Overview

On the eve of the British leaving the subcontinent in 1947, Punjab was partitioned along religious lines. Thus was created a Muslim majority state of Punjab (west) in Pakistan and a Hindu /Sikh majority state of Punjab (east) in India. For the people of Punjab, it created a paradoxical situation they had never experienced before: the self became the Other. The universe of a shared way of life -- Punjabiyat — was marginalised. It was replaced by perceptions of contending identities through the two nation states. For most of us this has been the narrative of Punjab-- once known as the land of five waters, now a cultural region spanning the border between Pakistan and India.