The Punjab: Moving Journeys
(Part One)
Introduction
The
Daily‘Punjab’
life on Expedition
The British in Punjab
Development of the Punjab
The polar huts
The huts the men built were home for the shore party for the duration of the expedition.
It was here that all of the Expedition’s life could be found. You would see the men
repairing and checking equipment, writing up diaries and papers, collecting scientific
records, playing cards, smoking, having a hair cut from Anton - the ponies’ groom - or
simply occupying their time.
Introduction
Here are the ‘tenements’, the five bunks which were home to Cherry-Gerrard (l), Bowers
(standing), Oates (middle), Mears (top r), and Atkinson (bottom r).
In 2005,
Sirmany
Neil Cossons,
English Heritage,
visited they
Scott’s
huts.different
He writes,
“I to different people."
"There
are
Punjabs Chairman
and manyof
definitions
of the Punjab;
mean
things
was struck
by how
timeless
they are.
Their timber walls were never built to last and are
Member
from
the Sangat
Group,
2008
showing signs of the harsh environment. Yet they still stand proud as one of the few
human landmarks on Antarctic landscape. It was in these huts that Scott’s men lived,
worked and relaxed during the long Polar winter - in preparation for the journey South. A
hundred years ago you would have smelt bread baking, heard the piano or watched one of
Ponting’s slide shows. And today, as you face the untouched shelves of familiar foods –
Tate and Lyle sugar and Coleman’s Mustard - you are simply transported back into another
time.”
Bakshi Mulray (Governor of Gilgit) & Mehal Singh (Commanding Radur Regiment).
Image taken during the 'Gilgit Mission' of 1885-86.
The name Punjab is derived
from the Persian
words of Punj, meaning five and aab, meaning water. They refer to the
Photographer:
Unknown
five rivers that join to form the River Indus that flows through this region. Historically recognised as a single Indian
region, the Punjab is now divided into two. Two thirds of this region is located in eastern Pakistan. The remaining third
is split across three north western Indian states.
The Society’s work on its Punjabi collections was initiated in partnership with the Anglo Sikh Heritage Trail. This
exhibition explores the Punjab through the differing perspectives of the following UK based community groups that
Fooda connection to the region.
have
Clissold,
Expedition’s
cook, isBradford,
baking bread
surrounded
his supplies.
In the polar
•Thomas
Cartwright
Hall the
Young
Ambassadors,
a group
of youngbypeople
from Pakistani
and English backgrounds;
the men
dined on
a wideAssociation,
variety of foods.
example,of
the
menu forand
theIndian
dinnerwomen;
to
•huts
Muslim
Women’s
Welfare
Ilford,For
consisting
Pakistani
Midwinter’s Day
1911 ran to
several children’s
courses. This
was in stark contrast to the
•celebrate
North Hertfordshire
SikhinEducation
Council’s
group;
monotonous
rations
eaten
by
the
sledging
teams,
an
unchanging
of biscuits,
and
• Sangat Group, London, a group of Punjabi academics, artists, diet
musicians
and tea
historians;
pemmican
(preserved
meat).
• UK Punjab Heritage Association’s adult members;
• Undivided India Ex-Servicemen’s Association’s group of veterans.
Menu for the Midwinters Day 1911 – Cape Evans McMurdo Sound
Consomme - Seal
Roastbeef & Yorkshire pudding
Horse Radish Sauce
These groups took part in workshops using the Society’s photographs, maps, books and documents dating from 1830
onwards. They discussed the complex and turbulent history of the Punjab; the diverse heritage that resulted from this;
nostalgia for a Punjab lost; Punjabi identity and how different Punjabi groups relate to each other in Britain today.
This exhibition covers aspects of the Punjab spanning the pre-partition period, partition itself and post partition period
to the present.
The exhibition includes:
• Contemporary commentary from community groups
• Historical quotes from diaries and publications found in the Society’s collection
Note: The spelling of Punjab used in the exhibition is the Europeanised version that features in many of the historical
materials and is commonly used today. ‘Panjab’ spelt with an ‘a’ reflects the regional pronunciation of the name and is
often considered more appropriate.
The Society’s archive collection
“This is my journey; searching myself...who we are, where are we from…that is why these archives are vital. We
have to co-operate in the modern world; the more I discover about my Punjabiness, the easier it is to live with other
cultures and relate to them.” Member from the Sangat Group, 2008
The Society’s collection of maps, photographs, books, documents and journals reflect the views of 19th century
Britons. Condescending and often derogatory in tone, these views sought to categorise Indian people, religions and
cultures and frequently misrepresented them. Some of these Victorian travellers and officials were also Society
Fellows. A C Yates served with the British government from 1875 - 1905 and set up the Indian Branch of St John’s
Ambulance. Another Fellow, R G Woodthorpe worked as a surveyor; first with the Royal Engineers and then the Indian
Survey department. His obituary from the Society’s Journal from 1898 states:
“He was speedily drafted off to some of the wildest and most inaccessible districts of the Indian borderland on survey
duty…and fell into the habit of illustrating his wanderings.”
The community groups recognised and appreciated the Victorian origins of the Society’s collection, even if much of it
misrepresented aspects of their heritage and history:
“Muslims wore turbans, Hindus wore turbans…everyone wore them because of the climate, it wasn’t a religious
thing.” Member from the UK Punjab Heritage Association, 2008
Gancobo Seng. Surgeon of the Radur Regt. of army of
Maharajah of Kashmir by unknown photographer, 1865-66
“This archive is important and valuable for having the pre Partition maps. When I was looking for a map of
undivided Punjab I had to come to the Royal Geographical Society.” Member from the Sangat Group, 2008
Section of ‘Map of the North Western Frontier of British India ... Sikh States, Lahore, Cashmeer, Cabul, Herat, Candahar’. Publisher: Calcutta Oriental Lithographic Press, 1838
The ‘Punjab’
A historical overview
“The diversity of the Punjab and its location on the Silk Route made it a melting pot for all these different
communities and that’s reflected in some of these photographs.” Member from the UK Punjab Heritage Association,
2008
The Punjab’s rich, yet turbulent history has been influenced by its landscape and location. The Punjab’s flat, fertile
land led to the dominance of an agricultural community and the rivers played an important part in the development of
the region under British rule in the 1800s.
The region was part of the Silk Route that connected Asian regions which bought foreign settlers, traders and
invaders, and their respective cultures. Renowned Punjabi castes such as the Jats and Rajputs are a product of the
movements and interactions of Persians (Iranians), Turks, Afghans, Arabs and the local population.
“When I see the map of the Punjab, I see a cultural and geographic entity…all the layers and layers of invaders who
added to the language, to the culture and the religions.” Member from the Sangat Group, 2008
The diverse peoples of the Punjab share many cultural values. Many Muslims and Sikhs trace their ancestry back to a
Hindu lineage. Language is a crucial feature connecting people, and Punjabi writers such as Waris Shah and Sufi poets
Bullhe Shah and Baba Farid transcended religious boundaries. The mystical songs of Sufism and the folk music of the
Punjab have also connected generations of Punjabi's.
Key events in the Punjab’s history:
2500 – 1600 BC
1500 – 1000 BC
550 – 515 BC
326 BC
322 – 298 BC
273 – 232 BC
5BC - 1AD
320 – 550 AD
500 AD
711 AD
997 AD
1469 – 1539 AD
1526 – 1556 AD
1556 – 1605 AD
1600 AD
1605 – 1627 AD
1628 – 1658 AD
1658 – 1707 AD
1674 – 1818 AD
1747 – 1773 AD
1799 – 1839 AD
1845 – 1846 AD
1848 – 1849 AD
1849 – 1947 AD
Harappa civilisation - one of the earliest that covered most of the Punjab region
Aryans migrate from the west and settle in the region and beyond. The Rig Veda and Upanishad texts
are written during this phase; they are regarded as the oldest texts in Indo-European languages and
the basis for Hindu philosophy
The Persians invade from the west of the Indus River
Alexander the Great invades
Mauryan Empire lead by Chandragupta Maurya (Jain Empire)
Mauryan Empire lead by Ashoka, grandson of Chandragupta Maurya (Buddhist Empire)
Scythian tribes invade from Central Asia
Gupta Empire led by Chandra Gupta; this period is defined by advances in literature, art, mathematics
and philosophy (Hindu Empire)
The Huns invade north India
Islam first arrives in the Sind region, south of the Punjab
The Turko-Afghan Ghaznivads invade north India
Life of Guru Nanak - the first Sikh Guru and founder of the Sikh faith
Emperor Timurid Babur (descendant of Genghis Khan) the first Mughal Emperor: marks start of the
Mughal Empire (Islamic Empire)
Emperor Akbar (Islamic Empire)
The East India Company gains the Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I to trade with India
Emperor Jahangir (Islamic Empire)
Emperor Shah Jehan (Islamic Empire)
Emperor Aurangzeb - the last of the Mughul emperors (Islamic Empire)
Shivaji from Maharastra invades and the Punjab (1674 – 1680) and it becomes part of the Martha
Empire (Hindu Empire)
Durrani Empire led by Ahmed Shah Durrani of Afghanistan (Islamic Empire)
Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s rule (Sikh Empire)
First Anglo-Sikh War
Second Anglo-Sikh War
Annexation of the Punjab: British rule in the region sees development of infrastructure, agriculture
and large scale recruitment of Punjabis into the Indian Army (British Rule and 'Christian' period)
1857 AD
1858 – 1900 AD
1885 AD
1906 AD
1919 AD
1919 – 1922 AD
1940 – 1942 AD
1940 AD
1947 AD
1966 AD
The Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Indian (Sepoy) Mutiny, in Bengal against the East
India Company prompts the British Crown to assume direct control of British India and implement
political restructuring
Rise of organised Indian nationalist movements across India
Indian National Congress established. Notable members and leaders include Mohandas Gandhi,
Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Jawaharlal Nehru
All-India Muslim League is established and Mohammad Ali Jinnah becomes a member in 1913
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, Amritsar, marks the turning point for British Rule in India and the rise of
Gandhi on the national scene
Non-Cooperation Movement spearheaded by Gandhi
Quit India Movement gains momentum nationally
Passage of Lahore Resolution by the All-India Muslim League under the guidance of Mohammed Ali
Jinnah proclaims Muslims to be a nation and not a minority
India is partitioned based on religious lines on independence from British rule. The Punjab is divided
into two; the western part forming West Pakistan and the eastern part remaining in India (Bengal in
east India was also partitioned to create East Pakistan, which in 1971 became Bangladesh.)
Indian Punjab further divided into three states on a linguistic basis into Haryana, Himachal and Punjab
The Sikh State
Maharajah Ranjit Singh
The Punjab region has seen many rulers over the centuries. Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), a Sikh, is responsible
for the large-scale unification of Sikh territories and other smaller principalities to form the first Sikh kingdom in 1801.
He named his kingdom the Lahore Sarkar (government) after his empires' capital. Approximately 10% of its population
was Sikh. Ranjit Singh continued to expand his empire beyond the Punjab, to include parts of Kashmiri and Afghan
territories. Peshawar, conquered in 1834, is considered one of his greatest successes.
January 18th 1832:
“By the desire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, we paid a visit to his highness in the afternoon…such a fine tent he held his
‘Darbar’ (court). He came a few paces forward to receive us; he placed Mr Barnes and Dr Gerard on golden chairs…He
is a good chief…he gave me a sum of money which Mr Barnes allowed me to keep. His highness’ conversation makes it
appear that he is an intimate friend of the British Government.” From the book Journal of a tour through the Punjab,
Afghanistan, Turkestan, Khorasan and part of Persia, in company with Lieut. Barnes and Dr Gerard, by Munshi Mohan
Lal, 1834
In 1809 Ranjit Singh signed a treaty of friendship with the British. On his death in 1839, a power vacuum formed and
the opportunity for the British to acquire the Punjab led to two wars in 1846 and 1849. Independent Punjab came to
an end in 1849 when it was annexed by the British.
“The British almost lost…Ranjit Singh’s army
didn’t have cannons but they almost won and
after 1849 the British were the rulers. In the Sikh
(Ranjit Singh’s) army there were Muslims,
Christians, Hindus and Sikhs…the training in
artillery was from the generals of Spain, Italy,
Germany, France, and America (employed by
Ranjit Singh). Ranjit Singh paid his sepoys
(soldiers) more than the British.” Member from
the Undivided India Ex-Servicemen’s
Association, 2008
Lahore - with a view of Ranjit Singh’s Samadhi (mausoleum)
by Walter Collector Carter, 1918-20
The British in Punjab
“Interestingly on these maps, you will find it is all to do with business and trade, there are cultural centres but none
of them are on the map; only business.” Member from the Sangat Group, 2008
The British steadily encroached on Indian territory to form its Empire. From modest beginnings as traders, via the East
India Company’s interests in the east Indian ports of Bengal, the British made their way west across India. This is one
of the reasons why the Punjab, following the British victory in the second Anglo Sikh War (1848-49), was one of the
last regions of the Indian subcontinent to fall.
Following Punjab’s annexation in 1849, the British recruited soldiers from the Punjab to suppress the Indian Rebellion
(1857) during which the sepoys (soldiers) of the Bengal army revolted. After this event, the British government
assumed direct control of India from the East India Company, marking a new stage of British rule in India.
“After the Mutiny, the British selected people who would protect their state, and that they could control… the
British took the place of these Sikh rulers, and kept up the Sikh army tradition of taking Amrit (Sikh equivalent of
baptism). They liked certain aspects of the Sikh way, they wanted to mould these traditions …very smart from the
British perspective.” Member from the UK Punjab Heritage Association, 2008
Officers of the Gilgit Mission. Image taken during the 'Gilgit Mission' of 1885-86
Christian missionaries
“I used to live near a church in Jehlum but never saw the church building there because it is surrounded by trees and
the gate locked.” Member from the Muslim Women’s Welfare Association, 2008
Under British rule India was for the first time led by a Christian power. British Christian missionaries helped to shape
the Punjab and many of their accounts reveal Victorian attitudes towards this region and its people.
Christianity had been present in southern India well before the arrival of British missionaries in the 19th century. In
1813, British missionaries were allowed to enter the areas of India controlled by the East India Company. Christianity
did flourish in India but this was not straightforward; missionary activity increasingly led to confrontation with local
beliefs and increased tension with the local population.
The Christian presence in the Punjab began with John C Lowrie who arrived in Ludhiana in 1834. He came to serve the
British Christian community with no intention of converting local people to Christianity. However, later missionaries
representing different Christian denominations came specifically to convert the Punjabi population. The Christian
community increased from 3,912 in 1881 to 395,629 in 1931 in the Punjab region.
The missionaries added to the categorisation of ‘other peoples’ that was prevalent in the Victorian period.
Missionaries recorded the rituals and practices of indigenous faiths - often to maintain the moral superiority of the
British and discredit local beliefs. These reports later played a part in the ‘profiling’ of the Punjab before partition in
1947.
“The Sikh is more independent, more brave, more manly than the Hindu and no whit less industrious and thrifty; while
he is less conceited than the Musulman (Muslim).” From the publication The Missions of the Church Missionary Society
and the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society in the Punjab and Sindh, by Reverend R Clark, 1904
This photograph shows a Christian clock tower next to the Sikh’s most sacred religious site, the Golden Temple in
Amritsar. Built by the Church Missionary Society in 1862, to symbolise British dominance, the tower’s proximity to the
temple offended the local population. It was demolished in 1945, just prior to Indian independence and the partition
of the Punjab.
Golden Temple, Amritsar by E N H Cameron, 1914
Development of the Punjab
The Punjab was important as a frontier state and for the economic benefits the region presented. The British invested
heavily in infrastructure, such as roads, rail links, irrigation and the postal and telegraph system. These were vital for
linking markets; transport and communications, which eventually led the Punjab to become the ‘granary of India’
during British rule.
Irrigation subordinates and Sutlej boatman at work by G P Tate, 1903
“It was necessary for the British to control the movement of goods. The country is so big they had to develop the
railway. Punjabis were even sent to Africa to develop the railways there.” Member from the Undivided India ExServicemen’s Association, 2008
Development India-wide:
The British presence in India was primarily motivated by trade and profit, leading to investment in the road, rail and
canal networks. This allowed the transportation of goods and army personnel internally and of raw materials to ports.
The opening up of the Suez Canal in 1869, which reduced shipping times between Britain and India, created further
opportunities for trade with India.
Roads
The Grand Trunk Road is an ancient and important trade route that runs from Kolkata (Calcutta) in the east, up to
Delhi and on to Peshawar in the west (now in Pakistan). It is one of the longest continuous roads in the world and the
British started improvements on this route in 1839. The 1940s saw large-scale road construction projects to link the
main cities of India.
Rail
A lasting legacy established by the British is the rail network. By the 1880s 13,680 km (8,500 miles) of track had been
laid; this increased to 40,235 km (25,000 miles) by 1900 and up to 56,325 km (35,000 miles) by 1914.
Punjab specific developments
Agriculture
The development of the agricultural sector was of vital importance to the British. The lack of rivers and wells and the
unpredictability of the monsoon rains in the Punjab led to the development of irrigation projects. These projects
became one of the most elaborate and ambitious undertaken by the British. It transformed a vast wasteland in south
west Punjab into some of the richest agricultural land in the world.
From the mid-1880s the Punjab experienced rapid growth and social change driven in part by the development of
large scale irrigation schemes. Vast areas of uncultivated lands in the doabs (Persian for land found between two
rivers) of south west Punjab were transformed including places such as Lyallpur (Faisalabad), Montgomery (Sahiwal)
and Jhang which now lie in Pakistan. Irrigation projects completed between 1860 and 1920 created 404,700 hectares
(10 million acres) of cultivated land - one third of the Punjab - and produced vast quantities of cotton and grain.
The Chenab Colony was the largest of the canal colonies, formed of 809,500 hectares (2 million acres) and had the
most extensive irrigation system in India. It was started in1892 and continued expanding till the1930s. Lyallpur
(Faisalabad) became the headquarters of the Colony and became an important market centre.
Turnip gathering, Lahore by P E Vernon, 1926