Punjabi Suba movement

The Punjabi Suba movement was a long-drawn political agitation, launched by Punjabi speaking people (mostly Sikhs) demanding the creation of autonomous Punjabi Suba, or Punjabi-speaking state, in the post-independence Indian state of East Punjab. The movement is defined as the forerunner of Khalistan movement.

Borrowing from the pre-partition demands for a Sikh country, this movement demanded a fundamental constitutional autonomous state within India. Led by the Akali Dal, it resulted in the formation of the state of Punjab. The state of Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh were also created and some Pahari-majority parts of the East Punjab were also merged with Himachal Pradesh following the movement. The result of the movement failed to satisfy its leaders due to regions in Northern Haryana with minority Punjabi speaking and Sikh populations as some pockets of districts like Jind, Karnal, Ambala, Fatehabad and Sirsa being left out of Punjab. Also that 83 Hindi-speaking villages and two Hindi-speaking towns in Abohar and Fazilka tehsils of Punjab could not be transferred to Haryana along with other regions like Bareta, Khanouri, Devigarh, Lalru etc. as well. Many Sikh leaders saw this as falling short of the promise of a fully autonomous Sikh State that they felt was promised to them by Nehru and Gandhi in exchange for joining the Indian Union.