Punjabi Suba movement

The Punjabi Suba movement was a political movement, launched by the Sikhs, demanding the creation of a Punjabi Suba, or Punjabi-speaking state, in the post-independence Indian state of East Punjab. Led by the Akali Dal, it resulted in the formation of the state of Punjab. The state of Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh were also created and some Pahari-majority parts of East Punjab were also merged with Himachal Pradesh following the movement.

Borrowing from the pre-independence demands for a Sikh country, this movement demanded a fundamental constitutional autonomous state within India. The Sikhs also led efforts to preserve and have official status granted to the Punjabi language and Gurmukhi script.

The result of the movement left many unresolved issues, including the allocation of the capital city of Chandigarh as a union territory, significant Punjabi-speaking areas left out of the state, and the distribution of river waters. Like the following Khalistan movement, which it foreran, the Punjabi Subah movement also stressed the right of control over territory and water, and grew from demands for a substantive federal political structure.