1962 ਵਿੱਚ ਭਾਰਤ ਨੂੰ ਚੀਨ ਨਾਲ ਜੰਗ ਲੜਨ ਲਈ ਪੈਸੇ ਦੀ ਲੋੜ ਸੀ। ਭਾਰਤ ਨੇ ਇਸ ਮਕਸਦ ਲਈ ਕੁੱਲ 8 ਕਰੋੜ ਰੁਪਏ ਇਕੱਠੇ ਕੀਤੇ, ਜਿਨ੍ਹਾਂ ‘ਚੋਂ ਇਕੱਲੇ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਨੇ 3.7 ਕਰੋੜ ਤੋਂ ਵੱਧ ਦਾ ਯੋਗਦਾਨ 28 ਨਵੰਬਰ ਨੂੰ ਪਾਇਆ। ਸਿੱਖ ਫ਼ੌਜੀਆਂ ਨੇ ਜਾਨਾਂ ਅੱਡ ਵਾਰੀਆਂ।
ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੀਆਂ ਬੀਬੀਆਂ ਨੇ ਆਪਣੇ ਗਹਿਣੇ ਤੱਕ ਦਾਨ ਕਰਕੇ 252 ਕਿਲੋ ਸੋਨੇ ਦਾ ਯੋਗਦਾਨ ਪਾਇਆ ਜਦਕਿ ਪੂਰੇ ਭਾਰਤ ਦੇ ਹੋਰ ਹਿੱਸਿਆਂ ਤੋਂ ਸਿਰਫ ਸਵਾ ਪੰਜ ਕਿਲੋ ਸੋਨਾ ਦਾਨ ਕੀਤਾ ਗਿਆ। ਹੈਦਰਾਬਾਦ ਦੇ ਨਿਜ਼ਾਮ ਨੇ ਪੰਜ ਸੌ ਕਿੱਲੋ ਸੋਨਾ ਜ਼ਰੂਰ ਦਾਨ ਕੀਤਾ ਸੀ, ਜਿਸਦਾ ਹਾਲ ਵੀ ਬਾਅਦ ਵਿੱਚ ਸਿੱਖਾਂ ਵਾਲਾ ਕੀਤਾ ਗਿਆ।
ਬਦਲੇ ‘ਚ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਨੂੰ ਧੋਖੇ ‘ਤੇ ਧੋਖਾ ਮਿਲਿਆ। ਪੰਜਾਬ ਨੂੰ ਘਸਿਆਰਾ ਬਣਾਉਣ ਦੀਆਂ ਸਾਜ਼ਿਸ਼ਾਂ ਮਿਲੀਆਂ, ਗੁਰਧਾਮਾਂ ‘ਤੇ ਹਮਲੇ ਮਿਲੇ, ਜਵਾਨੀ ਦੀ ਨਸਲਕੁਸ਼ੀ ਮਿਲੀ।
-ਗੁਰਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਹੋਤਾ | ਸਰੀ | ਚੜ੍ਹਦੀ ਕਲਾ
According to Article published in The Tribune by M Rajivlochan – The war with China in 1962 began on October 22 and ended on November 2. On November 10, 1962, President S Radhakrishnan, in an address to the Young Men’s Sikh Association in Delhi, said the Chinese aggression was in a way good for the country. Indians, he added, needed a shake-up as they had become soft and complacent and had started leading a life of ease and comfort.
A new side of Sardar Partap Singh Kairon, who was then CM of Punjab, came to the fore as the war continued. He persuaded all ministers and MLAs of Punjab, below the age of 50, to sign up for active service; those above 50 offered to do whatever work could be found. The state Education Department began the process of providing military training to all college students, and for those in high school and higher secondary school. The government also planned to train over two lakh women for civil defence, Home Guards and the Raksha Dal. The women were also given weapons’ training. A large number of Sikhs were working as soldiers and officers in the Army. Kairon announced the allotment of Rs 2 crore to provide relief to the families of the jawans killed while defending India from the Chinese aggression. He went out of his way to talk to gatherings of soldiers on the eastern border, duly dressed in Army fatigues, assuring them that they need not worry about their families back home, that the Punjab Government would do everything possible to ensure that their families were well taken care of.
He reminded the soldiers of the great Sikh Gurus, their exhortation to fight for a righteous cause and never hesitate: Subh karman te kabahu na daro… Na daro ari seo, jab jaye laro nischey kar apni jit karo. On his 73rd birthday, Jawaharlal Nehru was given a gift of 130-kg gold by the Punjab Government. Half of this had come from the people of Amritsar. This was what had been donated to the government by the people of Punjab in the form of necklaces, bangles, rings, nose pins, medals, old coins and other items from their personal collection. Of the 12,000 gold coins collected, some were from the times of the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
On November 28, the NDF reported that from the people of India, it had received Rs 8 crore, of which 46 per cent (over Rs 3.7 crore) had been contributed by Punjab. This was over and above the contribution of 252-kg gold in the form of ornaments, coins and medals.
