How to get rid of Punjab's Slavery?

[muhsina]

Brother unless you stop reading the utopian literature written by arabs to justify their superiority complex , it will be difficult for you to understand this simple argument.

Are Punjabis of Pakistan non muslims? No. But still they are oppressors and usurpors [I mean their elite class] so the basis on which you want to unite Pashtuns is shared by our enemies too.

[muhsina]

If some pashtuns are resistent to get freedom then they must be content with their slavery which is a shame for any Pashtun. As far as having equal rights is concerned, Punjab does not even offer the seraikis of south Punjab their equal rights and if you visit south Punjab it depicts a picture of some medieval age villages. The proof is that south punjab due to lack of jobs and other rights to its people is a safe heaven for terrorist and sectarian groups like lashkar jhangwi ,sipah sahaba,jaish muhammad ,sipah mohammad etc.

Pakhtuns have tried their best to got their rights through principled politics but when a full fledged institution that too the strongest institution in terms of resources and budget [that is ARMY] is safeguarding the vested interests of Punjab then you cannot do much through parliamentary and peaceful means.

Hence the Pashtuns who are content with the slavery of Punjab are following a mirage.

[Maiwand]

Brother unless you stop reading the utopian literature written by arabs to justify their superiority complex , it will be difficult for you to understand this simple argument.

Are Punjabis of Pakistan non muslims? No. But still they are oppressors and usurpors [I mean their elite class] so the basis on which you want to unite Pashtuns is shared by our enemies too.

The Quran is not an utopican literature. First of all when the pashtuns are united and are strong, we can deal with the punjabi oppressors and usurpers too, many of them are not muslim, because if they were, they wouldn't do the things they are doing right now, like siding with the disbelievers against muslim, oppressing the weak and being corrupt and not ruling with the shariah, but secular and man-made laws. But when they become good muslims, then we have no problem with them, they will be our brothers in that case.

[pir_Rokhan]

Pir Rokhan I believe Afghanistan has been working consistently to achieve goals a and b since 1947.. Would you not agree to that ? To be frank, the entire instability in the region is because the above two points have been at the core of all Afghan policies towards Pakistan and Pakistan's interference in Afghanistan is the direct result of that

Also I am wondering how many Pashtuns do you think from Pakistan would even consider these as options ?

Other users please don't give me the argument that I have a Pashtun classmate who hates Pakistan

I agree that Afghanistan has been working to raise the Pakhtunistan issue but put yourself in Afghanistan’s shoes. If a major part of your homeland were sacrificed at the altar of imperialist design and your nation were divided by unfair means what would have been your reaction? It is like today Sindh gets separated from Pakistan due to the MQM's concerns over their identity and rights with the collaboration of UK to use Karachi as a port like Singapore and with the help of the Sindhi nationalists who have no agenda of progress for the people of the land except to agitate them. Would you not try to weaken the new state so that it re merges again with what would have been the remaining Pakistan? This reaction would have even been justified despite the fact that you were not native Sindhi. Imagine now Afghanistan whose one arm [Pakhtunkhwa] was cut as a result of creation of Pakistan.

I understand one has a reverence for a territory which in your case is Pakistan but you should know that a homogeneous group [e.g a nation] , even if it has versatile ideological groups within it, cannot be kept apart for long. It will ultimately re unite. Hence you will see that with the passage of time all nations will ask for their right of self determination and freedom even if that is not in their economic interest in some cases. It is like your brother who is living as a servant in someone else's house despite being economically well off still does not enjoy what is called freedom missing which he won’t know what life is all about. A person would be better off being poor but free than being rich but slave.

The creation of Pakistan was done with the same argument which is now being refuted by those who are in the power corridors of Pakistan and have hijacked the future of four major nationalities living in Pakistan. They got separated from India for which they used the argument of creating a new country with Muslim majority population but now they are not ready to accept the same argument in much more strength because the three major nations have been exploited for 63 years economically,politically,culturally and historically despite all being Muslims.

The ideological status which was promised [ISLAMIC IDEOLOGICAL STATE] to the people could not be achieved due to its impracticality and unrealistic expectations by the people of Pakistan from such a system. Even whatever peace and harmony was there between the various sects has also been lost.

If that agenda was shunned after realizing its impracticality and an effort was made to make Pakistan a true federation with a few port folios with the centre and the federating units were given provincial autonomy and basic civil rights were assured through constitution then atleast that would have been acceptable as a minimum. Moreover if democracy was given a chance then it also might have made Pakistan acceptable to a realistic extent. But none of the reasons for which a state is formed or sustained could be achieved for the various nations or federating units in Pakistan in the past 63 years, hence the very purpose for the existence or creation or sustenance of state has to be questioned.

No wonder Pakistan is facing an intrinsic contradiction from within itself and not from its so called enemies as it can neither become a so called Islamic state thinking about which will make it isolated in the world community like Iran [which is surviving atleast due to its economic bone and due to the fact it is atleast one nation from historic, linguistic and ethnic aspects]. On the other hand any effort to secularise Pakistan will make it a living hell due to the false expectations which have been indoctrinated to the people of Pakistan for the last 63 years.

The result is that the nations living in Pakistan have to seriously think about their future before it is too late.

[Azmal]

Are the Pukhtoons slaves, willingly or unwillingly?

Personally I consider it a horrendous shame, insult and slap to the Pukhtoons when labeled as slaves or servants of anyone more so that of the Punjaabis. A people who have been under Pukhtoon/Afghan rule for consecutive centuries, not decades, but centuries. Pukhtoons are the only people that have won their freedom against major global powers, and to call them slaves of some like Punjaabis is like spitting on the graves of their martyrs. Such nonsense creates inferiority complexes and imposes on the abilities of a foe who might not be so great after all. The sub-conscious result of this is that the victim comes to admire the victimizer unknowingly. So it's unhealthy to perpetuate such rhetoric, where the grounds for such pronouncements are anything but stretchy.

It is true that Pukhtoons today are marginalized in Pakistan, but so are they in Afghanistan. In Pakistan even though a Punjaabi dominated state, you have Pukhtoons in the army, air force, media, business, education etc. etc. from all walks of life. You even have new generation of Afghan Pukhtoons dominating certain fields in Pakistan for example the food and transportation industry. This is not to gloat over the sugary state of Pakistan because in Pakistan Pukhtoons do suffer, are alienated and marginalized to great extents. Though a simple reminder that a counter argument as such does exist. And to blame Punjaabis for everything is as absurd as blaming Taajiks for all the shortcomings of the Pukhtoons in Afghanistan. Much of the blame lies on the Pukhtoons themselves.

Whether dynastic Pukhtoon leaders or political Pukhtoon leaders, we all know the age old saying that you can't unite Pukhtoons under one roof. Examples have been given, prose has been written, matals are plenty. This unfortunate fact is clearly evident in the history of the state of Afghanistan ever since hadrat Ahmed Shah Baba closed his eyes and his descendants acquired his kingdom. From there on the story is of a state that has been in constant war with itself where fathers are killing sons, sons killing fathers, brothers killing brothers, uncles killing nephews....so on and forth. Afghanistan national flag has changed face more than any country on the planet. Multiple types of governments and ideologies tried, and not to forget even small things like national anthem or national language issues. Some of these are great concerns, others are minor, but relevant to the point I wish to address.

What's the problem? Tribalism!

The Pukhtoon/Afghans are not only tribal in practice by so is their psyche. Not only are they divided into tribes, regions, nations, and dialects but they are also divided by philosophy, goals, and thinking. We at the core are a tribal society, and no tribal society has ever emerged as a single cohesive state. Good example, the Arabs. Same language, same culture, same religion, same lineages, but various nations based on tribal affinities. Forget uniting into a Loy Afghanistan or Pukhtoonkhwa, the chances of Pukhtoons dividing into even smaller states can't be ignored. Just look at the mentioned political parties, ANP and PKMP, what are they based on if not tribal affinities? What's stopping them from uniting if not tribal differences? Both are as Pakistani loving or hating as each other. Both are part of the Pakistani political scheme, and both have sided with various Pukhtoon "enemies" to further their political agendas. Look at the differences in power when it comes to Afghanistan. Is it really about religion, freedom, or national unity? Look at the tribal affiliations of the various powers at play. Don't stop there, go way further than that, go before even Afghanistan existed.

Let's take this very platform in consideration. I am glad that we are discussing these issues over the internet sitting soundly behind our computers. I can only imagine what would happen if these discussions were taking place face to face, by now someone would have stabbed a wahabi, shia, sufi, atheist, paki, afghani, pathan, or farsiwan. These are the educated types, and even they suffer from this cultural disease.

To get rid of any sort of slavery or bondage think in terms of being a citizen of the Pukhtoon nation first. Not of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ummah, or your tribe. You need to first clean up your own house and get it in order before you can help humanity or an ummati. That's common sense. Don't expect others to give you your freedom, your rights, or spend too much time moaning about what others are doing to you. That's their job, they will look out for their interests at the expensive of yours. Take initiative and help yourselves. Support these political parties but don't put all of your eggs in these baskets. Keep yourselves flexible. You can't change these parties from within, many have tried. They will end up changing you. Instead start fresh, based on pure Pukhtoon interest, and made up of mainly the younger educated generation who don't suffer from such tribalism. The old generation suffer from nostalgia, romanticism, and age old Neanderthalic concepts. They spend too much time whining about the bully instead of coming up with practical solutions to deal with it.

So before you select any options, become Pukhtoon citizens, or don't expect anything to change.

I wrote this a while ago in some other forum... it holds true for what you say too...

I think questioning and blaming "trablism" is as a result of propaganda that tries to make Pashtons ashamed of their culture so they would become more inclined to adopt Paki--indic culture..
Indeed upholding our culture, identity, values and morality against things which violate them is NOT primitive. It is actually because of High Self Esteem and dignity that motivates people to preserve their identity, and culture and oppose factors which inhibit that. that’s because to preserve something is to hold it with great value. On other hand it is the inadequate and those with low self esteem and general inferiority and lack of identity who try embrace and appease other nationalities, religions and ethnic groups, because this makes a person subservient to them and compromises dignity.
Thus as you call can see…It is not Pashtonwali that needs revision…the problem we Pashtons face is not pashtonwali or if it’s compatibility with modernism. Pashtonwali has survived test of time and will continue another 6 thousands years for it’s based is nature.
I think the real issue facing us Pashtons are the imposition of Inidc culture and identity, which in result promotes terrorism and extremism. The fact is Pakistan was created for Muslims primarily of Indian cultural background based on problems and conflicts which pertained strictly with India. What did us Pashtoons have to do with it? Absolutely Nothing. We in Afghanistan are NOT greedy. We just want the restoration of what rightfully is apart of Afghanistan. For Pakistan creation on our land and people in itself was/is an assault on our(pashton) identity and culture! In addition to this, in absent of national coherence in Pakistan, political Islam has been the ONLY means at the paksitani government’s disposal for enduring the life of Pakistan. Thus naturally Pakistani creates and support terrorist in shape of Taliban and naturally Pakistan will do everything possible to radicalization Pashtons society. This is exactly the reason why Pashton nationalist parties have been prevented from so called FATA while the “Islamist” has been given not only free hand but state support in order to brainwashed Pashton youth!

[شمله ور خراساني]

It is a fact that :

Pashtuns willingly or unwillingly are the slaves of Punjab due to the nomenclature of the state they are living in and their slavery has been made sanctified to them by naming it patriotism and Muslim brotherhood etc following the agenda of all imperialists.

The defacto source of power in the state is occupied by Punjab in the form of army and other forces while the fort of industrial and monetary power is occupied by the Mahajirs. The source of natural resources like minerals and water however is with the Baloch and Pashtuns respectively both of which are solely exploited by Punjab solely for the last 63 years.

The cultural and historic ties of both Pashtuns of Pashtunkhwa and Baloch have been much stronger with Afghans than Punjab and Sindh. The exploitation of both oppressed nations in Pakistan is a factor which repels both from Pakistan while the cultural and historic commonality element attracts them both to Afghanistan.

Hence the natural and logical consequence of this equation is the cessation of both nations from Pakistan and

a) either the formation of a seperate state or

b) their unification with Afghanistan.

In either case:

It is an established fact of Political science that:

1) Political goals cannot be achieved through non political means,

2) Collective goals cannot be achieved individually

3) The individuality of a person gets perfected when the person strives for collective cause and the collective cause cannot be perfected if you dont have individuals of substance

The logical result of these three premises is that Pashtuns of Pakistan have to support a political struggle in one way or another to get rid of slavery of Punjab and achieve the goal of Freedom.

Hence it is suggested that the Pashtuns of Pashtunkhwa should either support any of the existing political parties [ANP or PKMAP,though PKMAP seems to understand the requirements of the freedom struggle more than ANP which which has a pro Pakistan agenda] or atleast support anyone or another in any form [ intellectually, financially, academically etc].

the best option is to overthrow the Pakistani government and establish an Islamic government. With shariah. And where all leaders of political parties are prosecuted and hanged in public.

[Maiwand]

the best option is to overthrow the Pakistani government and establish an Islamic government. With shariah. And where all leaders of political parties are prosecuted and hanged in public.

Yes I agree, including all the hereticial grave worshippers, "saints" worshippers, munafiqs, disbelievers, murtads etc.

[Shehbaz Khan]

A beautiful discussion tho I am not that much knowledgeable but yet I don't agree that We are suffering from Punjab's slavery here in KPK.. We just have impotent leaders who can't say a WORD for Us.. If our culture is dying it's not that Punjab came and stopped us from promoting our culture .. Have you ever seen a Punjabi CM in KPK .. No always it was a Pakhtun who sold Pakhtun .. We are the slaves of Ignorance and Poverty .. We need to fight these social evils not Punjab or a common Punjabi

[Shehbaz Khan]

Hehe again .. Like the CM of KPK has nothing to do with the federation right .. the provincial assembly seats are separate totally elected by Pakhtuns than how?

When Punjab told you not to speak Pakhtu? Like I didn't know how to write Pakhtu till 8th class (tho I studied in KPK till 8th standard) so which Punjabi was stoping me from learning how to write Pakhtu dear

The problem is within us .. WE think that others are responsible for our mistakes and this is the mistake that is not letting us to go upward !!

[Badlun]

Pashtuns generally blame each and everything on few other entities like Pakistani army, ISI , Punjab and Punjabis etc. We feel satisfied that we put the blame on Punjabis and our work is done. In this article I would like to have a threadbare analysis of this trend of Pashtuns to blame others specially Punjabis for all the problems of Pashtuns.

For me Punjab is a land, a province of Pakistan and India and all the people living there are Punjabis who may speak different languages as Seraiki, Hindko, Potohari, Gujri, and even Pashto. Punjabi is not a race or ethnic group like Pashtuns. Even a Pashtun who lives in the province of Punjab is a Punjabi because he is living there but by race or language or ethnicity he or she is Pashtun. Using Punjabi as a race for people is a misnomer which must be rectified. Punjab is land of five rivers derived from Panj means five and Ab which means water.

Punjabi as a language is a very weak language; it’s very similar to Urdu and has never been a medium of instruction or a court language. It does not have any strong literature as compared to Pashto. Pashto has a rich literature and is the official language of a country Afghanistan. There is no any such culture as Punjabi; it can be Indian, Hindu or Sikh but not Punjabi as such. There is no Punjabi nationalism like Pashtun nationalism. There is no Punjabi movement for promulgation of any Punjabi culture on Pashtuns even the Punjabis themselves are leaving their language and culture and all these educated Punjabis now mostly speak Urdu and not Panjabi.

Keeping all this in view I don’t understand why we Pashtuns are so much afraid of Punjab and Punjabis and blaming them for all our faults and problems. I see in a remote Pashtun village when they write Urdu or Dari on their sign boards, who are that Panjabi who is telling him not to write Pashto instead.

The basic purpose of this article is that we may not blame Punjabis for our problems, Punjabis are culturally weak people and are generally not nationalists .Rarely they organize events like Alamami Panjabi conference but it’s the right of any people to have such conferences.

Some Pashtun circles think that Punjabis are very clever people. I agree that they are concerned with their commercial and agricultural activities. This way they are intelligent, not like Pashtuns who instead of business and other useful activities are involved in religious extremism and terrorism .Majority of Punjabis live in rural areas .They are simple and innocent people . As they are in majority in number, about 49 % in Pakistan , that is why they may seem to be oppressors , and some of them may be really oppressors, but instead of blaming them we Pashtuns should make ourselves strong enough not to let Punjabis to grab our rights

Pashtuns should be involved in more productive and educational activities instead of tribal wars and terrorism and smuggling etc .Lets forget Punjabis as cause of our problems , lets make ourselves strong by education, commerce, agriculture, culture , sports, media etc

I want to generate useful, intellectual discussion on few myths that we are living with them for the last many centuries, much have been written and spoken on the other side of what I write like Punjabis being enemies of Pashtuns, Tajiks being our enemies etc

Look at the history of Pakistan, has there being any important Panjabi president or prime minister , no ,the same in Afghanistan, all presidents/kings were Pashtuns(for Tajiks and Pashtuns. I am writing a new article) in Pakistan, Muhamamd Ali Jinah, Liaqat Ali Khan, Ayub khan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, Musharaf, Asif Ali Zardari , etc all are non Punjabis, even Nawaz Sharif is a Kashmiri, not pure Panjabi.The present prime minister Gilani is Seraiki, not pure Panjabi. What I want to prove is that the ones who remained at the helm of affairs in Pakistan were non Punjabis.

Then Punjabis in Pakistan are not that much nationalists as Pashtuns, Sindhis, Baluchs. They being a race are a very weak group, there are many races and castes, even they are not a nation or one race, and the people in the area of Punjab are Punjabis, not like Pashtuns who are one race, one blood, one genealogy. Punjabis speak many languages, have many religions, many races, many castes, different cultures, there is not a single political known party on the name of Punjabis as Pashtunkhwah Mili awami Party etc,

The killers in Pashtuns areas are government people , not Punjabis as a race who are coming to Pashtunkhwah to kill Pashtuns, being their enemies as in a genocide, We don’t have any Panjabi movement against Pashtuns, Pashtuns are being killed because of their own faults, because of international politics and because of state policies not because of any Panjabi adverse movement against Pashtuns

Pashtuns may understand this harsh reality. Instead of blaming Punjabis, we must concentrate on our pitfalls, lets think creatively, not on these traditional lines that our misfortunes are because of Punjabis or others, lets think differently now. My approach will seem bizarre to many but if you think with a impartial objective mind you may find some truth in what I request here

We may not compare the case of former East Pakistan now Bangladesh. First because it was a wrong decision to make Bangladesh part of Pakistan being 1000 miles away and India an enemy in between, second, Bangladesh being a different culture and language totally different, third it was because of the non Punjabis Ayub khan and Bhutto that they started separating . That was a problem between the two wings, East and West, not between Punjabis and Bengalis two opponent races , it was not a racial genocide , it was a political phenomenon.

Another resembling case is the name Hindu. Hindu is again not a race or nation, the people living near the river Indus are Hindus, whether they speak Hindi or not, there are thousands of languages in India, thousands of races and many religions all are not Hindus . Another connotation of being Hindu is religiously Hindu, but again Hinduism is not purely a religion .Its a social order. People can take name from the area where they live but this does not make them a race. It will have a name like Punjabis, living in the area of Punjab but racially they are either Gujars, Rajpoots, Chudris, Sardars, Jats, even Baluchs, Pashtuns etc

One person can have many identities, being a human being, then living in the area of Punjab, Panjabi, by race Pashtun, by religion Muslim, by political nationality Pakistani, by profession teacher, by blood relation son or father, etc

My point is Pashtuns are superior to Punjabis being one race , one language, one blood not like Punjabis who are a diverse group of races and people and religions Pashtuns should not afraid of Punjabis. Punjabis can’t do anything against Pashtuns. Pashtuns are enemies of their own selves, not the other way round that Punjabis being a race or people are their enemies.

One might know that the sociological or political terms like NATION, RACE, PEOPLE, TRIBE, EVEN RELIGION etc are very difficult to be defined. There are various aspects of these definitions and various approaches and opinions. I will not get stuck in these intricacies, and I agree that Panjabi has its own identity but this identity is not that strong as that of Pashtuns

What I want to prove here is that Punjabis as a race or social order or tribe, or cultural group, or as a nation are not enemies of Pashtuns. They are not bent upon destroying Pashtuns , it can be a policy which can be Panjabi or non Panjabi origin but Panjabi whatever you call them nation or race , are not as such enemies of Pashtuns , its just a myth making Punjabis as a nation or race responsible for Pashtun misfortunes. We should not show supremacy or difference of races as it will be racism, the same I will try to use in my favor that we as a race may not blame the whole Panjabi people as enemies of Pashtuns, it is generalizing things.

Punjab or any other entity cant rule, can’t subdue Pashtuns if Pashtuns in Pakistan are strong enough to counter any effort of subjugation by others. If we have the right leaders, nationalist parties rule Northern and Southern Pashtunkhwah, Tribal areas are merged with a united Pashtunkhwah province with full autonomy then all this sense of deprivation and inferiority complex of blaming others specially Punjabis will be vanished.

[Badlun]

This is a very common perception that Punjabis and Pashtuns both are ethnic groups or races and thus there is an ethnic tension between Pashtuns and Punjabis. And that Punjabis being Punjabis, a distinct ethnic group exploit Pashtuns. This is just a myth and must be broken keeping in view the realities of the situation and not political demagogy and hate statements. The purpose is not to define ethnicities or races etc but to create awareness that the relationship between Punjabis and Pashtuns is not racial or ethnic but have political underpinnings.

Pashtuns is Pashtun everywhere and for example a Pashtun who lives in Balochistan is not a Baloch but only a Pashtun but living in Punjab the same Pashtun is a Punjabi Pashtun because the race or ethnicity Baloch is not based on region or language but Punjabi like Sindhi is only based on region and language . We must differentiate between the ethnic connotation between Punjabis and Sindhis in Pakistan on one hand and Balochs and Pashtuns on another hand. Pashtun is Pashtun wherever he or she lives or whatever language he or she speaks. Punjabi is the one who lives in the Punjab region and who may speak the language Punjabi. Ayub khan the former president of Pakistan who did not speak Pashto like king Zahir Shah was a Tareen Pashtun. Nawaz Sharif from the region of Kashmir was Kashmiri but also Punjabi as living in the region of Punjab. I don’t deny the existence of Punjabis being a distinct group but I stress its base on language and region or society and not on ethnicity or race.

As discussed in Part I Punjabi is not at all a race or one ethnicity and that Punjabis derive their name from a geographical, historical, and cultural region located in the northwest of the Indian sub-continent. Punjab comes from the Persian words panj (five) and ab (river) and means "Land of the Five Rivers." It was the name used for the lands to the east of the Indus River that are drained by its five tributaries (the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej).

Whatever is found in the region of Punjab is Punjabi. Punjabi Culture is the culture of the Punjab region. . This is the name for all those who live in the area of Punjab now divided between Pakistan and India. Punjabis belong to many races and ethnic groups. The most common castes, races or ethnic groups found in Punjabis can be described as follows.

Punjabi society is divided into two divisions, the zamindar groups or qoums, traditionally associated with farming and the moeens, who are traditionally artisans. Zamindars are further divided into qoums that claim pre-Islamic ancestry such as the Rajput, Jat, Shaikhs or (Muslim Khatri), Kambohs, Gujjars, Dogars and Rahmani (Muslim Labana). Zamindar groups claiming Central Asian or Middle Eastern ancestry include the Gakhars, Khattar, Awan, Mughal and Arain, comprising the main tribes in the north of the province, while Khagga, Bodla, Jhandir, Daudpota, Gardezi, Syed and Quraishi are found in the south, all of whom claim Arabancestry. Immigrants from neighbouring regions, such as the Kashmiri, Pashtun and Baluch ,also form important element in the Punjabi population. Pashtun tribes like the Niazis and the Khakwanis, are integrated into Punjabi village life. Especially the members of the Niazitribe, who see themselves as Punjabis first. They have big communities in Mianwali, Bakkar, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sahiwal and Toba Tek Singh. Major Moeen groups include the Lohar, Khateek, Rawal, Chhimba Darzi, Teli, Julaha, Mallaah, Mirasi and Muslim Shaikhs, who are associated with a particular crafts or occupation. One can see above that even Balochs and Pashtuns have been described as Punjabis

Punjabis can be described as an ethnic group or a multi-ethnical group of people but not one ethnicity or one race originated from one racial stock like Pashtuns or Balochs. They are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group from South Asia. They originate from the Punjab region The Punjabi identity is primarily cultural and linguistic, with Punjabis being those whose first language is Punjabi, an Indo-European and Indo-Scythian tongue. In recent times, however, the definition has been broadened to include also emigrants of Punjabi descent who maintain Punjabi cultural traditions, even when they no longer speak the language.

Even some Afghans or Pashtuns are Punjabis after the settlement of many Pashtuns in Punjab after the invasions of Khiljis, Lodhis, Suris and of Ahmad Shah Baba. The Punjab was a cultural reservoir for the Afghans, and many where attracted to its lush fertile lands, a process that continues to this very day. It has been said that with the loss of the breadbasket regions of the Punjab and Sindh, Afghanistan has never been able to achieve a stable state ever since. Many ethnic Afghan or Pashtun tribes continue to live in Pakistan's Punjab province such as the Khugyanis known as Khakwanis, Alizais, Tareens, Durranis, Mullazais, Niazis, Khattaks, Lodhis, Kakars, Kakazais, and Barakzais to name a few. The Punjabi people are a heterogeneous group and can be subdivided into a number of ethnic clan groups in Pakistan called qaums while they adhere to caste identities in India, each having their own subtle differences. In terms of ancestry, the majority of Punjabis share many similar genes with other northern Indianpopulations, but also show a significant relationship with west Eurasian groups.


Ranjit Singh and other Sikh rulers when they fought with Pashtuns had a religious colour noth ethnic or a fight between Punjabis and Pashtuns. Syed Ahmad Brelvi and Syed Ismail etc who fought against Sikhs were not Pashtuns. That was a war between Muslims and Sikhs and not at all between Pashtuns and Punjabis. If it was a war between Pashtuns and Punjabis then why the Muslim Punjabis did not fight with Pashtuns.


The tension between the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pashtunkhwah, Sindh and Balochistan in Pakistan is a different story. There might be injustice and exploitation on the part of one province and another in Pakistan but this is not all a racial or ethnic tension. Punjab being almost 45% of Pakistan may have an exploitative image but this happens between all kinds of majorities and minorities. Minorities always feel suppressed, oppressed and exploited by the majority. Some times there is a truth in this feeling and some times it’s only a phobia or imaginative perception of the minorities. If Pashtuns feel exploited by Punjab then they must have democratic struggle for achieving their rights and privileges as they have provincial parliament as well as representation in National Assembly and Senate of Pakistan. The exploitation in Pakistan thus may be taken as an economic or political or provincial issue and not a Punjabi-Pashtun issue. Pashtuns can be the exploiters of Pashtuns and Punjabis can exploit Punjabis not necessarily all Punjabis are the exploiters of Pashtuns.

No doubt Punjabis are more developed than Pashtuns in many areas but this is not the crime of Punjabis. This is because of their hard work, education, democracy management, business oriented approach and non involvement in evils of religious extremism, obscurantism, fundamentalism and terrorism. The southern Punjab have some presence of terrorists and religious extremists and that’s why its more backward and underdeveloped as compared to the Northern Punjab.

Every Pashtun nationalist politician starts his or her speech with attacking Punjab and Punjabis as exploiters of Pashtuns and the ones who grab Pashtun resources like water, electricity, forest and others. I ask these politicians that why they let Punjabis to do so if they really do so. Why Pashtuns don’t take their own resources in their own hands. Why Pashtuns don’t have better human resources to exploit their natural and financial resources. Why we blame others specially Punjabis for their misfortunes and backwardness. Why they don’t chalk out such strategies to make Pashtuns a developed people. This is all but these politicians’ tactics and demagogy to befool their own Pashtuns by passing the balls to the court of Punjabis. This deception game is played by Pashtun politicians since the first day of the inception of Pakistan. Pashtuns are now aware and cant be befooled any more by these demagogues.

The main purpose of this write up is to make the Pashtuns aware that they may not be further exploited by those who raise the slogans that Punjabis oppress Pashtuns. No body can oppress you if you are strong enough. The same Pashtuns ruled the whole India for centuries and are now ruling Afghanistan. Where were Punjabis to stop Pashtuns not to rule and not to be a great nation of that time? Why now Pashtuns became so weak that Punjabis who except few years of Sikhs never had any rule in the world now stop Pashtuns from development and progress. This blame game must be stopped now. Pashtuns are exploited by their own politicians and not by Punjabis. If Pashtuns determine to be a strong nation or people in Pakistan then no one including Punjabis can deter them to not be so.

I am not at all doing any propaganda on behest of any vested powers. I am a proud Pashtun. My only purpose is to tell Pashtuns to get up and build their own destiny by their own efforts and don’t blame others for being downtrodden or dilapidated. I speak for Pashtuns not for Punjabis. I want to break these myths that others as Punjabis or Tajiks exploit Pashtuns (On Pashtuns-Tajiks another myth I am writing a separate article).

My main purpose here is not to define who is a race and ethnic group and who is not. This is an anthropological discussion and can be carried out some where else. What I wanted to say was that Punjabis is not at all as one race or ethnicity or ethnic group as Pashtuns are. Their name is based on a region and language while Pashtuns have different parameters for being one ethnicity or people or race or nation. Punjabis are not at all one nation. They are more Pakistanis than Punjabis in political terms. There is not a single political party on the name of Punjabi nationalism. Their only fault is that they are 45% of the Pakistani population and thus other minorities look down upon them. Pashtuns should benefit from the democracy in Pakistan and may ask for their rights by democratic means and not by blame games and hatred campaigns.

Some information has been taken from the following sites
Punjabis - Introduction, Location, Language, Folklore, Religion, Major holidays, Rites of passage, Relationships, Living conditions
Punjabi people - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Shehbaz Khan]

Handsome analysis

[muhsina]

Pakistanised Pashtuns who have their conscience for sale to the Takht-e-Lahore would term anything which justifies their slavery as handsome,accurate and precise. The fact is that the childish points of Shehbaz and his likes and the slavery-justifying points of Osho have been addressed already.

If one is happy under the Punjabi empire one should say so without distorting the reality which is contrary to the wishul thinking of such distorters of reality.

The Pashtun nationslists will struggle against the hegemoney of any force which usurps their rights and try to change the meaning of the words like freedom and liberty through their cronies.

[Shehbaz Khan]

[Wrayun]

Azmal;

I think questioning and blaming "trablism" is as a result of propaganda that tries to make Pashtons ashamed of their culture so they would become more inclined to adopt Paki--indic culture..

That is your misconception. Indic culture has been a part of Pukhtoon culture before Islam was part of it. Much of Pukhtoon indic culture no longer exists midst Pukhtoons after the arrival of Islam in the region. Some Pukhtoon tribes till this day wear lungs, while Kamees Partoog was introduced into the region by Turks. That is just one example, there are plenty more. This fear-mongering of invasion of the Indic culture is also redundant.

Indics also had tribes, so did the Persians, many still do, however their tribal identities are for aesthetic purposes today. Instead they view themselves as nations. All nations started with tribes, and once they were able to communicate with each other, their networks became strong, their national priorities became one, they emerged as single cohesive states. In modern day tribalism is a weakness, not a strength. You have certain tribes midst Pukhtoons that are harboring foreigners while receiving handsome rewards, you have other Pukhtoon tribes who are siding with troops from Pakistan securing their positions, you have other Pukhtoon tribes who are siding with NATO expanding their influence and power in the region. They are doing it to strength their "tribes" and not the Pukhtoon nation. You have the Taliban whose leadership is predominantly Ghilzai, and you have the Sadozai/Durrani who are working with NATO. This power struggle has been going on before Afghanistan existed as a state. These tribes are looking out for their own interests, placing their own fellow tribesmen and their kin in positions of power. Serving their own masters whether they be Pakistani, Arab, or American.

That is tribalism.

Indeed upholding our culture, identity, values and morality against things which violate them is NOT primitive. It is actually because of High Self Esteem and dignity that motivates people to preserve their identity, and culture and oppose factors which inhibit that. that’s because to preserve something is to hold it with great value. On other hand it is the inadequate and those with low self esteem and general inferiority and lack of identity who try embrace and appease other nationalities, religions and ethnic groups, because this makes a person subservient to them and compromises dignity.

Thus as you call can see…It is not Pashtonwali that needs revision…the problem we Pashtons face is not pashtonwali or if it’s compatibility with modernism. Pashtonwali has survived test of time and will continue another 6 thousands years for it’s based is nature.

I think the real issue facing us Pashtons are the imposition of Inidc culture and identity, which in result promotes terrorism and extremism. The fact is Pakistan was created for Muslims primarily of Indian cultural background based on problems and conflicts which pertained strictly with India. What did us Pashtoons have to do with it? Absolutely Nothing. We in Afghanistan are NOT greedy. We just want the restoration of what rightfully is apart of Afghanistan. For Pakistan creation on our land and people in itself was/is an assault on our(pashton) identity and culture! In addition to this, in absent of national coherence in Pakistan, political Islam has been the ONLY means at the paksitani government’s disposal for enduring the life of Pakistan. Thus naturally Pakistani creates and support terrorist in shape of Taliban and naturally Pakistan will do everything possible to radicalization Pashtons society. This is exactly the reason why Pashton nationalist parties have been prevented from so called FATA while the “Islamist” has been given not only free hand but state support in order to brainwashed Pashton youth!

Again misconceptions. Tribalism is not a requirement for sustaining your heritage, tribalism is a part of your heritage that in modern times is used against us. What benefits tribalism has?

Your culture will thrive, will become strong, will become unified, your dialects will become unified, the language will become unified, once Pukhtoons are united into a single unit. Most nations have kept their culture and heritage intact after unifying into nations. They have become promoters of their culture after unifying. Look around you, how many tribal societies in the world are preserving or promoting their cultures? The Africans? Nope. The Arabs? Nope. The Amazonian? Nope. The American Natives? Nope! The Aborigines of Australia? Nope. They are rapidly becoming influenced (if not already) by global powers who have done away with tribalism. If anything they are at the verge of extinction because societies divided into tribes are easy to influence by outsiders. We have people that take pride in WE ARE THE LARGEST TRIBAL SOCIETY IN THE WORLD.....is that an accomplishment? lulz....

You can't influence a strong united nation, but if divided you can influence one fragment at a time within a society. That is what is happening to Pukhtoons today, one tribe at a time Pukhtoons are being assimilated by various outside influences whether Arabiya, Punjabiya, Persianiya or Amreekaniya....And, no one said anything about revising Pukhtoonwale, in fact far from it. This is about unifying Pukhtoonwale, strengthening it, institutionalizing it, governing it, and systemizing it. Something which you can't do when divided or fragmented as a people. Pukhtoonwale is dying, haven't you noticed?

You mentioned Pakistan....why do you think Pakistan has kept Pukhtoons separated into FATA PATA NWFP and has supported the MALAK system ever since it's creation? What was the model of the British? DIVIDE AND RULE. That is tribalism. If Pukhtoons were united into a single cohesive state, none of this would be possible. No Pukhtoon tribe would be out of reach of the central authority where foreigners can take shelter. Waziris and Maseed wouldn't be sheltering Tajiks, Uzbeks, Arabs to go out and cause havoc in Momand, Marwat, Orakzai, Bhittani or Yousafzai areas. That is TRIBALISM. Other Pukhtoon tribes wouldn't be supporting and sheltering Pakistani troops to invade Waziristan and become part of the onslaught that has killed hundreds of Waziris and Maseed. In Afghanistan the Ghilzai wouldn't be taking support of Pakistan to fight the Durrani backed government. They wouldn't be undermining the state of Afghanistan to further the policy of a hostile nation. The Durranis wouldn't be inviting foreign armies (again and again) to infiltrate fellow Pukhtoon lands backed by their Persian cousins. They wouldn't have to in the first place if things were under controlled and unified. They wouldn't have to rely on OUTSIDERS if they weren't so divided into tribal loyalties to begin with.

You know what Lawrence of Arabia stated on record once he was successful in using the Arab TRIBES against the Ottomans? He said that the Arabs are no threat to the British empire, and they will never emerge as a power even though there are so many, BECAUSE THEY ARE A TRIBAL SOCIETY TOO BUSY CONCERNED WITH THEIR PIETY DISPUTES.

Anyone today that argues against this, and supports the current tribal model midst Pukhtoon is either a willing, or unwilling, enemy to the Pukhtoon state/qoom/nation.

!TRIBALISM!

Get out of it before it's too late. Become Pukhtoon citizens.