PUNJAB – IN EYES OF HISTORY

The first known use of the word Punjab is in the book Tarikh-e-Sher Shah Suri (1580), which mentions the construction of a fort by "Sher Khan of Punjab". The first mentioning of the Sanskrit equivalent of 'Punjab', however, occurs in the great epic, the Mahabharata (pancha-nada 'country of five rivers'). The name is mentioned again in Ain-e-Akbari (part 1), written by Abul Fazal, who also mentions that the territory of Punjab was divided into two provinces, Lahore and Multan. Similarly in the second volume of Ain-e-Akbari, the title of a chapter includes the word Punjab in it. The Mughal King Jahangir also mentions the word Punjab in Tuzk-i-Janhageeri. Punjab in Persian literally means "five" (panj) "waters" (ab), i.e., the Land of Five Rivers, referring to the five rivers which go through it. It was because of this that it was made the granary of British India. Today, three of the rivers run exclusively in Pakistani Panjab with the tributaries of the other two eventually draining there as well. Indian Panjab has the headwaters of the remaining two rivers which eventually drain over into Pakistan.

Pre-Aryan civilization

Archaeological discoveries at Mehrgarh in present-day Baluchistan show humans inhabited villages in the region as early as 7000 BCE. By about 3000 BCE the small communities in and around the Indus River basin had evolved and expanded giving rise to the Indus valley civilization, one of the earliest in human history. At its height, it boasted large cities like Harrapa (near Sahiwal in West Punjab) and Mohenjo Daro (near Sindh).The civilization declined rapidly after the 19th century BCE, for reasons that are still largely unknown.

Factors in the Indus valley civilization's decline possibly included a change in weather patterns and unsustainable urbanization. This coincided with the drying up of the lower Sarasvati River. The Out of India theory suggests that this drying up caused the movement of the Indo-Aryans towards the Gangetic basin. The next one thousand years of the history of the Punjab (c.1500-500 BCE) is dominated by the Aryans and the population and culture that emerged from their cultural development in the Asian subcontinent.

The Rig-Veda, one of the older texts in South Asia, is generally thought to have been composed in the Greater Punjab. It embodies a literary record of the socio-cultural development of ancient Punjab (known as Sapta Sindhu) and affords us a glimpse of the life of its people. Vedic society was tribal in character. A number of families constituted a grama, a number of gramas a vis (clan) and a number of clans a Jana (tribe). The Janas, led by Rajans, were in constant inter-tribal warfare. From this warfare arose larger groupings of peoples ruled by great chieftains and kings. As a result, a new political philosophy of conquest and empire grew, which traced the origin of the state to the exigencies of war.

An important event of the Rigvedic era was the "Battle of Ten Kings" which was fought on the banks of the river Parusni (identified with the present-day river Ravi) between king Sudas of the Trtsu lineage of the Bharata clan on the one hand and a confederation of ten tribes on the other http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Punjab - cite_note-3 The ten tribes pitted against Sudas comprised five major the Purus, the Druhyus, the Anus, the Turvasas and the Yadus---and five minor ones, origin from the north-western and western frontiers of present-day Punjab---the Pakthas, the Alinas, the Bhalanas, the Visanins and the Sivas. King Sudas was supported by the Vedic Rishi Vasishtha, while his former Purohita the Rishi Viswamitra sided with the confederation of ten tribes.

Out of such conflicts, struggles, conquests and movements of the Vedic of the Middle and Later Vedic age emerged the heroic society of Punjab, a society that laid special stress on the value of action as depicted by their ideals and standards in the Hindu Epics, notably the Mahabharata.

The philosophy of heroism of the Epic Age is excellently expounded in the Bhagavatagita section of the Mahabharata. That great work is a synthesis of many doctrines and creeds, but its oldest core is arguably the enunciation of a martial and heroic cult. The Bhagavatagita comprehensively expounds a philosophy of heroism probably current in the then Punjab. It seeks to provide a philosophical foundation to the profession of arms and invests the Kshatriya or warrior with respectable position and noble status. It canonizes his professional integrity and injects an intensity of purpose into it. The Punjabis, represented by ethnic groups such as the Gandharas, the Kambojas, the Trigartas, the Madras, the Malavas, the Pauravas, the Bahlikas and the Yaudheyas are stated to have sided with the Kauravas and displayed exemplary courage, power and prowess in the 18-day battle. The glorious exploits of these warlike communities can be seen in the accounts of the charges of the Kauravas against the Pandavas. The great epic makes copious attestation of the fact that the contingents of Gandharas, Kambojas, Sauviras, Madras and Trigartas occupied key positions in the Kaurava arrays throughout the epic war.

Another important epic event which involved the Punjabis was the conflict between the Indo-Aryan Rishi Vishwamitra of the Kurukshetra area and Sage Vasishtha from the north-western parts of greater Punjab (i.e., the region extending from Swat/Kabul in the west to Delhi in the east).[7][8] The story emerges in the Rigveda and more clearly later Vedic texts and is portrayed in the Bala-Kanda section of the Valmiki Ramayana. The epic conflict is said to have been sparked over the re-possession of Kamadhenu, also known as Savala, a divine cow by Vishwamitra from a Brahmana sage of the Vasishtha lineage. Rsi Vasishtha skillfully solicited the military support of the frontier Punjabi warriors consisting of eastern Iranians—the Shakas, Kambojas, Pahlavas, etc., aided by Kirata, Harita and the Mlechcha soldiers from the Himalayas. This composite army of fierce warriors from frontier Punjab utterly ruined one Akshauni army of the illustrious Vishwamitra, along with all of his 100 his sons except one. The Kamdhenu war seems to allegorically symbolise a struggle for supremacy between the Kshatriya forces and the priestly class of the epic era.

The Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya mentions Gandhara and Kamboja among the sixteen great countries (Solas Mahajanapadas) which had evolved in/and around Jambudvipa prior to Buddha's times. Pali literature further endorses that only Kamboja and Gandhara of the sixteen ancient political powers belonged to the Uttarapatha or northern division of Jambudvipa but no precise boundaries for each have been explicitly specified. Gandhara and Kamboja are believed to have comprised the upper Indus regions and included Kashmir, eastern Afghanistan and most of the western Punjab which now forms part of Pakistan. At times, the limits of Buddhist Gandhara had extended as far as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multan while those of Buddhist Kamboja comprised Rajauri/Poonch, Abhisara and Hazara as well as eastern Afghanistan including valleys of Swat and Kunar and Kapisa etc. Michael Witzel terms this region as forming parts of the Greater Punjab. Buddhist texts also mention that this northern region especially the Kamboja was renowned for its quality horses & horsemen and has been regularly mentioned as the home of horses.

Punjab is the cradle of the Indus Valley Civilization, more than 4000 years old. Archaeological excavations, throughout the state, have revealed evidences of the magnificent cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro, that lived and died along the banks of the mighty Indus and its tributaries

Punjab, a region in Northern India, has a long history and rich cultural heritage. The region has been invaded and ruled by many different empires and races, including the Aryans, Persians, Greeks, Egyptians, Afghans, and Mongols. Around the time of the 15th Century, Guru Nanak Dev founded the Sikh religion, which quickly came to prominence in the region, and shortly afterwards, Maharaja Ranjit Singh reformed the Punjab into a secular and powerful state. The 19th Century saw the beginning of British rule, which led to the emergence of several heroic Punjabi freedom fighters. In 1947, at the end of British rule, the Punjab was split between Pakistan and India

PUNJAB IN THE INDIAN STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE

Punjab had always ranked high when it comes to courage, might and valor. The state had major contribution to the freedom struggle of India though in the process it had to face its own pathetic division. Satyagraha, Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, Jallianwala Bagh Massacre... with names like Ajit Singh, Lala Lajpat Rai, Madan Lal Dhingra, Lala Hardayal, Ajit Singh, Bhagat Singh,Sukhdev, Udham singh, General Mohan singh, Capt Dhillon and the like instantly evokes the memories of the struggle for Indian Independence. The list is unending for Punjab has been one of the most happening places in the struggle. Punjab now is shared by India and Pakistan though the ethos continues to be the same on both ends, divided only in body and not in soul. Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Udham Singh became legendary heroes for the Indian people. They were the subjects of countless Bhangra songs, and youth throughout the country idolized them. They went on to become symbols of bravery and the struggle to free India.

PARTITION OF THE PUNJAB

Perhaps because of its ethnic heterogeneity and turbulent history, the Punjab was partitioned between India and Pakistan when India gained its independence from Britain in 1947. As a result of the Indian Independence act, the Punjab was divided into the East Punjab province of the Union of India and the West Punjab province of Pakistan. This division, and the political problems accompanying Indian independence, led to a lack of resources (water, specifically) and a great deal of violence. As a result, many Hindus, and Sikhs, abandoned their homes in the Punjab and moved to friendlier lands. Millions people were uprooted, one of the largest mass-migrations in modern history of the world.

PUNJAB IN THE 21ST CENTURY

The years after partition tested the traditional Punjabi tenacity and toughness. Rapid achievements in agriculture and industry and in the field of education, services, social welfare, and rural uplift helped India to become one of the most prosperous regions in Southeast Asia. Punjabi’s have attained an equally eminent place in the world of both performing and visual arts and in literature. The revival of folk art, song, dance, and drama, the rehabilitation of the ancient classics of poetry, and the rediscovery of the Sikh schools of painting have created a sense of pride and climate of involvement in the heritage of the Punjab.

Despite migrating with no possessions(only with wearing clothes) the people of Punjabi community , with their shear hard work, have attained a highly respectable position in every field of life, not only in India but through out the world.

HISTORY OF THE PUNJABI LANGUAGE:

The people of the Punjabi community speak a language called Punjabi. Punjabi is an ancient language, but, started its literary career pretty late. The script is Gurmukhi based on Devanagri. This Eastern Punjab dialect developed into a literary language around the beginning of the 17th century where as Hindi still remains a group of dialects. During medieval times, Punjab repeatedly bore the brunt of Afghan invaders and internal battles, and these warring times were not exactly feasible for any sort of literary or cultural expansion. Punjabi literature as such came into existence only from the end of the 16th century when Punjabi was already in its Middle Period. In Indian Punjab, Gurmukhi script, created from the Nagari script, is the script for Punjabi. Punjabi was evolving and Guru Nanak gave a new lease of life to the language although it was still not in its pure form. The fifth Guru, Arjun Dev compiled the Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, but this again was not strictly in Punjabi. Guru Govind Singh (1666-1708), the tenth and last Guru, wrote a number of religious works mainly in Old Hindi with the exception of Chandi di Var which is in Punjabi.

With constant persuasion Punjabi Mahasabha Haryana has been able to achieve the second status in Haryana for Punjabi language since 29th January 2010.