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Where Have All The Young Men of Punjab Gone?

by RAVEENA KAUR AULAKH

 

 

Punjab

When you walk into the village of Littan, population 1,500, you are immediately struck by what you don't see.

There are no young men in the narrow, dusty streets.

None hanging out in the village square, laughing, playing games and poking fun at each other, none sloshing in water at the reservoir on the edge of the lush rice fields.

No young men anywhere.

It is the same story in the smaller neighbouring village of Khasan. And in Gilljian, a larger village of 250 families, about 15 kilometres down the road.

And in dozens upon dozens of villages in Punjab's Doaba region.

Punjab is the wealthiest state in India, and many of its families have the resources to send their sons abroad for education and, they hope, a better future. Doaba is particularly affluent because its young men have been going abroad for more than a century, and they've been sending money back.

The men have moved away to the U.S., Australia, Europe and Canada as students, temporary workers or simply new immigrants in search of a better life. Starting new lives, they even live in cramped basements or high-rise apartments while struggling to build a new future thousands of miles away.

Few ever return for good.

Left behind are villages bereft of an entire generation of young men, villages where women now fear walking the streets at night because they don't have male protection, and where seniors fend for themselves in large mansions, hoping to see their children once more before they die.

"Sometimes villages look spooky at night," says Avtar Mand, a local official in Phagwara, a dusty town a two hours' drive from Chandigarh, the capital city of Punjab. "You know, there's just no one there."

This exodus started in the 1880s, when emigration from Punjab was believed to have started.

Sikh soldiers with the British army travelled to other countries to fight wars, and some never returned. Those who came back told villagers about the places they had seen. Inspired by stories of these far-off countries, people from the Doaba region, where land holdings have traditionally been small, took arduous sea journeys to search for greater opportunity.

In the following decades, young men and families continued to leave as the dilemma of small land holdings - which had to be shared by growing numbers of people as families expanded over generations - persisted.

But villages were never cleared out as they are now. Typically in the past, if one son left, the other stayed back. But a lack of jobs and India's increasing corruption is forcing more men to leave Punjab.

"They don't find work and if they do, they can't afford to pay the bribes (required to land jobs)," says Balwant Singh, a former federal minister who now runs a regional political party called Lok Bhalai ("People's Welfare"). "Young men have never had it so hard."

Many families have relatives abroad and the next natural step is to go away, even if it means really far away, to build a new life, says Batwant Singh.

"It's a sad situation."

*   *   *   *   *

The big, lime-coloured house sits at the edge of Kesarpur village, between rolling fields and dozens of other dwellings, just as large. Two maple leafs, in hot pink, are painted on the inner wall, next to a Union Jack.

Resham Singh, a wiry man in his 80s, lives alone in the seven-bedroom, four-bathroom house. He sleeps on a cot in the courtyard and cooks in a corner of the kitchen.

His older son is in England while two younger sons live in Canada. His wife died nine years ago. "I don't want to go anywhere . . . what will I do there?" says Resham Singh as he splashes water on a buffalo, one of the two he owns.

His older son left 26 years ago, the younger ones shortly after. They returned temporarily to build the house.

Down the street - dusty, narrow and unpaved - there are at least five other houses where older couples live alone. Young men from this village now live in North America, Europe and Australia.

At night the streets are empty, and all you can hear are howling dogs.

It could be any village in Doaba.

"The younger boys look at all this and of course, they all want to go abroad," says Gurdaawar Singh, head of Kesarpur village.

When someone visits from overseas, they are swarmed by children asking dozens of questions about life outside India, says Gurdaawar Singh. "Can't blame them. There are few jobs around here even if you are well-educated."

Some boys start planning their escape as soon as they turn 13.

Paramraj Singh is 16 and in Grade 10 and dreams of going to Canada, where two of his cousins live. "I want to study there," says the lanky young man. His classmate and close friend Gurpreet Singh nods in agreement.

Studying abroad has become the new surefire way for men to escape.

Traditionally, Sikhs have immigrated to Canada under the points system for skilled workers or the family reunification program. Now, hundreds of young people, from villages and cities, are immigrating as students.

Achieving a specific level in the International English Language Testing System is mandatory for admission to any Canadian college or university. There are now hundreds of language schools in Punjab, many in the Doaba region and some in villages, to prepare students.

Parents happily pay for the coaching but it is only when their sons are gone that they realize that they have lost them, says Gurdaawar Singh.

"The pain comes later."

*   *   *   *   *

Harbhajan Kaur came close to crying several times during a two-hour interview.

"Both of my sons live thousands of kilometres away . . .  yes, it hurts," she says, her voice cracking. "I see them once every few years."

Harbhajan, 54, and her husband, Jasbir Singh, 56, live in a two-storey, five-bedroom house in Littan, which is about 20 kilometres from Jalandhar, Doaba's largest city.

Their older son, Hardev Singh, 28, has lived in England for a decade, and Harpreet Singh, 25, moved to Toronto three years ago to study business at Humber College. After graduating he started driving a truck and applied for permanent residence.

"We are happy for them but our lives are empty," says Jasbir, who owns a farm where he grows wheat and rice. "We built this house so that the entire family, including the grandchildren, could live together."

The parents have been to England and liked being there but, like many other older couples, were unable to settle down.

In Littan, the two are comfortable in familiar surroundings. But they have other concerns.

Punjab, an agricultural state, is the largest producer of wheat in India. Migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, two impoverished Hindu states in east and central India, have always sought work in Punjab. But ever-increasing emigration from villages in Punjab has meant more and more outside workers.

There is tension between locals and the migrants. Locals are convinced that impoverished migrants are responsible for crime. The migrants complain of prejudice, and there have been attacks against them.

There have been no thefts or break-ins in his village, but Jasbir has put double locks on his doors and he says he and his wife are thinking of getting a watchdog, a German shepherd.

*   *   *   *   *

Villagers will candidly chat about the emotional impact of immigration, but some aspects are taboo.

Like what happened at Gilljian, a large, prosperous village an hour's drive from Jalandhar.

Two young girls eloped with migrant labourers about a year ago, triggering a ban on male outsiders entering the village after dark.

In India, where the caste system is still deeply rooted, the incident became a scandal and was the topic of conversation in the region for weeks.

But no one will still talk about it on the record at Gilljian.

"You have to understand  . . .  we could have lost more girls," says a senior who has lived in the community for more than 50 years.

Migrant labourers still farm the acres of fields around the village, but villagers keep "an eye on them," says the elder.

The mass immigration of men has also upset the balance between upper and lower castes in villages, says Avtar Mand, a local official in Phagwara.

Most of the men who have gone away belong to the upper castes - land owners and merchants. The ones left behind are from lower castes, mainly labourers who work on others' farms.

"Let's face it - casteism still exists, but there's no equilibrium any longer in some areas," says Mand.

"That's dangerous," he declares, referring mainly to the prospect of females marrying beneath their caste.

Another taboo subject involves men who have illegally gone to other countries and are unable to return. Some have been gone for a few years, others for decades, leaving behind parents, wives and children.

Every village has one such story, although few will tell it.

Karam Singh's voice drops to a whisper when he talks about his son. "We haven't seen him in 12 years," he says, sighing.

He lives in Bir village, surrounded by lush rice fields and eucalyptus trees. His older son, Mandeep, went to England in 1998. No one knows how he got there, but everyone knows he hasn't been able to return.

Mandeep's older son was three and the younger one a few months old when their father left. Today, they are taller than their grandfather. Mandeep's wife was a young, carefree mother then; now, she's a careworn single parent.

Karam Singh is stoic.

"My son wants to have legal status there but hasn't been able to," he says in Punjabi. "He says he doesn't know how he'll support his family if he comes back. He's at least sending money home."

Money has never been an issue, but it is tough on the family, especially his daughter-in-law, Karam Singh acknowledges. There's pain in her eyes and she's always tired but never complains, he says.

And now he worries that his grandsons, too, will want to leave. He will let them go, he says, but only if they go legally.

"Not to be able to see them, too . . . that would finally kill me."

*   *   *   *   *

While parents yearn to see their children, their sons live with the guilt that they let them down.

Kirandeep Singh, 23, came to Canada less than eight months ago and is trying to save money so he can go home to see his parents, Avtar Singh and Lakhvir Kaur.

"It feels weird not to see them every day," says Kirandeep, a student at Humber College.

Last March. Avtar Singh had to go into hospital because the batteries in his pacemaker were almost dead. The parents decided not to tell Kirandeep, says Lakhvir Kaur, "he had just left for Toronto and we didn't want him to leave everything and come back."

But Kirandeep learned about his father's situation from a friend and became very distraught, almost returning home. "I'm still not sure if this, being here in Canada, is a good idea," he says.

An electrical engineer in India, he graduated with honours but couldn't find a job for 18 months. Two friends went through the same experience.

They saw only one solution. The three friends, all from neighbouring villages in Punjab, arrived in Canada within days of each other and are all studying at Humber.

Now they are also each other's family, living together in an apartment near Morning Star Drive and Airport Road in Greater Toronto. "None of us had ever been even abroad for a vacation," says Kirandeep. "Being together makes everything less intimidating."

He sees the irony in their situation. "Yes, there are few men in some villages, and we bunk here together."

A few kilometres away, near Pearson International Airport, Harpreet Singh, 23, lives with two roommates. One drives a truck; the other attends Humber College.

They are all from a cluster of villages in Doaba region.

Tall and bronze, with a deep voice, he cuts an imposing figure. But when he talks about his parents, especially his mother, there's a catch in his voice. "You think I don't feel guilty that they live alone in a huge house?" he asks. "That they have two sons, both whom live thousands of kilometres away . . . too far if they need us in an emergency."

He calls them every other day and tries to stay on top of everything happening in their lives and in the village. "I miss them but let's be honest . . . what would I have done if I'd stayed there."

 

[Courtesy: Toronto Star. The article has been edited for this magazine.]

October 2, 2010

Conversation about this article

1: Dharamjeet Kaur (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), October 02, 2010, 9:16 AM.

There's a glaring omission in this article. Is it negligent, intentional or mischievous? It is no secret that in the decade following 1984, the Indian military conducted what it called "mop-up" operations in Punjab, picking up young men between the ages of 16 and 40 and killing them in fake "police encounters". You don't have to take my word on this: check out the annual reports from Amnesty International from those years. Tens of thousands of Sikh youth remain unaccounted for. As a result, young men who escaped this holocaust began to flee to Europe, hoping to find their way somehow to the Americas. That trend has continued to this day, though the reasons have now become economic, as Raveena has so deftly pointed out. But the impetus to flee came from those years of government murders. Why is this fact completely overlooked in this article? A simple reason: this article is part of a Special India Edition in today's Toronto Star. If you check it out, the paper is loaded with ads from airlines, etc. - promoting an "incredible India"! Here's how a special edition with the Toronto Star - as with any other media shop - works re India: the local Indian consulate promises to get 'x' umber of dollars worth of ads, in return for which The Star agrees to do a special edition. Then, the Consular officers wield their clout locally and make the ads happen. It's simple arithmetic and the considerations are purely mercenary. And one more reason, but let's not blame Raveena. She's a good journalist. But she is young. Has no memory of 1984 and has no time, like most journalists today, to do any background research. And, surely, in an article made possible by the India propaganda machine, you didn't expect them to allow her to put forth the truth, did you? Keep on the lookout - after the public shame and debacle of the lead-up to the Games, India will pour money into PR campaigns like it grows on trees. But, not to worry ... nature has its own way of straightening out things. Just you watch ...

2: R. Singh (Canada), October 02, 2010, 9:16 AM.

"In India, where the caste system is still deeply rooted, the incident became a scandal..." Raveena needs to stop evaluating everything through the same looking glass. It is not acceptable anywhere for young girls taking off into the unknown, considering the prevalence of prostitution rings, sexual slavery and knowledge of criminal gangs operating there.

3: Ujjagar Singh (Chandigarh, Punjab), October 02, 2010, 9:31 AM.

I've just gone through The Star online. I note that there are more articles on Punjab and Sikhs. All of them in this SPECIAL INDIA EDITION depict Sikhs in a negative light. They all seem to be living in villages, or killing each other, or fleeing to the West to "better" themselves. For heaven's sake, we are the creme de la creme of Indian society! Come to India and see for yourselves. The difference between the Sikhs on one side, and the whole nation of dhoti and chappakl wallahs on the other, is the difference you see between Manmohan Singh and Montek Singh Ahluwalia on one side, and the jackasses who surround them, on the other. I happen to know that Raveena's research in Punjab for these articles has been facilitated by the Indians, to the point that they have even given her the topics to cover. This country is in the stranglehold of the most kameena and manhoos of human beings. And like their ilk, they will take the country right into the ground! And then they'll expect the Sikhs to rescue them. Just you see what follows in The Star in the next few days ... how great India and the Hindus are and how bad everything else is! Ba-a-h ... humbug!

4: Suzy Kaur (Oxford, England), October 02, 2010, 9:35 AM.

R. Singh ji: Of course, women exercising their freedom of choice by choosing their life partners are just being protected from 'prostitution rings, sexual slavery and criminal gangs' by benign male family members. It is very good that this happens. But how then do you explain the horrors that face young Indian and Pakistani women born and raised in Britain, Canada and elsewhere, who are beaten, oppressed, given death threats, and in extreme cases murdered, or forced into marriage against their will, a form of sex slavery in itself, simply because they 'dared' to choose their own marriage partner, who might be of a so-called 'lower caste', or from a different ethnic group altogether? Unfortunately for those who carry the 'honor / izzat' mentality to the West when they migrate, with all the wickedness and oppression it enacts upon women, in Canada and Britain women have individual rights, and live in a culture that supports them against that kind of patriarchal tyranny.

5: N. Singh (Canada), October 02, 2010, 12:04 PM.

It would appear that the Indian authorities are worried that the problems of Punjab may soon start to garner world attention ... drug addiction, Aids, and the absence of young men. So, with that in mind, they have started to circulate concocted stories. Unfortunately the Govt. of India has deep pockets because they are able to exploit Indians to fill their coffers, and the Canadians are 'hungry' for a piece of the action. Having lived here for several years, and having lived in the U.K., the Canadians by no stretch of the imagination match the British in integrity, self respect and overall sense of fairness. Like India's self-image, their veneer of 'Canadian values and human rights' is all a sham and one only needs to scratch the surface to see what a pathetic, useless and 'intellectually lacking' society Canada really is!

6: Sarbjit Singh (Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.), October 02, 2010, 12:17 PM.

Miss Suzy Kaur, I would love to know many Sikh girls have been killed by their parents in the last 20 years? is it 100k, 50k, 20k 10k? Do you have any figures. Please share with us if you can. The irony of this is that our own people have forgotten to stand up for our own kind. The image of the Sikh male in the media is different from reality, Wonder why? Our women, on the other hand ... Some are very eager to become Suzies.

7: Baljit Singh Pelia (Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.), October 02, 2010, 1:58 PM.

Suzy: let's not project isolated incidents as a reflection of a whole community. Every parent wants the best for their children. The everyday news is filled with murders, rapes, gang/ drug related shootings and so forth. Does that mean the western countries are just that, full of lawlessness and violence? Let us keep things in perspective. Guru Nanak was the first to recognize the equality of women and the Sikhs lead the world in setting aside caste and class differences, even though they have a distance to go yet. Get over the Indian propaganda machine.

8: Raj (Canada), October 02, 2010, 2:53 PM.

That's power of a state promoting it's own agenda against a soft target minority. Have you ever heard them do articles on Muslims? They will not, because Muslim countries will turn the oil tap off. The only other minority left is the Sikhs lead by mostly unqualified leaders. The formula of their approach is not very hard to understand, but extremely difficult to counter without resources. Mind you, most of the Sikh organizations are nothing more than a bunch of emotional villagers lacking an understanding of the Brahminic approach.

9: Ajay Singh (Rockville, U.S.A.), October 02, 2010, 3:53 PM.

Young men have been absent for 50 years in Bihar and U.P. They also end up in a different country, Punjab, Bombay, etc. I would love to know how the parents of those Biharis live in their villages. Young Sikh men are not appreciated if they stay at home without jobs - I know the same parents will shower abuse and curse their own fate for getting worthless son(s). So, basically damned if they stay back, and damned if they leave. I think this umbilical cord needs to be cut and soon. Our focus needs to be on building institutions in USA/ Canada/ UK so these young men can prosper abroad and never have to go back.

10: N. Singh (Canada), October 02, 2010, 6:28 PM.

Ajay: Although we have prospered in the West we do not know when the tide will turn! When the majority will turn against a minority. Canada is a point in question ... which drools in the hopes of getting a slice of the Indian cake! I would argue that it is self-delusionary to think we are safe here or anywhere else until we have our own homeland! Khalistan or Sikhland ... whatever you want to call it ... that has always been and always will be the answer. The question that remains is, "when"?

11: Harpreet Singh (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), October 03, 2010, 12:11 AM.

While agreeing with a part of Ms. Dharamjeet Kaur's views above and also having due respect for the author's journalistic abilities, I'd want to ask her - the author of the article - how much time has she spent living and researching in the villages mentioned in the article. Also, if the situation is such in a couple of villages of the Doaba region, about which I have my doubts, why is the whole of Punjab being shown in such a 'negative' light? Especially the headline, which might not have been given by the author herself, paints a kind of false picture about the state. There appear to be certain incorrect 'facts' mentioned in the article about the state, which shouldn't be perpetuated further. The author seems to have formed a few stereotypes about the villages of Punjab and life therein, which she needs to do away with as life is not as bad and villages not as 'dusty' as she makes them out to be in her articles!

12: H. Singh (Texas, U.S.A.), October 03, 2010, 6:08 PM.

There are many Raveena Aulakhs and many Suzy Kaurs. The Panth needs to be aware of that and be united.

13: Gurteg Singh (New York, U.S.A.), October 03, 2010, 8:30 PM.

This is the direct result of our brutal occupation and genocide at the hands of fascist Hindu majority. The cunning brahmin mafia has used all means to empty out Punjab of its Sikh youth and bring in millions of migrant laborers from other states. Indian intelligence agencies are also directly responsible for drug addiction in Punjab to finish a complete generation of Sikh youth. As an occupied colony of New Delhi, there are no economic opportunities for Sikhs and they are being forced to migrate to other countries - often times illegally. As illegals, they are stuck in foreign lands for decades just to get their papers so that they can then visit their parents back home. Only a strong Sikh nation with its destiny in its own hands can rectify the situation.

14: Kanwal Nain Singh (Lindsay, Ontario, Canada), October 03, 2010, 9:59 PM.

I have been away from Punjab for forty five years. I graduated in 1948 from Govt. College, Ludhiana, then considered a fine college. I have good memories of Punjab. I was so disappointed and depressed after reading Raveena Aulakh's article in 'The Star' and the above article about a decaying Punjab. However, I am greatly relieved after reading the comments of many writers that things are not really that bad. Is the article by the journalist based more on her imaginative mind, or there is a sinister campaign to downgrade Punjab and its culture? It was very worrisome to read elsewhere that Punjab had become a haven for druggies and a conduit for smuggling heroin from Afghanistan via Pakistan. What exactly is the truth?

15: R. Singh (Canada), October 04, 2010, 6:45 AM.

Suzy, you are mixing apples and oranges. Here in this article, Raveena is harping on "caste" as the sole reason for concern about girls taking off into the unknown. If you care to look at India, do you think girls are going to end up in fancy homes and secure surroundings eloping with migrant labourers, who are there because of grinding poverty, illiteracy and unemployment in their home provinces? Let me quote: "Migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh" - impoverished states! - "have always sought work in Punjab." Do you think they are in any manner expected to provide for any sustainable manner of a lifestyle? In that case, should the parents just sink all reason and bow to hormonal urges of inexperienced children where chances of them creating more grief for themselves than conjugal bliss vastly increase? Any one-sided picture is misleading.

16: Suzy Kaur (Oxford, England), October 05, 2010, 7:18 AM.

H.Singh from Texas: why do you think that the panth has to be united 'against the Raveena Aulakhs and Suzy Kaurs of this world"? I would love to hear your explanation.

17: Ari Singh (Sofia, Bulgaria), October 05, 2010, 12:26 PM.

I have been to many villages in Europe. There are hardly any young people in those villages! So Punjabi villages are not the only ones without young people! I was in Punjabi villages 43 years ago and even then there were hardly any young people! I hope this will answer some of the arguments.

18: N. Singh (Canada), October 07, 2010, 11:58 AM.

Ari ji: there will always be those who argue that things are not so bad; no way will things ever get that bad! Isn't that what the Jews living in Germany said, or those living in East Punjab prior to the partition said? History tells us that they paid the price for their naivete.

19: Joe Singh (London, United Kingdom), October 07, 2010, 1:45 PM.

How does Raveena Aulakh get a job in journalism when she quite clearly gets her 'emigrations' and immigrations' all jumbled up? Do the laws of English language not apply in Canadian media-land?

20: Parmvir (Herndon, U.S.A.), October 09, 2010, 8:40 AM.

Same thing is gong to happen in the Malwa region of Punjab in a couple of years as more and more young folks are going to Australia, New Zealand and Canada for study. This can be stopped only if they get jobs according to their study and profile. The govt. on the other hand is having no issues with that as the young generation is the one that can oppose their corruption and negligence towards public affairs. So simply put, they don't want them around.

21: Joe Singh (London, United Kingdom), October 09, 2010, 6:23 PM.

Nothing is going to happen to Malwa, Parmvir. This 'story' by Raveena Aulakh is a story that doesn't really exist. I'm a second generation London-born to a Doaba family who goes back to our village at least a couple of times a year, and I've not noticed any shortage of young men. For the last hundred years, people from Doaba have been moving to England, America, Canada, Dubai, etc. There's nothing extraordinary happening today that didn't happen even more so years ago. You go to any village in Doaba at any time of the year and you'll not only see plenty of local young men but you'll also find the place crowded with London-born, Vancouver-born, Toronto-born, Birmingham-born young men. In fact, there's more young men than there used to be because now you've also got the Bihar and U.P young men. If anything, there seems to be more young women from Doaba, rather than men, moving to New Zealand, Australia and England, etc. on study visas. It seems to me, when a South Asian journalist gets a job with a mainstream newspaper, he/ she can write any old crap and the editors will lap it up ... As long as the story is exotic and conforms to and reaffirms their pre-held stereotypes.

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