|
Smoke-free Chandigarh. And Punjab?
Health and Family Minister of Panjab
 Dear Laxmi Kanta Chawla Ji
Namaste rudramanyavautota ishhave namah
Namaste astu dhanvane bahubhyamuta te namah
I could not greet you otherwise, because
you are a self-proclaimed Panjabi-Sikh-baiter. You claim to have
deep Indian roots, about which Panjabis are well aware for you were
the only minister in the present Badal-BJP cabinet to take oath in
the Sanskrit language.
I write to you to apprise you of an
interesting development to take place in neighbouring Chandigarh,
which city has yet to become the sole capital of Punjab due to the
acts of commission and omission of leaders like you who
disassociated themselves from their mother tongue Panjabi in the
sixties when Panjab was demarcated on linguistic lines.
I know about the magnitude of your
abhorrence for Panjabis, but speaking for the Panjabis, may I say
that the detestation is mutual. Neither did you budge an inch from
your stand since the last four decades nor do have lovers of Panjabi
lost any ground to you.
Coming to the point, if all goes all well and nobody
puts spanner in the works, Chandigarh
is to become the first smoke-free city in the country. Thanks to
the work of activists of the Burning Brain Society of Chandigarh, no
child, youth or adult of Chandigarh will have to bear the dangers of
passive smoking. Designated areas for smoking will be earmarked and
there will be heavy penalty imposed on people smoking in
non-designated areas.
Ten years ago, when my friend and
anthropologist, Fred Haering came from Alaska, he said, “you know
Jagmohan, what I like most about Panjab is that is a smoke-free
country.” I wish I could say that today. The Panjab of the nineties
did not have a single roadside shop selling tobacco and tobacco
related products. Today, all streets, main and bylanes, are
literally littered with such shops selling death-causing substances
to unsuspecting youth and children. District headquarters are
swarmed with such shops and outlets. There is no village which does
not have more than one such outlet.
The state of Punjab has thrown out the
provisions of the Anti-Tobacco act up in smoke. No provision of the
act has been implemented. As the health minister of the state, I
have not read about any step being taken by your government to
implement the rules and regulations under the Cigarette and other
Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of
Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act. 2003.
Dr. Deepinder Singh
of Aas Kiran De-addiction Centre, Ludhiana has pointed out on this
World No-Tobacco Day that according to a research done by them in
association with Punjab Agricultural University, three years ago, as
many as 66 per cent school going children were found to be consuming
tobacco products like flavored pan-masala. Tobacco abuse is on the
rise in Panjab and the administration is not unaware. According to
PGI expert, Dr. Neeraj, tobacco abuse was spreading amongst all
sections of society, rich and poor, rural and urban.
I am sure
that you are aware of the deaths caused by tobacco and
tobacco-related products. It has been conclusively held that
Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world. It is
currently responsible for the death of one in ten adults worldwide
(about 5 million deaths each year). If current smoking patterns
continue, it will cause some 10 million deaths each year by 2020.
I pray that for a change you should take up the cause of health of
Panjabis, even if you know that the Sikhs are going to benefit out
of it. On two early occasions you have failed the people of Panjab.
A brave and straightforward woman leader like you forsook Panjabi
for an alien language. Instead of befriending the brave Sikh youth
challenging the might of the Indian state and suffering torture and
humiliation, you went ahead and tied Rakhi on the hands of KPS Gill.
Perhaps this is your chance to show that
after all you still have a woman’s heart. I am hoping against
hope. I urge you to undo your image. The entire population of
Panjab, which fast turning non-Panjabi, will benefit if you emulate
Chandigarh and declare Panjab also to be a smoke-free region.
Posterity will remember you for this and forget what you did
earlier.
Namaste.
Jagmohan Singh
Jagmohan Singh may be contacted at
jsbigdeas@gmail.com
13 June 2007
|
Read Also