Punjabi Ignorance
We, the Punjabis historically have not been documenting our own history. The Muslim Punjabis have almost forgotten their genetic ancestry and now try to connect their gene pool to the Arab aristocracy of Sayeds and Qureshis. The Pakistan government ignorantly names its missiles after the Islamic invaders who dispossessed their ancestors from their land. The Hindu Punjabis have written off their own ancestors, warriors kings, and Gurus and relate more to the Middle-India heroes such as Rama, Krishna, and Shivaji, The Sikhs have done a better job in staying connected to their roots but their historical reach is limited just to the Sikh period.
Punjab history has to be taken as a whole, and that includes, Adivasis, Indus valley, Aryan Khatris, Kushans, Rajputs, Gujjars, Jatts, Islamic invaders, Sikh period, British rule, and the post independence era.
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| Trinity of Punjabi Pride |
What's the Problem?
So what? The results of this ignorance is astounding. We never wrote our own history and our recent generations are oblivious of their roots. They grew up reading their history as written by others - Chinese, Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Mughals, British, and the Leftist or Hindutva leaning Indian scholars, or pro-Islamic Pakistanis.
Guru Nanak gave us the message of Ek Ongkar - One Creator for all Humankind. “Give me not a knife but a needle. I want to sew together, not stab,” sang Sheikh Farid. But we Punjabis didn't follow their wisdom and slit each others throat in some form of religious frenzy. In this process we lost our common heritage, culture, and history, We forgot the history of our own land in which our ancestors are buried or cremated.
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| Sons of Punjab Soil |
Lost Cities of Punjab and Sindh
How many Punjabis and Sindhis know that they are the descendants of one of the most advanced civilization? The Indus Valley Civilization flourished in the basins of the Indus River, which flows through the length of Sindh and Punjab and then spreading along a system of five rivers that coursed one of the most fertile land in the world.
Sacred Hindu scriptures Vedas were composed here. Panini defined the grammar of Sanskrit on this land and Patanjali wrote Yoga Sutras in Punjab. The descendants of most of the Hindu Gods that all of India worships are the Khatris of Punjab, the only true Kshatriyas. Jainism and Nath traditions have roots in Punjab. Buddhism flourished here in Taxila, and a secular Sufism challenged the fascist Sharia in Punjab.
Lets now look at some historic cities of Punjab and how these cities are related to Punjabi communities, otherwise known as cases or Last names.
Harappa
Mohenjo-daro in Sindh and Harappa in Punjab, emerged in 2600 BC along the Sindh River valley. Harappa is an archaeological site in West Punjab, about 15 mi west of Sahiwal. Harappa was mainly an urban city sustained by surplus agricultural production and commerce, the latter including trade with Mesopotamia. main characteristics included "differentiated living quarters, flat-roofed brick houses, residential irrigation and drainage system, and fortified administrative or religious centers."
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| Harrapa site on the banks of Sindh river |
The weights and measures of Harappa were highly standardized, and conform to a set scale of gradations. Distinctive seals were used, among other applications, perhaps for identification of property and shipment of goods. Sindhis and Punjabis Aroras are most likely the direct descendants of Indus Valley Civilization.
Aror
Aror is the ancestral town of the Arora Community. Aror is the medieval name of the city of Rohri, Sindh was once the capital of Sindh. It was captured and sacked by Arab invader Muhammad bin Qasim in 711 AD. Arab historians recorded the city's name as Al-rur, Al-ruhr and Al Ror.
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| Ruins of Aror in Sindh |
The city was totally destroyed by a powerful earthquake in 962 AD triggering the migration of its residents, the Aroras from Sindh to West Punjab.
Chhab
Just as Aror is the ancestral home of Arora community, Chhab is the ancestral home of the Chhabra community. It is located in along the banks of Sindh river in the Jand Tehsil of Attock District in West Punjab.
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| Chhab Railway Station |
This site was overrun by the Khattak tribe of Pashtun invaders triggering mass migration of Chhabras to Sindh and West Punjab.
Gandhara
Gandhāra was an ancient region in the NW Frontier basin The region was at the confluence of the Kabul and Swat rivers, bounded by the Sulaiman Mountains on the west and the Indus River on the east. Gandhara's existence is attested since the time of the Rigveda (c. 1500 – c. 1200 BC), as well as the Zoroastrian Avesta, which mentions it as Vaēkərəta, the sixth most beautiful place on earth created by Ahura Mazda.
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| Gandhara People |
Gandhara was founded by the Druhyu prince Gandhara who was the son of King Angara of Druhyu Dynasty. King Nagnajit of Gandhara was defeated and killed by Rama's brother Bharata. It gets mention in Mahabharata as Gandhari, the queen of K uru dynasty was the daughter of the king of Gandhara. Her brother Shakuni, the Gandhara prince was the political adviser of Kauravas against the Pandavas during the Kurukshetra War.
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| Gandhara King |
Gandhara was one of 16 Mahajanapadas (large urban areas) of ancient India mentioned in Buddhist sources such as Anguttara Nikaya. It was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC. Conquered by Alexander the Great in 327 BC, it subsequently became part of the Maurya Empire. Gandharais ancestral home of Khatri last name Kandhari.
Kandahar province of Afghanistan is sometimes mistakenly associated with Gandhara. However, Kandahar is instead etymologically related to "Alexandria" a city created by Alexander.
Taxila
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