PUNJABI CULTURE – OLDEST IN THE WORLD
Sanskrit we believed
is one of : the oldest language of the world. We have always been told that
like many other languages Punjabi too has evolved from it and that like the Punjabi
culture is a derivation of the Aryan culture. DR. DARSHAN SINGH A professor at Punjab
University refutes this and proves that the Punjabi language already existed when
Aryans came and that the Sanskrit is influenced by the Punjabi language. He
asserts that the Punjabi people are not Aryans but the original natives who
formed the oldest civilisation in the world.
In
the early twenties
of this century extensive excavations done at Mohenjo-daro in Larkana district
of Sind and Harappa in Montgomery district, both now in Pakistan unearthed some
amazing revolutionary materials which tend to prove that in the pre-historic times,
the people of Indus Valley had a high order of civilization.
Since these cities existed
centuries before the advent of Aryans on this land Dr. Darshan Singh delineates
that the language and culture of Punjab were the first rays of civilization for
the humanity in this part of the globe.
At least five thousand
years ago, the Indus Valley had a ' glorious civilization, not found in any
other part of the civilized world It has
been found that the lived in
well-built brick houses with good
floors, bathrooms, wells and rubbish
pits. The city had developed drainage system, there and its roads and streets were straight and wide. It can be said that
its municipal life w?s much advanced and sanitation systems were thoroughly
organised. A great public bath, 180 feet by 108 feet, with a large swimming
pool, surrounded by galleries was a spectacular find of the whole excavations.
The people were well
advanced in agriculture, tended sheep and cattle .qnd used vehicles for transport.
' Cotton cloth was in use which they spun and wove and their craftsmanship was
of a high order. The discovery of photographic script reveals that they had an
advanced art of writing. So far as religion was
concerned the people worshipped trees, phallic
stones, the mother goddess and also a male god.
Many historians are of
the opinion that this civilization had a close 'affinity with the Sumerian civilization
of Mesopotamia. Some seals of the Indus Valley found in Mesopotamia, established beyond doubt that an
inter-relationship of sorts must have existed between the Indus Valley and the
other lands of Western Asia, long before the recorded history of the world'
Further it is also established that this great civilization owed little to the
outside world and is no ground to believe that it was formed by immigrants from
other countries. The cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro were built by the
people who had been living in the Indus Valley for several centuries before the
Aryans entered lndia.
In the light of the
fore gone paras and already established historical ' facts, it can be concluded
that:
1. The Aryans were not
the first inhabitants of Punjab. They came to this land during much later
times.
2. They did not form
a well-educated and civilized nation. Their life style was of primitive nature
and their occupations were limited to the raising of cattle, sheep etc'
3. The Aryan of that
time had no perception of art and culture although they had their sacred scriptures
like the Vedas with them and hence the Vedic language was also used in
conversation.
4. The natives of this
land had their own philosophy of life, religious quest and queries and -methods
of meditation etc.
5. They had their own
perceptions of art and culture.
6. They had their own
art of writing which shows that they had a developed language and script.
The above facts
clearly establish that the civilization of the Natives was much advanced than thosb
of the Aryans who came to this land in groups as invaders' This is also an
established fact that the Aryans borrowed much of what is known as the Aryan
civilization from the Natives of Punjab.
1. They borrowed the concept
of Karma and transmigration of soul from the original inhabitants of this
region.
2. They borrowed
their much adored deities like Shiva and Vishnu and some experts are of the
opinion that even lord Krishna is a god of the pre-Aryan civilization-
Goddesses like Durga, Kali and Chandi were also adopted by the Aryans from the inhabitants
of the earlier civilization. The worship of trees and the belief in magic were
also the contributions of the aborigines
to the Aryan civilization.
3. The most popular Puranic
stories about 'devas' and demons which cultivated the Aryan consciousness are
also said to be the product of the influence of local civilization on the Aryan
civilization.
4. So far as the
dress was concerned, dhoti, the saree etc. were also adopted by the Aryans from
the local people.
5. During ceremonies like marriages, the use of turmeric
(haldi) and henna (mehandi) etc. was also aquired by the Aryans from the
earlier civilization
6. The use of
coconut, rice, beetal leaf nut (pan-supari) etc. in religious ceremonies was
also due to the influence that the earlier civilizations had on the Aryans.
The excavations done
at Harappa, Texla and Ropar prove, beyond doubt, that the civilization of Punjab
is the oldest of all the civilizations in the world.
There is of course, a
difference of opinion about the race of the original inhabitants of Punjab. A
possible belief is that the history of Punjab as we know it today is not the
history of the natives. The civilization of Punjab is much older than what we
have come to know through books on history.
The scholars have
divided the evolution of Punjabi culture into three stages:
a) pre Harappan Stage
b) Harappan Stage
c) post Harappan
Stage
Different scholars
have given different names to the people of the pre-Harappan period. Some are
of the opinion that Munda and Kolari tribes were the original residents of Punjab.
They were the people of Austric origin, living throughout the stretch of land
from Punjab to New Zealand at the same time. They have a number of tribes known
as coal, peel, santhal, munda, sawara, hoo, kurda, jang and kurku etc. Annel
Hack is of the opinion that the people of Punjab possess traits similar to
those of the people of Austric origin, the prominent among whom were the people
of the Munda tribe.
Secondly they were
also known as the people of Aambri-pal civilization. Aambri is the place which
was adjacent to Mohenjodaro in Sindh Baluchistan.
The traits of the
people of the Aambri Pal civilization are similar to the people belonging to the
Mohenjodaro civilization or to those found in Ropar district in Punjab. This is
the reason
why scholars believe that
Munda and Aambri Pal civilizations are the same. Dr. Pandey classifies these
people as belonging to the Sohaan civilization. As they lived on the banks of
this river they were known as people of Sohaan civilization. The people of this
civilization are known to be the oldest Punjabi settlers. They were expert in
making tools out of stones. On the whote the people of the pre-Harappan age
were of Austric origin. They had their definite characteristic language and
script. This is amply illustrated by the archaeologists as well as the
linguists.
Then comes the
Harappan age. The inhabitants of this age are known as the Dravir people. They
had their own civilization which is known as the Dravarian civilization. The
excavations at many places of Punjab
invariably prove that the Harappan civilization was, on the whole, a Dravarian
civilization. It seems as if the Austric civilization had evolved itself into
the Dravarian civilization. The main characteristics of the Dravarian
civilization were:
They were expert in
agriculture and urbanisation. They were definitely quite advanced in art,
particularly in making wall-paintings etc. They were the worshippers of mother
goddess and shivling and also sacred trees like pipal etc. Their idols were the
female goddesses like Durga, Chandi etc.. They were expert in yoga. Philosophically
they believed in the transmigration of action and soul.
It is clear that
there is very little difference between the Munda and Dravir characteristics.
Similar is the case of the residents of pre-Austric age.
This is also clear
that this Dravarian civilization has evolved itself into the Aryan civilization.
Thus, it is a case of some earlier civilization evolving and merging itself
into the austric, the Austric into the Dravarian and the Dravarian into the
Aryan. Because of this, most of the features of the Dravalian civilization
became the part of the Aryan civilization in Punjab. The Aryans, that is the post-Harappan
civilization, adopted from the earlier civilizations a number of things.
For example, most of
the nouns concerning ceremonies and festivals, which are used even now in Punjab
are the direct contribution of Munda people i.e. pre-Harappan civilization. A
few notable among them are given here to elucidate this point:
1. pani Varna, 2.
Choul Varna, 3. Laag, 4. Reja, 5. Sarbala, 6. Var/ Vari, 7. Tian, 8. Maghi 9. Faag, 10. Kuri, 11. peeri
These and many such
terms' have come down to us in Punjab, through the above said cultural stream.
Significantly when
the Aryans entered Punjab they were not a civilized people. They learned the
art of a civilized living from the original residents of Punjab.
lf so many things
concerning different areas of life are attributable to the influence of an
earlier civilization on the Aryans then we can safely conclude that the
influence of the earlier language must also have been there on the vedic, language
of the Aryans.
A language belongs to
the land or area where it is used. It neither
belongs to religion nor caste or colour of its people. Therefore, it is a
scientifically admitted fact that the language of an area is the language of
its people to whosoever section and caste or colour they belong to. Secondly, the upheavals of
history can destroy many things, but it cannot destroy the language of its
people. On the other hand, the invaders who occupy a land and settle down there
normally are influenced by the local culture such as its art, language etc. This
exactly had happened with the Aryans also. Now this whole discussion crystallizes
into the following points:
1. The Civilization
of Punjab is older than the civilization of the Aryan invaders.
2. The people of Punjab
thus had a language and a script of their own. 3. The language of the Aryans
that is the Vedic language was influenced by the Punjabi language of the time.
It is not necessary
that the name of the language of that, time in Punjab: was Punjabi. But they
had a script and a language which influenced the language and script of the
Aryan who settled in these parts.
Most of the scholars
who have worked on some of the different aspects of Punjabi language are of the
opinion that Punjabi is the product of lndo-Aryan group of Languages. They draw
its lineage from Sanskrit to Prakrit, Prakrit to Apbhransh and from Apbhransh
to modern lndo-Aryan languages including Punjabi. Some scholars put vedic in
the place of Sanskrit and accept the remaining order. They are of the opinion
that Sarnskrit was the highly sophisticated language and it was prevalent only
among the elite. It was never the language of the masses. Therefore, it should
be treated as a separate unit.
My reservation about this
kind of argument is that if Punjabi is the product of Vedic or Sanskrit then
what about the language of the pre-Aryan people ? This was a fully blossomed
language and was commonly spoken by the earlier inhabitants of the Punjab. The
Aryans came to this land and they accepted, like many other things, the
influence of the local language and script also. 'Thus, it can be reasonably
accepted that Sanskrit is also moulded and shaped by the Punjabi influence on
the Vedic language. 'This opinion is further authenticated by the amount
of similarities between Munda/Kulari,
Dravid the Vedic/Sinskrit and Punjabi of the present time- For example:
1. Munda, Kulari and
Dravid :- It is the language group, which actually is the heritage of the Punjabi
language. These are the languages of Punjab.
2" The influence
of ancient Punjabi on Dravir language and hence on Sanskrit is clearly visible.
This has been recorded in a number of authentic books on the subject.
3. Dr. S.K. Chatterji
had given a list of words which are from Dravian source and have found a place
in Sanskrit. It clearly proves that the place of Sanskrit in the Lineage of the
languages is influenced by the old Punjabi language. Again, almost dl the
scholars agree that the retroflex sounds (TA, THA,.DA, DHA, ANA) in Sanskrit
are contributed directly by Munda Dravid group of languages.
Such examples can be
further added easily to prove it in more details. So the above said elements
are assimilated and absorbed in Sanskrit in such a way that they have become an
integral part of the Sanskrit language and its literature in a very
natural manner.
Therefore, the
history of Punjabi language in lndia is longer than that of the history of
Vedic and Sanskrit. It is more so because the civilization in this land is the
oldest civilization in the world. It influenced the life, in all its
multi-dimensions. It influenced the
Aryans also. The Aryans learnt the art of civic life and many other arts
and crafts from the local Punjabi people.' It is a well-considered view of a
large number of scholars that the Punjabis have been a very dynamic people throughout their history. The reason being
that Punjab, since ages, had continued to be a converging point for different
races and nations. Whether the foreigners invaded Punjab or had trade and
political relations with the people of different religions and races continued
to pour into Punjab and a few of them even settled down here. This confluence
of different people is one potent reason that the Punjabis have distinct
features, skin, colour, food, habits, dress and also a unique philosophy of
life. This distinction is' also in a way the source of its dynamism.
Taking into account
all these findings of logic and research, it is possible to believe that Punjabi
was the language of the people of Punjab even before Aryans qamq to this land
and Punjabi continued to influence various stages of Vedic or Sanskrit
evolution and is therefore a source language rather than a by-product.
After many facts
have been brought to light by the archaeological excavation Punjab is known to
be the oldest civilization in the world. So much so that scholars have claimed
it to be the first home of man-kind because it is here that the first home of
man was discovered. But now the legitimate question arises as to who were the
first residents of this land ? This has also been proved that the residents of Punjab
in the remote past were the people who hailed from different races.
Sociologists have proved that broadly Punjab was like a melting point in which'
these great races, discussed earlier, among numerous others got mixed and
inter-mingled to give a composite culture as the final product which is a uhique social model in the world.
