The Real Punjab- No Propaganda, No Fairy Tales. Only The Ground Reality

"When I was growing up, Punjab was the richest state in India. Now it is ranked tenth, and heading towards imminent bankruptcy.

Punjabis, who used to be envied for their fierce can-do spirit, have now turned into clowns- the idealists romanticize people like Bhindranwale,

the pragmatic have been absorbed into a Sukhbir Badal led business-politician-police mafia syndicate,

the youth suffer from chronic alcohol-drug addiction,

the dumb masses remain gullible about empty Punjabi chauvinism,

the rest have simply given up and emigrated away!"
-a fellow Punjabi on Facebook

I agree wholeheartedly. This is what is happening.

I've worked in IELTS and visa industry and, willingly or unwillingly, have played my part in the mass immigration. Anyways, I've had many opportunities to interact with the youth, from both villages and cities and during such discussions often probed as to why would they want to leave their Punjab and struggle in a foreign land.

The answer mostly is of the form that current (around 2012) Punjab is a yard which does not deserve their youth. I think they are right. Come on, who among us would not want to go abroad? How many of us, openly or secretly, make efforts to migrate to UK, Canada, Australia etc?

And those who choose to stay in Punjab, are squeezing it with no sense of belonging or ownership.

Votes For Sale In Punjab: Insane Freebies To Some, At The Expense Of Working Class (Elections 2012)

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)

SAD-BJP and Congress have announced unbelievable freebies like one kg of wheat at one rupee (0.02 US $) for certain sections of society. These sections have been handicapped by decades of perks and privileges, due to their enormous numbers and unity in voting.

Just because you decide to sell something at 1/20th the price doesn't mean that its production cost has magically reduced.

These artificially created losses will have to be compensated, and by whom? By the people who pay their utility bills, the people who too are enormous in number but lack the unity and form to "expect" fair governance and treatment.

Thankfully, in Punjab, this time there is a party which does not promise candies to kids. Dear Reader, this is our Punjab, and our vote. This time, good men have to do something.

There Is Some Hope (Punjab, India)

"Removing of a politician's photo from ambulances raises some hope in me that all is not lost. #Punjab", @gopal1035 on Twitter here

Making A Sale Vs Cultivating Trust

"Stars in these [sales and client management] fields do not approach a customer or client with the determination to make a sale; rather they see themselves as consultants of sorts, whose task is first to listen and understand the client's needs- and only then match the what they have to those needs.

Should they not have what's best, they'll say so-or even take a client's side in making a justified complaint about their own company.

They would rather cultivate a relationship where their advice is trusted than torpedo their relationship just to make a sale.

(This holds wherever someone's success depends on repeat customers or keeping a company's ongoing clients happy)", p87, Social Intelligence (Daniel Goleman)

Punjab Is Changing, And We Will Have To Accept That

Punjab is being populated by people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This is something we all know, they come here and do labor, which the Punjabi youth is already shy of. It's a fact- you see more Biharis working as help in offices, parking lots, restaurants than Punjabis, thus making them indispensible.

But, Punjabis themselves want to populate countries like UK, Canada, Australia etc. Both of these movements may be for any reason, but they are happening. And with this, changes are bound to happen.