Almost all regions of the subcontinent have traditionally been diverse. Racial, religious, ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity stuns you wherever you go. It’s not confined to what is man-made or related strictly with the evolution and development of societies.

The nature itself offers an amazing spectacle in terms of features of soil; snow-clad mountains and sizzling plains in summer and hot coastal areas and minus 25 Celsius in the uplands in winter. A bewildering range of flora and fauna leaves you wonderstruck; snow leopards of the north and large desert lizard of the south can send shivers down your spine with their awe-inspiring presence.

Diversity has been subcontinent’s strength as it bestowed it with richness of myriad shades. But it’s also its bane as it makes the things to manage extremely difficult if not impossible. Diversity in the domain of religion exacerbating the historical problem of inter-faith harmony has made it intractable. The Punjab has been affected by the phenomenon of religious diversity especially from the ninth century onward.

Before the partial Arab conquest of the Punjab the conflict was more between castes - created by infamous caste system in the aftermath of Aryan invasion of Sapta Sindhua- than faiths because Jainism and Buddhism, rivals of ancient religion [Sanatan Dharma], had already been eliminated long time ago by the revival of Brahmanism. In the wake of successful Arab and Turk invasions of the Punjab a new religion - averse to the notion of caste hierarchy - of Semitic origins emerged on the horizon that was already cluttered with castes, popular indigenous beliefs and cults.

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The alien Muslim rulers in the Punjab attracted certain well-to-do segment of the population to their faith besides luring the aspiring Arabs, Iranians and Central Asians to come to the Punjab which held out the hope for better material life laced with perks and privileges. The foreign rulers also created conditions which helped Muslim saints, scholars and preachers convert a large chunk of indigenous Punjabis from lower castes in particular as they were the wretched of the earth in the excruciatingly compartmentalised caste hierarchy projected as eternal and divinely sanctioned. Ruled by foreign elite, the Punjab gradually became Muslim majority area to the chagrin of former indigenous upper castes that stood stripped of some of their powers and privileges.

Muslims with foreign and indigenous roots looked towards Middle East, Iran and Central Asia for inspiration while Punjabi Hindus continued to be proud of ethos of their religious traditions rooted in the soils. But the natural outcome of such a historical transformation was a chasm between old and new faith communities which looked poles apart in certain aspects. The differences between the two communities developed into simmering tensions with the passage of time which were kept from erupting by the clout of the ruling clique in the new power structure which was aligned in such a manner that it favoured the Muslim nobility [Ashrafia].

During the medieval period we witness a new phenomenon which later developed into what is now universally known as Sikhism. Baba Guru Nanak, a great seer, inspiring saint, profound thinker and unmatched poet [1469-1539] was such a man that nature broke the mold when it made him. He took the best of Hindu and Muslim traditions and developed his new vision that was highly inclusive. His followers initially called “Nanak Panthis [Followers of Nanak’s path]were a peaceful lot. But later when a large chunk of peasantry seething with resentment due to the high taxation on agriculture and repressive policies of powerful successive Mughal regimes joined the movement, the simmering fire turned into a conflagration.

Coercion and brutal repression of the Sikhs by Mughal forces created perfect conditions for rebellion against the authorities in the Punjab. It was a long drawn battle which eventually proved a disaster for the Mughal. Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and the last Guru, was a formidable military commander, an astute politician and man of immense courage and perseverance who turned the ragtag bands of peasant rebels into a gorilla force that could take on mighty Mughal armies. But the Empire retaliated with brutal ferocity. Thousands of Sikhs lost their lives in what are commemorated in Sikh culture as ‘Two Holocausts/ Massacres [Wadda Ghallughara / Chota Ghullughara]’ in which thousands of militants and innocents Sikh men, women and children lost their lives. This was in addition to the general hunt for Sikh heads.

The Sikh rebel forces seized the moment when the Mughal empire enfeebled by its internal contradictions was thrashed and brought low by crazed Iranian invader Nadir Shah and his crony Afghan plunderer Ahmed Shah in the eighteenth century unleashing utter chaos and anarchy across the Empire. Both the invaders decimated mighty Mughal forces which eroded central authority and created a political vacuum.

The Sikhs from the Punjab and the Marathas from Maharashtra with their new-found zeal sealed the fate of the Mughal. We first witness the Sikh ascendancy with the emergence of ‘Sikh Misals [Sikh Bands/states of Sikh Confederacy controlled by warlords]’ in the eighteenth century. It was utter anarchy that pushed the Punjab into a state of free fall causing insufferable anguish to the populace. It was the time when poet Bulleh Shah said: “The door of doomsday has been flung open/Punjab is in shambles”. In another verse he says: “The Mughals drank hemlock/the ones with coarse shawls are now the kings”.

It was Maharaja Ranjit Singh who put an end to the peoples’ agonising ordeal when he with his brilliant strategy captured Lahore without firing a single shot. He ended the misrule of ‘Misals’ with tact and force which brought peace to the land weary of strife and war. He encouraged the forces that thought communal harmony was essential for the good and prosperity of the Punjab and its people. But the damage had already been done by the previous unwise ruling clique that used excessive force against the rising Sikhs comprising mostly tormented peasants.

The first communal divide between Punjabi Hindus and Punjabi Muslims was a subdued source of discontent. The second one between Punjabi Muslims and Punjabi Sikhs aggravated the situation by confounding it further. The Muslim rulers who sowed the wind by unleashing oppressive discrimination had to reap the whirlwind when the ruled defied them.