Did the Sikh militancy, beginning in the late 1970s and ending in the late 1990s, have a negative effect on the industrial sector of the Indian Punjab, especially in its northern districts? This note discusses and compares the industrial growth of Batala (in Gurdaspur District of the Indian Punjab) and Sialkot (a border city in the Pakistani Punjab), as both these cities had similar colonial origins of their industries, and these industries were shattered by partition. In the post-independence period, like in Sialkot, industry in Batala might have achieved an impressive growth if the Sikh militancy had not interceded. Batala and Sialkot had a similar industrial past, but they have a dissimilar industrial present. The comparison suggests that the argument for a special industrial package for Punjab is not without substance.
