Any takers for that sacrifice today when the state is in dire straits?
Review - DEKHO
During the first Green Revolution, all the natural resources were put to exploitative use to make the nation self-sufficient in food grains. Punjabis came forward with full force.
Sunil Kumar Jakhar’s political journey has been shaped by both rise and rejection, from being a strong Congress face and a frontrunner for the Chief Minister’s post in 2021 to eventually exiting the party after being overlooked. Now in the BJP, and with the party deciding to go solo in the 2027 elections, Jakhar is being seen as a key “Hindu face” in Punjab politics. At the same time, questions remain about his own electoral ground, especially whether he contests again from Abohar, his traditional base. This also brings up a deeper political question. If Sunil Jakhar is projected as a probable CM face, will he be able to secure both his constituency and wider acceptance this time, or could internal equations and identity factors again come into play, and will the BJP eventually bank on a Sikh face instead ?
सुनील कुमार जाखड़ का राजनीतिक सफर उतार-चढ़ाव से भरा रहा है, एक मजबूत कांग्रेस चेहरे और 2021 में मुख्यमंत्री पद के दावेदार से लेकर नजरअंदाज होने के बाद पार्टी छोड़ने तक। अब भाजपा में, और जब पार्टी ने 2027 चुनाव अकेले लड़ने का फैसला किया है, जाखड़ को पंजाब में एक प्रमुख “हिंदू चेहरा” माना जा रहा है। साथ ही, उनके अपने चुनावी आधार को लेकर भी सवाल हैं, खासकर क्या वह फिर से अबोहर से चुनाव लड़ेंगे। यह एक बड़ा राजनीतिक सवाल भी खड़ा करता है। अगर सुनील जाखड़ को संभावित मुख्यमंत्री चेहरे के रूप में पेश किया जाता है, तो क्या वह इस बार अपनी सीट और राज्यभर में स्वीकार्यता दोनों हासिल कर पाएंगे, या फिर आंतरिक समीकरण और पहचान की राजनीति फिर असर डालेगी, और क्या भाजपा अंततः किसी सिख चेहरे पर दांव लगा सकती है ?
Punjab’s much-publicised “Sikhya Kranti” is now facing sharp questions on the ground as protesting students gherao the residence of Kultar Singh Sandhwan, not with applause but with anger over NEP 2020, job reservations, and ignored demands. While the Government continues to celebrate its education “revolution” through headlines and campaigns, students seem to be sending a very different message, one of frustration, neglect, and being pushed to the streets just to be heard. When students have to leave classrooms and stand outside the Speaker’s gate, pasting their demands on the walls because no one comes out to listen, it raises an uncomfortable question, was “Sikhya Kranti” ever about real change, or just good optics ? And if this is what an education revolution looks like, why does it feel more like protest politics than progress ?
