Chandigarh: The long-pending demands of Punjab’s liberated, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities must now move from political assurances to actual implementation, Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu said on the occasion of the 75th Vimukt Jati Diwas.
Sandhu was speaking at a programme organised at the residence of Haryana Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini, where representatives and leaders of liberated, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities from Punjab and Haryana gathered to mark the occasion.
Calling the celebration an important step towards restoring pride, identity and a sense of belonging among the communities, Sandhu thanked Saini for hosting the event and for detailing welfare initiatives being undertaken for liberated castes in Haryana.
According to Sandhu, Saini had also assured the community representatives that their issues pending with the Central Government would be taken up with the Centre in an effective manner.
Sandhu said Punjab’s liberated communities had waited for their legitimate rights for decades despite repeated assurances from successive governments.
Communities including Bauria, Bazigar, Sansi, Bengali, Barar, Gandhila, Nat, Rai Sikh, Od, Marasi and Sikligar Sikh had been promised measures for their welfare and advancement, he said, but many of the commitments had not been implemented.
“The wait for this society should not be long now,” Sandhu said, adding that the issue needed to be treated as one of rights and social justice rather than merely electoral politics.
He said the failure to deliver on long-standing promises had had a generational impact on these communities.
“The generations of the liberated society have paid the price for this political breach of promises for decades in the form of backwardness and lack of opportunities,” he said.
Sandhu said improving access to education, jobs, livelihoods, healthcare, economic opportunities, identity and political representation should now become the focus of concrete policy action.
He pointed to initiatives taken by the Central Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the education, livelihood, health and economic empowerment of liberated, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities.
He said the BJP was committed to pursuing the pending concerns of Punjab’s liberated communities and that he had raised their issues in the Rajya Sabha.
“These issues will continue to be raised firmly at every appropriate forum including Parliament,” Sandhu said.
Beyond welfare measures, Sandhu stressed the cultural contribution of the communities, saying generations had preserved Punjab’s folk traditions, handicrafts, traditional skills and heritage occupations despite social and economic hardships.
“If this heritage is to be saved, then the hands that preserve it will also have to be strengthened,” he said.
Sandhu said the Centre and state governments would need to ensure that policy commitments produced visible outcomes on the ground.
“The liberated society of Punjab has heard a lot of promises—now it is time to convert the promises into rights,” he said.
Community representatives Rajinder Singh Desu Yodha, Waheguru Singh Kabalwala, Jaspal Singh Panjgrain, Jasvir Singh Doomwali, Paramjit Singh Bargari, Malkit Singh Hira, Buta Ram Bazigar and Labh Singh associated with the Sikligar community have been advocating for the rights and welfare of Punjab’s liberated communities.
