Resistance
is a part of Punjab’s tradition which is nothing unusual as we witness it in
all societies in the face of oppression. Let’s very briefly look at the
history, literature, and folklore to understand how the resistance has become a
historical experience and expressed itself.
Mention was
made of Porus’s war with Alexander earlier. About the Battle of Hydapses [326
BC] historian Arrian says; “one of the Indian kings called Pours, a man
remarkable alike for personal strength and noble courage, on hearing the report
about Alexander began preparing for the eventual. Accordingly when hostilities
broke out … Alexander lost no time in joining the battle, but his horse being
wounded in the first charge, he fell headlong to the ground and was saved by
his attendants who hastened up to his assistance”.
Plutarch is
of the opinion that this was one of Alexander’s hardest battles: “the combat then
was of a mixed kind; but maintained with such obstinacy, that it was not decided
till the eighth hour of the day.” About the personal encounter between the two
he says that when Alexander asked towering Porus how he wished to be treated,
he said what has become the most quotable quote; “treat me, Alexander, as a
King treats another king”. Porus’s courage stood in total contrast to Darius’s
conduct of the war, who despite being a mighty emperor fearing for his life fled
the battleground to his eternal shame.
In the modern history of Punjab the first classical poet Baba Farid [12th century]
denounced the invaders and their plundering of the peasantry thus; “O Farid,
these stalks of mustard though sweet are poison / some dropped dead toiling and
some having plundered got away with the crop”.
Guru Nanak
[1469-1539] is the most profound social commentator. He not only chronicles
historical events but also critiques them ruthlessly. His “Babar Vai” is a
unique historical document that exposes the brutal nature of Babur’s invasion
which led to the massacre of people at an unprecedented scale ignored by
historians afflicted by Mogulomania. “Bringing the wedding party of sin from
Kabul he [Babur] demands lands as a wedding gift, O Lalo / Decency, and
righteousness are hiding and falsehood struts … [trans-Shivpreet Singh]”. It
was the women who suffered the worst humiliation and pain. “They whose hair
had made them look fairer, and who touched with sacred vermilion have had their
head shorn with scissors, and their throats choked with dust / Those who
stirred not out of their private chambers are now denied shelter even on the
roadside/ Riches, youth and beauty they formerly relished have turned into
their enemies/Minions at the conqueror’s behest drag them to dishonor”, reads
BabarVani. So much for the great Mughal who really hated everything Indian!
Nader Shah of Persia invaded India in 1738. Before the sacking of Delhi, this
megalomaniac plundered Punjab laying it waste. Poet Nijabat of Sargodha
[18th century] composed his highly celebrated epic on this carnage called
“Nijabat Di Var aka Nader Shah di Var”. The Var is a historical document as
well as a great literary feat. He showed who the quislings were and who
resisted the ferocious armies of Nader. “May this Nizamuddin be utterly
uprooted who lighting the candle showed the thief our house”. Nizamuddin was
the governor of Deccan who was in secret communication with Nader.
The
resistance in Punjab was so widespread that even pacifist Nath Yogis took
to the battleground. “Ra Bhobuturges all the members of the Panth [Sect/ school] to
do battle / you are hardy and colossal/ go down fighting.”
Poet Ali
Haider of Khanewal in his verses vociferously castigated both nobility and
Nader Shah; former for its dishonorable capitulation and latter for his
savagery. “This cruel Nader of Iran has absolutely no reluctance to slaughter
people,” he says about the invader. And this is how he Ali Haider names and
shames the nobles at the court in Delhi: “These Indians [nobles] have no shame
at all / they offer treasures aplenty to the Persians/ if you [nobles] can’t
find a swift current, fall into a puddle and drown yourselves”.
Shortly
afterward Ahmed Shah, an Afghan marauder and erstwhile lieutenant of Nader Shah,
repeatedly invaded Punjab and caused carnage. The loot and plunder by his
troops were so absolute that a saying became popular: “what you eat and drink is
yours / the rest belongs to Ahmed Shah.”
Baba Bulleh
Shah [1680-1757] during his life witnessed the total destruction of Punjab
at the hands of two savage invaders Nader Shah and Ahmed Shah. Ensuring social
chaos and political anarchy unhinged people. “Punjab is in shambles /terror of
the deepest hell has stricken us “, he declares. Invaders in the 18th century
literally reduced Punjab into a hellfire.
Waris Shah
[1722-1798] in his Heer has plenty of references and allusions to the fury
unleashed by the invaders. “Ahmed Shah would strike from nowhere / God will
save the town of Jandyala [his hometown]”, he says. “In this desolate country
called Punjab I regret the destruction of Kasur most”, he sighs talking of the
city which housed his alma mater. It was Bulleh Shah and Waris Shah who saw
the burying of the Mughal Empire underneath the debris of anarchy resulting
from relentless foreign invasions. They first noticed the early signs of the
emergence of long-suppressed local political forces. “Ones with coarse blankets
became the rulers / Mughal royals drank hemlock”, says Bulleh Shah, years before
the Sikh peasants demolished the Mughal structure and put an end to the Afghan
occupation of Punjab. From such chaos finally, Ranjit Singh emerged and
built his vast kingdom. He took the war to the aggressors and expelled Afghan
from Punjab restoring peace and harmony. This was the first time in nearly 800
years that Punjab had an astute ruler who was the son of the soil. He put his
country on the path to social harmony, economic progress, and political
stability. What happened in the aftermath of his death in 1839 was what used to
happen in the East; war of succession laced with palace intrigues and
assignations.
The East
India Company cleverly moved in initially through its proxies and later
directly to fill the political vacuum created by Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death.
But in order to occupy and annex Punjab, the Company had to wage two
ferocious wars known as Anglo-Sikh Wars. Poet Shah Muhammad [1780-1862]
composed his famous Var/epic called “Jang Hind Punjab” on the first Anglo-Sikh
War and exposed the treachery of the courtiers of Lahore Durbar and, cunning
and ruthlessness of the avaricious British. “Hindus and Muslims lived happily
but a fresh disaster struck the both/ No third community had hitherto
interfered in their affairs,” he says. “In the absence of regime’s support the
armies lost the war they had won,” declares Shah Muhammad hinting at the
treachery of the nobility.
To cut a
long story short, Punjab has resisted the invaders. Nothing unusual! All
communities resist oppression. And the armed resistance is not the only form of
resistance. Resistance has multiple forms; it can be social, cultural,
political and economic. We need to put the phenomenon in perspective and
analyze to make sense of our long history.
This
article Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2019
Mushtaq Soofi June
03, 2019
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