Punjabi Hindus Explained

Group:Punjabi Hindus
Native Name Lang:pa
Population:[1] [2]
Region1:Punjab, India
Pop1:10,678,140 (2011 Census)[3]
Region2:Delhi
Pop2:4,029,110 – 5,875,780 (2011 est.)[4]
Region3:Haryana
Pop3:2,028,120 – 8,112,470 (2011 est.)
Region4:Rajasthan
Pop4:281,050 (2011 est.)[5] [6]
Region5:Himachal Pradesh
Pop5:222,410 (2011 est.)[7] [8]
Region6:Punjab, Pakistan
Pop6:211,640 (2017 Census)[9]
Region7:Chandigarh
Pop7:94,150 (2011 est.)[10]
Region8:Jammu
Pop8:59,930 (2011 est.)[11] [12]
Region9:Uttarakhand
Pop9:27,240 (2011 est.)[13] [14]
Langs:Punjabi and its dialects
Hindi
Rels:Hinduism (incl. Nanakpanthi)

Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify ethnically, linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis and are natives of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Punjabi Hindus are the second-largest religious group of the Punjabi community, after the Punjabi Muslims. While Punjabi Hindus mostly inhabit the Indian state of Punjab, as well as Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, and Chandigarh today, many have ancestry across the greater Punjab region, which was partitioned between India and Pakistan in 1947.

History

Ancient

Hinduism is the oldest recorded religion practiced by the Punjabi people.[15] The historical Vedic religion of the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE) constituted the religious ideas and practices in Punjab, and centred primarily in the worship of Indra, the Hindu god of heaven and lightning.[16] The Vedic tribes moved further eastwards in the northern Indus Valley and towards the Ganges-Yamuna doab during the late Vedic Period, and Brahminism developed out of the Vedic origins in the Kurukshetra area. The religion of the Vedic Period is one of the precursors of Hinduism, and the Vedic period ended when the Hindu synthesis developed out of the interaction between Brahminism, Sramanism, and local religions.[17] [18]

The bulk of the Rigveda was composed in the Punjab region between circa 1500 and 1200 BCE,[19] while later Vedic scriptures were composed more eastwards, between the Yamuna and Ganges rivers. An ancient Indian law book called the Manusmriti, developed by Brahmin Hindu priests, shaped Punjabi religious life from 200 BCE onward.[20]

British colonial era

Prominent Indian nationalists from Punjab, such as Lala Lajpat Rai, belonged to the Arya Samaj. The Arya Samaj, a Hindu reformist sect was active in propagating their message in Punjab.[21] In the early part of the 20th century, the Samaj and organisations inspired by it, such as Jat Pat Todak Mandal, were active in campaigning against caste discrimination.[22] Other activities in which the Samaj engaged included campaigning for the acceptance of widow remarriage and women's education.[23]

During the colonial era, the practice of religious syncretism among Punjabi Hindus and Punjabi Muslims was noted and documented by officials in census reports:

1947 Partition

Approximately 3 million Punjabi Hindus migrated from West Punjab and North-West Frontier Province (present-day Pakistan) to East Punjab and Delhi (present-day India) during the Partition.[24] [25] [26]

This split the former British province of Punjab between the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The mostly Muslim western part of the province became Pakistan's Punjab province; the mostly Sikh and Hindu eastern part became India's East Punjab state (later divided into the new states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh). Many Hindus and Sikhs lived in the west, and many Muslims lived in the east, and the fears of all such minorities were so great that the Partition saw many people displaced and much intercommunal violence. Some have described the violence in Punjab as a retributive genocide.

The newly formed governments had not anticipated, and were completely unequipped for, a two-way migration of such staggering magnitude, and massive violence and slaughter occurred on both sides of the new India-Pakistan border. Estimates of the number of deaths vary, with low estimates at 200,000 and high estimates at 2,000,000. The worst case of violence among all regions is concluded to have taken place in Punjab.[27] [28] [29] [30]

Punjabi Suba and trifurcation of Punjab

See main article: Punjabi Suba movement. After the Partition, Sikh leaders and political parties demanded a "Punjabi Suba" (Punjabi Province) where Punjabi language written in the Gurumukhi script would be the language of the state in North India.

At the instigation of the Arya Samaj, many Punjabi Hindus in present-day Ambala, Una, and Sirsa stated Hindi as their mother tongue in the censuses of 1951 and 1961. Some areas of the erstwhile East Punjab state where Hindi, Haryanvi, and Western Pahari-speaking Hindus formed the majority, became part of the newly created states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh where Hindi was declared the state language. This was in contrast with the primarily Punjabi-speaking locals in some regions of the newly created states.[31] A direct result of the trifurcation of East Punjab into three states made Punjab a Sikh-majority state in India. Today, Punjabi Hindus make up approximately 38.5% population of present Punjab State of India.[32] [33]

Demographics

India

In the Indian state of Punjab, Punjabi Hindus make up approximately 38.5% of the state's population; numbering 10.7 million and are a majority in the Doaba region. Punjabi Hindus form a majority in five districts of Punjab, namely, Pathankot, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Fazilka and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar districts.[34]

During the 1947 partition, many Hindus from West Punjab and North-West Frontier Province settled in Delhi. Determined from 1991 and 2015 estimates, Punjabi Hindus form approximately 24 to 35 percent of Delhi's population; based on 2011 official census counts out of a total population of 16.8 million, this amounts to between 4 and 5.9 million people.[4]

Punjabi Hindus form between approximately eight and 32 percent of Haryana's population and are very much influential in the state politics. Based on 2011 official census counts out of a total population of 25.4 million, this amounts to between 2 and 8.1 million people.

Pakistan

See main article: article and Hinduism in Punjab, Pakistan. Following the large-scale exodus that took place during the 1947 partition, there remains a small Punjabi Hindu community in Pakistan today. According to the 2017 Census, there are about 200,000 Hindus in Punjab province, forming approximately 0.2% of the total population. Much of the community resides in the primarily rural South Punjab districts of Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur where they form 3.12% and 1.12% of the population respectively,[35] [36] while the rest are concentrated in urban centres such as Lahore.[37] [38] In 2006, the last functioning Hindu temple in Lahore, once the cultural capital of Punjabi Hindus, was destroyed to make way for a multi-story commercial building, and thus the millennia-old history of Hindus in Lahore came to an end. [39]

Diaspora

Large diaspora communities exist in many countries including in Canada, the Gulf Countries, Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Culture and religion

As in many other parts of India, Hinduism in Punjab has adapted over time and has become a synthesis of culture and history. As Hindus believe that dharma is universal and evolves with time, many Hindus also value other spiritual paths and religious traditions. They believe that any traditions that are equally able to nurture one's Atman should be accepted and taught. Hinduism itself encourages any being to reach their own self-realization in their own unique way either through Bhagavan or through other means of devotion and meditation.[40]

The Punjabi Hindus continue heterogeneous religious practices in spiritual kinship with Sikhism. This not only includes veneration of the Sikh gurus in private practice but also visits to Sikh gurdwaras in addition to Hindu temples.[41]

According to Anjali Gera Roy, The Hindu Punjabis of Western Punjab settled away from their ancestral homeland during 1947 partition, speak a hybrid language based on Punjabi and Hindi (or Hindi with Punjabi accent).[42] [43]

Udasis

Udasi is a religious sect of ascetic sadhus centered in Punjab Region. The Udasis were key interpreters of the Sikh philosophy and the custodians of important Sikh shrines until the Akali movement. They brought many converts into the Sikh fold during the 18th and the early 19th centuries.[44] However, their religious practices border on a syncretism of Sikhism and Hinduism. When the Singh Sabha, dominated by Tat Khalsa Sikhs, redefined the Sikh identity in the early 20th century, the Udasi mahants were expelled from the Sikh shrines. Since then, the Udasis have increasingly regarded themselves as Hindus rather than Sikhs.[45]

See also

Sources

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India . https://web.archive.org/web/20191113211224/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-17.html . 13 November 2019 .
  2. Web site: Behind the decline . 16 September 2015 .
  3. Web site: Population by religion community – 2011 . The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India . https://web.archive.org/web/20150923230423/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW03C-01%20MDDS.XLS . 23 September 2015.
  4. Web site: Delhi (India): Union Territory, Major Agglomerations & Towns – Population Statistics in Maps and Charts. City Population. 28 February 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170302112054/https://www.citypopulation.de/India-Delhi.html?cityid=2925. 2 March 2017.
  5. Web site: Language – India, States and Union Territories . Census of India 2011 . Office of the Registrar General . 13–14 . 24 November 2018 .
  6. News: RSGPC to publicize issue of Punjabi in Rajasthan . The Times of India . 17 January 2018 .
  7. Web site: Una, amalgam of Punjabi and Pahari cultures.
  8. News: Himachal Pradesh Youth status report: Sex ratio up but total fertility rate declining. Express News Service. The Indian Express. 5 January 2018. 17 April 2018. Shimla. https://web.archive.org/web/20180418092812/http://indianexpress.com/article/india/himachal-pradesh-youth-status-report-sex-ratio-up-but-total-fertility-rate-declining-5013052/. 18 April 2018. live.
  9. Web site: SALIENT FEATURES OF FINAL RESULTS CENSUS-2017. 8 September 2021.
  10. Web site: Language – India, States and Union Territories . Census of India 2011 . Office of the Registrar General . 13–14 . 24 November 2018 .
  11. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/include-punjabi-as-official-language-in-jammu-and-kashmir-punjab-cm-amarinder-204566
  12. Web site: Language – India, States and Union Territories . Census of India 2011 . Office of the Registrar General . 13–14 . 24 November 2018 .
  13. Web site: A Mini Punjab in Uttrakhand That Has Given Punjabi Cinema a Superstar Diva! .
  14. Web site: Language – India, States and Union Territories . Census of India 2011 . Office of the Registrar General . 13–14 . 24 November 2018 .
  15. Book: Nayar, Kamala Elizabeth . The Punjabis in British Columbia: Location, Labour, First Nations, and Multiculturalism . Hinduism is the oldest of the religions practiced by the Punjabis . 7 . 2012 . McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP . 978-0-7735-4070-5 . en.
  16. Book: Berry, Thomas . 1996 . Religions of India: Hinduism, Yoga, Buddhism . Columbia University Press . 978-0-231-10781-5 . 20–21 . registration.
  17. name="Vedic religion">Encyclopedia: Vedic religion. Encyclopedia Britannica. 10 November 2023 . It Vedic religion takes its name from the collections of sacred texts known as the Vedas. Vedism is the oldest stratum of religious activity in India for which there exist written materials. It was one of the major traditions that shaped Hinduism..
  18. Book: Virdee, Pippa . From the Ashes of 1947 . February 2018 . Cambridge University Press . 978-1-108-42811-8 . 24 . en . The Rig Veda and the Upanishads, which belonged to the Vedic religion, were a precursor of Hinduism, both of which were composed in Punjab..
  19. Book: Flood, Gavin. An Introduction to Hinduism. 13 July 1996. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-43878-0.
  20. Book: Nayar, Kamala Elizabeth . The Punjabis in British Columbia: Location, Labour, First Nations, and Multiculturalism . 2012 . McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP . 978-0-7735-4070-5 . en . 7–8.
  21. Book: Raj Kumar. Essays on Social Reform Movements. 2004. Discovery Publishing House. 978-81-7141-792-6. 3–5.
  22. Book: Rajivlochan . M. . 2014 . Coping with Exclusions the Non-Political Way. Mapping Social Exclusion in India: Caste, Religion and Borderlands . 82–83.
  23. Kishwar. Madhu. Arya Samaj and Women's Education: Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Jalandhar. Economic and Political Weekly. 26 April 1986. 21. 17. WS9–WS24. 4375593.
  24. Book: Salamat, Zarina. The Punjab in 1920's: a case study of Muslims. 1997. Royal Book Company. 978-969-407-230-2. Karachi. 145. en. 40480171.
  25. Book: Banerjee-Dube. Ishita. Ancient to modern: religion, power, and community in India. Dube. Saurabh. 2009. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-569662-2. New Delhi; Oxford. en. 302183130.
  26. Web site: The partition of India and retributive genocide in the Punjab, 1946–47: means, methods, and purposes. 19 December 2006.
  27. Talbot. Ian. Partition of India: The Human Dimension. Cultural and Social History. 2009. 6. 4. 403–410. The number of casualties remains a matter of dispute, with figures being claimed that range from 200,000 to 2 million victims.. 10.2752/147800409X466254. 147110854.
  28. Book: D'Costa, Bina. Nationbuilding, Gender and War Crimes in South Asia. Routledge. 2011. 9780415565660. 53.
  29. Book: Butalia, Urvashi. The Other Side of Silence: Voices From the Partition of India. Duke University Press. 2000.
  30. Book: Sikand, Yoginder. Muslims in India Since 1947: Islamic Perspectives on Inter-Faith Relations. Routledge. 2004. 9781134378258. 5.
  31. Chopra R. Love Is The Ultimate Winner Partridge, India 2013. p. 9072. Accessed 3 February 2017.
  32. Lamba K. G. Dynamics of Punjabi Suba Movement Deep and Deep 1999. p. 90 Accessed 3 February 2017.
  33. Grewal J. S. The Sikhs of the Punjab Cambridge University Press 1998. p. 187 Accessed 3 February 2017.
  34. Web site: Religion by districts - Punjab . census.gov.in. 20 September 2021.
  35. Web site: District wise census. 20 September 2021.
  36. News: Pakistani Hindus celebrate Janmashtami with fervour . Dharmindar Balach. Daily Times. 17 August 2017. 20 September 2021.
  37. News: Hindu community celebrates Diwali across Punjab. The Express Tribune. 8 November 2018. 18 December 2020.
  38. News: Dussehra celebrated at Krishna Mandir. The Express Tribune. 23 October 2015. 18 December 2020.
  39. News: Only Hindu temple in Lahore demolished . The Times of India . 13 June 2006 .
  40. Web site: Sikhism History, Doctrines, Practice, & Literature. 11 June 2021. Encyclopedia Britannica. en.
  41. Book: Raj . Dhooleka Sarhadi . Where Are You From? Middle-Class Migrants in the Modern World . 2003 . University of California Press . Berkeley . 9780520233836 . 80 .
  42. MINE, T. I., & ROY, A. G. (2004). NOT SPEAKING A LANGUAGE. Translation Today, 1, 26.https://web.archive.org/web/20220304024011id_/https://www.ntm.org.in/download/ttvol/volume1_N2/Articles/02%20-%20Not%20Speaking%20A%20Language%20That%20is%20Mine%20-%20Anjali%20Gera%20Roy.pdf
  43. Kumar, P. (1982). Communalisation of Hindus in Punjab. Secular Democracy, 11(9), 27-29.|url=https://idcindia.org/wp-content/themes/idc/pdf/3.communalism/news/1-Communalisation%20of%20Hindus%20in%20Punjab%20_%20Secular%20Democracy%20_%20October%201982%20_%20Vol%2015%20No.%20IX.pdf|page=8
  44. Book: Pashaura Singh. Fenech, Louis E.. The Oxford handbook of Sikh studies. March 2014. OUP Oxford . 978-0-19-969930-8. 874522334.
  45. Book: Oberoi, Harjot.. The Construction of religious boundaries: culture, identity, and diversity in the Sikh tradition. 1997. Oxford University Press. 0-19-563780-1. Delhi. 39001441.