Punjabi Hindus

Ancient

Hinduism is the oldest recorded religion practiced by the Punjabi people.^[19] 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.^[20] 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.^[21][22][i]

The bulk of the Rigveda was composed in the Punjab region between circa 1500 and 1200 BCE,^[23] 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.^[24]

Mediaeval period

Punjabi Hinduism in the mediaeval period was characterized by Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism. Temples for each tradition had their own sub-set of Brahmins dedicated to them.

At Shaivist temples, the Agamas and Puranas were held in esteem. Shaivist ascetics were known as sanyasis or dasnamis, who traditionally had ten internal orders. Wandering Shaivist ascetics founded centres which were known as maths.^[25]

Vaishnavists, usually found in urban mercantile communities, held the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavata Purana, and Vishnu Purana in high-regard. Vaishnavist ascetics were known as bairagis. The Vaishnavists were vegetarians and teetotlers. After the Ghaznavid conquest, Gorakhnath founded a new tradition of Vaishnavism where hathyoga was theologically altered with Shiva as the supreme deity, with followers of this tradition becoming known as jogis or naths. The jogis/naths became very popular in the Punjab, headquartered at the Tilla of Gorakhnath, Tilla Jogian, in the Sindh Sagar Doab. By the early 16th century, the Nath tradition consisted of twelve divisions, known as bhekh-bara. Advanced jogis were known as kanpatas, distinguished by the mudra earrings they wore. The jogis believed they could achieve spiritual liberation while being alive (known as jiwan-mukti) and permanent bliss (sehaj), which could transform them into powerful siddhas. They rejected ritualism and metaphysics. They believed they could extend their life through meditative and breathing practices, and engaged in alchemy and herbal medicine. At their spiritual centres (maths), they maintained a permanent-fire known as a dhuni and a kitchen (bhandar). The jogis were accepting of all castes but shunned women.^[25]

Also among the Vaishnavists arose the Bhakti movement (originating from Ramanuja in southern India), which held that devotion (bhakti) was just as valid as a path to spiritual liberation or enlightenment, just as knowledge (gian or jnana) and rituals (karma) were held as. By the 13th and 14th centuries, the Bhaktists advocated for Vishnu's incarnations Rama and Krishna (and their consorts) as the supreme-deities to focus on and began promoting bhakti as the only path to spiritual salvation. The cult of Ram was developed further by the Ramanandis in the 14th and 15th centuries, with pathshalas and gaushalas being attached to their spiritual centres. The cult of Krishna followed in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, with its kirtan performances, developed by the followers of Chaitanya and Vallabha.^[25]

There was also the sant tradition, associated with the sants, which rejected idolatry and incarnation. Although not directly venerating Vishnu, was heavily influenced by Vaishnavism. The sants came from various backgrounds, such as jogis and sufis. Two popular sants were Kabir and Ravidas, whom both rejected the prevailing socio-religious norms and customs of their eras. It focused on an immanent and transcendent divinity that could be reached internally in a state of union (sahaja-samadhi) to achieve live-liberation (jiwan-mukti). God was taken as the spiritual teacher, known as satguru and the divine word, shabad.^[25]

Shaktists venerated the goddeses and a cosmic force known as shakti and performed animal sacrifice. The Shaktists could be divided into two groups: the cultus of the right-hand and the cultus of the left-hand. Right-handers were similar to Shaivists whilst left-handers (known as vamacharis) were engaged in esoteric, black-rite practices that were supposed to be performed only by the advanced members. These esoteric practices were to achieve unity between Shakti and Shiva and involved alcohol (madya), fish (matsya), flesh (mansa), parched grain (mudra), and intercourse (maithuna).^[25]

Furthermore, popular religion as (distinguished from organized and formal religion) amongst the masses consisted of animism and fetishism, with the veneration and acceptance of folk-deities linked to nature and disease, malevolent-spirits, totems, and animal-worship. Cults formed around heroic figures and ancestors became venerated.^[25]

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.^[26] 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.^[25] Other activities in which the Samaj engaged included campaigning for the acceptance of widow remarriage and women's education.^[27]

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

"In other parts of the Province, too, traces of Hindu festivals are noticeable among the Muhammadans. In the western Punjab, Baisakhi, the new year's day of the Hindus, is celebrated as an agricultural festival, by all Muhammadans, by racing bullocks yoked to the well gear, with the beat of tom-toms, and large crowds gather to witness the show, The race is called Baisakhi and is a favourite pastime in the well-irrigated tracts. Then the processions of tazias, in Muharram, with the accompaniment of tom-toms, fencing parties and bands playing on flutes and other musical instruments (which is disapproved by the orthodox Muhammadans) and the establishment of Sabils (shelters where water and sharbat are served out) are clearly influenced by similar practices at Hindu festivals, while the illuminations on occasions like the Chiraghan fair of Shalamar (Lahore) are no doubt practices answering to the holiday-making instinct of the converted Hindus."^[28]: 174
"Besides actual conversion, Islam has had a considerable influence on the Hindu religion. The sects of reformers based on a revolt from the orthodoxy of Varnashrama Dharma were obviously the outcome of the knowledge that a different religion could produce equally pious and right thinking men. Laxity in social restrictions also appeared simultaneously in various degrees and certain customs were assimilated to those of the Muhammadans. On the other hand the miraculous powers of Muhammadan saints were enough to attract the saint worshiping Hindus, to allegiance, if not to a total change of faith... The Shamsis are believers in Shah Shamas Tabrez of Multan, and follow the Imam, for the time being, of the Ismailia sect of Shias... they belong mostly to the Sunar caste and their connection with the sect is kept a secret, like Freemasonry. They pass as ordinary Hindus, but their devotion to the Imam is very strong."^[28]: 130

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.^[29][30][31]

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.^[32]

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.^{[33][34][35][36]}

Punjabi Suba and trifurcation of Punjab

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.^[37] 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.^[38][39]

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.^[40]

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;^[b][a] 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 8 and 10 percent of Haryana's population; based on 2011 official census counts out of a total population of 25.4 million, this amounts to between 2.03 and 2.54 million people.^[h] Similar to Delhi, most Punjabi Hindus in Haryana can trace their ancestry to West Punjab and North-West Frontier Province due to mass migration associated with the 1947 partition. In the contemporary era, Punjabi Hindus are influential in the state politics.^[7][8]

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.^[47] 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,^[48][49] while the rest are concentrated in urban centres such as Lahore.^[50][51] 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.^[52]

Diaspora

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

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.^[58] 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.^[59]

Nanakpanthis

Numerous Punjabi Hindus are Nanakpanthi, who revere Guru Nanak alongside their Hindu deities but without following the other gurus, and nor identify as Sikhs in terms of religious affiliation; at the time of the 1891 census of British Punjab, it has been estimated that, out of the 1,8 million Sikhs around 579,000 were Hindu Nanakpanthis, but in later classifications the definitions of "Hindu" and "Sikh" would be more precise and the Hindu Nanakpanthis would stop being counted as "Sikhs".^[60]

Arya Samaj

The Arya Samaj was a Hindu reformist organization founded in the 1870s by Dayananda Saraswati, and while he was from Gujarat, the movement had a lot of influence among Punjabi Hindus, especially the Khatris and Aroras, the Arya Samajis being social reformers who aimed to promote monotheism and were against what they called "supersititions" such as idolatry, wanted to raise the literacy rates (especially for women) and were fighting caste discrimination.^[61]

Temple architecture

Punjabi Hindu temples consist of three architectural features: a Shikhara (dome), Mandapa (where the devotees pray), and Garbhagriha (sanctum santorum where the murti is placed).^[65] The main room or area of a temple will house the deity in the form of a murti, with this space being known as garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum), which is the "heart" or inner-most point of the temple.^[62] Also, there is a passageway that allows for circuambulation of the garbha griha space, which is a requirement after prayers are given.^[62] Architecturally, there is usually a dome or spire structure built over the garbha griha.^[62] Another feature is a small passageway called the antrala (vestibule), which connects the garbha griha and mandapa (pillard hall) spaces together.^[62] The mandapa is a pavilion that allows the devotees to congregate.^[62] Temples are built on a raised, staired platform with one entryway, with the entrance-porch being called a ardh-mandapa.^[62]