Pishori Nagar’s commitment to harmony in Amritsar

The name is hard to miss — Pishori Nagar, a mini-version of their hometown, Peshawar. Nestled along the Amritsar-Attari GT Road, this modest settlement of five narrow streets and a stretch of the main road has become home to Hindu and Sikh members of the Pashori community, uprooted from Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP), now known as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bordering Afghanistan.

Since Partition, waves of violence in the NWFP have forced members of the community to flee to Amritsar. Families arrived in small groups in 1997, 2002 and 2008, the last major influx coinciding with the Taliban’s rise in neighbouring Afghanistan and its growing influence across the region.

Among the refugees are families once engaged in teaching and preparation of herbal medicines. Today, many are compelled to earn a living by selling vegetables, fruits and goods on roadsides — work requiring minimal capital but offering little stability.

Pandit Bodh Raj was part of a group of 35 persons from several families who migrated from Peshawar in 2008. Indian citizenship came only last year, following implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

Basant Lal recalls arriving in Amritsar in 1956 at the age of seven, when his father, Pandit Dariya Lal, moved the family from Tirah valley in the then Orakzai Agency. A renowned teacher of mathematics, Punjabi and Hindi, Pandit Dariya Lal lived in Bizat village, where formal government schools were rare.

Trader Toti Ram Narang (70) remembers how Brahmins taught children Pashto and Pashori in Urdu script, alongside Punjabi and Hindi, in Peshawar and surrounding tribal areas. His family migrated from Mishtiya Bazaar in Peshawar, known for plums, khurmani (dried apricots), walnuts and grapes.

The mention of Bakhshali village, located around 100 km from Peshawar, evokes instant recognition, but few within the community are aware that a significant ancient mathematical manuscript — the Bakhshali — was discovered here in 1881. It is now preserved at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford.

Associate Professor Manu of Guru Nanak Dev University’s History Department says the text mentions it was written by the son of a Brahmin named Chajaka. Comprising arithmetic, algebra and geometry, the manuscript is especially important for having the earliest known Indian use of the zero symbol.

In Amritsar, communal harmony is central to Pashori life. Hindu and Sikh families jointly organise religious festivals, reflecting values shaped by decades of displacement and trauma. Beant Ram (66), whose family migrated from Peshawar in 1979, recalls frequent sectarian violence between the Sunnis and the Shias in the NWFP. “Even then, people respected religious boundaries,” he says. “They would not harm their enemies on Jumma (Friday). Today, I read about bombings in mosques on Fridays. It’s unimaginable to us.”

He adds that government authority in these regions was weak, often referred to in Pashto as “gar ilaqa” — areas beyond state control.

Manjit Singh, whose great-grandfather fled Tirah Ghati in 1956, believes the community’s experiences have ingrained a deep commitment to secularism. “Our temple and gurdwara share walls, and the same people manage both,” he says. A physical wall separating the two was built only a couple of years ago. Despite repeated displacement, the Pashoris remain connected to their heritage, particularly their language. Manjit speaks Pashori and Pashto, but fears both may fade with time. Pashori, a dialect of Pashto, lacks a formal script. While spoken at home, younger generations cannot write it, making cultural preservation increasingly difficult.

Most women choose to be homemakers, though several run tuition centres or beauty parlours. Bhagwan Devi, 85, who arrived in India as a 12-year-old in 1952, sees progress in the lives of younger women. “They are free to choose their professions and there is no pressure to get married early,” she says, recalling that her own marriage was fixed when she was just four while living in the Kohat region.

Gagan Narang, a young community member, notes that today’s Pashori youth are educated, running small businesses or working in various professions. The community has gradually spread to cities such as Khanna, Jalandhar, Patiala and Faridabad in Haryana. Yet Gagan believes political representation is crucial. Recently, Shiv Prakash Narang contested civic elections as an Independent, but was unsuccessful.

From the violence of the NWFP to the relative safety of Amritsar, the Pashori community’s journey has been marked by adaptation and quiet resilience. As they strive to preserve their language, culture and collective memory, they hope their unique heritage will endure — even as they continue to rebuild their lives far from their ancestral homeland.