Punjab has been known in history by its various names; the names that at various points of time had their origins in its geography, topography, limnology, ethnicity, faith and culture. But what has predominantly remained an element of its name is its association with rivers and waters. We are not sure by what name the Dravidians of Harappa civilization called their land. And this is due to two important factors. One, the Harappa script so far has not been deciphered. Two, Vedas and other ancient scriptures unfortunately do not tell us about the name used by the Dravidians for their homeland. The Rig-Veda, as we all know, is the first sacred text revealed to the Rishis (seers) in the Punjab after the Aryan ascendency way back in time. The Rig-Veda calls this land Sapta Sindhavah, the land of seven (major) rivers. Sapta means seven. The word is same as Punjabi’s Satt, Hindi’s Saat and Avestan’s Haft. Sindhu means river. Seven rivers mentioned were Sindu (Indus), Vitasta (Vehit/Jhelum), Askni (Chenab), Parusni/Eravati (Ravi), Sutudri (Sutlej), Vipasa (Vias/Beas) and Sarsvati which is usually identified with present day Ghaggar-Hakra river.

We had many more rivers and streams, small and big, than what we have at present. The Rig-Veda refers to three groups of seven rivers (trih sapta sasra nadiyah “thrice seven wandering rivers”) as well as to 99 rivers. Hymn XXX11 of Rig-Veda described the great battle between lord Indra and Virtra, (which literally means obstructive/blocker) the lord of Asur tribe of Harappa who was demonised as dragon. We get a glimpse of how terrible was the battle and what state of fear Indra was in. Though “Indra is king of all that moves and not moves” this is how he is described in the immediate aftermath of the battle: “Whom sawest thou to avenge the Dragon, Indra that fear possessed thy heart when thou had slain him; that like a hawk affrighted through the regions, thou crossed nine-and- ninety flowing rivers?”(Trans. Griffith). Imagine the apparently unimaginable; dauntless Indra on the run.

The Punjab has been and still is a land of rivers. Rivers are a major source of water and it is water that sustains life in all its forms. No water, no life, we all know though we may not have read Thales, the early Greek philosopher, who in his attempt to discover the fundamental material source of life declared that the single material substance that created life was water. The newly arrived Aryans in the Punjab knew well how crucial the control over the waters of the rivers was.” Waters, you are the ones that bring us the life force/ help us find nourishment, so that we may look upon great joy/ let us share in the most delicious sap that you have..” says one of the Rig-Veda’s hymns. The most frequently referred to conflict in the Rig-Veda between Harappa people and in-coming Aryans was related to water. The greatest achievement of the Aryan war lord, Indra, who was defied, was to slay formidable Virtra who had blocked the course of the rivers. Indra released the waters.

In Vedic literature we find another closely related theme - cows. Rivers and cows are distinctly separate but in the Rig-Veda both are co-related hinting at the organic relationship that existed and exists between water and livestock i.e. food. There is a story of Vala (which means enclosure) cave.

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Vala is both a place and a character. In Rig-Veda, Vala is a demon and Atharaveda describes him as brother of Virtra. Vala is a rocky cave where cows are kept hidden by Panis. The cave is rent asunder by Soma intoxicated Indra and cows are released. The story is mentioned 23 times in the Rig-Veda.

Here are some of verses of the story: “who slew dragon, freed the seven rivers, drove the kine forth from the cave of Vala../ Lord of thunder, thou didst burst the cave of Vala rich in cows. The Gods came pressing to thy side, and free from terror aided thee.”(Trans. Griffith). And who were these Panis who stole cows in the story that can be interpreted literally as well as allegorically. Most of the mavens of the sacred text believe that Pani referred to is non-Aryan tribe of tradesmen and merchants. Present day Banias are thought to be their descendants. Unlike other Dravidian tribes they did not put up resistance against the Aryans and thus were spared demonization and extreme vilification. There is no mention of war between Panis and the Aryans. Rig-Veda’s attitude towards them is less hostile. Nonetheless they were scorned at and ridiculed for being miserly despite being immensely rich. They did not offer gifts to the priests, opposed sacrifices and didn’t believe in Yajnyas.

Panis represented the interests and values of mercantile class that stressed the value of discreet spending.

These are the stories, real and imaginary, from the distant past but they have contemporary relevance. Tribes fought over water and food in this part of the world. Now nations fight over water and food. Even if the Kashmir dispute, a flashpoint in the subcontinent, is settled which is highly unlikely, the spectre of water war between Pakistan and India will continue to haunt the region. At times simple solutions can work. We, the people in Pakistan and India, need to realise that, fortunately or unfortunately, we are conjoined twins. Dehydrating the one would dehydrate the other decimating the both. We perforce have to share starvation. Secondly, the natural supply of water is not unlimited. Water must be used judiciously. In order to have judicious use, apart from other measures, what we need urgently is the realisation that we stop breeding like rabbits. We cannot afford to have unplanned population growth if we do not want to land in a situation where we fight over water and milk, and have ‘not a drop to drink’. — soofi01@hotmail.com