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Revision as of 15:22, 25 June 2012

Punjabi Hindus
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Punjabi
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Punjabi people, Indo-Aryans

Punjabi Hindus are a group of people that follow the Hindu religion and have their roots and origin in the joint ancient Panjab region. In India, most Punjabi Hindus are concentrated in the states of Punjab and Haryana and the national capital territory of Delhi. There has also been a continuous migration of Punjabi Hindus to major world countries like the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Dubai.

The oldest Hindu texts such as the Vedas, Upanishads and the Mahabharata were composed in Punjab. The Hindus of Punjab have been there for milleniums before Muslims and Sikhs. Some of the greatest and most powerful kings such as Prithviraj Chauhan, Raja Porus, influential Sikh figures such as Banda Singh Bahadur, Bhai Mati Das, all originated from Hindu families of Punjab. 13 of the 15 Sikh bhagats who had their writings included in the SGGS were Hindu [1]. Later the vast majority of Punjab's Hindus converted to Sikhism found by Guru Nanak Dev, whose family hailed from the Hindu Khatri Bedi clan. In fact, Punjabi Hindus can trace their roots from the time of the Vedas. Many modern day cities in Indian Punjab and Pakistani Punjab are still named from that period like Lahore, Jalandhar, Chandigarh and so on. Examples of Punjabi Hindus include the former Prime ministers of India I.K. Gujral and Gulzari Lal Nanda and former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev and scientist Hargobind Khorana.

Punjabi Hindus have a unique culture which, in some ways, very closely resembles that of the Sikhs and also differs from theirs in many other ways. They usually have a very liberal lifestyle and are famous for their lavish wedding parties. They are mostly employed in trade and commerce though Hindu Jats work as farmers in the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. Like other Hindus, they are also divided into castes. The most common castes are Khatri (Kshatriya in Sanskrit), Arora, Brahmin, Baniya, Rajput and Saini. In Haryana, once a part of the Greater Punjab region, Hindu Jat are predominant.

Vedic Punjab

Map of early Iron Age Vedic India after Witzel (1989). Realms or tribes are labelled black, Foreign tribes mentioned in early Vedic texts purple, Vedic shakhas in green. Rivers are labelled blue. The Thar desert is marked orange.

The original Punjab region is now divided into several units: West Punjab (now in Pakistan) including the Gandhara region, the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and the Indian Union territory of Chandigarh. The regions of POK and Jammu have also been historically associated with the Punjab.

The Punjab is the 'Sapta Sindhu' region mentioned in the Rig Veda, the seven rivers are:

  1. Saraswati (thought to be the present day Ghaggar),
  2. Satadru/Shutadri (Sutlej),
  3. Vipasa (Beas),
  4. Asikani, Chandrabhaga (Chenab),
  5. Iravati (Ravi),
  6. Vitasta/Vet (Jhelum) and
  7. Sindhu (Indus).

The modern name of the Vipasa,'Beas' is thought to be a corruption of Veda Vyasa, the author of the Mahabharata.

Among the classic books that wholly or partly composed in this region are the following.

The world's oldest university Takshashila flourished here, even before the Buddha's birth.

The descendants of the Rishis, form the Brahmins of Hindu society. The Brahmins of this region are called 'Saraswata' after the legendary Saraswati river region, once known for the ashramas of the rishis.

Classic cities of the Punjab region

Punjabi Hindu sects

The Sanatan Dharmis

Most Hindus in the Punjab are the Sanatan Dharmis. Major deities worshipped include Rama, Krishna, Shiva, Vishnu and Hanuman. One of the most popular ones is Vaishno Devi of Jammu, (all known commonly as Sheraan-wali('She of the lions') in Punjabi). The worship of Hanuman is usually done on Tuesdays.

Sanatan Dharma Sabha was founded in the Punjab in late 19th century to promote traditional Hinduism. It sent scholars overseas and became a major force in some of the overseas Hindu communities. In January 1933 the session of the All-India Sanatan Dharma Sabha, presided over by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya.

Ravidassia

An important group among the Punjabi Chamar caste, which is very powerful politically and socially. Ravidassias are the Chamar caste of Punjab and are also known as Ad dharmis; They are a majority caste within the region. Punjab is differentiated by the fact that it has the highest population of dalits in India; the majority are Ravidassias, and there is also a large number of Valmikis and Mazhabis. Punjab has a 30% of dalit population and in some areas of Punjab like Doaba it is as high as 40-50%. Ravidassias in Punjab are wealthy and an important ethnic group of Punjab.[1]

The Arya Samajis

An important sect amongst Punjabi Hindus is the Arya Samaj. It was founded by Swami Dayananda (born in the town of Tankara near Morvi(or Morbi) in the Kathiawar region of modern-day Gujarat) in 1875 in Bombay and became popular amongst Hindus in the Punjab and U.P. The first branch of the Arya Samaj was opened in Shantakruj, Mumbai in 1875. Arya Samajists do not believe in idol worship and incarnations of God (Avtarvaad) but believes in the philosophy on re-incarnation and transmigration. They hold the Vedic religion to be the only true religion and as such, regard the Vedas as their only religious books, but also regard Upnishad, Darshan Shastras and some other books written by Rishis (Arsh Granths), on the condition that the text in these should not be contradictory to Vedas. On this basis Arya Samaj rejected some of the Hindu scriptures like Purana and some other scriptures which, according to Arya Samaj, are against the Vedas. The Arya Samaj also pleads for Shuddhi or the re-conversion into Hinduism of those Hindus who were converted to other religions. The places of worship of the Arya Samajists are different from those of the Sanatan Dharmis. Worship includes performing yajnas, reciting mantras and seeking spiritual solace by listening to religious discourses.

The Radhaswamis

The Radhaswami sect has its headquarters at the town of Beas and is popular amongst Punjabi Hindus. Like the Nirankaris and Namdharis, the Radhaswamis too are a transitional sect between Hinduism and Sikhism.

The Dev Samajis

Dev Samajis, an offshoot of Brahmo Samaj, are rationalists. Their headquarters is at Moga. Their activities are mostly confined to the moral fields. As such Dev Samajists have not attained much popularity. In all other respects the Dev Samajists are not different from the other Hindus.

Ecumenical Hinduism

A large segment of Punjabis who are now categorized as Hindus or who identify themselves as Punjabi Hindus, continue to live out heterogeneous religious practice that includes spiritual kinship with Sikhism. This not only includes veneration of the Sikh Gurus in private practice, but also visit to Sikh Gurdwaras as well as Hindu temples. Some Punjabi Hindus visit Jain temples and Jain munis.

This is evident from the continuing propensity to conduct important life cycle ceremonies such as on marriage or death by any of the Hindu or Sikh rites. This is especially true for the Khatri and Arora communities, and even more so among the Kukhran tribe emanating from West Punjab, an area now in Pakistan.

This predilection for heterogeneous religious affiliation has continued, in spite of decades of aggressive identity purification efforts by the forces of identity politics in the Punjab.

Punjabi Hindus and 1947 Partition

Punjabi Hindus suffered a great deal due to partition of Punjab in 1947. They were a minority in areas of Pakistan. Many of the Hindus/Sikhs had to move to East Punjab and Muslims to West Punjab. Estimates range from 100,000 to upwards of a million people were killed in the riots following the partition and subsequent independence of Pakistan and later India from British colonial rule. Most of the Punjabi Hindus who moved from West Punjab settled in the areas which are now Indian state of Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Western UP, and even as far as Bombay.

Demand for Punjabi Suba and subsequent trifurcation of Punjab

Since the beginning of 1960's, Sikh leaders and Sikh parties started to demand a so called "Punjabi Suba" (Meaning - Punjabi Province) in North India. The argument was to carve out a state in Northern India where Punjabi was the most predominant language. The idea did not go well with the Punjabi speaking Hindus because the underline motive for the demand of Punjabi Suba was to create a province where Sikhs were in absolute majority. Therefore, it became more of a religious issue rather than a linguistic issue. Some historians argue that "Punjabi Suba" issue was the fore most reason that fomented the Sikh anger and subsequent violent terrorism against Punjabi Hindus. Paul R. Brass, the Professor Emeritus of Political Science and South Asian Studies at the University of Washington, opines that the Sikh leader Fateh Singh tactically stressed the linguistic basis of the demand, while downplaying the religious basis for the demand—a state where the distinct Sikh identity could be preserved. The movement for a Punjabi Suba led to trifurcation of Indian Punjab into three states: Punjab (India), Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

Unrest in Punjab in 1980s and 1990s

The Terrorism in Punjab before/after the Operation Bluestar and 1984 Delhi riots, had a very severe effect on Punjabi Hindus. Punjabi Hindus were open to hostility from the Sikh population. Also There were numerous instances like bombing public buses, engineering colleges (Thapar College), and killings on Hindu holidays, such as the 1987 Diwali Day Bombing, in which Hindus were specifically targeted and brutally killed. Amnesty International and other International Human Rights groups recognized and called for the Government forces to stop militant groups from committing the killings, but the guerrilla warfare conducted by militant outfits proved difficult to stop. Due to such unrest, a large population of Hindus had to migrate from Punjab to other states. The open kidnappings and killings of innocent Hindus in Punjab by Government Forces and continual bombings and extortions of Punjabi Hindus by Sikh militants caused a rift between Punjabi Hindus and Sikhs. But since the decline of Khalistan movement, both communities are again living with cordial relations.

Distribution of population

Today Punjabi are also found in huge numbers in western countries like USA, Canada, UK and the EU. The Hindus of Punjab have a large population in the districts of Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Nawanshahr, Hoshiarpur in which they make up to 50% of population, and make up around 40% of Punjab's population, and some settled in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. Punjabi Hindus are also present in major cities like Mumbai, Bangalore etc.

Trivia

The popular prayer Jai Jagdish Hare was composed in Punjab by Pandit Shardha Ram Phillauri.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Powered by Google Docs". Docs.google.com. Retrieved 2012-03-02.

Further reading

Hinduism in India
States: Andhra Pradesh • Arunachal Pradesh • Assam • Bihar • Chhattisgarh • Goa • Gujarat • Haryana • Himachal Pradesh • Jammu and Kashmir • Jharkhand • Karnataka • Kerala • Madhya Pradesh • Maharashtra • Manipur • Meghalaya • Mizoram • Nagaland • Orissa • Punjab • Rajasthan • Sikkim • Tamil Nadu • Tripura • Uttaranchal • Uttar Pradesh • West Bengal
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