Tradition and History of Punjab
by- Raj Paul Singh
The emergence of such a strong rationalist movement can not be considered in isolation from the history and cultural traditions of Punjab. Due to its geographic situation it has been a meeting place for various alien cultures and ideologies. Every invader wishing to conquer or enter India has to first come into contact with the people of this land. Constant flow of invaders allowed neither the swords to rust nor the cultural patterns to stagnate. This was in quite contrast to the situation in the rest of India.
Inspite of the turbulence of a border state, the fertility of its land provided the necessary prosperity to sustain and allure the thinkers who had concerns with higher values of life. This fertility of land did not allow the culture of Punjab to turn into a barbaric culture, rather, after every major invasion, this land inspired people to pause, to think over the ultimate questions of existence and to understand each other's viewpoint about these questions. So it was not just a coincidence that, after Aryans came to India, Vedas were written here, in Punjab, and not elsewhere.
Similarily after the Islamic invasion, Punjab was the centre of that branch of sufism which was most liberal and anticlergy in nature. Though it was a mystic philosophy, yet its overall impact was against religious orthodoxy, fundamentalism, ritualism and communal hatred. In fact, what the common folks of Punjab imbibed from sufis was a much more worldly interpretation of their mystic utterings about love and life.
Afterwards, teachings of Guru Nanak, the first Guru of Sikhs, and his successors left a very strong impact on the people's thinking and their way of life in this region. Though like any other religion, Sikhism has its own dogmas, yet its positive effect cannot be ignored. Philosophically, Guru Nanak gave more subtle and sophisticated interpretations about the origin and infiniteness of universe. The value of his interpretations becomes more important when we evaluate them in contrast with the crude stories and explanations given by many other religions. He refuted with forceful arguments many superstitions prevalent at that time. The Sikh movement consolidated the humanist content of the Bhakti movement and considerably weakened the caste system. For a long time it helped to inculcate anti-establishment feelings among the people of Punjab.
The British annexed Punjab in the middle of nineteenth century, and after that in the beginning of this century, many persons of this region came into contact with western philosophies and it was marxism which influenced them most. And one thing, that is beyond any controversy about the role of marxism, is that its influence helped to spread secular, scientific and socialistic ideas among a sizeable section of Punjabi population. Then in the struggle for independence, Punjab was again at the fore-front. The most worshipped martyr of Indian freedom struggle, Bhagat Singh, who was an atheist to the core, also belonged to the soil of Punjab. Though he had to go to gallows at a very young age of 23, he gave atheism a respectable defence by writing his famous and well argumented article, ‘Why am I an atheist.’ As a hero of masses, he gave credibility to atheism, which was associated with him.
The practices associated with Hindu religion e. g. the idol worship, rigid caste system, plethora of gods, ritualism etc. were present in very diluted forms as compared to the rest of India. Similarily, concepts of semitic religions also did not get rooted in the minds of Punjabi folks. The historical conditions of Punjab made various types of struggles their way of life, rather than worship of gods. It is not to deny the fact, that religion and worship were also a part of their life, but to assert that struggle was more dominating factor in the evolution of Punjabi Culture.
Thus it can be seen from this simplified version of history that rationalism was not grafted from outside in recent years, rather it had roots in the history and culture of Punjab. Actually in every society, various ideological currents act and interact with each other, the progressive as well as reactionary ideas get obsolete in one form and re-emerge in other forms, making new combinations of ideas. In this process, materialistic conditions play major role to decide that which ideas would dominate at any given time. What is progressive and what is reactionary in a particular period, has to be decided in the context of historical conditions prevalent at that time. Most of forementioned movements may not seem to be much progressive when evaluated against present day rationalism, but they had played a historical role in breaking the already established dogmas of their own times. These movements induced a spirit and a tradition to rebel against authorities, spiritual as well as temporal.
The emergence of such a strong rationalist movement can not be considered in isolation from the history and cultural traditions of Punjab. Due to its geographic situation it has been a meeting place for various alien cultures and ideologies. Every invader wishing to conquer or enter India has to first come into contact with the people of this land. Constant flow of invaders allowed neither the swords to rust nor the cultural patterns to stagnate. This was in quite contrast to the situation in the rest of India.
Inspite of the turbulence of a border state, the fertility of its land provided the necessary prosperity to sustain and allure the thinkers who had concerns with higher values of life. This fertility of land did not allow the culture of Punjab to turn into a barbaric culture, rather, after every major invasion, this land inspired people to pause, to think over the ultimate questions of existence and to understand each other's viewpoint about these questions. So it was not just a coincidence that, after Aryans came to India, Vedas were written here, in Punjab, and not elsewhere.
Similarily after the Islamic invasion, Punjab was the centre of that branch of sufism which was most liberal and anticlergy in nature. Though it was a mystic philosophy, yet its overall impact was against religious orthodoxy, fundamentalism, ritualism and communal hatred. In fact, what the common folks of Punjab imbibed from sufis was a much more worldly interpretation of their mystic utterings about love and life.
Afterwards, teachings of Guru Nanak, the first Guru of Sikhs, and his successors left a very strong impact on the people's thinking and their way of life in this region. Though like any other religion, Sikhism has its own dogmas, yet its positive effect cannot be ignored. Philosophically, Guru Nanak gave more subtle and sophisticated interpretations about the origin and infiniteness of universe. The value of his interpretations becomes more important when we evaluate them in contrast with the crude stories and explanations given by many other religions. He refuted with forceful arguments many superstitions prevalent at that time. The Sikh movement consolidated the humanist content of the Bhakti movement and considerably weakened the caste system. For a long time it helped to inculcate anti-establishment feelings among the people of Punjab.
The British annexed Punjab in the middle of nineteenth century, and after that in the beginning of this century, many persons of this region came into contact with western philosophies and it was marxism which influenced them most. And one thing, that is beyond any controversy about the role of marxism, is that its influence helped to spread secular, scientific and socialistic ideas among a sizeable section of Punjabi population. Then in the struggle for independence, Punjab was again at the fore-front. The most worshipped martyr of Indian freedom struggle, Bhagat Singh, who was an atheist to the core, also belonged to the soil of Punjab. Though he had to go to gallows at a very young age of 23, he gave atheism a respectable defence by writing his famous and well argumented article, ‘Why am I an atheist.’ As a hero of masses, he gave credibility to atheism, which was associated with him.
The practices associated with Hindu religion e. g. the idol worship, rigid caste system, plethora of gods, ritualism etc. were present in very diluted forms as compared to the rest of India. Similarily, concepts of semitic religions also did not get rooted in the minds of Punjabi folks. The historical conditions of Punjab made various types of struggles their way of life, rather than worship of gods. It is not to deny the fact, that religion and worship were also a part of their life, but to assert that struggle was more dominating factor in the evolution of Punjabi Culture.
Thus it can be seen from this simplified version of history that rationalism was not grafted from outside in recent years, rather it had roots in the history and culture of Punjab. Actually in every society, various ideological currents act and interact with each other, the progressive as well as reactionary ideas get obsolete in one form and re-emerge in other forms, making new combinations of ideas. In this process, materialistic conditions play major role to decide that which ideas would dominate at any given time. What is progressive and what is reactionary in a particular period, has to be decided in the context of historical conditions prevalent at that time. Most of forementioned movements may not seem to be much progressive when evaluated against present day rationalism, but they had played a historical role in breaking the already established dogmas of their own times. These movements induced a spirit and a tradition to rebel against authorities, spiritual as well as temporal.
posted by Rajinder Pal Singh Brar | 7:23 AM
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