ON November 1, 2025, Haryana entered the 60th year of its formation. The dominant narrative surrounding its statehood movement remains narrowly tied to the Punjabi Suba movement. This mainstream view goes like this: the state was carved out in 1966 mainly because the Akali-led demand for a Punjabi-speaking state necessitated the separation of the predominantly Hindi-speaking south-eastern districts of Punjab. Haryana, thus, is often described merely as a byproduct, rather than a cultural or political aspiration in itself...