My Malice and Bias

An important part of Indian culture is an expectation of “display of respect” from those who are younger or are considered socially inferior (subordinates, lowers castes, or anybody who might appear less powerful, etc.). We express this respect in a huge variety of subtle and obvious ways. Punjabi Sikh Family Within the family, We use these terms everyday to call our mothers, fathers, older siblings, and other relations.  In order to understand the meaning of these terms, we have to learn about their linguistic origin and regional affiliations. Punjabi is an ancient language and has its origin in Prakrit , the precursor to the grammatically structured Sanskrit . These terms are deeply rooted in Prakrit and Sankrit languages and has a lot of commonalities with Latin , the mother of all European languages. Honorary Titles for Mother The terms used to honor the mother traces its origin to the hypothetical, reconstructed Proto Indo-European language, of which Sanskrit is the ...

Punjabi Ignorance We, the Punjabis historically have not been documenting our own history. The Muslim Punjabis have almost forgotten their genetic ancestry and now try to connect their gene pool to the Arab aristocracy of Sayeds and Qureshis. The Pakistan government ignorantly names its missiles after the Islamic invaders who dispossessed their ancestors from their land. The Hindu Punjabis have written off their own ancestors, warriors kings, and Gurus and relate more to the Middle-India heroes such as Rama, Krishna, and Shivaji, The Sikhs have done a better job in staying connected to their roots but their historical reach is limited just to the Sikh period. Punjab history has to be taken as a whole, and that includes, Adivasis, Indus valley, Aryan Khatris, Kushans, Rajputs, Gujjars, Jatts, Islamic invaders, Sikh period, British rule, and the post independence era. Trinity of Punjabi Pride What's the Problem? So what? The results of this ignorance is astounding. We never ...

South Indian vs. North Indian Ten years ago, I met a well known Indian historian on a plane. We spent hours discussing history of India. I mentioned that my ancestors came from the region of West Punjab where the Indus Valley Civilization blossomed 5,000 years ago. Same land where Vedas were composed, Yoga and Sanskrit grammar was defined, and how proud I am of the facts that my ancestors successfully challenged the Assyrians, Greeks, Persians, and the Afghan invaders. I also shared with him my maternal genetic lineage to the original Kshatriya warriors ( Khatri in Punjabi) going back all the way to the Gods of Hindu mythology. I expected some form of acknowledgement from the learned professor from a well known University from South India. He replied, " Actually, the South Indians are the real Indians. " I was shocked and asked, " How about us, the Punjabis ?" He replied with a smug smile on his face, " Mr. Singh, I do not want to upset you but the fa...

How did Our Ancestors Looked Like? Ancient people of Punjab (Punjabi: پنجابی (Shahmukhi), ਪੰਜਾਬੀ (Gurmukhi), पंजाबी (Devanagri), are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group of North Indian origin; which includes parts of Sindh , Punjab , Haryana , and Gujarat . Punjab region has been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world, the the Indus Valley Civilization. Excavation of pre-historic sites at Harrapa , Mohenjodaro , Ropar , Dholvira , Kalibangan , and Rakhigarhi reveal an advanced society that may be the cradle of Indian civilization. Map of Indus Valley Civilization Political Controversy on Origin of Indo-Aryans During 19th Century European ethnographers and, of course, most famously, Adolf Hitler , also considered Aryans the master race who had conquered Europe, although the German leader considered them to be of Nordic lineage. Hindu right-wingers believe the source of Indian civilization are the Arya - a nomadic tribe of horse-riding, cattle-rearing warrior...

Is Punjabi more ancient than Sanskrit? Which is more ancient? Sanskrit or Punjabi? This title may surprise many as the common perception is that Sanskrit is one the most ancient language of the world while Punjabi is a native language that was invented by the Sikh Gurus in 15th century while composing the hymns of Sri Guru Granth Sahib.  What if I can prove that is is a misconception and in fact, Punjabi language predates Sanskrit? Before I put forward my hypothesis, I would like to clarify that I am not a linguist expert but merely a student of languages originating form the land of my forefathers - commonly known as Punjab. I have also studied Sanskrit as a major subject during my schooling in India where it was a compulsory subject from Grade VI to Grade X. Sanskrit Sanskrit (Saṃskṛtam or saṃskṛta) is the primary sacred language of ancient India. In order to understand what Sanskrit is, we first need to understand the meaning of the word  Sanskr...