Opinion: Punjab’s future lies in its cultural imaginary

IN the recent articles on Punjab's future, two eminent scholars of the region have made valuable interventions in the columns of this newspaper. Prof Pritam Singh put into perspective the history of the creation of the Punjabi-speaking state (Sacrifices of Hindus, Sikhs created new Punjab, Nov 24).Dr Arvind has looked into the whys and wherefores of Punjabi cultural identity dwelling on how it has been shaped over the centuries (Reimagining Punjabi identity in 21st century, Dec 15 ). It was heart-warming and refreshing to see both scholars exude hope and confidence about Punjab's future. It is this spirit of aspiration and resilience that I, too, share. In this article, I propose to argue for the 'cultural imaginary' of Punjab, which is both real and imagined, historical and ahistorical, sacred and secular, literary and cultural.To my mind, the questions of survival and the future of Punjab are closely linked to this idea of 'cultural imaginary.' If we can sustain this idea, Punjab would not only have a bright and vibrant future, but also a progressive one.Let us first understand what is meant by 'cultural imaginary' and how it is to be envisioned in the context of Punjab. More than a landmass or a geographical terrain, Punjab is, to my mind, a cultural space, with footprints of numerous, often diverse, religious traditions and belief systems, communities and linguistic or ethnographic groups, each with its own archive of distinctive literary and cultural practices. It has been home to the sacred geography of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam and Christianity. This cultural space has continued to resonate with the chants of the Vedic hymns, kalaams of Sufi saints, Shabads of venerable Gurus and parables of the Bible.Within this cultural space, the sacred sits comfortably next to the secular, the classical and the privileged with the folk and the popular, the quissas with the varnas, the heroic with the non-heroic and the narrative with the poetic. No distinctions of religion, caste, creed, class, status or language are ever made or matter in any way. Here ‘Ishq Majazi’ often becomes a way of experiencing ‘Ishq Haqiqi’ or vice-versa.In this shared cultural space, the common man is the real king. No wonder this space is, at once, non-hierarchical, counter-hegemonic and pluralistic in character. It is in this space that narratives of dissent are often created or popular socio-political movements take birth or notions of social or political hierarchy are challenged, even overturned.It is this cultural space that has dominated the imagination of the Punjabis down the centuries. And it's this cultural imaginary that has kept diverse communities and social groups glued together, despite the schisms and ruptures they have had to face, historically.This notion of cultural imaginary has had an uninterrupted history and dominated the popular Punjabi imagination until the end of the 18th century. Waris Shah could be seen as one of its last major exponents. He wrote his Heer at a time when the Sikhs were bitterly fighting the Mughals. Maintaining his distance from the ruling class, he created his legendary Heer, a woman-centric narrative, emphasising her multiple oppressions, challenging the patriarchal notions of Islam and critiquing the dubious role of the qazi. Waris' Heer is a testimony to the fact that the cultural imaginary could sustain itself through the worst of times, too.In the 19th century, thanks to the machinations of the British, Punjab faced one of its worst-ever challenges in terms of the divide-and-rule policy, which set different communities in Punjab on a collision course of identity politics, with each community searching for its own past and its own narrow, sectarian identity.It is common knowledge how this resulted first in several reform movements in the 19th century, and later consolidated itself to create schisms, leading to the Partition, perhaps the biggest ever disruption in the history of Punjab's cultural imaginary.In the post-Partition phase, one may mention two very significant developments in Punjab that almost threatened to rip through the very fabric of its cultural imaginary. The first was the creation of the Punjabi-speaking state in 1966, where it was largely seen as an exclusive demand of the Sikh majority population. History tells us that the facts are otherwise as both Sikhs and Hindu leaders had jointly fought this battle.The second was the extended phase of militancy that Punjab witnessed through the 1980s and 90s, which not only created hostilities among the Sikhs and Hindus, but also shattered the mutual trust they had built over the centuries.But even the traumas this phase inflicted on the collective psyche of Punjab failed to drive a permanent wedge between the two main communities. Not only did they stand by each other through these testing times, but both communities have, over the years, managed to reclaim the trust that they felt had been eroded, irretrievably.This cultural imaginary largely concerns with the shared values, belief systems and cultural practices of Punjab that have survived the onslaught of history and despite all odds, have continued to fertilise the soil of Punjab with the same intensity and fervour with which its five rivers had been doing in the past.Punjab may have shrunk in terms of territory and may now have only three rivers running through it, but this cultural imaginary, this spirit of 'chardi kalan', this credo of 'kirat karo' has not only consolidated itself into a living practice, but also become our most visible, global marker. Now that the Punjabis have a presence across the globe, it is this 'cultural imaginary' that not only provides Punjabis with the wherewithal of survival but also enables them to earn enviable recognition, worldwide.Politicians may come and go; they may or may not perform, crises may come and go, but this cultural imaginary continues to nurture the spirit and soul of every Punjabi, continues to inspire and spur him on to struggle and survive even in the face of the most insurmountable challenges.The future of Punjab is secure so long as every Punjabi, regardless of where s/he is located, is willing to affirm his/her unflinching faith in this pluralistic culture of shared values and beliefs. If this cultural imaginary has sustained us until now, it is to be hoped that it will continue to shape and define us in the future as well.

Opinion: Punjab’s future lies in its cultural imaginary

The future of Punjab is secure so long as every Punjabi is willing to affirm his/her unflinching faith in this pluralistic culture.

Rana Nayar

Opinion: Punjab’s future lies in its cultural imaginary

The future of Punjab is secure so long as every Punjabi is willing to affirm his/her unflinching faith in this pluralistic culture.

Rana Nayar

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