Partap Singh Bajwa, the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly and a prominent figure from the Congress party, recently declared that Punjab should be at the forefront of India’s engagement with the vast landmass of Europe and Asia. He emphasized that instead of being seen as a mere border state, Punjab should be strategically redefined as India’s direct passage to Eurasia.
This ambitious perspective was shared during his keynote address at a TEDx event held at the Caledonian International School in Pathankot.
Bajwa asserted that Punjab’s identity must evolve from a border region to a pivotal bridge, connecting India not only with Central Asia but also with Europe.
During his address, Bajwa expressed his vision for Punjab, stating: “I am honored to address a gathering of young minds and friends from the EU, policymakers, and strategists at the Caledonian TEDx Talk in Pathankot. I shared my vision of Punjab as India’s Gateway to Eurasia — Punjab can be the Singapore of North India, powering trade corridors, global… ” (as noted in his statement on September 28, 2025).
Reflecting on historical precedents, Bajwa posed a compelling question: “If centuries ago, caravans could transport our products to European markets, there is no rationale for Punjab to remain constrained by borders in this era of modern highways and digital connectivity.” He recalled the era of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, when Punjabi goods freely traveled through Kabul and Central Asia, eventually reaching major European capitals like Paris and London.
To realize this economic revival, he put forth the idea of establishing an ‘Amritsar-Rajpura economic corridor’. He envisioned Amritsar, with its rich cultural heritage and proximity as India’s closest land entry to Central Asia, paired with Rajpura, which is ideally suited as a logistical hub at the intersection of major road and rail networks. This corridor, he suggested, would function as a contemporary Silk Road, bustling with agro-processing clusters, industrial parks, and logistics centers, ultimately propelling Punjab into global supply chains.
Bajwa also underscored Punjab’s potential to solidify cooperation within the broader India-EU strategic framework, particularly across its five key pillars: economy, connectivity, technology, security, and people-to-people exchanges. He firmly believes that robust prosperity is the most effective safeguard for stability. “Barbed wire has never brought peace. Our path forward lies in prioritizing business over conflict, and trade over terror,” he declared, drawing parallels to how Europe transitioned from a history of warfare to an era of cooperation following the two World Wars.