CULTURAL PLURALISM AND TRANSRELIGIOUS AFFINITY IN PUNJAB: UNSUNG MUSLIM AND SIKH HEROES (HUG VS PUG DIPLOMACY)
Keywords:
Folktales, Regionalism, Revenge, Friendship, Trans-Religious AffinityAbstract
An oral account of the real stories of Punjab shows that the humanitarian love and affection have an upper hand over the religious and cultural divisions. The land of five rivers is fertile due to five native religions, where shades of love and affection have dimmed the religious and cultural extremism, sectarianism, and terrorism. Various Sikh and Muslim characters have established the examples of friendship and loyalty but with the passage of time, religious extremism has emerged across the region with the emergence of globalization/ westernization. Especially, religious extremism has increased with the emergence of the Imperialism. This research paper is the documentation and analysis of the oral stories based upon the friendship between Muslim and Sikh real characters. Their friendship was beyond cultural and religious boundaries. They were so close to each other that they sacrificed themselves for upholding their friendship. This cultural pluralism and trans-religion affinity generated new examples of friendship, love, and affection. Sikhs and Muslims have established such examples of friendship which are very rare in history, even among the followers of the same religions and sects it cannot be traced. These relationships were stronger than blood relations. Their existence proved the loyalty of the regions along with the loyalty of five religions and rivers. Nevertheless, this research paper presents the implication of the past stories in the present scenario in the form of Navjot Singh Sidhu and his friendship with Imran Khan and Punjab. A Muslim leader set a new example of friendship by opening the Gurdaspur corridor for Sikhs. Moreover, there is also analysis in the global perspective, such as the universality, identity of the Punjab, trans-religious love & affection, causes of the emergence of extremism, terrorism, intolerance, and feminism. It is also the study of the distinct colors of Punjab.References
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a training model of interreligious peacebuilding. Journal of
Peace Research, 38(6), 685-704.
Agrawal, D.P., & Sood, R. K. (1982). Ecological factors and the Harappan
Civilization. Harappan civilization. In Possehl, G. L. (ed.),
Harappan Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective, (pp.222-
229). Delhi: Oxford & IBH and the American Institute of Indian
Studies.
Anand, M. R. (1974). Folktales of Punjab (Vol. 18). New Delhi: Sterling
Publishers.
Bascom, W. R. (1953). Folklore and anthropology. The Journal of
American Folklore, 66(262), 283-290.
Conrad, J. (2010). Youth, the heart of darkness, the end of the tether.
London: Cambridge University Press.
Copland, I. (1982). The British Raj and the Indian princes: paramountcy
in western India, 1857-1930. Bombay: Orient Longman.
Delargy, J. H. (1947). The Gaelic story-teller: with some notes on Gaelic
folk-tales. London: Cumberlege.
Deol, H. (2003). Religion and Nationalism in India: The case of Punjab.
London: Routledge.
Greenblatt, S., & Greenblatt, S. J. (Eds.). (1988). Representing the English
Renaissance (Vol. 2). California: Univ of California Press.
Grewal, J. S. (1998). The Sikhs of Punjab (Vol. 2). London: Cambridge
University Press.
Kellner, D. (2003). Media culture: Cultural studies, identity, and politics
between the modern and the post-modern. London: Routledge.
King, A. D. (2012). Colonial urban development: Culture, social power,
and environment. London: Routledge.
Said, E. W. (1995). Orientalism: Western conceptions of the Orient 1978.
Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin.
Shakespeare, W. (1994). Political Shakespeare: Essays in Cultural
Materialism. New York: Cornell University Press.
Singh, D. (1981). Dynamics of Punjab politics. New Delhi, India:
Macmillan.
Singh, F. (Ed.). (1977). History of Punjab (Vol. 1). Department of Punjab
Historical Studies, Patiala: Punjabi University.
Spechler, M. C. (2000). David Held, Anthony McGrew, David Goldblatt,
and Jonathan Perraton, Global Transformations: Politics,
Economics and Culture. Journal of Comparative Economics,
28(3), 629-631.
Spivak, G. C. (2012). In other worlds: Essays in cultural politics. London:
Routledge.
Visram, R. (2015). Ayahs, Lascars and Princes: the story of Indians in
Britain 1700-1947. London: Routledge.
Wa Thiong’o, N. (1992). Decolonising the mind: The politics of language
in African literature. Nairobi: East African Publishers.
Wright, A. (1997). Creating stories with children. London: Oxford
University Press.
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2019-01-13
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