Historians talk of Lahore’s Persian poet of Iranian origins Masa’ud Sa’ad Salman as the first poet of contemporary Punjabi but unfortunately hitherto no copy of his Hindwi Diwan has been found.

The new language found its best literary expression in the Shlokas/couplets of Fariduddin Mas’aud Ganjshakar. Baba Farid, born in the 12th century in Kothewal, Multan, was the third head of Chishti Sufi Order in India. He was the pioneer of Punjab’s literary tradition. His verses reflect his immense love for people and search for higher reality hidden in mundane life.

Punjabi language found a unique voice, that of Guru Nanak, in the 15th century. The Guru Nanak born in 1469 was a hyper-polyglot. His way of life and sacred verses changed the social, literary and spiritual landscape of Punjab for all time to come. Guru Angad, the second Sikh Guru, started working on the Gurmukhi script which was based on older scripts called Landay, Mahajni and Sharda etc. It was the time when Punjabi began to employ three scripts Nagri, Arabic and Gurmukhi. In the same century fifth Guru Arjun sahib compiled the Adi Granth, the holy book of Sikh religion.

The 16th century proved to be a milestone in the history of Punjabi language. Dynamics of literary expression catapulted the language to an altogether new level by opening up new dimensions. Bhagti and Sufi influence brought into being new lyrical genres such as Kafi and Siharfi for their expression. Secondly, Qissa kaari, the storytelling, became poplar medium of realistic expression. Thirdly, Var, epic, came to be employed for description and narration of historical events and personages. Classical tradition and folk literature continued to flourish side by side. We also come across prose in Punjabi in the 16th century such as Janam Sakhis, hagiographies or biographies of Sikh Gurus. But we also find other books and treaties like ‘Masle Saikh Farid ke’ and ‘Muwaiz Nosha Ganj Baksh’ which are specimen of mature prose.

Shah Hussain aka Madho Lal Hussain created the Kafi genre in the 16th century. Kafi was organically linked with music and singing which subsequently became popular with the mystically inclined poets. Damodar Das Gulati composed the legend of Heer Ranjha for the first time. Bhai Gurdas wrote a number of ‘Vars’.

Baba Farid and Guru Nanak based their literary language mainly on the dialects such as Lenhdi and Multani. Shah Hussain used the same Western dialects with certain changes. Sultan Bahu in the 17th century used Siharfi consisting of four lines for his socio-spiritual experiences. In the same period we see lot of religious literature coming up such as Abdulla Abdi’s ‘Baran Anwaa; and Hafiz Barkhurdar’s ‘Pukki Roti’ and ‘Deeni Rasaial’.

Poet Pilu from the region of Dhann, Chakwal, composed a thrilling legend called Mirza Sahiban. Later Hafiz Barkhurdar retold the tale with such vigour and beauty that it got immortalised.

The 8th century was a high point for Punjabi language. Baba Bulleh Shah from Kasur district raised his vigorous voice against socio-religious oppression and political tyranny. Waris Shah from Sheikhupura district re-composed the legend of Heer which became a matchless metaphor of long existing agrarian society in its totality. Ali Haider of Khanewal composed his Siharfis denouncing the foreign invaders and quislings.

The decline of Mughal Empire and relentless foreign invasions turned Punjabi into a language of resistance. Poet Nijabat created Nijabat Di Var, the most celebrated epic, on the Nadir Shah’s brutal invasion of Punjab which left in its wake mayhem and destruction.

Contemporary Punjabi began taking shape in Ghaznavid period and touched a high point during the Mughal era. It flourished independent of foreign rulers and their courts where Persian and Turkish held sway. It developed as the literary language of saints, Sufis, Gurus and above all as a people’s language.

Sikh warlords gained power in the chaotic situation created by invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah in the 18th century. In the ensuing anarchy Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore without firing a single shot in 1799 and quickly restored order and peace. Maharaja’s official language was Persian but spoken language at the court was Punjabi. Coins and stamps also had Punjabi words inscribed on them. During this era Hashim Shah composed famous tale of Sassi and popularised ballads. Qadir Yar wrote the ancient legend of Puran Bhagat. Pir Muhammad wrote his epic ‘Chatthian di Var’. A number of poets composed epic on the encounter between the governor of Multan and Rajit Singh’s forces. The epic is known as ‘Pauri Muzaffar Khan’.

Soon after the Ranjit Singh’s death The East India Company fought three wars against Punjab. One of the wars has been penned by poet Shah Muhammad in his epic ‘Jang Hind Punjab’. The Company occupied Punjab in 1849, just 10 years after the demise of Maharaja. Though Punjabi was not official language but it enjoyed such prestige that last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar also wrote verses in Punjabi. The British colonialists after the annexation, established railways, telephone and telegraph, judicial courts, police stations. A huge canal network was set up and large swathes of arid lands were brought under cultivation. New type of European schools came up. Such a development opened up the possibility of huge number of jobs. Education became job oriented. The British, contrary to their previous education policy, along with English introduced a non-local language, Urdu, in schools to the detriment of Punjabi.

The 19th century produced three great poets, Khawaja Ghulam Farid in south, Mian Muhammad Bakhsh in the north and Maulvi Ghulam Rasul in the east. Khawaja Farid painted in his lyrics the haunting natural landscape of the soil, Mian Muhammad built a world of phantasmagorias and Maulvi Ghulm Rasul introduced Middle Eastern legends.

The resistance movement against the colonial occupation picked up in the first half of 20th century. As the independence movement started gaining ground, the chasm between Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs came to the surface. The Muslim community felt as if its future was not secure within the united India. So they voiced their demand for a separate homeland in Muslim majority regions. In the absence of a compromise between Muslim and other communities Pakistan emerged on the world map as a new Muslim majority state in 1947. India’s Partition resulted in partitioning the Punjab which led to unprecedented bloodshed and mass migration.

Pakistan immediately after its birth had to face innumerable foreseeable and unforeseen problems. One of the big issues that cropped up was that of language. Pakistan was voted into existence by East Bengal, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan which had their historically evolved distinct cultures and languages that the state tried to suppress in the name of national unity. The net result was political unrest. In the Pakistani Punjab the issue of language was further confounded as the state even after the end of colonial rule continued the colonial policy by keeping Punjabi language away from schools and educational institutions.

The Pakistan’s constitution of 1973 for the first time resolved language issue to some extent by allowing each federating unit called province to introduce language of its region as its official language along with English and Urdu. All other provinces took some steps to preserve and promote their languages except Punjab.

Punjabi language has its roots in more than five thousand years old history of the Punjab. It survived without official patronage and is still alive. It has been kept alive by pro-people writers, intellectuals and artists but above all by the Punjab’s people whose natural speech it is. 

— soofi01@hotmail.com