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established themselves in the rural and urban areas simultaneously. The rural Punjab
being the feeding-base remained confined to the daily pursuits. Bread, cloth and
shelter (Roti, Kapra aur Makan) had never been a problem for the Punjabis. They did
not require involving in the immoral or illegal activities like weapon-production,
smuggling and political intrigues for their livelihood. In the past, the urban politicians
had never approached the villagers to educate them about the politics. Being
uneducated, they remained unaware of the published and communication sources
which kept them immune to communalism, a dominant feature in the cities. An
outstanding mark of the rural Punjab was a peaceful atmosphere in which all the
religious communities could survive on the principle of interdependence and
respecting ‘otherness of the others’ which was taught mainly by the culture, the holy
saints and the economic pursuits. The rural Punjab has retained this tradition even
now and during this worst period of terrorism, majority of the rural areas are living a
peaceful life.
The urban society of the Punjab was polluted with communalism. The
communities were competing to secure more and more political, economic and
official concessions. Being well-informed about the rural and urban norms, the
landlords or feudality possessed and demonstrated both approaches towards the
political developments in the province. Therefore, history of the British Punjab was a
panorama of the Muslim-Sikh politics, sometimes Unionists versus Akalis and then
Sikhs versus Muslim League. The notable point is that every sphere of the Muslim-
Sikh question was treated as conflicting and contradictory despite the British desire to
keep the political atmosphere of the Punjab peaceful.
Abundant work was produced on the Punjab but the subject ‘Muslim-Sikh
relationship’ during the British period particularly from 1940 to 1947 remained
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