Punjabis from Pakistan
Punjab was known as Aryavrata, the heartland of Indo-Aryans who wrote Vedas and defined India. It was also known as "Sapta-Sindhu" or the land of seven rivers - Sindh, Jhellum, Chinab, Raavi, Beas, Satluj, and Sirsa or Saraswati. The Punjabi culture starts from Haryana near Delhi through the heartland of Malwa, Doaba, and Majha in Eastern Punjab, India, and continues in the West Punjab regions of Lahore, Gujranwala, Multan, and Rawalpindi in NW Frontiers. The scene in a village is identical whether you are in Ambala, Batala, Sandal-Bar, or Mianwali. |
| Punjab Village - painting by Harvinder Singh |
Sons of the Same Mother
The
villages are Hindu in Haryana, Sikh in East Punjab, and Muslims in West
Punjab. But demographically, these villages are composed of virtually
homogeneous inhabitants coming from literally identical demographic
groups - Khatri, Pundit, Rajput, Arora, Jatt, Goojar, Tarkhan, Arrains,
Saini, Banias, Jhinwar, Chamar, etc. The famous journalist from
Pakistan, Najam Sethi is Muslim but Geet Sethi, the famous Billiards player is Hindu, and Satnam Singh Sethi, the famous Raagi is a Sikh. Similarly, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaj Sharif comes from a Muslim Bhatt (Butt) family from Amritsar but Mahesh Bhatt, the famous Bollywood director is a Hindu Pundit from Kashmir, but Jagjit Singh Bhatt, the rugby player from 80s is a Sikh. Another example would be, Asif Bajwa, the Pakistani international hockey player, coach, and manager is a Muslim, while Partap Singh Bajwa,
Congress leader from Est Punjab, is a Sikh. I can count hundreds more
but the objective was to clarify that we Punjabis originate from our
native land of Punjab and we follow different religions but deep down we
are the same - sons born to the same mother.
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| Punjabi Lastnames - Family Names |
Gazis with Jehadi Intention
The onslaught of "Jehadi" invasions from the West became the nemesis of Punjabi domination in their own land. The proud Punjabis who had turned back Queen Semiramis of Assysia, King Cyrus from Persia, Alexander the Great from Greece, Ghengis Khan the Mongol, Huns, and many other world conquerors finally fell prey to the 700 years of "Jehadi" incursions in Punjab. It all started with Mohammed Bin Qasim from Baghdad, who defeated Raja Dahir
of Sindh and then went on to plunder Multan in Punjab. The brave
Punjabis had to bear the mass genocides, plunder, and forced conversion
by the sword of the invaders year after year for over 700 years.
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| Jehadi Invaders of Punjab |
List of the marauders who plundered, burned, raped, and massacred Punjab includes, Temur or Tamelane, the Turkic-Mongol conqueror from Transoxiana, Hulagu Khan, the son of Ghengis Khan from Mongolia, Shahāb-ud-Dawla Mawdūd, the Turkish ruler of Gazanvid dynasty from Gazni in Afghanistan, Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad of Turkic Ghurid dynasty from Ghori in Afghanistan, Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur, a half-cast Turk-Mongol from a small town Ferghana in Uzbekistan, and Ahmed Shah Durrani of Abdali clan or Ephthelite Hun nomadic marauder from Afghanistan.
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| Destruction and Terror of Ghazi Invasions |
The Great Wall of Punjab
The
great wall of Punjab is built upon the foundation of religious
conversion that was forced down the throats of Punjabis by these
invaders in a period of over 700 years. A number of Sufis like Sheikh Farid Shakarganj, Miyan Mir, and Guru Nanak tried to break this wall built upon the foundation of radical Islam sanctioned by the "Sharia". Their centuries long efforts were destroyed in one instance by the creation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on the heartland of Punjab.
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| Punjab Partition - Map by Tariq Amir |
This
wall is best demonstrated by the naming of Pakistani missiles after the
same invaders who conquered Punjab and enforced Islam on its
inhabitants. In its amazing sense of wisdom, the Pakistani military
establishment has named its missiles - Temur, Gaznavi, and Ghori.
I wonder if they realize that these are the same marauders who
massacred the ancestors of the Pakistanis and plundered their wealth.
The Real Punjabi Heroes
If
only our brothers from West Punjab realize that their heroes are not
these plunderers but their own ancestors who faced up to these "Jehadi" conquerors known in Islamic terms as "Gazis". Here are some of the brave Punjabi ancestors who gave befitting response to the ambitions of invaders:
- Raja Porus - the Khatri king of West Punjab who almost defeated Alexender the Great and forced Greeks in to retreat out of Punjab.
- Jasrat Khokhar - the chief of the Khokhar Rajput clan from West Punjab who led the reply to the Turkic Barbarian Tamerlane.
- Raja Jaypala - Ruler of Janjua rajput clan from Lahore who responded to the plundering invasions of Gazanvi and committed suicide after losing in battle.
- Raja Anangpal - Son of Jayapala and Janjua king of Punjab who fought all his life against numerous incursions by Gaznavi, and died at the battle of Sirhind
- Prithviraj Chauhan - Rajput ruler of Delhi/Bhatinda who defeated Ghori six times but lost the seventh battle
- Dulla Bhatti - Legendary warrior of Bhatti Rajput clan fom Sandal-Bar who fought against the Mughals of Lahore.
- Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia - Leader of Sikh Misls who rescued 20,000 Maratha women from Abdali's goons.
- Maharaja Ranjit Singh - Sikh Emperor of Punjab who ended the series of invasion of Punjab forever and ruled Lahore on behalf of all Punjabis.
- Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa - Sikh warrior of Uppal Khatri clan who plugged the Khyber pass where all invasions of Punjab occurred
- Sham Singh Atariwale - who fought till death at the battle of Sabhraon against the treacherous East India Company.
Multreligious Court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Conversion of Punjabi Ruling Clans
The
Punjab was ruled by Rajput clans after Khatris were annihilated in the
epic battle of Mahabharata and later by the invasions of Persians and
Greeks. Ghakhar Rajputs ruled from Rawalpindi, Janjua Rajputs were ruling from Lahore, and Bhatti Rajputs from Bhatinda. Other ruling Rajput clans included Khokhars, Sials, Jarrals, Minhas, Bhutta,
and many more. The major ruling clans were defeated by the "Jehadi"
invaders, some were forced to accept Islam to survive, while the other
were lured by the safety and benefits of subjugating under their Islamic
masters. A large number of Punjabis were also converted by the Sufis.
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| Bhatti Rajput in Pakistan - Islamic Twist |
- Raja Sukhpal Janjua accepted Islam after realizing that the struggle of his grandfather Jayapala and father Anangpala bore no fruit.
- Descendants of Jasrat Khokhar also embraced Islam.
- Ghakhars maintained their Hindu tradition till 15th century but finally succumbed to the invasion of Babur, the Moghul and became Muslims.
- The Bhuttas converted after being driven out of Uch by Gazanavi.
- Jarrals were defeated in the battle of Kalanaur by Ghori, and their King Raja Saheb Sen was brought before the court of Mohammed of Ghor and offered life if converted.
- Raja Ajmal Dev Janjua embraced Islam in the 12th century and changed his name after conversion to Raja Mal Khan. His son Raja Khakha Khan is the apical ancestor of the Khakha Rajputs. His elder brothers included Raja Jodh Khan of Makhiala (Jhelum), Raja Bhir Khan of Malot (Chakwal), Raja Kala Khan of Kahuta and Raja Tanoli of Amb (Hazara).
- Minhas Rajputs were called Mair after their ancestor, Raja Mair, a Jamwal prince who converted to Islam in 1190 C.E. He fell in love with a local Muslim Gujjar woman, converted to Islam and married her.
The Pakistan Quagmire
In
my opinion, the Punjabis from West Punjab are imprisoned in this "Great
Wall of Punjab" and suffer from slave mentality that encourages them to
erase their ancestors from their history, and instead hero worship
their conquerors. Do they realize that their ancestors like Jasrat Khokhar, Jayapala, Anangpala, Dulla Bhatti, and Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and Bhagat Singh are their real heroes and not these barbaric marauders who ransacked their homeland and massacred our common ancestors?
I hope a day will come when our brothers from the other side of the Wagha border, realize their own worth and take pride in their ancestors, their culture, and history that we share with them with the bond of blood. I close this post with the a quotation from Guru Nanak - Mann Toon Jot Saroop Hai, Apna Mool Pehchan meaning, "O soul, recognize your own source of origin, you are a reflection of your creator."
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| Pakistani Missile named after Invader Gaznavi |
I hope a day will come when our brothers from the other side of the Wagha border, realize their own worth and take pride in their ancestors, their culture, and history that we share with them with the bond of blood. I close this post with the a quotation from Guru Nanak - Mann Toon Jot Saroop Hai, Apna Mool Pehchan meaning, "O soul, recognize your own source of origin, you are a reflection of your creator."
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| Young Punjabis - Partition Museum |
Waiting for the day when this "Great Wall of Punjab" will be broken by the blood brothers just like the Berlin wall.
my family are Warraich and we converted from Sikhism 13 generations ago. Around what time period would this fall under?
ReplyDeleteAamir, we Punjabis are two bothers born to the same mother. I have close friends who are Waraich and Sikh. To answer your question, 13 generations would be about 260-300 years ago based on an average generation of 20 years for the first son. This takes your family to a very violent and turbulent times in Punjab (about 1710-1750). This was the period when Mughal government from Lahore had put price on the heads of Sikhs. Anybody bringing a head of a Sikh was rewarded by the Nawab. Bounty hunters were scavenging the villages of Punjab to find Sikhs. On top of that, Ahmad Shah Abdali made several raids to Punjab and looted and plundered villages. Many families converted at that period to escape persecution. Some were saved by the peace loving Sufis who convinced them to convert to Islam for their safety. This violent period came to end when Punjabis established their secular government at Lahore under Maharaja Ranjit Singh with Faqir Azizuddin as his Prime Minister. I hope this was helpful.
DeleteYeah, I've studied ancient and modern indian history and also in depth the history of the Punjab.
DeleteI assumed we had converted during the time of Aurangzeb Alamgir. I learned from elders that people in my area were converted by Sufis. If it isn't too much trouble, could you ask your Warraich friends about their Peeri?
Here is mine; I am Aamir Warraich son of
Riaz
Mehmood Khan
Khushi Mohammad
Hedayat
Raja
Kakku
Baabul
Shahmus
Ali
Shahmeer
Shah Kulli
Hassad
Allah Daad
Abo
Bihari (first Muslim)
Mannia Warraich (last Sikh)
Jethu (or Jaytu Warraich)-Sikh
Paandu Warraich (Sikh)
I am impressed by your interest and how you preserved your ancestry tree. You will find this link interesting: http://www.jatland.com/home/Warraich Happy to connect you with my friend Novinder Waraich but send me an email to me on singharv@gmail.com
DeleteI am not sure why Prithviraj Chauhan has been added to that list. He never ruled over Punjab, his territories were Haryana and Rajasthan. Also, why have you written that Punjab starts from Haryana after Delhi, while Punjabi isnt spoken in Haryana. Anyway, it was actually due to the efforts of Sufi saints such as Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar, Sultan Bahu etc. that conversion to Islam in Punjab happened in the first place. Also, I think you are unneccessarily bashing Pakistanis here only, its not as if only they are starting the hostilites, the same could be said for the Sikhs as well.
ReplyDeleteThe current politics in Haryana is marginalizing Punjabi but demographically, the Ambala, Sirsa, and Hisar region of Haryana speak "Pawaddi" which is a dialect of Punjabi. The territories of Punjab including the fort of Bhatinda was part of Prithviraj Chauhan's territory and thats why I have included him in the list. The conversion of Punjabi population by the respected sufis is historical fact but the poor Punjabis were stuck between the bad cop (Mughals) and the good cops (Sufis). Both of them had the same intent - to convert all Punjabis into Islam. Their approach was different but the ultimate goal was the same. I am of course coming with a Sikh bias with no intent to do Pakistan bashing. I sincerely believe that all Punjabis are the same, born to the same mother, but separated by religious zealots.
Delete(1/2) I too believe in Punjabi nationalism and brotherhood, to a certain extent, however the way you are going about it would easily turn any Pakistani, or Muslim for that matter (who form the overwhelming majority of Punjabis anyway) against the very idea of it.
DeleteYou should have listed the parts of Haryana that were actually Punjabi since the vast majority of Haryana isn't Punjabi speaking. Also, our province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa can be added as well since the districts of Abbotabad, Haripur, Mansehra (the Hazara region) are Hindkowan majority who speak a dialect of Punjabi, Hendko. About the heroes part, Raja Porus wasn't a Khatri. I know that many Khatris do claim descent from him, however in and around his time (~300 BC) proper clan distinctions hadn't been formed and anyone can basically claim descent from him. Prithviraj Chauhan's territories were mainly Rajasthan and Delhi areas, only having a slight area of Bhatinda on the edges of Beas. He can't be considered a 'Punjabi' hero by any stretch of the term, that would be purely Hindootva propoganda. Also, what is up with the lack of Muslim Punjabis included in your list apart from Rai Abdullah Khan Bhatti, who's original name you havent written. Why is Rai Ahmad Khan Kharral, who fought the British colonials in 1857 and who was killed in battle at Gushkori, by none other than the Bedi Sikhs who were under the British, not included? Why isn't Murad Fatiana who killed Lord Berkeley, the British officer who suppressed rebellions in the Punjab in 1857, not included?
(2/2) It is indeed funny that the Punjabi Muslim areas of Sahiwal/Gugera, Murree Hills and the Jullundur Doab (Shah Abdul Qadir Ludhianvi) were the centers of the rebellion in 1857 and the Sikhs were known to be the most loyal people to the British, who in turn were determined to wipe out Punjabi and Punjabi nationalism, are now critisicing us. Would you include Adina Khan Arrain, who formed the first independent and natively ruled government of Punjab since the Sindhu Shahis and threw the yoke of Timur Shah Durrani and the Mughals out of Punjab? He also fought the Ahluwalias that you have listed who were burning cities and carrying raids on villagers whilst under the influence of opium. Would you include Raja Sultan Khan of Mangla who routed the Bhangi Misl twice in battle? Same goes for Hari Singh Nalwa, who fought the Muslim Awans, Dhunds and Sattis of Hazara and Murree. About Ranjit Singh, there is some ambiguity over his rule however his Chief Minister, Fakir Azizuddin was a Muslim and many Punjabi Muslim zamindars were allied with him as well, so I guess it's alright to include him. The thing is, that you are unneccessarily biased against Punjabi Muslims and in favour of Sikhs. You seem to be implying that they were forcefully converted which is not the case. They converted of their own accord by the effort of various Sufi saints (every village in Punjab has a shrine of a Sufi). Had forcible conversion taken place, then all of India would have been Muslim by now. Infact the center of Muslim Empires and Islam in India was Delhi and Uttar Pradesh (Hindustan) areas, which have a heavy Hindu majority. Even Sikhs are converts from Hinduism and the same charge of conversion of an ambigious nature could be put against you guys. What are you trying to say in that part about the 'Great Wall of Punjab'? Are you advocating for a united Punjab nation or merger with India? (which would be Hindootva BS). You are alienating many Pakistani Punjabis, who otherwise might be open to this discussion like this. You also conveniently forgot to mention that all major Punjabi literature has been written by Punjabi Muslims such as Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar, Bulleh Shah, Waris Shah, Sultan Bahu, Shah Inayat, Shah Hussain, Ali Hajveri etc. The argument that the quintessential Punjabi identity is a Muslim one, could be made as well (which I am not saying but the opposite of which you seem to be implying). Otherwise, I do agree with you that we shouldnt be glorifiying Turkic invaders however the way in which you are going about it is wrong.
DeleteI definitely need to learn more on Rai Ahmad Kharral and Murad Fatiana .. not much is written about them in history books. You also could be right about Chauhan - he did rule Punjab but he was not originally from Punjab. I really don't care about the religious propaganda of Hindutva or Punjabi Talibans. My focus is on the Punjabis, regardless of the religious practice. Shame that Punjabis have been divided by Mullahs and Brahmins that they do not realize they are blood brothers and Punjab probably was the biggest province in Indian subcontinent - right from Khyber pass to Haryana. The great Sufis of Punjab is revered in east Punjab equally - Baba Farid, Bulley Shah, Sultan Bahu etc. We sing the folk songs of Dulla Bhatti with the same pride and West Punjab sings about Jagga Jatt. By the way, the "Puri" clan of Khatris are the descendants of King Porus. I will not count the internal conflicts between Punjabis that you listed an the same list and plunder of Punjab by the Turks, Afghans, and Mughals. Regarding Taimurs, Gaznavi, Ghori, and Durrani as heroes, the Pakistani government is mocking the ancestors of Punjabi Pakistanis. The great wall of Punjab is in the mindset of people who consider their religious identity above their cultural and genealogical heritage.
Deletehttp://www.dawn.com/news/802754/kharal-and-berkley
Deletehttp://www.dawn.com/news/793732/kharal-and-berkley-ii
You can learn about Rai Ahmad Khan Kharal and Murad Fatiana here, and it is highly recommended that you add them to your list. About Prithviraj Chauhan, adding him to the list of 'Punjabi heroes' (that too on the basis of ruling only a small territory on the edges of the Beas hardly like 1% of Punjab), is the same as calling Mahmud of Ghazni a Punjabi hero since both of them were non-Punjabis who ruled over Punjabi land. Again, you cant call Punjab from the Khyber to Haryana since both of these places havent historically been part of Punjab and are inhabited by non-Punjabis. Haryana is mostly non-Punjabi thats why you cant say that Punjab begins from there. About the 'Puris', I think that if you can give credence to such claims then why cant you give it to those of Abbasi or Ansari 'Arab' origin. Punjabis. Both are ridiculous especially since around 300 BC proper clan distinctions hadnt been formed. How can we think of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Hari Singh Nalwa as our heroes when our ancestors fought against them (and not because of religious reasons) and you are then calling them internal differences. You havent listed any Muslim Punjabi heroes, apart from Rai Abdullah Khan Bhatti whose full name you havent written to perhaps hide his 'Muslim-ness', when Punjabi Muslims form the overwhelming majority of Punjabis! That is just absurd. You should take Ahluwalia and Nalwa off the list then if you dont care about internal conflicts or if not that then you should add the Punjabi Muslims that I have stated along with them, if this is indeed an honest attempt to forge brotherhood between Punjabis across the border. You didnt mention any of the Punjabi Muslim Sufis who formed all of Punjabi literature, implied as if they forcibly converted Punjabis and portrayed Sikhs and Hindus as somehow superior to Muslim Punjabis. You have emphasized the conversion of Muslim Punjabis while downplaying that of the Sikhs. Such a piece will easily turn any Muslim Punjabi off of notions of brotherhood.
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DeletePunjab was probably the biggest state of the then India, and extended right upto Delhi. In fact Delhi was part of Punjab for a long time.
DeleteIn 1947, 3/4th of punjab went to Pakistan, and that had all fertile land, most of the educational institutions of India (in Lahore). Lahore was the most educated, fashionable, and culturally rich place, center of Film production, etc. in the whole of the then India. It was also the center of the violent section of freedom struggle. Post Partition, Indian Punjab was divided into 3 states - Haryana, Himachal, and Punjab. So the present Indian Punjab may be just 1/10th part of the British Punjab.
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