Opinion 40 years ago January 27, 1986: Punjab-Haryana talks fail

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on January 27, 1986.

2 min readJan 27, 2026 08:36 AM IST First published on: Jan 27, 2026 at 08:36 AM IST

The second joint meeting of the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Home Minister, S B Chavan, failed to produce a solution to the problem of identifying villages to be transferred to Haryana in lieu of Chandigarh. The two chief ministers, Surjit Singh Barnala and Bhajan Lal, had a 75-minute meeting with Chavan. The chief ministers stuck to the positions taken by them earlier before the Mathew Commission.

Punjab seeks 1,000 villages

Punjab will claim 1,000 Punjabi-speaking villages of Haryana before the second territorial commission to be set up under the memorandum of settlement between the Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, and Harchand Singh Longowal, the state Chief Minister, Surjit Singh Barnala said. These villages were located in Sirsa, Hissar, Kurukshetra and Ambala districts, Barnala told a news conference.

Rebels take over Kampala

Uganda’s rebel National Resistance Army (NRA) has taken the capital, Kampala, after a nine-day offensive on the city, Western diplomatic sources said. The NRA, led by one-time defence minister Yoweri Museveni, was “clearly in control,” one source said. The sources, in radio contact with their counterparts in the city, said that the guerrilla takeover was greeted with jubilation by residents and that Kampala was quiet overnight except for some sporadic shooting.

Budget session

The budget session of Parliament will commence on February 17, it was officially learnt in New Delhi. The President, Zail Singh, will address the joint session of both the Houses on the opening day.