Punjabi identity is primarily
linguistic, geographical and cultural. Punjabi identity is independent of race,
color, creed or religion, and refers to those for whom the Punjabi language is
the first language, those who reside in the Punjab region, practice the Punjabi
culture, follow the Punjabi traditions, and associate themselves with the
Punjabi Nation.
Punjabi is the 9th biggest nation and The Punjabi speaking population of the
world. The Punjabi nation is the 3rd biggest nation of South Asia. Punjabi
Muslims are the 3rd largest ethnic community in the Muslim Ummah. Punjabis are
the largest ethnic population in Pakistan. The great land of five rivers called
as Punjab is the homeland of Punjabi nation.
In 1800 century, religious ratio of Punjabi people in Punjab was 48% Muslim
Punjabis, 43% Hindu Punjabis, 8% Sikh Punjabis and 1% others, but due to
attraction of the various tribes, castes and the inhabitants of the Punjab into
a broader common "Punjabi" identity and uniting by natural affinity of "Punjabi
nationalism", Punjab was a secular regime, Punjabi was a secular nation and a
Sikh Punjabi, Maharaja Ranjeet Singh was the ruler of Punjab, after throwing out
the Muslim Mughal invaders of Punjab from Delhi, India and Muslim Afghan
invaders of Punjab from Kabul, Afghanistan.
Maharaja Ranjeet Singh made Lahore his capital and expanded the Kingdom of
Punjab to the Khyber Pass and also included Jammu and Kashmir in it. He was also
successful in keeping the British from expanding across the River Sutlej for
more than 40 years. After his death in 1839 the internecine fighting between the
Sikhs and several rapid forfeitures of territory by his sons, along with the
intrigues of the Dogras and two Anglo-Sikh wars, eventually led to British
control of the Lahore Darbar in 1849.
As, after Hindi-Urdu Speaking UP, CP people of Gunga Jumna culture, Bengali was
the second and Punjabi was the third biggest nation in South Asia and for the
British, Punjab was a frontier province of British India because, Punjab had
boundaries with Afghanistan, Russia, and China. Therefore, to rule the South
Asia, the prime factor for the British rulers was to control the Punjab by
dominating or eliminating the Punjabi nation.
British rulers were well aware of the fact that, they succeeded to capture the
Punjab but they has not concurred the Punjabi nation. Therefore, British rulers
imposed martial law in Punjab to govern Punjab and due to a fear from Punjabi
nationalism; British rulers started to eliminate the Punjabi nation into
fractions by switching over the characteristics of Muslim Punjabi, Hindu
Punjabi, and Sikh Punjabi from “ Affinity of Nation to Emotions of Religion”.
For demolishing the nationalism and promoting the religious fundamentalism in
the Punjab, British rulers, not allowed the Punjabis to use their mother tongue
as an educational and official language. Therefore, the British rulers first
introduced an Urdu as an official language in Punjab and they brought the
Urdu-speaking Muslim Mullahs and Hindi-speaking Hindu Pundits from UP, CP to
Punjab for the purpose of educational teaching of Punjabi people along with, UP,
CP bureaucracy, and establishment for the purpose of Punjab administration.
It resulted in the supremacy of UP-ites and UP-ite mindsets in policy making and
decision taking in national affairs and foreign relationship of Punjabi nation,
managed, motivated and sponsored by the British rulers to eliminate the Muslim,
Sikh, Hindu and Christian Punjabi’s into different religions and languages to
secure their rule over last captured land and martial race of the subcontinent.
As a result, the Punjabi nation became a socially and politically depressed and
deprived nation due to the domination of Urdu-Hindi language, the hegemony of
Gunga Jumna culture and the supremacy of UP-ite traditions.
However, beside all the efforts of British rulers to demolish and eliminate the
Punjabi nation, due to struggle of Punjabi nationalists during British rule in
India, beside the dissimilarity of religion, because of natural affinity on
ground of similar language, culture and tradition, Muslim Punjabi, Hindu
Punjabi, Sikh Punjabi and Christian Punjabi were still a nation. Religion was a
personal subject for building the moral character and spiritual development for
the life of the hereafter. Punjabi nationalism was a subject for the worldly
life affairs. Whereas, clans moreover, communities were the institutions for
social interaction and charity work. Punjab was a secular region, the Punjabi
language was a respectable language, Punjabi culture was an honorable culture
and Punjabi nation was a wealthy nation in British India.
In the 19th century, due to politics of congress, dominated by the Hindi
speaking, UP-ite Hindu leaders of UP, CP, Hindu Punjabi's started to prefer the
Hindi language instead of Punjabi by declaring the Hindi as a language of Hindus
and started to become clones of Gunga Jumna culture and traditions with the loss
of their own Punjabi identity. Later on, Muslim Punjabi’s did the same and
started to become the clones of Gunga Jumna culture and traditions with the loss
of their own Punjabi identity, because of preferring the Urdu language upon
Punjabi by declaring the Urdu as a language of Muslims, due to the influence of
the Muslim League, dominated by the Urdu speaking, UP-ite Muslim leaders of UP,
CP and presence of UP-ite Muslims in Punjab.
As a consequence of preferring Hindi language by Hindu Punjabi’s by declaring
the Hindi as a language of Hindus and preferring the Urdu language by the Muslim
Punjabi’s by declaring the Urdu as a language of Muslims, the characteristics of
assimilation to accomplish the sociological instinct, started to switch over
from “ Affinity of Nation to Emotions of Religion” and “A Great Nation of
Sub-Continent Got Divided on Ground of Religion with Partition of Punjab and Get
Emerged into Muslim and Hindu States”.
Hence, it completed the fall of Punjabi nation and Punjabi people started to
receive the reward of hate and regret from every honorable nation, in addition,
humiliation, loathing, and abuse from Hindi-Urdu speaking persons too.
This is the punishment of Punjabi's for not respecting their motherland,
language, culture, and traditions, due to avoiding, ignoring and rejecting the
act of unity by natural affinity and attraction of the various tribes, castes
and the inhabitants of the Punjab into a broader common "Punjabi" identity.