Punjab is more than Sikh heritage. And Sikh faith, history and culture extends beyond the limits of Punjab, however you to choose to define the boundaries of that land. The tenth Guru was born and died in other far flung parts of India, Guru Nanak travelled across Asia to spread his message, whilst many western Sikhs are of non-Indian origin altogether.
Meanwhile the vast majority of Punjab exists as the most populous state within Pakistan. And the question of how you define Punjab’s boundaries and borders itself, suggests that Punjab is to an extent an imagined reality, even wider and broader than the geographical limits of today’s two Punjabs’ borders suggest.
Whilst many diaspora Punjabis look to assert their own sense of ‘ownership’ of this heritage, what’s the picture on the subcontinent?
Without any doubt there are many academics, conservationists, artists, and more besides doing what we in the west can only look on admiringly at – and blog about. At the coalface, these are the people who are making the difference in trying to save buildings, manuscripts and artefacts.
However, anecdotally speaking, talking to some professional urban-dwelling twenty-something Punjabis this heritage doesn’t always register. Looking at photographs I took at this year’s Holla Mohalla at Anandpur Sahib of Nihangs, the disparaging question raised was ‘What century are these guys living in?’ Similarly amongst these young Punjabis I found little understanding of their religion, its roots and development let alone the deplorable state of much of the material heritage. Does any of this matter? Who knows?
It does however suggest to me that there is a divide, as in the diaspora, between those making a conscious effort to acquaint themselves with their cultural heritage and those who, in the dash for modernity and perhaps I daresay, wider social acceptance, seem to have little or no grasp of these cultural identifiers, let alone any appreciation of the beauty and uniqueness of much of that inheritance.
So in conclusion, like a weatherman summing up his forecast, I’d have to say, a mixed picture is emerging.
On the one hand efforts have been made on the subcontinent and beyond by individuals, groups and institutions to start preserving and highlighting this heritage in a more professional manner. A growing awareness of Punjabi heritage has reached critical mass now with a plethora of websites, events, publications etc seeking to quench the thirst of those who seek greater knowledge.
And yet, many seem ignorant of the still very real dangers to that heritage – some by their actions (the all too familiar story of the whitewashing of frescos, demolishing of ancient structures, insensitive or harmful ‘restorations’) and others by their ignorance of the issues altogether.
It remains for sites like this and for us as individuals to do all we can to ensure that the forecast for the future of Punjabi heritage is indeed a bright one.
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