describes the story as follows (see page 49): "When Badal was in the PGI, Jathedar Talwandi, who was heading the Akali Dal, came to the rescue of Badal. I had very good relations with Talwandi and one day, he came to tell me that he had talked to Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra and CPM leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet and told them that Badal would not come out of depression unless he was declared chief ministerial candidate of the Akali Dal for Punjab. According to Talwandi, all three of them went to see Badal in the PGI and told him that they had decided to make him the chief minister of Punjab. Talwandi told me, 'As soon as we told him (Badal) about our decision, Badal jumped up in his bed and his depression vanished.' The credit for bringing Badal back to Punjab politics solely goes to Talwandi." While the book is generally well written, some typos and convoluted sentences, apparently missed during proofreading, do exist. K.S. Chawla should be commended for putting in writing his experiences and interactions with Punjab politicians. I am sure the younger generation will get to read the history of Punjab politics and Chawla's contemporaries will reminisce the important events that have shaped Punjab. Dr. Manjit S. Kang, Former Vice Chancellor, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana Adjunct Professor, Kansas State University, Manhattan (USA)