I have reproduced this post from PFC, written by me on 20th Feb 2007
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Was forced to watch Babul (nahinnnn) last night with my wife as she did not to want to watch it alone. Movie was going at a very boring pace (Salman barking Buddy, buddy was as irritating as the Himesh Reshamiya’s voice). Didn’t know that this was a Punjabi family I was viewing till the time the engagement / wedding scene came on then suddenly, wolla out of the blue a bhangra song hit me right between my legs.
That was the straw that tickled the camels’ balls.
It’s when I realized that almost every Bollywood movies (Hindi language is what I expect in it) has to have a very strong Punjabi connection. I have no bloody clue why?
Too many Bollywood candy floss movies have a bhangra song, a widowed woman going by the tag of beegi (always in whites), NRI hero or heroine having roots back in Punjab or only people from Punjab eligible to fly abroad.
Even the lyrics have to have words like makhna, soniye blah blah blah. Looks like the lyricist have forgotten Samir’s favorite words (inayat, hidayat etc) and only know some stuff like “tere naal main makhna” or something to that effect. The people from other f**ing states do not exist in India. The directors (or detectives) have been able to discover Punjabi people right across the world, from Australia, Singapore, UK (yes, I know there is a huge population there) and even US is no exception (which I understand has a huggggge Central and South Indian population in IT).
After a lot of thinking, 5 packets of cigarettes (I had quit on Jan 7th 2007 but a bhangra song screwed me up) and about 15 beers (had not drank for last 2 years) bollywood movies have educated me the following points:-
1. Only people from Punjab are eligible to travel out of India.
2. Only Punjabi weddings are colorful in which the whole family dance and sing together
3. Only Punjabi families have etiquettes, values, love and care for their family
4. You have patriotism in you only if your able to deliver loud, screaming dialogues in Punjabi (or Punjabi accent)
5. Only Punjabi women know what love for their spouse is. So they fast for a day (kadva chaud) for their well being.
6. Punajbi cuisine is best in world, sarson da saag aur makai de roti da jawab nahin honda (movies have taught me so much of Punjabi)
Tell you the truth, I am sick and tired of this nonsense and would love to watch Bollywood movies based in areas like Assam, Meghalaya etc. For god sake Indians live there as well. Hope other feel like I do.
Do you??
P.S. This post is not biased towards Punjab, its people or anything relating to it. Its just there is more to India than what Bollywood portrays most of the time.
Wot’s ur problem punjabi’s r wot makes films interesting and bhangra songs r wicked.
I believe in national integeration and not in appeasement on one Indian segment. India has more to to than just one state.
Cheers,
muzzy
hahaha, this is such a fanstastically written peice. so awesomley true……. though i understand that films are made to be commercially sucessful (and so the punjab conection), you have simply echoed the average indian’s irritation with the goings on…… but then the average bloke still watches it right (not to mention the home sick (read cash rich) punjabi’s living abroad….. its all about the moooolah i guess.
Punjabis have sacrificed much for India. Over 80% of casualties during India’s independence were Sikhs, which make up only 2% of the population. They are an extremely hard-working people and extremely successful abroad, despite their small population.
Nonetheless, you sound like someone with little knowledge of Bollywood or Punjab, if any. I am surprised you notice Punjab, but do not notice all the Mumbai-based movies. There are very few Bollywood movies not based in Mumbai, and if they aren’t, they’re often based in Punjab or abroad. There is in fact too little Punjab in movies, and too much Maharashtra (goonda-gardi, drugginess, tapori style all based there). A hint of Punjab is a breath of fresh air from the Hindu-dominated lifestyle of Mumbai.
HAVE U GUYS KNOW THAT MOST OF BOLLYWOOD STARS LIKE KAPOOR BELONGS TO PUNJAB….OF COURSE….WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT PUNJABIS ….THAT ALSO INCLUDES HINDUS AND MUSLIM NOT JUST SICK…..PUNJABI ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST
Rani – there are lots of Hindus in Punjab too! There is a common perception, especially amongst the Sikhs that Punjabi culture = Sikh culture.
To you all, I pose a question?
Who do you think lived in Punjab 500years ago before someone decided to wrap their table cloth around their head?
Kiwi Indian, granted there are many Hindus in Punjab. But why, then, do these ample Hindus refer to themselves as “Hindu Punjabis”, as if to distinguish themselves from the mainstream culture? Why, then, do so many Hindu Punjabis no longer consider Punjabi their language, trading their mother tongue for Hindi? It’s a common misconception that Punjab is synonymous with Sikhs, and more often than not this misconception is fostered by the Hindus themselves.
what a bullshit this just totally sux who da hell is writing like this..dude if u start playing DANDIA in hindi movies den who da hell is gonna dance on that?? Bhangra songs r d only one where u can dance really daumm well..i totally think this article is racist..lotta ppl make fun of punjabi’s nd im totally against that..Of course punjabi is a colorful religion..Punjab is a part of india wat da heck is goin on with you guys?? Punjabi ppl suffered a lot to get india a freedom?? Every single bollywood actor, director, producer etc r loving punjabi culture..if u noticed most of d bollywood stars know punjabi at least they can understand…Bollywood is rulled by punjabi’s Kapoor, Chopra nd other big last name comes from punjab..eventho all d khans know how to speak punjabi..nwyzz this article totally made me mad..i didnt even noe indians would think like that?? wow totally unbelievable
I totally agree with what you wrote.. Bollywood is going through an era of “pujabification.” Bollywood does not show the other cultures which are thriving within India.
It is high time someone wrote up an article like yours! How very true! Completely agree with you. Don’t get me wrong – I love Bhangra, Punjabi food, and many, many things about Punjabi culture..but I am tired of seeing references to Punjab in each of our movies. This needs to change!
u guys who have post this comment are so racist!bastards learn smthing from punjabis!next time watch out wit ur cmmnt punde.
i m totally agree with whoever respect punjabis.
phukimah betul lancau cibai sohai[malay words dude 4 hu dnt rspect punjabis any wher in da planet.
friends…….i think excess of everything is bad…..it can be punjabi songs ,maharashtran bhai gheeri or bhojpuri accent etc in bollywood.bollywood represents whole india so its not up to directors but its duty of central govt. to interwene so that we indians doesn’t fight……….but friends in todays era every govt. wants us to fight with each other it can produce their votebank,and being punjabi hindu……..punjabi people include all punjabi muslim,sikh & hindu.when some one say punjabi it does not mean sikhs only……sikhs r originated in punjab it doesn’t mean they r only punjabi…..& about punjabi language its spoken from 11th century onwards………some punjabi hindu’s denied punjabi as mother tongue due sikh terrorists trying to divide this land…..although no one can suppress ones mother tongue,for everyone in india first comes hindi then their mother tongue.so friend
to RANI………you said ‘Punjab is a breath of fresh air from the Hindu-dominated lifestyle of Mumbai.’you can’t say such disgusting thing .how u can use term hindu dominated, friend being punjabi hindu we r different from other indian hindu’s like culture,food,language,nature,tradition etc. punjabi hindu & sikh have same culture only religion different so when u want refer to other state culture u should say maharashtran hindu or gujrati hindu…….not hindu dominated etc…….its a blame on us also……and for ur information sikhs doesn’t mean they r punjabi,he can be punjabi,gujrati,assami, haryanvi etc……religion doesn’t mean that if one is sikh he is fr punjab only,if some one is hindu it doesnot mean he’s only fr india.he can be nepali hindu,pakistani or bangladeshi. etc .SO WHILE refering to punjabi don’t forget to consider punjabi muslim & punjabi hindu too.
Ha ha, I can understand your opinion very well. I also made a similar observation “All families in Bollywood are Punjabi!”. Nothing against it, just an observation. Something different would be refreshing.
I totally agree with this. In fact just now I am watching Bunty and Bubli and & all the songs have punjabi words in them. It has been included in the formula of movie making in Bollywood that family should be Punjabi & if not there should be bhangra songs. I am tired of this. There are people of other states in India, who speak other languages. Why only Punjabi?
TWO REASONS -
1) DEMAND AND SUPPLY: ALL movies with punjabi touch are blockbuster whereas other not and business investors want to invest money only in right product i.e movies with punjabi touch.After sometime people will become bored watching same stuff again and again and demand will fade away.
2) REGIONAL PERCENTAGE: Punjab Region normally around 25% of overall country wide revenues where as states like assam or mizoram only 1% and that’s another factor for making punjabi mix movies..
No doubt since inception of Bollywood Punjabi(Hindu, Sikh or whatever) families are ruling it (though not fully but still). Till date they are at no 1.
But Bollywood has neglected other cultures, no doubt about it. But they are making what sells in the market.
They should definitely start experiencing with other cultures.
Let’s hope to see more of Indian culture from now on.
FRIENDS……..SARAN……….VIREN etc…..what u r saying about punjabi language, do u know why some punjabi hindu’s preferred hindi than punjabi ,although punjabi being mother tongue because they were loyal towards their country first than state & it should be………at that time sikhsespecially some terrorist groups not whole sikh community tried to represent sikhs as separate community than punjabi hindu’s.this was against guru’s also……….guru gobind gave hindu’s in punjab a separate identity by making singhs to fight cruel mughals……..it was not separate religion……….but some sikh terrorists played their game with help from politicians……..put forward punjabi suba creation to divide punjabi hindu’s………which was not tolerable
……their main task was to give separate separate to sikhs on basis of punjabi language……….but punjabi hindu’s were aware of their motive……….so hindu’s stood against such division of state on basis of language thats why they preferred hindi ………although punjabi was mother tongue………and friend whole punjab at time was not having punjabi as mother tongue before division………haryanvi have bangri as mother tongue than punjabi so there’s no question of acceptance of punjabi as mother tongue………..IN PUNJAB all hindu’s became singhs to fight mughals so definatly more sacrifices given by singhs……..if their is war in india common people is not going to fight only army will fight..and obviously more sacrifices will be by army so was with singhs……….its obvious,because it was warrior section made to fight………
so if their is war in india will army people in india will compare themselves with common men and boast of their sacrifices……….no…………they will dedicate sacrifice to nation ,7 ITS THEIR DUTY TOO…..so singhs braveness we respect it doesnot mean start comparing with different faith or people ………its not digestible friends………and its true fact braveness of punjabi’s of every faith (hindu-sikh)is not comparable………
To Thakur:
Your comments are disgusting, full of hate and anti-nationalistic. I cannot believe someone in their right mind would say the things you said.
You said Punjabi Hindus prefer Hindi rather than Punjabi because they are more country-based than nation-based? What kind of stupid statement is that? Do you know any other group who contributed more to INdia’s independence struggle than Sikhs? Do you know anyone more patriotic towards their country than Sikhs? Do we have to give up our Punjabi language and become Hindi to be patriotic?
Despite making only 1.5% of the population, 75% of the documented martyrs during India’s independence were Sikhs. Still the largest group representing Indian army is Sikhs. You will not find anyone more willing to sacrifice and give their life than the Sikhs.
Secondly, Hindi is not a national language at all. In fact, it is only one of the 21 national languages of India. This means you really don’t know much about your country. Hindi is often used for interstate communication because the largest number of people understand it, not because it is special in some way.
Let me clarify – Hindi is not a special language – it is simply another language spoken by mainly Bihari, MP, and UP people of India. EVERY LANGUAGE IN INDIA IS PATRIOTIC, and what language is more patriotic than Punjabi, from the region where huge sacrifices were made towards India?
To say Hindi is first and your mother tongue is second is a very selfish and un-nationalistic thing to say. In fact, if you really want to go that route, then ENGLISH SHOULD BE THE FIRST LANGUAGE OF EVERYONE, because that is the language of the world.
Using your very strange logic that Hindi should be before mother tongue, I will say that I prefer to take English as my main language rather than Hindi (even though Hindi is my mother tongue), because I am more world-based rather than just nation-based. In fact, everyone in the world should learn English first, and then their mother tongues, be it Hindi or PUnjabi or Gujarati, because English is the language of the world and we should be more global-based than just one country based. Does that make sense?
It really innervates me when people from Hindi-speaking states show such disregard for the beautiful languages of India. There is nothing more divisive and unpatriotic than that. Instead of forcing Punjabis/Bengalis/Gujaratis/Tamils, etc. to speak Hindi before their mother tongue, you would be better off trying to profess patriotism in carrying India developmentally and intellectually forward, which honestly the Hindi-native states have been severely lacking in.
In fact, saying Hindi is more patriotic in any way is extremely ironic. Despite making the largest percentage of India’s population, the contribution of Hindi-native speakers during INdia’s independence struggle was one of the lowest.
In fact it was Punjabis and Bengalis that produced the largest number of sacrifices for India during independence. Even before independence, you will find a large percentage of wars being fought by Marathis/Punjabis, etc…where are the Hindi natives? Doesn’t this make Hindi LESS PATRIOTIC than most of the other langauges of India?
This reiterates my point…adopting Hindi for inter-state communication is based on demographics and necessity only, since Hindi natives make the highest group of India’s population. It does not profess any link to patriotism at all, or in the quality of the language or its people.
To Thakur:
You also have a lot of misconceptions about the Sikh faith. Sikhs were not part of Hindus, it was created as a separate set of beliefs than either the Hindu or Muslim faith. If you read the Guru Granth Sahib, you will find the contexts in which the Gurus speak about the Hindu and Muslim faiths, which is not always in the affirmative tone. They are different faiths altogether and rightfully intended to be.
Secondly, when it comes to Punjabi Hindus speaking Hindi, that is entirely a political thing not a patriotic thing. All I can say is that it was the first time there was a mass betrayal of one’s mother language. Polticians were successful in buying the mother tongue of the HIndu Punjabis.
I certainly do respect the Punjabi Hindus that have made the effort to learn their mother tongue, but until that happens, Punjab and Punjabi language is largely an association of and preserved by Sikhs.
And lastly – there still is no answer to a question posed earlier. We are talking of Punjabization of Bollywood – what about the Mumbaization of Bollywood?
Try to remember 10 last movies released in cinemas. Now think – how many of these were based in Punjab? How many in Mumbai?
Why is it that the author is squirming at watching the occasional Punjab-based movie, but didn’t anything about the 90% of movies based in Mumbai – a small region in India? Is it because they are Hindus?
Let’s list the last 10 movies that have been released and their regional correlations:
1. Ghajini – Mumbai
2. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi – Punjab
3. Maharathi – Mumbai
4. Yuvvraaj – Mumbai
5. Dasvidaniya – Mumbai
6. Dostana – Mumbai, Punjab, and USA
7. Hello – Mumbai
So is it Mumbaization or Punjabification of Bollywood? What’s wrong if the occasional movie decides to venture out of Mumbai and into Punjab, is it not a breath of fresh air?
I have to say in response that I am sick of Mumbaization of all our movies. So what’s next?
What about the Hindufication of Bollywood, as almost 100% of the early characters in Bollywood and still over 90% of protagonists in Bollywood are Hindu. Is that not limiting our diversity?
How about over-upper-class representation of Bollywood? 40% of the world’s poor are Indians statistically – then why is it that we have such low representation of poor people in Bollywood? Why are most of the movies in the urban, sleek areas of India – where the dire minority live – why are there so few movies on rural India, where our majority live?
What about last names, and certain frequencies in Bollywood? Will it ever stop?
We can go on and on…
If you notice the Punjabization of Bollywood, but not the Hindufication or the Mumbification, none of which represent the whole of India, then you are biased and hypocritical.
I am sick of all these Hindus being portrayed as protagonists, while all the Muslims are portrayed as largely goondas and bhais, and Sikhs being shown as stupid, and Christians not being shown at all.
In fact, why is it that there was no Jain person being shown as protagonist in a Bollywood movie, or a Buddhist?
More so than Punjabization, it is Hindufication of it and neglect of other religions that is the problem.
And then we have the whole Maharashtrian beedi-geeri being overplayed…I am sick of Mumbai culture being overrepresented like that.
Thirdly – to Neeraj – who said that all people think Hindi is before their mother tongue – I think you were on drugs when you wrote that stupid comment. Go to Tamil Nadu and say that and they will murder you. We love our mother tongues, more than Hindi, English, or any other foreign language.
Because if you forget or downplay your mother, then there are no words to describe you. You may have friends, but your mother is your mother.
to rani…..what bull shit ur writing…….don’t show ur knowledge,i can open full rigveda to u friend if u want….,hindi is must for hindu because its related to sanskrit our religious language…through we can obtain moksha.before mughal invasion in punjab there were only hindu’s in punjab….then started success off islam ,although forcly.punjabi language arised from intermixing of turkish,persian & sanskrit.Punjab by common Punjabi people already before the golden age of Gurus, the script of Punjabi language is Gurmukhi, based on Devanagri. Gurmukhi script is atleast 1400 years old & not just few centuries. The origin of gurmukhi script take us back to its source Brahmi which is available on the stone edicts of ashoka several centuries before Christ.Punjabi as well as its gurmukhi script evolved independently in Punjab before Christ .sikh gurus gave a new lease of life to Punjabi,which is called golden age of Punjabi.punjabi is the state language of Punjab. Punjab is divided into two distinct language areas: Hindki in West Punjab and Punjabi in East Punjab..
am not saying to disown ur mother tongue….but to respect hindi.which can unite whole india…and if u don’t know hindi like some tamils etc then shame on u.a child knows that mother tongue is important…don’t tell me.i just want to tell …..u nakli rani……if u r sikh ..then please tell me the name of ur grandfather’s father………obviously a hindu.u r not from a new planet………most hindu’s became singhs & joined khalsa army to save their families from mughals……..their families were not sikhs.but later on some politicians played game to give separate identity to sikhs.u don’t know this……….read more books .because by having separate religion they benefits……..another minority group & more reservation etc. IN PUNJAB….NO MOVIE ON HINDU PUNJABI’S.so in punjab is sikh directors are sleeping……,when all are doing there own things………why mumbai wala should think……….raniii.
go to europe…is any movie on hindu’s or muslim no………because majority & land culture belong to christans.Go to GULF countries ,is any movie on hindu or christians …NO…because majority population & culture belong to muslim.go to pakistan……..any movie on hindu or christian…no….because majority are muslim.although its not right way.movies should be on all religion & people…but not…SO WHY INDIA….hum ne kya poori duniya ka thekka le rakka hai………..why all rules to be followed in india.christian are from foreign land they are not part of our culture…..forcibly or by money lured converted.muslim are from gulf region…invaded india.e.g….malaysia………hindu’s are in good number….no movie on hindu & no same rights to hindu’s like muslims.so why should we……when whole world are not behaving in right way with us…then why should we……….ONLY HINDU & SIKH ..belong to this land in right way like other countries.when other countries will start giving respect & equal right ,to hindu’s ,then india should do……….like u r minority in india….also in same way hindu’s are minority in various countries………see how they are tortured…………jaise ko taisa……….
Thakur,
Your lack of knowledge is very surprising. I pray that you get more knowledge. Secondly I hope you learn some English as well as your basic Hindi so you can communicate coherently and sensibly. Your lack of grammar and grasp of the English language is very surprising. I would say English unites the whole of the world, whereas Hindi only unites Bihar/UP/Madhya Pradesh/Haryana (basically North India), so learn some English.
You said Hindi is must for Hindu because it is related to Sanskrit. Then what about Bengali? Gujarati? Punjabi? Are they not related to Sanskrit? What makes Hindi special, and why is knowing Hindi more important than knowing Gujarati or Bengali which are older and more culturally developed languages?
WHY IS HINDI MORE IMPORTANT FOR A HINDU THAN GUJARATI, OR BENGALI, OR PUNJABI, OR OTHER LANGUAGES RELATED TO SANSKRIT?
And by the same token, if I follow your logic, then Arabic should be more important for a Muslim than Hindi, even though a Muslim is living in Bihar for 20 years and Hindi is his mother language. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?
The fact is you are a Hindi speaker and you are trying to force everyone to learn YOUR mother tongue, like imperialism during the British. Sorry, but Hindi is not my mother tongue, and it can never be as special for me as my mother tongue – Punjabi – the language I love and adore. You learn your own Hindi, let me know my Punjabi. Do not try to impose your ideals on others – that is what India is – a democracy – stop trying to be like a dictator.
In fact, if you had any basic knowledge of languages, you would know that Hindi is a very recent language, not half as old as Punjabi, which is considered an ancient language. In that case, all the Hindus spoke Punjabi before anyone even knew Hindi.
In fact, there is a whole book written by a Hindu Punjabi which explains that in fact Punjabi is closer to Sanskrit than Hindi. He wrote this article for Hindu Punjabis who bought into the political language game of Hindi natives. But the fact that Hindu Punjabis disowned their mother language, I can only say that modern day Punjabi belongs to the Sikhs and Muslims (especially through the Sufi traditions).
What kind of idiot calls Hindi a “religious language”? Has there been any major Hindu scripture written in Hindi?
NONE
In fact, Hindi is a mixture of Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit, and Punjabi, which are all considered either ancient or classical languages. Hindi is not even a young child when compared to old these other languages are. It can be argued (and has been) that in fact Punjabi is much closer to Sanskrit than Hindi.
Face it. Hindi is simply another language. It has no religious significance at all to Hinduism. Hindi is a modern language that has many Arabic, Persian, Punjabi, and Sanskrit influences. It is just another language. The only reason we use it is because Hindi speakers have produced a lot of chlidren which led to the high Hindi-speaking population. So more people understand Hindi. That’s why we don’t make Sanskrit an official language – not because it is inferior, but because no one speaks it.
If you want to speak Hindi, that’s absolutely fine. But please keep India a democracy, don’t turn it into a dictatorship by calling Hindi more important than my mother language. Don’t force me to give Hindi some special status more than it deserves. For me, my mother language is the most beautiful language and nothing can take its place.
Thakur:
You are saying it is ok for movies to be on Hindus because most Indians are Hindus? Then isn’t it ok to have movies on Punjabis because most of these directors are Punjabi? And the biggest audience (overseas especially) are Punjabis and not, say people from Tripura? There is no difference. In fact, if about 25% of the Bollywood audience is Punjabi, then about 5-10% of movies are based in Punjab, which is a very realistic (and perhaps even underperforming) proportion.
I disagree that Hindi can unite whole of India. I also disagree that Hindi should be given any “special” respect than any other language of India. All languages are special equally. Today, less than 40% of Indians know Hindi. Natives (whose mother tongue is Hindi) are less than 26%. Not even a majority can speak Hindi, so on what basis you are saying it can unite India?
Why not look at the world and just make English the uniting factor? That would much more realistic, as even Hindi speaking families prefer to have their children go to English medium schools. And English is the language of the world, so why are you forcing Hindi on others when the world is speaking English? And even the Hindi speakers are preferring English over Hindi?
You are also completely wrong about Sikhism. Just as you are trying to force Hindi, you are also trying to force Hinduism on Sikhs. Guru Nanak Dev Ji said “I am neither Hindu or Muslim.” And the Khalsa was started as a differentiated set of beliefs from Hinduism. You should respect other religions with the differences they have, instead of trying to impose your identity on others.
As for Punjabi language films showing Sikhs…I hardly know any Hindu Punjabi who would even understand the movie even if it were on Hindus. Because most Hindus prefer to speak Hindi. So it would be a loss for the movie. It’s like selling a Hindi-language film to a German. Secondly, the Gurus didn’t give any “special status” to Punjabi. Punjabi was the common man’s language of everyone in Punjab then…there was no choice between Punjabi or Hindi. It was only after that people familiarized with Hindi.
I have nothing against any language, but India has 22 national languages in its Constitution, and I absolutely abhor when anyone tries to disrespect one language or force “special status” on any one language. This is India, not Cuba. We are a democracy of many languages, learn to respect them.
PS: Just as a side note, there have been more different language films – like Bengali – that have won “National Awards” than Hindi films.
(BRITISHERS DIVIDE RULE:)
.
Govind Singh was forced to fight against a whole Muslim army before they could consolidate the Khalsa. His two teen-aged sons courted matyrdom along with many other members of the Khalsa in a running battle with a fully equipped force in hot pursuit. His two other sons who were mere boys were captured and walled up alive by the orders of a Muslim governor after they refused to embrace Islam. The Guru himself had to go into hiding and wander from place to place till he reached Nanded town in far-off Maharashtra. He was murdered by a Muslim fanatic to whom he had granted an interview inside his own tent. But the mighty seed he had planted in the shape of the Khalsa was soon to sprout, grow speedily and attain to the full stature of a strong and well-spread-out tree.
Before he died, Guru Govind Singh had commissioned Banda Bairagi, a Rajput from Jammu to go to the Punjab and punish the wrong-doers. Banda more than fulfiled his mission. He was joined by fresh formations of the Khalsa and the Hindus at large gave him succour and support. He roamed all over the Punjab, defeating one Muslim army after another in frontal fights as well as in guerilla warfare. Sirhind, where Guru Govind Singh’s younger sons had been walled up, was stormed and sacked. The bullies of Islam who had walked with immense swagger till only the other day had to run for cover. Large parts of the Punjab were liberated from Muslim depotism after a spell of nearly seven centuries
The Mughal empire, however, was still a mighty edifice which could mobilize a military force far beyond Banda’s capacity to match. Gradually, he had to yield ground and accept defeat as his own following thinned down in battle after battle. He was captured, carried to Delhi in an iron cage and tortured to death in 1716 A.D. Many other members of the Khalsa met the same fate in Delhi and elsewhere. The Muslim governor of the Punjab had placed a prize on every Khalsa head. The ranks of the Khalsa had perforce to suffer a steep decline and go into hiding.
The next upsurge of the Khalsa came in the second half of the Century. The Marathas had meanwhile broken the back of Mughal power all over India and the Mughal administration in the Punjab had distintegrated speedily. A new Muslim invader, Ahmad Shah Abdali, who tried to salvage the Muslim rule, had to give up after several attempts from 1748 to 1767 A.D. His only satisfaction was that he demolished the Harimandir and desecrated the sacred tank with the blood of slaughtered cows, two times in a row. But the Sikh and non-Sikh Hindus rallied round the Khalsa again and again and rebuilt the temple every time.
The Khalsa had a field day when Abdali departed finally from the scene. By the end of the century, Muslim power evaporated all over the Punjab and several Sikh principalities came up in different parts of the province. The strongest of them was that of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1783-1839 A.D ) who wiped out the Muslim rule from Kashmir and the North West Frontier as well. He would have conquered Sindh and Afghanistan also but for the steam- roller of British imperialism which took over his farflung kingdom as well, soon after his death.
The British had conquered India through their superiority in the art of warfare. They could not hope to hold such a big country by means of military might alone. They had to devise policies of devide any rule. The residues of Islamic imperialism had become their allies quite early in course of the conquest. Now they had to contend with the national society constituted by Hindus. It became the main plank of their policy, therefore, to fragment Hindu society and pit the pieces against each other. At the same time, they tried to create pockets of solid support for their regime in India. One such pocket was provided by Sikhs.
The British planned and put into operation a move to separate and seal off the Sikh community from its parent Hindu society by converting it into a distinct religious minority like the Muslims and the Christians. Tutored Sikh theolgians and scholars were patronised to make them pronounce that Sikhism was a decisive departure from Hinduism, the same as Christianity was from Judaism. The labours of Christian missionaries and the timings of Western Indology were mobilized in order to achieve this end
Lepel Henry Griffen postulated that Hinduism had always been hostile to Sikhism and even socially the two had been anta- gonistic. One Max Arthur Macauliffe, a highly placed British administrator, became the loudest spokesman of this thesis. He told the Sikhs that Hinduism was like a “boa con- strictor of the Indian forests,” which “winds its opponent and finally causes it to disappear in its capacious interior.” The Sikhs “may go that way,” he warned. He did not want to see that the Sikhs regarded themselves as Hindus which was, “in direct opposition to the teachings of the Gurus.” He put words into the mouth of the Gurus and invented prophecies by them which anticipated the advent of the white race to whom the Sikhs would be loyal. He described “the pernicious effects of the up-bringing of Sikh youths in a Hindu atmosphere.” These youths, he said, “are ignorant of the Sikh religion and of itsprophecies in favour of the English and contract exclusive customs and prejudices to the extent of calling us Malechhas or persons of impure desires, and inspire disgust for the customs and habits of Christians.”
It was a concerted effort in which the officials, the scholars and the missionaries all joined. In order to separate the Sikhs, they were even made into a sect of Islam. For example, one Thomas Patrick Hughes, who had worked as missionary for twenty years in Peshawar, edited the Dictionary of Islam. The work itself is scholarly but, like most European scholarship, it had a colonial inspiration. The third biggest article in this work, after Muhammad and the Quran, is on Sikhism. It devotes one-fourth of a page to the Sunnis and, somewhat more justly, seven pages to the Shias, but devotes eleven and a half pages to the Sikhs! Probably, the editor himself thought it rather exces- sive; for he offers an explanation to the Orientalists who “may, perhaps be suprised to find that Sikhism has been treated as a sect of Islam.” Indded, it is surprising to the non-Orientalists too. For it must be a strange sect of Islam where the word ‘Muhammad’ does not occur even once in the writings of its found- er, Nanak. But the inclusion of such an article “in the present work seemd to be most desirable.” It was apolicy matter.
Macauliffe and others provided categories which became the thought equipment of subsequent Sikh intellectuals. But the British Government did not neglect the quicker administra- tive and political measures. They developed a special Army Policy which gave results even in the short run. While they disarmed the nattion as whole, they created privileged enclaves of what they called martial races.
The British had conquered the Punjab with the help of Poora- biya soldiers, many of them Brahmins, but they played a rebel- lious role in 1857. So the British dropped them and sought other elements. The Sikhs were chosen. In 1855, there were only 1500 Sikh soldiers, mostly Mazhabis. In 1910, there were 33 thousands out of a total of 174 thousands, this time mostly Jats–just a little less than one-fifth of the total army strength. Their very recruitment was calculated to give them a sense of separateness and exclusiveness. Only such Sikhs were recruited who observed the marks of the Khalsa. They were sent to receive baptism according to the rites prescribed by Guru Govind Singh. Each regiment had its own granthis. The greetings ex- changed between the British officers and the Sikh soldiers were Wahguruji ka Khalsa ! Wahguruji ki Fateh. A secret C I.D. Memorandum, prepared by D. Patfie, Assistant Director, Criminal Intellegence, Government of India (1911), says that “every en- deavour has been made to preserve them (Sikh soldiers) from the contagion of idolatory,” a name the colonial-missionaries gave to Hinduism. Thanks to these measures, the “Sikhs in the Indian Army have been studiously nationalized,” Macaulille observed. About the meaning of this “nationalization”, we are left in no doubt. Petrie explains that it means that the Sikhs were “en- couraged to regard themselves as a totally distinct and separate nation.” No wonder, the British congratulated themselves and held that the “preservation of Sikhism as a separate religion was largely due to the action of the British officers,” as a British administrator put it.
The British also worked on a more political level. Singh Sabhas were started, manned mostly by ex-soldiers. These worked under Khalsa Diwans established at Lahore and Amritsar. Later on, in 1902, the two Diwans were amalgamated into one body–the Chief Khalsa Diwan, providing political leadership to the Sikhs. They all wore the badge of loyalty to the British. As early as 1872, the loyal Sikhs supported the cruel suppression of the Namdhari Sikhs who had started a Swadeshi movement. They were described as a “wicked and misguided sect.” The same forces described the Ghadarites in 1914 as “rebels” who should be dealt with mercilessly.
These organisations also spearheaded the movement for the de-Hinduization of the Sikhs and preached that the Sikhs were distinct from the Hindus. Anticipating the Muslims, they represented to the British Government as far back as 1888 that they be recognized as a separate community. ,. They also threw out the idols of “Hindu” Gods from this temple which were installed there. We do not know what these Gods were and how “Hindu” they were, but most of them are adoringly mentioned in the poems of Guru Nanak. At any rate, more often than not, iconoclasm has hardly much spiritual content; on the other hand, it is a misanthropic idea and is meant to show one’s hatred for one’s neighbour. In this particular case, it was also meant to impress the British with one’s loyalty. Hitherto, the Brahmins had presided over different Sikh ceremonies which were the same as those of the Hindus. There was now a tendency to have separate rituals. In 1909, the Ananda Marriage Act was passed.
Thus the seed sown by the British began to bear fruit. In 1898, Kahan Singh, the Chief Minister of Nabha and a pacca loyal- ist wrote a pamplet: Hum Hindu Nahin Hain (We are not Hindus). This note, first struck by the British and then picked up by the collaboratonists, has not lacked a place in subsequent Sikh writings and politics, leading eventually in our own time to an intransigent politics and terroristic activities. But that the Sikhs learn their history from the British is not peculiar to them. We all do it. With the British, we all believe that India is merely a land where successive invaders made good, and that this country is only a miscellany of ideas and peoples– in short, a nation withour a nomos or personality or vision of its own.
The British played their game as best as they could, but they did not possess all the cards. The Hindu-Sikh ties were too intimate and numerous and these continued without much strain at the grass-root level. Only a small section maintained that there was a “distinct line of cleavage between Hinduism and Sikhism”; but a large section, as the British found, “favours, or at any rate views with indifference the re-absorption of the Sikhs into Hinduism.” They found it sad to think that very important classes of Sikhs like Nanak Panthis or Sahajdahris did not even think it “incumbent on them to adopt the ceremonial and social obser- vances of Govind Singh,” and did not “even in theory, reject the authority of the Brahmins.”
The glorification of the Sikhs was welcome to the British to the extent it separated them from the Hindus, but it had its disadvantages too. Mr. Petrie found it a “constant source of danger,” something which tended to give the Sikhs a “wind in the head.” Sikh nationalism once stimulated refused British guidance and developed its own ambitions. The neo-nationalist Sikhs thought of a glorious past and had dreams of a glorious future, but neither in his past nor in his future’ “was there a place for the British Officer,” as a British administrator complained. Any worthwhile Sikh nationalism was incompatible with loyalty to the British. When neo-nationalists like Labh Singh spoke of the past “sufferings of the Sikhs at the hands of the Muhammadans,” the British found in the statement a covert reference to them- selves. When they admired the Gurus for “their devotion to reli- gion and their disregard for life,” the British heard in it a call to sedition.
Sikh nationalism was meant to hurt the Hindus, but in fact it hurt the British. For what nourished Sikh nationalism also nourished Hindu nationalism. The glories of Sikh Gurus are part of the glories of the Hindus, and these have been sung by poets like Tagore and others. On the other hand, as Christians and as rulers, the British could not go very far in this direction. In fact, in their more private consultations, they spoke contemptuously of the Gurus. Mr. Petrie considered Guru Arjun Dev as “essentially a mercenary,” who was “prepared to fight for or against the Mughul as convenience or profit dictated;” he tells us how “Tegh Bahadur, as an infidel, a robber and a rebel, was executed at Delhi by the Moghul authorities.” As imperialists, they naturally sympathised with the Moghuls and shared their view-point
Is the shared heritage of Hindus and Sikhs so cheap that it could be forgotten for a few sweet words spoken with a poisoned tongue? Do the mughals think that the very same Hindus and Sikhs on whom they effected genocide for centuries could forget the very reason for their resistance?
It was the defense of the Sanatan Dharma from these very same Muslim invaders, which prompted the supreme sacrifice of every Sikh Guru and millions of Sikhs.
For centuries the followers of Islam have tried their best to separate these two inseparable sons of sacred Mother India.
There is no element in the universe which can forge the blade that could cut this bond asunder.
For the bond between the Hindus and Sikhs is that of oneness. The two are none other than reflections of the same Self rooted in the eternal soil of India, the Supreme Self of the Vedas and the Wahe Guru of the Granth Sahib.
To all the writers
The write-up was NOT written with any malice or hatred towards any religion, enthnicity, race, creed or colour.
If you want to make your point please do it in a proper manner. Do NOT attack each others religion or race and also please refrain from abuse. All abusive response have been deleted.
All human beings are equal in the eyes of God, non are superior to each other.
Regards,
Muzzy
C’mon guys STOP all this. Punjab is a part of india why fight over this nonsence TOPIC?? Im punjabi and i do understand that every movie is having at least one punjabi song but face the fact who is gonna dance on hindi song i mean i LOVE hindi songs in my car i ONLY have hindi songs i dont even listen to punjabi songs that much but seriouslly u guys tell me who will dance on hindi song..you, you or you? huh? Just Stop All This. It depends on movies..Example: Rab ne bana di jodi will look good in Punjabi culture or punjab, Jaane tu ya jaane na will look good in Hindu cultue or mumbai. It all depends on d team who is making movie.
This is just unbelievable.
I didnt know our INDIAN ppl will think like this. Amazing and Sad.
To Kiwi Indian who said: “Who do you think lived in Punjab 500years ago before someone decided to wrap their table cloth around their head?”
That is a very offensive and disgusting thing to say, because the turban is a very sacred symbol for us Sikhs. Do you see us asking why Hindus like to wear spices (red dots) and rice on their foreheads?
If you are a real Indian you would know that you should respect other religions. That is what our Gurus taught us, and I hope your mother taught you the same!
what nonesense…………where this rani have gone……friends we r not here to fight & say disgusting things related to eachother religion, but to clarify things…….be on topic.friends would like to tell rani…….that in punjab common people speaks punjabi he can be educated or not……….its not necessary that he should be knowing written punjabi script.like in rajasthan,up,bihar,himachal,delhi,haryana,mp,etc their is no written script for their mother tongue………..so was with punjabi.but as some sikh fundamentalist leaders introduced punjabi script…..,it was good to have own script for spoken language, but they introduced with a motive to benefit only punjabi sikhs……….,they never talked about punjabi hindu’s, and about their welfare……….so how can hindu’s in punjab whose mother tongue as usual was punjabi & will remain for ever…….say yes to such fundamentalist leaders, is to speak one’s mother tongue we require its script……….can’t we speak our mother tongue without script as in up,rajasthan….etc,if someone says no to script ,it doesnot mean that he has disowned his mother tongue,it means he doesnot agree with written script, so how u can say that we disowned our mother to ngue, we can never disown,it was only written script which was drived from sikh guru’s ,it has no relation to our punjabi hindu’s,we speak punjabi,punjabi is our mother tongue ,but we don’t need ur written script,its spoken in punjab as spoken language as in other states……….so no question of mother tongue.
yes ….RANA………..,you are right,as my grandfather says……that punjabi hindu’s never disowned their mother tongue,its usual & commonsense that no one can disown their mother tongue, it was fight of written script which at that time was introduced with motive of uniting punjabi sikhs……….it was good………but they directly start saying its our script……….so how can punjabi hindu’s accept………so it was better to be without script………,if u speaks any language u don’t need its script ,like in other states, so if script is their then its good, but u can’t say if someone disagreed with script then it mean they disowned language………have haryanvi disowned their mother tongue bangri…..they have no script.but speaks , have up & bihari & rajasthani have disowned their mother tongue , they have no written script of mother tongue…..no,its not necessary to havescript,no one can disown their mother tongue, it was matter of script only.
who said we disowned ,our family never disowned our mother tongue, if some have disowned then it doesnot mean all have disowned, tell these things to only who have disowned, i have just heard fr u, what nonesense, if some section of sikhs can support khalistan……….then some hindu’s can also do some wrong things……..but it doesnot mean whole hindu or sikh are responsible……..say to only who have done it,……..shado yaar………kuriyaan di gaalon karo,aevein…..rolaa paya eh……
Dear Rana,
The Punjabi script, Gurmukhi, was not written by any “Khalistanis” because the demand for Khalistan came only after the brutal massacre of Sikhs in 1984 by the fundamentalist Hindu society then. But the Punjabi script Gurmukhi has been around since 16th century. Do you know why Gurmukhi was made and by whom? It was made by Guru Ramdas Ji who wanted to unite the Sikhs in particular and hence Sikhism is the only religion in the world with a script attributed to itself.
You cannot compare Gurmukhi script with Haryanvi or Bihari because Haryanvi/Bihari are not classified as separate languages – they are only dialects of Hindi, so they use the Devanagri script, which is also shared by Gujarati and other languages. Dialects of Hindi do not have separate scripts. But Punjabi is classified as a national language of India, not a dialect of any other language. They cannot be compared.
When it comes to mother language, the fact is most of my Punjabi Hindu friends cannot speak Punjabi. I am just telling you what I experience. They like to speak Hindi rather than Punjabi. And even on this thread, one Punjabi Hindu said that Hindi is more important to him than his mother tongue. That explains a lot. I often feel this lack of patriotism of Hindu Punjabis toward their mother tongue.
It’s not a matter of script. In 1968 census a huge bulk of Hindu Punjabis declared their mother tongue as Hindi, even though their parents/grandparents all spoke Punjabi. Why? They succumbed to a lot of pressure from Hindi-speaking states who forced that Hindi means Hindu and Punjabi means Sikh. Still more than 50% of Haryanvis speak Punjabi, especially the parents/grandparents but they changed their mother tongue to Hindi. It was a political game. Yes, I can say both Sikhs and Hindus have made a lot of mistakes, and I understand there were lots of tensions then, but a lot of wrong things were done.
It is sad that people have different scripts for Punjabi. Because Punjabi is an ancient language and so rich in culture, poetry, and what not, but Indians who use mainly the Gurmukhi script cannot understand what is written by Pakistani Punjabis (who use Shahmukhi) and vice versa. There is a wealth of Punjabi literature that is divided in those scripts and one requires a knowledge of both to truly appreciate the richness of the language.
Punjabis have a lot to be proud of their mother tongue, both Sikhs and Hindus, because Punjabi is one of the richest and culturally significant languages in India, with a wealth of poetry and history. I doubt there are many languages, including Hindi, that can match Punjabi in that regard. In the 50s and early 60s there was a lot of unity amongst Punjabis, where poets like Ishar Singh and Shiv Kumar Batlavi honoured Punjabi with their verses. But by late 60s, we saw a lot of politics take over which led to a lot of wrong things against the language and Punjab. I hope to see the contined support and love for our mother language in the future, because I am proud to be a Punjabi.
To jasmine……………i appreciate ur secular views for both hindu-sikh punjabi’s, jasmine ur views are good but u lack knowledge of the fact.u said demand for khalistan arised after 1984,friend 1984 massacre happened because of demand for khalistan, what are u saying such foolish questions, when some fundamentalist sikh militants demended khalistan ,then central government have to intervene & take action, it was not only hindu but majority of sikhs in punjab were happy for this action,because fundamentalist militant were forcing both hindu-sikh to follow them, which was not accepted, ur lack of such a big thing is shamable, anyway
Read the sacred scripture, the ‘ADI GRANTH’ ,would notice that over 90 % of the names of god are hindu—hari,ram,govind etc.Even the last of the gurus, Gobind singh invoked Shiva to give him strength to fight his oppressors.All 10 gurus were khatris not one was a jat,so was banda bahadur.Despite occasional differences, inter-marriages between hindus & Sikhs of same caste are common.What the gurus, particularly guru gobind singh, gave them was a distinct outward appearance & rituals.A clean shaven sikh became a hindu believing in Sikhism as are million of Punjabi & sindhi hindus,who prefer chanting sikh prayers, which they can understand, rather than reciting Sanskrit shlokas,they can’t.They go to gurudwaras rather than hindu temples.The borderline dividing the two communities is ,as it always has been, blurred.Relation between the two are, as they have always been, nauh mas da rishta (as nail is to the flesh from which it grows.The relationship changed with the emergence of certain fundamentalist terrorists as leader of the radical khalsa.Relation between hindus & Sikhs began to sour when fundamentalist terrorists started using abusive language for the hindus & his goons went on a spree of indiscriminate killings of hindus & Sikhs who disagreed with him. No leader spoke up against these terrorists.Lesser people who did were eliminated by his thugs. The government mishandled the situation.So all misconception is created by common radical fundamentalist leaders, not by GURUS. NO government cares about such violence or behavior of fundamentalists. So this type of divide is deepening day by day.so due to such antiindia movement ,bluestar happened, so after bluestar ,after killing of indira gandhi by sikh bodyguards antisikh riots happened, so how u can say it was due to riots……….it happened before………….
Punjabi is an ancient language, but like Marathi, started its literary career pretty late. it was spoken in land of Punjab by common Punjabi people already before the golden age of Gurus, the script of Punjabi language is Gurmukhi, based on Devanagri. Gurmukhi script is atleast 1400 years old & not just few centuries. The origin of gurmukhi script take us back to its source Brahmi which is available on the stone edicts of ashoka several centuries before Christ.Punjabi as well as its gurmukhi script evolved independently in Punjab before Christ .sikh gurus gave a new lease of life to Punjabi,which is called golden age of Punjabi.punjabi is the state language of Punjab. Punjab is divided into two distinct language areas: Hindki in West Punjab and Punjabi in East Punjab.
This Eastern Punjab dialect developed into a literary language around the beginning of the 17th century whereas Hindki 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. Gurmukhi script, created from the Nagari script, is claimed by punjabi’s as the only proper script for Punjabi. we must note that gurbani is not in one language. The major language of guru granth sahib is not Punjabi. The bani of the first 3 gurus is somewhat Punjabi but the hindi content increases with 4th & 5th guruji. The bani of 9th guruji is almost entirely hindi.Punjabi was evolving and Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, 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, the Adi Grantha or Grantha 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. The writings of 10th guruji are either in braj bhasa or in the awadhi dialect of hindi.In adittion there are excellent examples of compositions in Farsi or Persian languages by first guruji & bhagat namdev.guru arjun dev ji wrote particular version of Sanskrit known as sahakrit in gatha & salok sahakriti.
The period between 1600-1850 covers the entire Middle Punjabi literature. Hindu and Sikh writers wrote in Punjabi, but it were Muslims were the most creative in producing rich literature in Punjabi. The best-known Hindu Punjabi scholar and Persian poet of the 17th century was Chandar Bhan of Lahore. In the 17th century Punjabi split up into three scripts – Perso-Arabic, Nagari and Gurmukhi. Abdullah’s (1616-1666) Bara Anva or the ‘the Twelve Topics’ is a thesis on Islam. During this age many Muslim Sufi poets came to the forefront, and their compositions, entirely Punjabi in spirit and content, form an integral part of Punjabi literature. Bullhe Shah (1680-1758) is the greatest Sufi poet whose Kafis or short poems of about six stanzas are very popular. Ali Haidar (1689-1776), one of his contemporaries, wrote a large number Si-harfis or poems of 30 stanzas, each stanza beginning with a letter of the Persian alphabet.
In this century Jasoda Nandan wrote a poem containing 88 stanzas on an episode from the Ramayana. As an offering to Guru Granth, Guru Das wrote 40 Vras or stories in poetry form conveying moral teachings. Ballads based on popular romances form a special work of Punjabi literature. The tragic love story of Heer and Ranjha became the source of many long poems by various writers, but the most extensive and popular was the one rendered by Waris Shah in 1766. Shah is regarded as the greatest poet of Punjabi literature before the start of the modern age
After mughal empire, came sikh empire in north india but after british rule ,sikh empire was just no more,britisher’s started favouring Punjabi muslims,more seats were reserved for them,so Sikhs opposed them.And before 1947 partition of Punjab ,muslim Punjabi were in majority so rest were sikh-hindu punjabi’s in minority so hindu- Sikhs don’t want to live in minority under muslim majority rule.so they rejected their government & their rules & regulations.But after 1947 partition ,sikh & hindu punjabi’s were left in Indian Punjab,but certain fundamentalist leaders of both hindu & sikh faith started pouring venom in minds of sikh & hindu punjabi’s to spread hatred among them & it worked both started fighting for power.punjabi sikh leaders wanted to be in majority so they put forward the need of ‘punjabi suba’.so overall situation was created by both hindu & sikh fundamentalist leaders ,common people whether hindu-sikh were not in favour of such fundamentalists but due to fear they started supporting them .In Punjab most of Punjabi hindu’s became sikh warriors under influence of guru’s to save their land,religion,culture from foreign invaders so theirs not big difference between Punjabi hindu & Sikhs in Punjab ,earlier there was no Punjabi sikh or Punjabi hindu ,they were only called mona or sardar because all Punjabi were aware that we hindu or sikh Punjabi have originated from each other,we are real brothers although elder has adapted to Sikhism to serve as warrior of religion & younger one remains hindu or mona, but it was fundamental leaders whose secret motiveto divide them worked.Other reasons were that certain religious leaders in Punjab said that Punjabi suba is just a excuse ,but main motive is to form sikh majority state ,having rule of Sikhs with all political powers in their hand,so some hindu leaders opposed it,they said when Sikhs can’t live under hindu majority or hindu in power then how we can or why we should.We(punjabi hindu) are in favour of spread of our mother tongue ‘ Punjabi’ language for example:like opening of Punjabi university Patiala for success of Punjabi, but why to divide Punjab ,we can fulfill all welfare works in this Punjab without division.So they were really disturbed due to secret motive behind Punjabi suba creation.
So according to the reorganizing act of 1966, 3 member committee headed by shri indira Gandhi,put forth the memorandom for Punjabi suba,so on 1st November 1966 , Punjab was again divided , so districts with Punjabi speaking people whether hindu,sikh or muslim were included in present day Punjab, although it was not totally correct.So after 1966 partition, Punjabi Sikhs became majority in Punjab with 58 % of population & Punjabi hindu’s become minority with almost 40% of population.and akali dal became a main political power in Punjab.But after formation of new Punjab,started interstate disputes related to land,electricity & water & are still going on.
A lot of blood was shed during 1947 partition of Punjab ,almost 6 lakh punjabi’s on both sides were killed in violence during Punjab partition,it’s a horrific thing,it’s a message for all of us to stop violence.
well raman, good knowledge……………i appreciate ur knowledge & correctness………..but friend i know we sikh-hindu are same ,two brothers, but friend u know exept punjabi hindu’s , whole other indian state indian had discriminated us……….they are also trying to pour venom in minds of hindu punjabi’s which i hope they are not going to listen , so due to such discrimination sikhs started process for their own religion,culture etc ,which should be, although it was not right to put forward movement for khalistan, sikh militant killed lots of innocent hindu’s during that period, so after that bluestar happened ,so our main fight is with our discrimination, its our anger in the form of khalistan or killing of hindu’s in punjab, it was very bad & shame on sikh militant to kill own hindu punjabi brothers , but they did that ,thats their way to open central govt. silence,what happened up to now , i think its fault of all whether sikh or hindu, militant sikhs should have opted other way to convey their message to central govt, inspite of killing of innocent punjabi hindu & sikhs,punjabi language arised after intermingling of persian,turkish,pushto,hindi languages , so it is not related to specific race………its language of all sikh,hindu & muslim punjabi;s, so friends lets forget past , start new day………..with educated society, earlier were uneducated people which easily favours wrong ones, so be wise now…….
Raman can you please stop posting under other people’s names, trying to show fake support? It is dishonesty and completely invalidates all your claims.
You signed in as Thakur first, then Rana, Kanwalpreet, Raman, and last post as Singh. Please stick to one name. You are trying to force that Sikhs actually believe by faking your Hindu and Sikh names. Then you go on to make completely anti-Sikh remarks.
I have one suggestion for you. Stop trying to teach us our religion and our language. Your disgusting comments on 1984, and your misguided comments on our holy scripture is truly propagandic.
Now there is so much propaganda in your posts (under 5/6 different names) that it would take me a week to write about all of them.
All I will say is this funny statement I read from you: “it was very bad & shame on sikh militant to kill own hindu punjabi brothers”
Now you seem to have forgotten that Hindu Punjabis, after the lower strata of Hindus in Delhi (and I would like to believe not all Hindus) were the biggest contributors to the biggest genocide in Indian history – that of 1984.
Now tell me where this Hindu-Sikh brotherhood was when your fellow Sikhs were being killed in front of your very eyes. Was there even an eye squinted by Hindu Punjabis towards their Sikh ‘brothers’? Sure, there were Hindus killed and Sikhs killed in smaller fights amongst themselves, which was on both sides and not surprising given the tensions then, but there was never a mass genocide of Hindus like there was against the Sikhs. There were no Hindu women gang-raped. Never. 1984 was truly the most cowardly thing India has to its name, with no justice being administered 26 years later. And that is something you ought to think about.
As for your comments about Sikhism being a part of Hinduism – I have heard it all too often, and usually coming from the uneducated, RSS-following types. It is really a ridiculous claim. All I want to say here is that India is a conglomerate of many religions and faiths and beliefs, so do not turn it into a dictatorship. You follow your religion, let others follow theirs. There is no need to preach me my religion.
Forget just Punjabfication of Bollywood guys now speak about Punjabification in different zones of the world. I myself is in states, with CA amounting a good amount of Punjabi there are regions where they are being officially accepted as laungauge, Punjabi is the 6th spoken langauge in Canada; where we travel and if requested for Indian music only shown are Punjabi music. Goras and kallas have started dancing on Punjabi Bangra, there are Clubs in Canada and UK where in you have only Indian (Punjabi) Music playing.
Punjabi cusine is well known as best Indian food and you get this now every where, Punjabi in itself are different than rest of India thus we have Punjabi Samosa, Punjabi Kadi, Punjabi pickle, Punjabi papad, Punjabi lassi. SOUTH INDIAN RESTAURANTS IN INDIA HAVE TO SERVE PUNJABI THALI TO BE IN BUSINESS. The most common dress in India of Kurta/Pyjama is also called as Punjabi dress.
Hi guys in short you like or not you will have to accept Punjabification so better to do with smile.