Punjabi people

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The Punjabi people (also Panjabi people) are an Indo-Aryan people and speakers of the Punjabi language, an Indo-Aryan tongue, and can be found primarily in the Punjab region of Pakistan and Northern India. In Pakistan, Punjabis comprise the largest ethnic group at roughly 44% of the total population and reside predominantly in the province of Punjab. In India, ethnic Punjabis can be found across the greater Punjab region which now comprises the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi and the Union Territory of Chandigarh and also the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir. Significant numbers of Punjabis are also found in a wide-ranging diaspora around the world.

The name comes from the Persian words 'Punj' meaning five and 'aab' meaning water. Punjab means 'the land of five rivers.' The five rivers that run through Punjab, originating in the Himalayas, are the Beas, Satluj, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum. Beas, and Satluj merge into one river retaining the name Satluj at Harike near Ferozepur in Punjab, just before crossing the border into West Punjab (Pakistan) and eventually merging into the river Indus.

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History

The exact point at which the Punjabis formed a distinct ethnic group remains speculative. The region having been the site of the Ancient Indus Valley Civilization centered at Harappa became a center of early civilization circa 2500 BCE. Numerous invaders including the Indo-Aryans, Persians, Greeks, various Central Asians, Arabs, Afghans, and the British have all invaded and ruled the region, giving the Punjab a unique culture as the gateway to South Asia. An early Indo-Aryan-speaking people conquered the region and imparted their language and merged with the local population that some speculate as having been either an Elamo-Dravidian (a hypothesized parent family) or Dravidian-speaking group, but this also remains speculative since the Indus script remains undeciphered. The Indo-Aryans are believed to have arrived in the region between 2000 and 1250 BCE and eventually disseminated their languages throughout South Asia. An early Vedic civilization is believed to have emerged in the region and helped shape many aspects of northern Indian culture. Over time, the Greater Punjab region fragmented as various Eurasian invaders conquered sections of the region with the west (in modern Pakistan) bearing the brunt of most invasions.

Various religious influences shaped the region and people as Buddhism emerged as an important faith in the region, due to the efforts of Ashoka, along with early Hinduism. Ultimately, two later religions largely supplanted both of these earlier faiths, Islam in the west (mainly in modern Pakistan) and Sikhism in the east (while Hinduism remains prominent for many Indian Punjabis, there has been a significant linguistic shift by Hindu Punjabis towards the usage of Hindi). While many believe that certain aspects of early Hinduism and Buddhism were formed in the Punjab region, the only entirely indigenous Punjabi faith has been Sikhism founded in the 16th century CE. Muslim invaders converted much of the western regions to Islam following the conquests of Arabs in 711 CE (see Muhammad bin Qasim) and Turkic tribes in the 11th century. These religious cleavages have subsequently shaped much of the orientation of the various Punjabi peoples in the region.

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Diversity and subgroups

The Punjab region, due to its location near Central Asia and the Middle East has been prone to numerous invasions that have left imprints upon the local Punjabi population that remain present in the numerous sub-groups. The Punjabi people are a heterogeneous group and can be subdivided into a number of tribal groups in Pakistan called qaums while they adhere to caste identities in India, each having their own subtle differences.

In terms of ancestry, the majority of Punjabis share many similar genes with other South Asian populations, but also show a significant relationship with West Eurasian groups. In a 2004 Stanford study conducted with a wide sampling from India, including 112 Punjabis, and selected other countries, displayed the following:

Results show that Indian tribal and caste populations derive largely from the same genetic heritage of Pleistocene southern and western Asians and have received limited gene flow from external regions since the Holocene.<ref>The Genetic Heritage of the Earliest Settlers Persists Both in Indian Tribal and Caste Populations</ref>

This study also found that roughly 20% of genetic markers in the Punjab were of West Asian origin, the highest amongst the sampled group of South Asians. Another study also showed that there has been limited gene flow in and out of South Asia, but the highest amount of genetic inflow from the west showed up in the Punjab region:

Broadly, the average proportion of mtDNAs from West Eurasia among Indian caste populations is 17% (Table 2). In the western States of India and in Pakistan their share is greater, reaching over 30% in Kashmir and Gujarat, nearly 40% in Indian Punjab, and peaking, expectedly, at approximately 50% in Pakistan.<ref>Most of the extant mtDNA boundaries in South and Southwest Asia were likely shaped during the initial settlement of Eurasia by anatomically modern humans</ref>

Further studies show the diversity of the regions inhabited by the Punjabis with extreme Western Punjabis, living in close proximity to Afghanistan, such as the Punjabi Pathans genetically clustering with West Asian populations due to a high degree of admixture and also corresponding to a general genetic variation between populations east of the Indus from those west and north of the river valley.<ref>Most of the extant mtDNA boundaries in South and Southwest Asia were likely shaped during the initial settlement of Eurasia by anatomically modern humans</ref>

Some preliminary conclusions from these varying tests support a largely South Asian genetic base for most Punjabis accompanied by the highest degree of West Asian admixture found in South Asia.

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Punjabis in Pakistan

The Punjabis found in Pakistan are composed of clans and tribes (the aforementioned qaums) often with a correspondance with traditional occupations. Pre-Islamic Jats and Rajputs predominate with the Gujjars, Awans, Arains, and Gakhars comprising the main tribes in the north, while Gilanis, Gardezis, Quraishis, and Abbasis are found in the south.<ref>Country Studies - Pakistan</ref>

Punjabis have been traditionally farmers and warriors which has transferred into modern times with a dominance of agriculture and the military in Pakistan. In addition, Punjabis in Pakistan have been quite prominent politically having had one leader in elected office: Nawaz Sharif and many others as Members of Parliament. As the most ardent supporters of a Pakistani state, the Punjabis in Pakistan have shown a strong pre-dilection towards the adoption of Urdu, while still identifying themselves as ethnic Punjabis for the most part. Religious homogeniety remains elusive as a Sunni-Shia divide and a Christian minority have not completely wiped out diversity since the partition of British India.

A variety of related sub-groups exist in Pakistan and are often considered by many Pakistani Punjabis to be simply regional Punjabis including the Seraikis (who overlap and are often considered transitional with the Sindhis) and Punjabi Pashtuns (which publications like Encyclopedia Britannica consider a transitional group between Punjabis and Pashtuns). These groups often display a predilection towards either independence or autonomy (see Seraikistan) from the main Punjabi groups.

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Punjabis in India

Indian Punjabis tend to correspond to various caste criteria with the Sikhs showing more unity overall, while Hindu Punjabis sometimes remain stratified along caste lines. Some of the major subgroups of the Punjabis in India include: Ahirs, Aroras, Banias, Bhatias, Brahmins, Dalits, Gujjars, Jats, Kalals, Khatris, Lubanas, Rajputs, Sainis, Sansis, Soods, and Tarkhans. Most of these subgroups can be further sub-divided into clans and family groups.

The Punjabi Sikh community remains the most prominent proponents of a Punjabi ethnic identity in India, while many Hindu Punjabis have shown a similar linguistic and cultural shift that corresponds with the Punjabis in Pakistan, as the identification of Hindi as a mother tongue rather than Punjabi has become more pronounced following political conflict between Sikhs and Hindus (see Khalistan movement for further details) that devolved into serious violence in the 1980s and early 1990s.

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The Punjabi Diaspora

The Punjabi people have immigrated in large numbers to many parts of the world. The United Kingdom has a significant number of Punjabis from both India and Pakistan as does Canada and the United States. The Middle East has a large immigrant community of Punjabis, in places such as the UAE and Kuwait. There are large communities in East Africa including the countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.Punjabis have also emigrated to Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia including Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Image:Punjabis3.jpg

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Culture and society

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Religion

Religion has played an important role in shaping Punjabi ethnic identity and it is not uncommon for Punjabis to generally treat their religious identity as synonymous with their ethnic identity or at least a combined identity that differentiates them from others. Punjabis belong largely to three major religions, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism. The majority of Punjabis are Muslims, followed by Hindus and Sikhs, although a large number of Punjabis in Pakistan are also Christian. A small number in India are Jains. Although the Punjabi Sikhs are smaller in number than the Punjabi Muslims and Punjabi Hindus they are often thought of as the strongest supporters of a Punjabi identity due to their more frequent and visible use/display of the Punjabi language and traditional, non-religious aspects of the Punjabi culture. In addition, the Sikh community, having a distinct religion that borrows aspects from both Hinduism and Islam, has sought an independent course largely to preserve their religion and thus has resisted assimilation that Hindu Punjabis have readily adapted to.

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Prominent Punjabis

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See also

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Notes

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References and further reading

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