Islamabad:The failed and ineffective policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government have given rise to dangerous new provincial rifts within India. The escalating conflict between Punjab and Bihar has further highlighted and intensified the social and linguistic divisions festering inside the country.
According to credible reports, in several cities and rural areas of Indian Punjab, people from Bihar are being forcefully evicted, creating chaos and scenes of overcrowding at Ludhiana railway station. Meanwhile, in Chandigarh, large-scale protests were staged by the Sikh community against the growing settlement of Biharis in Punjab, adding fuel to already tense conditions.
Data reveals that between 3 to 4 million Bihari laborers are present in Punjab at any given time. The 2011 census had already indicated that over 1.2 million interstate laborers, mostly from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, were working in Punjab. This figure has steadily increased over the years, further widening the gap between locals and migrants.
Local Punjabi citizens allege that Biharis abandon them in times of crisis. Based on this perception, they have demanded that only the Punjabi language be promoted in Punjab, local laborers should be given priority in all sectors, and Biharis should be compelled to vacate the region. These claims have further inflamed provincial tensions.
Analysts point out that India’s growing internal conflicts are exposing the hollowness of the Modi government’s so-called “Akhand Bharat” narrative. Indian secularism, long touted in speeches and books, is proving meaningless on the ground, where Hindu extremism, social polarization, and ethnic hostility dominate.
Experts further argue that the divisive ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) first fueled Hindu-Muslim separation and is now pushing Punjab and Bihar toward serious confrontation. Consequently, Modi’s slogan of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” has been drowned out amid the noise of provincial disputes and deepening social fractures.
