As of now we all know :
- Chandigarh has an independent status of a UT.
- It is neither part of the state of Punjab or Haryana but is a UT governed by administrator appointed by the President of India under Article 239 of the constitution.
- Lahore was the capital of Punjab in British India.
- It became a part of Pakistan after partition.
- Chandigarh was planned to replace Lahore, in independent India – by the Government of Punjab and the Centre.
- Foothills of Shivaliks selected as the site for the new capital.
- From 1952 to 1966, Chandigarh remained the capital of Punjab.
- In 1956, the states of PEPSU had been merged with Punjab.
- Punjab became a trilingual state with speakers of – Punjabi, Hindi, and Pahari.
- At the time of linguistic reorganisation of states, there was a strong demand for a separate Punjabi speaking state.
- States Reorganisation Commission report of 1956 had rejected this demand.
- In 1966, Indira Gandhi government agreed to the division of Punjab on linguistic basis.
- Punjab became the Punjabi speaking state, while Haryana became the new Hindi speaking state.
- Pahari speaking district of Kangra and a part of Hoshiarpur district, went to Himachal Pradesh.
- At the time of re-organisation of Punjab in 1966, Chandigarh was made the shared capital of both Punjab and Haryana.
- It was also declared a union territory and was placed under the direct control of the Centre.
- The properties in Chandigarh were to be divided in 60:40 ratio in favour of Punjab.
The Conflict :
- Indira Gandhi had announced that Haryana, in due course, would have its own capital and Chandigarh would go to Punjab.
- The Centre had laid down documents in the Lok Sabha in January, 1970, saying:
“After very carefully weighing the claims of the two states, the capital project area of Chandigarh should, as a whole, go to Punjab.”
- In 1985, under the Rajiv-Longowal accord, Chandigarh was to be handed over to Punjab on January 26, 1986.
- The Rajiv Gandhi government withdrew from this agreement, at the last minute.
- In 1970, the Centre had asked Haryana to use the office and residential accommodation in Chandigarh only for 5 years till it shifts to its own new capital.
- The Centre had offered ₹10 crore grant to Haryana and an equal amount of loan for setting up the new capital.
- In 2018, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar suggested setting up a special body for development of Chandigarh, but the Punjab CM rejected it – saying the city “indisputably belonged to Punjab”.
- Haryana has been demanding a separate High Court.
- Haryana also passed a resolution in the Vidhan Sabha – demanding 20 rooms in the Vidhan Sabha complex (that have been in the possession of Punjab).
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