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The Sikh Homeland
In all c1t1es, towns, and villages there were the dark and
somewhat negroid descendants of the aboriginals who were
considered beyond the pale of the caste system, forced to do
the dirtiest work and then condemned as untouchables. In
addition to all these were nomadic tribes of gypsies wandering
across the plains in their donkey caravans, with their hunting
dogs and herds of sheep and goats.
Birth of Punjabi Nationalism
The Punjab, being the main gateway into India, was fated to be
the perpetual field of battle and the first home of all the
conquerors. Few invaders, if any, brought wives with them, and
most of those who settled in their conquered domains acquired
local women. Thus the blood of many conquering races came
to mingle, and many alien languages-Arabic, Persian. Pushto,
and Turkish-came to be spoken in the land. Thus, too, was the
animism of the aboriginal subjected to I.he Yedantic, Jain, and
Buddhist religions of the Aryans, and to the Islamic faith of the
Arabs, Turks, Mongols, Persians, and Afghans. Out of this
mixture of blood and speech were bom the Punjabi people and
their language. There also grew a sense of expectancy that out
of the many faiths of their ancestors would be born a new faith
for the people of the Punjab.
By the end of the 15th century, the different races who had
come together in the Punjab had lost the nostalgic memories
of the lands of their birth and begun to develop an attachment
to the land of their adoption. The chief factor in the growth of
Punjabi consciousness was the evolution of one common tongue
from a babel of languages. Although the Punjabis were sharply
divided into Muslims and Hindus, attempts had been made to
bring about a rapprochement between the rwo faiths and a
certain desire to live and let live had grown among the people.
It was left to Guru Nanak and his nine successors to harness
the spirit of tolerance and give it a positive coment in the shape
of Punjabi nationalism.
It is significant that the spirit of Punjabi nationalism first
manifested itself in Majha, the heart of the Punjab, and among
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