Me and My Malwa

The book examines the local culture, its customs, its people and its philosophy before arrival of the outside invaders. It also examines the impact of the arrival of the outside invaders, spread of Islam, coming of the Sikh Gurus, the establishment of the Mughal Empire, and the British. It traces the historical thread that makes the Punjabis what they are today. Surprisingly enough the people of Punjab did not hate all outside invaders. Although the Arabs, the Turks, the Iranians, and the Afghanis were all considered outsiders. The people of Punjab felt pride in learning the Persian language, copying some of the Persian literature, customs and so on.



The book explains the events, bench marks and their impact on the people of Punjab. For example major events took place in 1763 era and no one can imagine how it would have been during that era without reading a lot of history books. However, no one can read hundreds of books to get some understanding of any subject. It is important to understand why Sikhs were not writing history books because they were fighting wars. The 1763 was a pivotal era for the Sikhs, for the Mughals, and to some extent the British East India Company. Although there were also East India Companies from France, Germany, and Portugal, but only the British were able to outsmart everyone. Not only that, the British got rid of the Mughal Empire and the Sikh rule. The British did not favor Hindus or the Muslims or the Sikhs, they merely used them against each other. The divide and rule method was used by the British to suit their purpose. The British had only one purpose; money to be made in India.



The book deals with the Hindus, the Sikhs, the Muslims, the British and their influence over each other in that region. The book gives credit where due and bluntly criticizes the fragmented society. It does not favor one group over the other instead it exposes the narrow-minded aspects of the society. Because some events were taking place simultaneously cross references have been included for the ease of understanding. If the reader wants to learn about Punjab, its culture, its food, its customs, its history and a Punjabi heritage then this book reading is a must. The people from Punjab, their children and Punjabi immigrants will get a charge out of reading this book. It preserves those aspects of the Punjabi culture that tend to fade out with the televisions, cell phones, automobiles, televisions and managed river water.



The Hindu religion, its culture, its religious literature and its spirituality far exceeds any other religion. On one hand there is extremely high caliber spiritual thought and yet on the other hand there is nothing but degradation and fragmentation of the society.



The Mughals were not merely outsiders they left behind the most beautiful architecture, music, Urdu language and poetry. It would be unfair to ignore their contribution to the culture, to the landscape and to the population.



The sacrifice ...