CHANDIGARH, May 26 — The Centre on Monday appealed for a humanitarian approach in the ongoing Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) water-sharing dispute, invoking the legacy of Bhai Ghanaiya to advocate for compassion and cooperation among states.
Appearing before the bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Additional Solicitor-General Satya Pal Jain stated that the matter transcended legal arguments over allocation. “This is not just about water,” he told the court. “It’s about values—service to all, regardless of identity or boundary.”
Citing Bhai Ghanaiya, the ASG recalled how the 17th-century Sikh figure offered water to the wounded from both Sikh and Mughal camps during the Battle of Anandpur Sahib, undeterred by criticism. Guru Gobind Singh, he said, had endorsed Bhai Ghanaiya’s impartial aid, instructing him to also apply balm to the injured—emphasizing universal compassion.
The moral appeal gains weight against the court’s own earlier observation in the case: “We are doing this to our enemy country. Let us not do this within our states,” a pointed warning against adversarial conduct in inter-state disputes.
However, as the proceedings concluded and the verdict was reserved, the Centre sharpened its stance, accusing Punjab of “bullying institutions,” including courts, and of misrepresenting facts to avoid following lawful directives.
Jain told the court that Punjab’s claim—that the May 2 meeting chaired by the Union Home Secretary focused solely on law and order—was “factually incorrect, legally unsustainable, and completely misleading.” He stressed that 4,500 cusecs of water were allocated to Haryana during the meeting, and that a Press Information Bureau (PIB) note issued at 6:43 p.m. on the same day confirmed this. The decision, he noted, was also reported in major newspapers.
“No Punjab official who attended the meeting has contradicted that the decision to release water was made,” Jain argued, submitting a list of attendees, which included the Union Power Secretary, the designated authority under the statutory framework.
“The state does not want to comply with any direction, including those issued by the court,” Jain said bluntly.
As the bench reserved its order, the case now stands at a delicate junction—between legal obligations and moral persuasion—mirroring the deep political and regional stakes embedded in the BBMB issue.
