'Don't Divide Punjab': Manish Tewari quotes Surjit Patar, cautions against caste politics amid Punjab Congress buzz
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, June 26: Congress MP Manish Tewari on Friday cautioned against attempts to divide Punjab along caste and community lines, asserting that the state’s identity is rooted in “Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat.”
In a post on social media platform X, Tewari quoted late eminent Punjabi poet Surjit Patar’s iconic lines, “Pehla Waris Shah nu vandiya si, hun Shiv Kumar di wari hai…” and described the poem as a poignant reminder of Punjab’s painful history of divisions.
“Pehla Waris Shah nu vandiya si, hun Shiv Kumar di wari hai… Ki pehle zakhma nu bhul gaye, jo naweya di tayari hai…”
“We have first divided Waris Shah; now is the turn of Shiv Kumar. Have you forgotten the old wounds while preparing for new ones?” Tewari wrote.
He said the poem, penned during the militancy era of the 1980s, captured the anguish of a Punjab that has witnessed repeated divisions over the past 125 years.
Emphasising the state’s inclusive character, Tewari said Punjab should not be viewed through the prism of caste-based politics, adding that such an approach runs contrary to its shared cultural ethos of “Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat.”
He also warned that those promoting divisive narratives ultimately serve the interests of forces seeking to weaken Punjab’s social harmony, both within the country and across the border.
The remarks come days after Tewari’s cryptic social media post on Punjab’s history of “internal squabbles” drew political attention amid discussions over organisational changes within the Punjab Congress, after he was left out of the party’s consultation process on the state unit’s restructuring.
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