The Punjab

The Punjab in northwest India is the homeland of the Sikhs. It was there that the religion was born and today almost 90 per cent of Sikhs still live in the Punjab or the immediately adjacent areas. The total Sikh population is about 18 million. Of this figure one million live in other parts of India and another million are found overseas.'

The name "Punjab" is a compound of two Persian words, panj meaning "five" and ab meaning "water". The resultant compound can be freely translated as "the land of five rivers". Strictly speaking it is not an accurate name, for there are at least six major rivers flowing through the region. The word does, however, draw attention to the importance of rivers in the creation of the Punjab and in its subsequent history and economy.

A glance at a good physical map of India will at once reveal the natural boundaries of the Punjab. To the north-east lie the Himalayas. In the west and north-west are the small chains that separate the plains of India from the Hindu Kush. To the south the fertile lands run out into the extensive deserts of Rajasthan and Sindh. Only in the south-east is there an absence of any distinct boundary and it is difficult to say where the Punjab ends and the "lands of the east" begin. The Jumna River was once regarded as the eastern boundary, but today most feel that one leaves the Punjab before reaching the Jumna.

Within this roughly triangular area is to be found some exceedingly fertile and productive land. The rivers have provided the fertile soil and continue to provide a substantial proportion of the water that keeps the soil productive. This they do by means of extensive monsoon flooding, canals and seepage. Much of the Punjab has an annual rainfall of 50 to 80 centimetres, most of it falling in the three monsoon months from July to September.

Sustained production relies on irrigation. When irrigation is extended, more soil comes under cultivation and the population increases accordingly. Three big advances have taken place in irrigation during the history of the Punjab. The first came at the beginning of, or shortly before, the 12th century with the introduction of the Persian wheel.2 This simple device greatly increased the irrigative capacity of wells, transforming large tracts of land and bringing a consequent increase in production and population. The second leap forward was the construction of the canal system by the British during the second half of the 19th century. The third was the installation of electric pumps (tube-wells). Not all areas have benefited from these last two advances. In some places unlined canals have rendered the soil saline. In other places tube-wells have forced the watertable down to the point where it can no longer be reached.

A loamy soil and a regular supply of water have combined with a favourable climate to create a highly productive agricultural economy. In much of the Punjab the" land produces two crops a year. Wheat is the most important crop. Millet, maize, barley, sugar cane, cotton, rice, gram, fodder crops and various kinds of green vegetables are also grown extensively.

The climate of the Punjab is marked by extremes, but not intolerable extremes. May and June are unpleasant, with temperatures regularly rising to the high forties centigrade. These months are also dry and to add to the heat there is sometimes the extra unpleasantness of dust storms. In July the monsoon breaks and for almost three months there is persistent rain. Temperatures drop to the mid to high thirties but relative humidity is high. For some there is always the problem of floods. This was aggravated when the British built their principal lines of communication -their railway lines and roads - above the level of the surrounding countryside and across the natural drainage courses.In September the rains dwindle and temperatures begin to decline. November is a particularly pleasant month, but by late December temperatures at night approach freezing point and a few light showers can be expected. By February the trend is reversed and by the beginning of April one becomes uncomfortably aware that the hot season is again at hand. In most parts of the Punjab, April is the month of the main harvest. The green of the monsoon and winter gives way to the yellow of the maturing wheat crop. Soon the yellow will be replaced by the brown of bare dry earth.

A fertile soil, the availability of water and a favourable climate are the primary influences that have moulded the Punjabi. Their influence is felt mainly in the rural areas and the small towns which service them. Rural Punjab is where by far the greater number of Sikhs is found, living in the villages that dot the countryside. There are, of course, large towns and cities in the Punjab, but a majority of their populations is generally Hindu. Comparatively few Sikhs living in the Punjab are urban.

The Punjab lies across the path from Afghanistan and Central Asia. Down the Khyber Pass traders and invaders have come for thousands of years, passing through the Punjab or stopping there and going no further. Only with the establishment of Sikh rule under Maharaja Ranjit Singh at the beginning of the igth century did the traffic of invading armies cease. This continual influx has meant that the Punjab bears the impress of ethnic mixing. Climate, repeated invasions, agrarian experience and a healthy diet have produced a vigorous people and a vigorous culture.

1 There are actually more Sikhs worldwide than there are Jews.

2 A camel, a buffalo or a pair of cows is harnessed to a shaft and driven around in a small circle. The shaft turns a wheel that is geared to an endless chain of small buckets. The chain passes down into a well and returns with each bucket filled with water. As each bucket reaches the top and turns to descend again it discharges its contents into a channel which carries the water away to neighbouring fields.