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Language and Script of Aad Guru Granth Sahib
- Devinder Singh Chahal
Abstract
The Sikh Gurus used Punjabi, the spoken language
of the people of the Punjab, for dissemination of their Bani (philosophy).
However, many Sikh as well as non-Sikh scholars believes that the Holy Book,
Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS), contains many languages including Sanskrit. But
the present study shows that the language used by the Sikh Gurus is an Old
Punjabi spoken by the people of the Punjab. Moreover, the comparison of the
language used by the Bhagats from far away from Punjab shows that their
language was also the Old Punjabi. It also indicates that Old Punjabi was
spoken in different parts of India far away from Punjab. The present study
further reveals that Panini synthesized Sanskrit from the spoken language of
the Punjab people, Ancient Punjabi, which was named as Prakrit by him. This
Prakrit, in fact, is the Ancient Punjabi, which gave birth to Sanskrit. It is a
pity that many Sikh scholars believe it otherwise that Punjabi originated from
Sanskrit. Present day Punjabi language is the result of continuous development
without the aid of any Government during the last 4,000 to 5,000 years, which
is a typical example of Indo-Aryan (Indo-European) Languages, which has
phonetic and morphological system analogous to that observed in such languages
as Greek, Latin, Celtic, etc.
Introduction
The Sikh Gurus preferred to use the spoken
language of the people of the Punjab for writing their Bani rather than
Sanskrit, the language of the Brahmans that was never spoken by the common
people. The people of Punjab are called 'Punjabi' and their spoken
language is also called 'Punjabi'. The name 'Punjab' was given to this
land of five rivers by the Persians, who invaded it and settled there
permanently around 1000 CE. Before their invasion this land was called 'Septa
Sindhva' because long time ago seven rivers used to flow on this land. The
river Sarsvati on the Eastern side dried up and the river Sind with its own
tributaries on the Western side, forming the boundary, was not considered as a
river of the main fertile land. Consequently, five rivers were left and the
land on which these rivers were flowing was named as 'Punjab' (Punj
= Five, Ab = Water/River) by the Persians [8]. Punjab and Punjabi
are also spelled as Panjab and Panjabi, respectively.
Since Punjab and Punjabi language is shared by
people of Pakistan also, therefore, the following information from Pakistan
Forum [3] is worth to know about the past history of the Punjab.
The intrusion of the Aryans started in waves after
waves in about 3000 BC, and continued for about 1000 years - those Aryans were
not a single tribe or race but they were comprised of an assortment of tribes
from the Central Asia. So in first instance, those Aryans settled in the upper
part of the mighty river; Sindh/Indus’ namely, ‘Sindh Valley’ or ‘Indus Valley’
-- which were then known as ‘Saptasindhva’ or ‘Sapta Sindhus’ meaning, land of
the seven rivers (i.e. Sutlaj, Bias, Ravi, Chanab, Jehlum, Sindh and the now
extinct river Saraswati).
Bode Roy Punjabi quoting Dr. Abinas Chandra Das as
under; “The land in which the Vedic Aryans lived is called in Rigveda by the
name of Saptasindhva or the land of seven rivers, which includes the Indus or
Sindhu with its principal tributaries on the west and the Saraswati on the
east. The Ganges and the Yamunas have certainly been mentioned once or twice
but they have not at all been included in the computation of the seven rivers
that gave the country its name”.
Bode Roy, Punjabi himself, writes in his book, ‘Saptasindhva’
as under: “Thus the area now forming Kashmir, the Punjab, the NWFP, Eastern
Balochistan and Sind was the area of Aryan Settlement”.
The point I would like to make is that the
language spoken by the Punjab people today is the result of continuous
development of the language from the time of the arrival of the Aryans (during
3000-1000 BC). When the Aryans of Central Asia came to Punjab they brought
their language with them, which had some influence of Persian, because the
Aryans, who came to Punjab, had come through Persia (Iran) after settling there
for some time. Their language was dialects of old Indo-Aryan language [2, 4, 6]
but the Indian scholars of Sanskrit named it Apbransh (vulgar) [5]. This language had the phonetic and
morphological system analogous to that observed in such languages as Greek,
Latin, Celtic, etc.
Punjabi language has very strong relation with the
language of Central Asia. For example, the word ‘Darya’ (river) of two rivers,
namely Amu Darya and Syr Darya in Central Asia, is also used for all the five
rivers of the Punjab, e.g. Sutlej Darya, Beas Darya, Ravi Darya, Chenab Darya,
and Jhelum Darya. Similarly, in old days other rivers in India were also called
as Darya but now are called as ‘Nadi’ or by other names.
Many Punjabi words resemble very closely with French
words also. e.g. ‘deux’ (du -Two), ‘trois’ (troi –three), ‘cinq’ (panj
–five), ‘sept’ (sat - seven), ‘nauf’ (nao - nine), ‘dix (das
- ten); ‘savon’ (sabon – soap, V and B are interchangeable in
Punjabi),… ‘Que est tu ?’ (kI ey qo ?)
in French is pronounced the same way and has same meaning also (Who are you?)
in Punjabi.
Addressing style with respect to elders or in
formal talk: e. g. ‘tu’ (tu - you) for informal talk and ‘vous’ (tusin
- you) for respectful or formal talk. Use of adjective after noun in the old
Punjabi (Gur Purae ki Bani… AGGS p 616 and also as Mata Shri in
TV Ramayan Series, etc. – During Ram time there was no Sanskrit or Hindi but
Ancient Punjabi) was very similar to the grammar of French. Change of verb form
with the change of gender and from singular form to plural form is common in
the both Punjabi and French. Counting system is also same in French and Old
Punjabi. For example, the number ‘80’ is pronounced as ‘quatre-vingts’
(four-twenty), similarly in Old Punjabi ‘80’ is pronounced as ‘char-vian’
(four-twenty).
Around 400 BC Panini, a Punjabi grammarian
synthesized Sanskrit or Perfect Language (Sans + Krita means
adorned, cultivated, perfected), from the local spoken language of the Punjab.
At the same time he named the spoken language (Old Indo-Aryan Language) of the
people of the Punjab as Prakrit (means not adorned or arranged i. e. not
Sanskritized) [2, 4, 6].
It is not known what was the name of the language
spoken by the Punjab people at the time when Panini synthesized Sanskrit from
that spoken language around 400 BC. However, Prakrit, so-named by
Panini, continued to be spoken by the people of Punjab and underwent many
stages of its development. In fact modern Punjabi language spoken by the people
of the Punjab (India and Pakistan Punjab) today is the same language, which was
named as Prakrit by Panini around 400 BC.
New Language Synthesized from Ancient Punjabi
The newly synthesized language was adorned to such
an extent that it was so difficult that it remained the language of the
Brahmans only and the common people continued to speak the original language,
so-called Prakrit. Pei [4] had mentioned that Prakrit flourished
between 300 BC and 1200 CE. Therefore, it was the same Prakrit of Panini
that was named as Punjabi by the Persians on their arrival in the Punjab around
1000 CE. It continued absorbing new words, terminology and phrases from
Persian, Arabic, French, English, Greek, etc. and attained the present
form. In fact the Prakrit should be
called Ancient Punjabi because it was developed and spoken in the area
that is now called Punjab. During the 3rd century BC Buddhist Canon
was written in the same language, i.e. Ancient Punjabi (so-called Prakrit) that
was spoken during that time in the Punjab where Buddhism flourished. Since the
Buddhist Canon was known as Pali Canon, therefore, its language was also
called Pali [4]. The Pali is in fact Prakrit (Ancient
Punjabi). Pali is Ancient Punjabi word meaning in line (pal-pwl
or series) since the Buddhist canon is in series.
Without going into the history of the languages of
the Punjab, many scholars erroneously link the origin of Punjabi from Sanskrit.
The comparison of some words of Punjabi with Prakrit and Pali
[5] indicates that it was more close to these ancient languages from which
Sanskrit was evolved. It means Panini synthesized Sanskrit from ancient Punjabi
(named Prakrit by him). In other words Punjabi gave birth to
Sanskrit. In spite of the fact that all
the religious works were translated into Sanskrit, still it did not become the
spoken language of the people.
Development of Ancient Punjabi
When the ancient Punjabi (Prakrit) moved
away from Punjab, it underwent great dialectical changes: towards West it
became Lahndhi, Sindhi, Multani in the hilly areas of the North
it became Dogri, towards West and South, it became Haryanvi, Rajisthani,
Marathi, Gujrati, towards East it became Brij (Hindi), and so on.
However, the language of the Punjab remained Punjabi. Nevertheless, the
languages of Southern India have originated from source other than Ancient
Punjabi (Prakrit), and Sanskrit.
It is worth noting that the Vedas were written in
Ancient Punjabi (Prakrit), the same is true about Brahmanas,
Upanishads and some Sutra. All these great religious works were later
translated into Sanskrit from 200 BC onward. This is supported by the fact that
Sanskrit was synthesized around 400 BC by Panini and these Great Works were
written before 400 BC when there was no Sanskrit [2, 4, 6].
Prof Sahib Singh [9, pp. 15-16] had reported the
development of languages as follows:
"The language of Vedas is different than that
of old Sanskrit. The scholars have named that language as 'First Prakrit'.
The language spoken by the people at the time of Asoka, the Great, (273-232 BC)
was Pali, which was called 'Second Prakrit'. The Vedic language
was modified and was named 'Sanskrit'. Simultaneously, the Prakrit
languages continued to develop and were named differently in different regions
of their developments for example, Magdhi in Magad and Bihar, Shoorsaini
in Uttar Pradesh, Maharastri in Maharastra, etc. These languages are
called Apbransh. These languages continued to exist up to 11th
century."
It is evident that Prof. Sahib Singh [9] has also
more or less same observation on the development of Ancient Punjabi. However,
it is strange that while he was writing about the grammar of languages
(including Punjabi and its dialects) of the Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS) [1],
he did not try to trace out the origin or the roots of the Punjabi language,
the most extensively used in the AGGS. Although Prof Sahib Singh has done a
commendable work on the grammar of Gurbani, it would have been more
appropriative for him to trace out the grammar of ancient Punjabi, the
so-called Prakrit, to develop grammar of languages of the AGGS rather
than on the grammars of Sanskrit and Hindi. Since Prof. Sahib Singh based his
Grammar of the language of the AGGS on Sanskrit that is why his rules are not
applicable in most of the cases.
Language and Script
Before Guru Angad (1504-1552 CE) the Punjabi
language was written in various scripts. The oldest script used most was Landhae
before the arrival of Islam, thereafter, the Persian/Arabic scripts dominated
in the Punjab because of the languages of the rulers. Guru Angad modified the Landhae
alphabet that is now called Gurmukhi script or Gurmukhi Lipi.
Therefore, the language of the AGGS is Punjabi in Gurmukhi Lipi
having different dialects, like, Lahndhi, Sindhi, Multani,
Gujrati, Dogri, Pre-Sanskrit (Sehskriti), a little Hindi
(that is a modification of Urdu - a mixture of Persian and Punjabi), and
vocabulary from Persian, Arabic, and other languages. Thus, the Punjabi
language, used by the Gurus of the House of Nanak to write their Bani, has its
roots in the old Indo-European languages rather than in Sanskrit, a synthesized
language. It is wrong to say that there are many languages in the AGGS. In fact
it is basically Punjabi with different dialects of Punjabi and also having
vocabulary of many languages as explained above.
It is also wrong to say that Punjabi originated
from Sanskrit rather it gave birth to Sanskrit. This
statement may appear wild to some linguistics, who are under the influence that
Sanskrit gave birth to all Indian languages. The alphabet of Gurmukhi
script was further improved to pronounce different sounds introduced by the
Persians, the Arabs, the English, the French, etc. in the Punjabi language.
Similarly, punctuation system and other modern grammar rules have been added in
the Punjabi language to make it more acceptable and applicable for
communication and expression. Nevertheless, the author feels strongly that more
research is needed to trace out the roots of the Punjabi language; to give it
its right status in the Indo-European Languages; and to introduce Punjabi
equivalents of scientific and technical terms of today.
Importance of Understanding of Ancient Punjabi
The current and modern Punjabi is quite different
than that used by Guru Nanak and the other Sikh Gurus who succeeded to the
House of Nanak in their Bani. Therefore, it is very important for the Sikhs in
general and for the researchers in particular to study seriously the origin of
Punjabi language and its dialects, and the ancient Punjabi language, so-named
as Prakrit by Panini, spoken before Guru Nanak and its development
during the Sikh Gurus’ period when the Bani was written by them. It has been
noticed that translation and/or interpretation of Gurbani by one scholar into
English and other languages is sometimes quite different than that of others.
It is so because of incomplete understanding of old Punjabi of Gurus’ period.
To interpret Gurbani in its real perspective it is very important to understand
ancient Punjabi and its grammar of that time.
Languages of Guru Nanak and Bhagats
Some
samples of Bani of Guru Nanak and that of Bhagats’ from various places of
India, and of Muslim Sufis, which is incorporated in the AGGS, are given as
follows to show that it was Punjabi that was spoken from the 12th
century to Guru Arjan time (when the AGGS was compiled in 1604) almost
throughout India in which the Bani was written by the Sikh Gurus and Bhagats of
India.
1. Nanak (1469-1539) Punjab
AGGS, M 1, p. 9.
Describing (knowing/understanding) It (God), I
live (enlightened with wisdom);Forgetting It, I die (fall in illusion).
(But) It is very difficult to describe (Know/understand) the True Name
(God).
2. Sheikh Farid (1175-1265 CE) Punjab
AGGS, Farid, p. 488.
You (God) are Sustainer and Cherisher;
You are infinite, unfathomable and endless
Those who recognize the Ever-Existing - I kiss
their feet and face.
AGGS, Farid, p. 794.
Why are you asleep? Wake up, you innocent being!
Don’t believe that life in the world is forever.
||1||Pause||
3. Dhanna (1415-?) Rajasthan
AGGS, Dhanna, p. 487.
The Guru has given the wealth of spiritual wisdom;
Practicing meditation, the mind becomes one with
Him.
Embracing devotional love for the God,
I have come to know peace; satisfied and satiated,
I have been liberated. ||3||
4. Trilochan (1267-1350) Maharashtra
AGGS, Trilochan, p. 527.
At the very last moment, one who thinks of wealth;
And dies in such thoughts,
Shall be reincarnated over and over again, in the
form of serpents.
5. Kabir (1398-1495) Banaras
AGGS, Kabir, p. 92.
You have misled the world so deeply in doubt.
How can people understand You (God),
When they are entranced by Maya (illusion)?
AGGS, Kabir, p. 92.
As it pleases God, so people embrace the love for
the God,
(Then)
doubt and delusion are dispelled from within.
Intuitive peace and poise well up within,
And the intellect is awakened to spiritual wisdom.
By Guru's Grace, the inner being is touched by the
God's Love. ||3||
6. Jai Dev (1201-1245) Bengal
AGGS, Jai Dev, p. 526.
Meditate on the God of the Universe, the God of
the Universe, O man;
He is the source of all the spiritual powers of
the Siddhas.
Jai Dev has openly come to the God
Since It (God) is the salvation of all in the
past, present and future.
A critical analysis of the language of the above
verses of Bhagats of Punjab and from places far away from Punjab clearly
indicates that their language is very similar to that of Guru Nanak during the
15th century. Moreover, the language of Guru Nanak and that of
Bhagats is also very similar to the current Punjabi language spoken by the
peoples of Punjab, i. e. India Punjab and Pakistan Punjab.
Sanskrit
Some scholars, who believe that there are many
languages in the AGGS, also believe that the following Sloks of Guru Nanak and
Guru Arjan are in Sanskrit language. It
is a pity that they have failed to recognize that these Sloks have been
entitled as Sehskriti Sloks but not as Sanskriti Sloks.
Had these Sloks been of Sanskrit Guru Jee might have entitled them so. Let us
examine if the following Sloks are in Sanskrit or in Punjabi:
Slok Sehskriti Mahla 1
AGGS, M 1, p. 1353.
You (Pundit) study the scriptures, say your
prayers and argue too.
You worship stone and sit like a
crane.
(Pretending to meditate but intention is to catch a fish).
You speak
lies and cover up your falsehood with golden ornamented (sophisticate)
wordings.
Slok Sehskriti Mahla 5
AGGS, M 5, pp. 1353 & 1359.
Where is left mother, where is left father? Where
is left the love for wife and son?
Where are left brother, friend, companion and relative? Where is left the emotional attachment of
family?
God
has neither conch-shell, nor religious mark, nor paraphernalia, nor blue skin.
Dr. Sahib Singh [10] says that the language of
these Sloks is Prakrit. According to him Sehskriti is pre-Sanskrit,
i.e. Prakrit form. On the
other hand Giani Harbans Singh [7] says that Sehskriti is a mixture of
Hindi and Sanskrit.
If according to Dr. Sahib Singh the language of Sehskriti
Sloks is Prakrit, the name assigned by Panini to the language that
was spoken by the people of Punjab, then Sehskriti Sloks are in ancient
Punjabi, not in Sanskrit as is apparent from early discussion on Prakrit.
However, a careful examination of the language of
these stanzas clearly indicates that it resemble very much with the Punjabi
language of Guru Nanak and that of Bhagats as discussed previously. The
language of these two stanzas is very close to Punjabi language except that a
suffix, sounding ‘ing’, has been added at the end of certain Punjabi
words, e.g.
bwd bwdM, smwD smwDM, swr swrM, kq kqM, sMK sMKM, ckR ckRM, isAwm isAwmM ,
etc. From this examination it also becomes very clear that
Sanskrit was synthesized from ancient Punjabi by add a sufix, ‘-ing’ at
the end of the basic Punjabi words in the early deveolpment of Sanskrit and
later it was made more complicated by modifying the spellings of the basic
Punajbi word also.
PUNJABI: A Natural Language
The present day Punjabi has its roots in the
Indo-Aryan Languages (Indo-European Languages). One should be proud to speak
and own this language. This is so simple and smooth
language that everybody in India wants to speak it in spite of the fact that it
never got any financial support for its development by any Government during
the last 3,000 to 4,000 years. In fact at present a very little is being spent
for its development by the Punjab Government and it is almost neglected by the
Central Government of India.
Its inherited characteristics of smoothness in
flow and pleasing to ears and the easiness to express one’s views (philosophy)
Ancient Punjabi was accepted as a language to disseminate Buddhism, which was
later called Pali; then used by the Jainis to spread Jainism in this
language, Pali; then by Shiekh Farid a Persian Sofi used Old Punjabi to
spread his spiritual message; then almost all Bhagats of India used old Punjabi
during Bhakati Movement to spread their message; and then by all the Sikh Gurus
used Punjabi to spread their Bani (philosophy) to the people of South-east
Asia.
This language appears to be easily acceptable and
understandable by almost all people of Aryan origin. It is evident from the
present trend in the Indian movies that no movie is a hit unless it has a Bhangra
dance and a Punjabi song and even some Hindi songs are based on the tunes
of Punjabi songs with some Punjabi words to make them hit songs. Moreover, the
youth belonging to Indian Aryan origin (and particular Sikh youth) of the West
will start dancing at the first beat of the drum with a Punjabi song even if
they have some problem to understand it properly.
The survival of Punjabi for more than 4,000 years
is attributed to its entire natural and innate characteristics described above
that make PUNJABI to be called as a NATURAL LANGUAGE
Conclusion
The present critical analysis of language of the
Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS) indicates that it is an Old Punjabi of Bhagats and
Sikh Gurus’ period between 12th and 17th century. This
Old Punjabi is in fact Ancient Punjabi, which was named as Prakrit by
Panini around 400 BC.
The first stage of synthesizing Sanskrit was Sehskriti
formed by added suffix ‘ing’ at the end of the basic Ancient Punjabi
words later the spellings of basic Punjabi words were also modified and a new
language called ‘Sanskrit’ was synthesized by Panini of Punjab around 400 BC.
The sacred books of Hinduism were first written in
the Ancient Punjabi (Prakrit), which were later translated into
Sanskrit.
The Sanskrit never became the spoken language of
people of the Punjab or any other part of India. However, in the Punjab the
people continued to speak Ancient Punjabi. The Ancient Punjabi continued to
develop and absorbs vocabulary of other languages, i. e. Persian, Arabic,
Greek, English, French, etc.
The present day Punjabi has its roots in the
Indo-European Languages. One should be proud to speak and own this language.
This is so simple and smooth language that everybody in India wants to speak it
in spite of the fact that it never got any financial support for its development
by any Government during the last 3,000 to 4,000 years. In fact at present a
very little is being spent for its development by the Punjab Government and it
is almost neglected by the Central Government of India.
Its smoothness in flow and pleasing to ears and
inherited likeness of this language in the people of Aryan origin is evident
from the present trend in the Indian movies that no movie is a hit unless it
has a Bhangra dance and a Punjabi song and even some Hindi songs are
based on the tunes of Punjabi songs with some Punjabi words to make them hit
songs. Moreover, the Sikh youth of the West will start dancing at the first
beat of the drum with a Punjabi song even if they have some problem to
understand it properly.
REFERENCES
AGGS = Aad Guru Granth Sahib. 1983 (reprint).
Publishers: Shiromani Gurdwara
Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar. (M = Mahla, i.e., succession number of the Sikh
Gurus to the House of Guru Nanak, P = Page of the AGGS).
Masson-Oursel, P. William-Grabowska, H. D. and Stern,
P. 1934. Ancient India and Indian Civilization. Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd.,
London. Pei, Mario. 1998. Sanskrit
Language. Microsoft ® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation.
Pakistan Forum: http://it-pakistan.net/mboard/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=159
Pei, Mario. 1998. Sanskrit
Language. Microsoft ® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation.
Punjabi Tae Hoor Bhashavan (Punjabi). 1970. Bhasha Vibhag, Punjab, Patiala.
Renou. L. 1954. The Civilization in Ancient India.
Susil Gupta (India) Ltd., Calcutta-2.
Singh, Giani Harbans. 1996? Aad Sri Guru Granth
Sahib: Darshan Nerain (Punjabi). Gurbani Sewa Prakashan, Patiala.
Singh, Khushwant. 1966. A History of the Sikhs.
Vol. I & II. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersy.
Singh, Sahib (Prof.). 1982 (7th ed.). Gurbani
Viyakaran (Punjabi). Singh Brothers, Mai Sevan, Amritsar. (P 15).
Singh, Sahib (Dr). 1972. Sri Guru Granth
Sahib Darpan. (in Punjabi). Vols 10. Raj Publishers (Reg.), Jallandhar.
1. History of Punjabi
Abnash Singh, Canada
The history of Punjabi dates back to the time
before the origin of Sanskrit. There are strong reasons to believe that the
Punjabi is a modified or modern version of Prakirit. In fact the name ‘Prakrit’
(un-adorned) was assigned to the spoken language of the people of the Punjab
when Panini grammatized the language of the Punjabi people and named it
Sanskrit (means adorned). That is the reason that Punjabi of today is very
close to the Prakrit. On the Indian subcontinent there are several
regional languages, and like the Punjabi, each has a script of its own. These
scripts are distinctly different from Dava-Nagari, the usual script of
Sanskrit.
In the early days, due to the lack of the
writing media, very large majority of the population only used the spoken
Punjabi language and they never learned to read or write. Their linguistics
skills, i.e. vocabulary and grammar, were orally passed from one generation to
the next, through their stories, their songs and their dramas (nataks).
In Punjab, the area of five rivers, there existed a script called Landay.
The origin of Landay script or when it came into being is unknown and the name
Landay (meaning abbreviated) might have come from the fact that it did not use
any diacritics to modify the inherent vowel of the consonants. This script was
mainly used by village traders to keep their account and money lending
operation.
Perhaps at the same time the Brahmins were
using Sanskrit for their religious ceremonies, and for some record keeping.
However the Sanskrit was deliberately kept away from the populace by Brahmins.
It is believed that Guru Nanak devised a new
script during the 16th century to write his Bani and Guru Angad named it
Gurmukhi, as it came from the mouth of his Guru. Gurmukhi script was
modeled after the Script of Landay.
Notable features for Gurmukhi are:
The Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS) and other Sikh
religious literature were exclusively written in Gurmukhi script. For a period
of time (hard to pin point the duration) the Gurmukhi was exclusively used for
Sikh religious writings only, the other literature was considered inappropriate
to be written in Gurmukhi script. Later on the other literature was also
written in the Gurmukhi script.
Conversely AGGS and Bani were also published in
other scripts. During the 11th century, either by pre-Islamic rule migration
from the Northwest or soon thereafter, the Persian script was introduced to the
area of Punjab. The Islamic rulers, mostly Persian speaking, took control of
the Punjab and made the Persian as an official working language. A large number
of local population accepted Islam, either by attrition or by force, however
they retained their Punjabi language and folklore's. They started writing
Punjabi in Persian script.
Now the Punjabi language, perhaps the only
language, was written with two separate scripts. The two populace, Moslem and
non-Moslem, could orally communicate seamlessly but the reading and writing was
on strictly on religious bases. I must add here that the large proportion of
the population was still illiterate and used only the spoken language. The oral
literature was predominantly in the form of folklore, songs and bedtime
stories. The written literatures, in Persian script, were the long dissertation
like Heer, Soni Mahiwal and the religious writings of Baba Farid.
Punjabi is very resilient and robust language;
it survived the brunt of many invading armies, political upheavals, religious
strife, last but not the least an attempted-linguist suppression by Hindi and
Urdu for last fifty years or so. The Punjabi did survive it all, but we may yet
loose it if our coming generations do not accept the task of expressing
themselves literarily in Punjabi. A language is judged by the richness of its
literature. It is not sufficient to just speak and teach our children to speak
Punjabi; it is only the first step towards the preservation of Punjabi. A rich
and varied literature is essential for any language to survive in shrinking
global village we live; there are no exceptions for Punjabi. Our current newspapers
do not have any attention grabbing articles, not even cartoons, comic strips,
cooking tips or any sections dedicated for children. Also in this age of high
literacy and technology it is very important for a language to stay competitive
with other languages, in conveying some useful technical information, such as
operating manual for appliances.
For Diaspora Punjabis it is very important to,
more so for Sikhs as a language of liturgy, pass on our Punjabi linguistic
heritage in the real sense to our next generation. There is no simple formula
or magic potion, which will work to achieve this goal. One has to grab the
attention of the children and feed the message subtly in very small potions.
My request to the parents/grand parents of
young children is to get some glitzy storybooks, pictures, cartoons etc. with
Punjabi inscription on them and throw them around the house, and see how well
it catches their attention, spend a little bit of money and effort. You may
surprise your self for its effectiveness. It is a small price to pay for a huge
return.
2. Origin of Punjabi
Baldev Singh
Gurnam Singh Mukatsar in his article on page 39 of
Sikh Virsa of September 2002 explained the evolution of Pali from Prakrit
Brahmi (pRwikRq bRhmI), the language of the original inhabitants (mUl
invwsI) of India. It is not correct due to the following reason. For example,
he says, “Punjabi is the first born daughter of Pali, the original
language (mUl bolI) of India. However,
many words of modern Punjabi are found in modern German with the same meaning
(Abstracts of Sikh Studies, Jan.-March, 1997, pp. 8-28). It is reasonable that
Punjabi words are also present in other European languages, especially, Slavic
languages. So if Pali evolved only from the languages of the original
inhabitants (mUl invwsI) of India, from where did German words enter into
Punjabi or vice versa? A more logical explanation of the evolution of Pali
is that it was a product of the interaction between original inhabitants of
India and the Caucasian people, who migrated to India from central Asia. The
infusion of the languages of the two groups led to the development of Pali.
3. Gurmukhi Lipi for Hindu Religious Scriptures
Nisha [1] has recently reported that All-India
Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Paryag (Allahabad), conferred the honorary degree of
Sahitya Mahopadhyaya to Satya Pal Gupta for his valuable research in Hindi
literature written in Gurmukhi script.
Hailing from Patiala, he got the opportunity to
have access to the vast hidden treasures lying in the archives of Moti Bagh
Palace, Patiala, and other palaces in the erstwhile PEPSU. He salvaged a total
of 5,000 works of some 500 writers of repute, including the 52 poets of Guru
Gobind Singh’s Court at Paonta Sahib. These literary geniuses who were in contact
with the divine Guru, had a great influence on the thinking of the people and
in their own way made history. Their language was Braj Bhasha — which is
more akin to Hindi — but the script used was Gurmukhi. Any scholar or
researcher who wants to tap this vast storehouse of Hindi literature can enter
only through the door of Gurmukhi script. To this genre belongs Bhai Santokh
Singh’s Suraj Parkash. Among the other obscure but worthwhile works are Balmiki
Ramayana, Tulsi Ramayan, Mahabharata, Gita, Rama, Krishna, Upanishads, Puranas,
Yog Vasishtha, Gulistan, Bostan, Hanuman Natak and Mudra Rakshas (a
unique historical play in Sanskrit dealing with Kautilya and Chandragupt
Maurya).
Among S.P. Gupta’s notable works are Gurmukhi
Lipin Main Hindi Sahitya and Punjab ka Hindi Sahitya. That this
genre of Gurmukhi literature is very voluminous goes without saying. The
manuscripts of the works of the 52 poets alone weighed nine maunds
(approximately 350 Kg). Not only poets, but also the royalty tried its hand at
writing Punjabi poetry. Among such noble writers of poetry were Maharaja
Rajinder Singh and Maharaja Narinder Singh of Patiala, and Maharaja Vikram
Singh and Kanwar Fateh Singh of Kapurthala.
REFERENCES
1. Nisha. 2003. Building a bridge between Hindi & Gurmukhi. The Tribune, Chandigarh, Jauary 1.
4. How
Punjabi Became the Official Language
Prabhjot Singh
(Excerpt from http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030613/edit.htm#6)
Punjabi in the Gurmukhi script should be made the provincial
language and should be given the place, which has hitherto been enjoyed by Urdu
in the educational institutions and official work.
Hindi
in the Devanagri script as a national language should be started from
the fourth (primary) class and should be a compulsory language thereafter.
The
result of this would be that in the East Punjab, every child will have to get
instructions from the beginning in Punjabi but will have to pass Hindi as a
compulsory subject from the fourth (primary) class onwards.
For the children whose mother tongue is Hindi will
have to begin their education in Hindi but will have to begin Punjabi as a
compulsory subject from the fourth (primary) class onwards.
Thus reads the resolution moved by Dr. Parkash
Kaur, MLA representing the Amritsar denominational constituency reserved for
Sikh women in the East Punjab Legislative Assembly at Shimla on March 10, 1949.
This was the first ever resolution moved in the then East Punjab State
Legislative Assembly to get Punjabi in the Gurmukhi script the status of a
provincial or state language.
Dr. Parkash Kaur's resolution had followed a gazette notification issued by the
Union Government on August 14, 1948, declaring Hindi in Devanagri script as the
federal language and recognized 14 other languages, including Punjabi, as
regional languages in their own areas of influence. She presented her
resolution over a period of two days, March 10 and March 31, 1949. Before she
concluded her presentation, Dr. Gopi Chand Bhargava, the then leader of the
House, stood up and made the following statement:
"I assure the honorable members that the government has noted their
views and will again welcome the suggestions of those who may like to make
these in deciding the question. All these views will be borne in mind at the
time of making the decision. I hope that in view of this assurance, Dr. Parkash
Kaur will not press her resolution and withdraw it."
In view of the assurance by Dr. Bhargava and realizing that the point had been
driven home and brought on record, she withdrew her resolution. The proposal
was later implemented in Punjab in toto.
Her son, Lieut-Col Adish Pal Singh Dhillon, is now settled in Chandigarh. He is
in possession of all documents; including her speeches in the Assembly, and the
resolution she moved in 1949 to get Punjabi in the Gurmukhi script due as the
official language of Punjab.
After the 1948 Government of India notification on official languages, the
Speaker of the East Punjab Legislative Assembly constituted on April 2, 1949,
an advisory committee of 36 legislators. According to Dr. Upkar Singh Jhabalia,
a former Managing Director of the Amritsar Central Cooperative Bank, who wrote
a booklet tracing the history of installation of Punjabi as the state language
of Punjab, those included in the committee were Ujjal Singh (later elected
Speaker of the Lok Sabha ), Swaran Singh (a former Union minister), Kapur Singh
(who later became Chairman of the East Punjab Legislature Council), Pratap
Singh Kairon, Ishar Singh Majhail, Giani Kartar Singh, Gopi Chand Bhargava,
Bhim Sen Sachar, Joginder Singh Mann (father of Mr Simranjit Singh Mann) and
Dr. Parkash Kaur, besides others. There were 14 Sikh and 22 Hindu members of
the committee.
This committee was set up only after Dr. Parkash Kaur, realizing the
sensitivity of the matter relating to the demand for making Punjabi in the
Gurmukhi script as the official provincial language, had decided to seek
permission to move a resolution in the Legislative Assembly during the Budget session.
Initially, the permission was denied. She, however, requested that her request
for resolution might be considered for the Budget session of 1949. The request
was granted. Thus the first salvo was fired.
After Dr. Parkash Kaur's resolution, the Punjab
Government adopted the Sachar Formula, which was based on the recommendations
of a four-member committee headed by Mr. Bhim Sen Sachar comprising Mr. Ujjal
Singh, Dr. Gopi Chand Bhargava and Giani Kartar Singh.
The basic philosophy of the formula was to divide the state in two parts -
Punjabi speaking and Hindi speaking. In the Punjabi speaking areas, Punjabi was
made compulsory in all boys and girls schools from primary to Matric and Hindi
from the last class of primary to Matric. In case of the girl students,
learning of Hindi was mandatory until the middle level only.
Similarly, in the Hindi speaking areas, Hindi was made compulsory from primary
to Matric and Punjabi from the last class of primary section to Matric.
Teaching of Punjabi to girl students was made mandatory till the middle
standard.
On February 29, 1956, the Chief Secretary of Punjab issued a circular about the
official languages of the state. According to the circular, Amritsar,
Jalandhar, Gurdaspur, Ferozepore, Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur, Ropar and Kharar
tehsil, excluding Chandigarh, were included in the Punjabi region while Rohtak,
Gurgaon, Karnal and Kangra, besides Jagadhri and Naraingarh tehsils of Ambala
and Hisar, excluding Sirsa, comprised the Hindi speaking region.
The circular said that Simla, Ambala tehsil, Chandigarh (capital) and Sirsa
tehsil in Hisar shall form part of the bilingual region. Instructions were
issued that both Punjabi and Hindi should be given their rightful due in their
respective regions.
The Regional Language Formula, as approved by a committee headed by Jawaharlal
Nehru and comprising Govind Vallabh Pant, Abulaq Kalam Azad, Master Tara Singh,
Hukam Singh, Bhai Jodh Singh, Gian Singh Rarewala and Giani Kartar Singh was
presented before the Lok Sabha on April 3, 1957, which again advocated a
division of Punjab into Punjabi and Hindi speaking regions.
To monitor the implementation of the regional official language, it was
proposed to constitute regional committees. It declared Punjab as a bilingual
state and decided that the Sachar Formula would remain in force.
The bilingual formula was given official recognition in 1960 with the enactment
of the State Languages Act, 1960, which categorically stated that Punjabi in
the Gurmukhi script and Hindi in the Devanagri script should be the official
languages for the Punjabi and Hindi regions, respectively.
Punjab witnessed a long struggle before the reorganization took place in 1966
and it was declared a Punjabi-speaking state on November 1, 1966. It was then
left to Mr. Lachhman Singh Gill to get the Official Language Act strictly
enforced in the state. During his brief tenure as Chief Minister of Punjab, Mr
Gill made sure that Punjabi got its rightful due. On December 29, 1967, he got
the State Language Act, declaring Punjabi as the only official language of the
state passed by both Houses of the state legislature.
Unfortunately, his successors lacked both the conviction and the will to
enforce the provisions of the Act. The result was that when the militants started
their "social reform movement" at the peak of their struggle in the
early 90s, Punjabi again started getting prominence. But this, like Mr. Gill's
tenure, was short lived. And since then Punjabi is continuing to get a raw
deal in its own homeland.
IUS EDITORIAL NOTE
Is it not a pity for the Punjabi people that they
cannot enforce the law already enacted? The Institute for Understanding Sikhism
is grateful to Mr. Prabjot Singh for bringing out the history about the fate of
Punjabi Language in its own land, the Punjab state, to shake the conscience of
the people of the Punjab.
5. Urdu, Punjabi to be Second Languages in Delhi
New Delhi, June 3: The Centre has agreed in principle to give second language
status to Urdu and Punjabi in the Capital. ''Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani
today said the Center has agreed to the proposal by Delhi government to grant
second language status to Urdu and Punjabi and now the proposal will be sent to
the Law Ministry for clearance,'' National Commission for Minorities Chairman
Tarlochan Singh said. Singh was the member of a delegation, which met Advani
today. Claiming that the decision was a result of persistent efforts of the
Commission, Singh Said: ''NCM had been insisting that since 50 per cent of the
population in the National Capital speaks Punjabi, it should be granted the
second language status.'' The delegation included, among others, Delhi BJP MPs
V.K. Malhotra, Madan Lal Khurana and various representatives of the Sikh
organizations.
Malhotra expressed hope that the government notification would be issued within
a fortnight. Pointing out that Center’s clearance to the proposal forwarded by
Delhi government in 2000 was pending due to some technical ''shortcomings'', he
said Advani had assured them that necessary steps would be taken to rectify it.
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