Punjabi nationalism

This article is about the nationalist ideology focusing on all ethnic Punjabis. For the separatist movement aimed at creating an independent Sikh state, see Khalistan movement.

Punjabi nationalism is an ethnonationalist ideology that focuses on Punjabis as a single and distinct nation, emphasising Punjabi cultural and social unity around the world, especially in their native Punjab — split between Pakistan and India. The demands of the Punjabi nationalist movement are linguistic, cultural, socio-economic and political rights alongside promoting ethnic unity among Punjabis.

With its origins in post-Mughal Punjab, early forms of Punjabi nationalism spurred the coalescence of Punjabis into a broader common "Punjabi" national identity in the wake of Afghan and Maratha invasions of Punjab. Various independent Punjabi states arose during the Mughal decline, including several Muslim states (most notably Bahawalpur, Pakpattan, Pothohar, Sial State) and twelve Sikh Misls.

Punjabi nationalism arose as a prominent ideology during the process of Punjabi Unification initiated by Ranjit Singh under which foreign powers such as the Durrani Empire were forced to retreat from Punjab. As Maharaja of Punjab, Ranjit Singh established an inclusive and secular Punjabi state under the Sikh Empire. During the British colonial era, Punjabi nationalism was largely driven by the Unionist Party, and other Punjab-based anti-colonial movements.

Punjabi nationalism — closely linked with Sikh nationalism in India — arose under the Singh Sabha Movement to protect the Punjabi language and Gurmukhi script, due to the advent of the notion of Hindi and Devanagari's association with Hindu nationalism, with the Arya Samaj advocating for the use of Devanagari. Following the partition of Punjab in 1947, the prior Sikh movement culminated in the Punjabi Suba movement in East Punjab where Sikhs who mostly identified Punjabi as their mother tongue — with Hindus identifying with Hindi in the census — demanded a separate state leading to the trifurcation of East Punjab on a linguistic basis in 1966 and the formation of the sole Sikh-majority and Punjabi state in India. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee had declared the Punjab region as the natural homeland of Sikhs in 1946; with the Anandpur Sahib Resolution of 1973 also linking Sikhism to Punjab as a Sikh homeland. During the Khalistan movement, Sikh militants enforced the Punjabi language, the Gurmukhi script, and traditional Punjabi clothing in Punjab.

In Pakistan, Punjabi nationalism emerged in the 1980s as a reaction to the Saraiki movement, a political movement which sought to separate the southern Punjabi dialects from the Punjabi language, and to instead declare them to constitute a separate language for which the term Saraiki was adopted — separating erstwhile southern Punjabis from their Punjabi ethnic identity and subsequently giving rise to the Saraikistan province movement. Punjabi intellectuals considered the Saraiki movement as "an attack on Punjabi"; with Punjabi nationalists, and by extension many Punjabis, still refusing to recognise Saraiki as a separate language, citing its linguistic status as a variety of Punjabi. The Punjabi Language Movement, driven by Punjabiyat and Punjabi nationalism, demands official recognition of the Punjabi language in Pakistan.

The goals of Punjabi nationalist movement are widespread, but the promotion Punjabi culture, language and unity is common to all. Supporters in the Punjabi diaspora also focus on the promotion of a shared ethnocultural heritage.


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