Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus in the Punjab 1947
Encyclopedia
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
s and Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s in the Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
1947 is a book by Sikh author Gurbachan Singh Talib
Gurbachan Singh Talib
Sardar Gurbachan Singh Talib a Sikh scholar and author , was born in Munak, Sangrur district. He was a lecturer at the Sikh National College at Lahore. At the Banaras Hindu University he held the prestigious Guru Nanak Chair of Sikh Studies. He received the Padma Bhushan in 1985...
. It was first published in 1950 by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee is an organization in India responsible for the upkeep of gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship in three states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. SGPC also administers Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar. Gurdwaras in Delhi are the administered by Delhi Sikh...
(SGPC) and has been reprinted several times.
The book consists of harrowing stories of the Partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
between the new nations of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The Partition led to one of the greatest population movements in the 20th century, as Muslims in what would become India, and Hindus and Sikhs in what would become Pakistan, fled across the new borders.
This book details the sufferings of the Hindus and Sikhs who fled their homes in the western Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
, the North-West Frontier Province
North-West Frontier Province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
, Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
and parts of Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
. An appendix contains numerous press and eyewitness accounts of atrocities committed against the refugees during the Partition.
The book takes a position against Pakistan and the Muslim League, which it accuses of planning the massacres.
Critical reception
It has been reprinted several times and cited in various academic compilations of literature concerning the Partition of IndiaPartition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
.
Ishtiaq Ahmed, of the Department of Political Sciences at Stockholm University
Stockholm University
Stockholm University is a state university in Stockholm, Sweden. It has over 28,000 students at four faculties, making it one of the largest universities in Scandinavia. The institution is also frequently regarded as one of the top 100 universities in the world...
, has examined the book and reports that many of the incidents related in the text can be independently verified.
In one such incident, Muslim "goondas" (thugs) in Lahore received packets containing "churis" (bangles) and "mehndi
Mehndi
Mehndi or menhdi is the application of henna as a temporary form of skin decoration in India, as well as by expatriate communities from the country. The word mehndi is derived from the Sanskrit word mendhikā. The use of mehndi and turmeric is described in the earliest Vedic ritual books...
" (henna) from some Muslims of Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
. Ahmed describes this as a "bizzare antic meant to shame them for their unmanliness and cowardice and for being women like (as women wear bangles and apply henna) at not finishing off Hindus and Sikhs", thereby inciting them into violence against Hindus and Sikhs. This incident has been verified by the British political officer at the scene, a Mr. Eustace.
See also
- Partition of IndiaPartition of IndiaThe Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
- History of the PunjabHistory of the PunjabThe first known use of the word Punjab is in the book Tarikh-e-Sher Shah Suri , which mentions the construction of a fort by "Sher Khan of Punjab". The first mentioning of the Sanskrit equivalent of 'Punjab', however, occurs in the great epic, the Mahabharata...
- Persecution of HindusPersecution of HindusPersecution of Hindus refers to the religious persecution inflicted upon Hindus. Hindus have been historically persecuted during Islamic rule of the Indian subcontinent and during the Goa Inquisition...
- Anti-HinduAnti-HinduAnti-Hindu prejudice is a negative perception or religious intolerance against the practice and practitioners of Hinduism. Anti-Hindu sentiments have been expressed by Muslims in Pakistan, Bangladesh, leading to significant persecution of Hindus in those regions, such as the 1971 Bangladesh...
- Negationism in India - Concealing the Record of IslamNegationism in India - Concealing the Record of IslamNegationism in India: Concealing the Record of Islam is a book by Koenraad Elst published in 1992.The book attempts to demonstrate that there exists a 'prohibition' of criticism of Islam and a denial of its 'historic crimes against humanity' that amounts to censorship, comparing it to Holocaust...
- Hindu Temples - What Happened to ThemHindu Temples - What Happened to ThemHindu Temples – What Happened to Them is a two-volume book by Sita Ram Goel, Arun Shourie, Harsh Narain, Jay Dubashi and Ram Swarup. The first volume was published in spring 1990....
- Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinentMuslim conquest in the Indian subcontinentMuslim conquest in South Asia mainly took place from the 13th to the 16th centuries, though earlier Muslim conquests made limited inroads into the region, beginning during the period of the ascendancy of the Rajput Kingdoms in North India, from the 7th century onwards.However, the Himalayan...
External links
- Ebook version of the text
- Select Research Bibliography on the Partition of India, Compiled by Vinay Lal, Department of History, UCLA; University of California at Los Angeles list
- http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/Lib/man08par97.htmlA select list of Indian Publications on the Partition of India (Punjab & Bengal); University of VirginiaUniversity of VirginiaThe University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
list] - What Really Happened in 1947 ? An Open Letter to Khushwant Singh