Religion in the Punjab - Wikipedia

Religion in the Punjab - Wikipedia

Religion in the Punjab

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Religion in the Punjab in ancient history was characterized by Hinduism and later conversions to Jainism, Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism and Christianity; it also includes folk practices common to all Punjabis regardless of the religion they adhere to. Such practices incorporate local mysticism, including ancestral worship and worship of local saints.^[1]

Religion in the Punjab region (2011 and 2017)^[2][3][4][a]

  Islam (60.13%)

  Hinduism (28.54%)

  Sikhism (9.5%)

  Christianity (1.43%)

  Others (0.33%)

Contents

• 1Background
• 2History
  • 2.1Ancient period
  • 2.2Medieval period
  • 2.3Modern period
    • 2.3.1Colonial era
• 3Punjab region
  • 3.1Colonial era
  • 3.2Post-independence era
• 4West & East Punjab
• 5Subregions
  • 5.1Indo−Gangetic Plain West geographical division
    • 5.1.1Districts & Princely States
  • 5.2Himalayan geographical division
    • 5.2.1Districts & Princely States
  • 5.3Sub−Himalayan geographical division
    • 5.3.1Districts & Princely States
  • 5.4North−West Dry Area geographical division
    • 5.4.1Districts & Princely States
• 6See also
• 7References
• 8Notes
• 9Bibliography

Background[edit]

Rig Veda is the oldest Hindu text that originated in the Punjab region.

The Punjabi people first practiced Hinduism, the oldest recorded religion in the Punjab region.^[5] The historical Vedic religion constituted the religious ideas and practices in the Punjab during the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE), centered primarily in the worship of Indra.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11][note 1]} The bulk of the Rigveda was composed in the Punjab region between circa 1500 and 1200 BC,^[12] while later Vedic scriptures were composed more eastwards, between the Yamuna and Ganges rivers. An ancient Indian law book called the Manusmriti, developed by Brahmin Hindu priests, shaped Punjabi religious life from 200 BC onward.^[13] Later, the spread of Buddhisim and Jainism in the Indian subcontinent saw the growth of Buddhism and Jainism in the Punjab.^[14] 

Islam was introduced via southern Punjab in the 8th century, becoming the majority by the 16th century, via local conversion.^[15][16] There was a small Jain community left in Punjab by the 16th century, while the Buddhist community had largely disappeared by the turn of the 10th century.^[17] The region became predominantly Muslim due to missionary Sufi saints whose dargahs dot the landscape of the Punjab region.^[18] The rise of Sikhism in the 1700s saw some Punjabis, both Hindu and Muslim, accepting the new Sikh faith.^[13][19] A number of Punjabis during the colonial period of India became Christians, with all of these religions characterizing the religious diversity now found in the Punjab region.^[13]

History[edit]

See also: Historical Vedic religion

Ancient period[edit]

The Persians were the first to use the term Hindu, referring to a vast territory containing much regional variety in belief and practice. Nevertheless, the common concept was the belief in cycles of reincarnation, or sansār, and was the oldest recorded religion in the region.^[13] While law books like the Manusmriti codified socio-religious customs and were sanctified by the Hindu religion, such books more generally influenced the formation of broader traditional societal beliefs.^[13]

Medieval period[edit]

Sikhism appeared in the 16th century, in reaction to both Punjabi and subcontinent-wide cultural practices of the time,^[13] including asceticism, the caste system, and female subordination, as well as in congruence with it, sharing precepts with Hinduism, including karma, sansār, and liberation, and that with Islam, including a formless God, rejection of idolatry, and social equality.^[13] It also developed its own distinct doctrines, including the belief that both intrinsic factors (egocentrism, to be ameliorated through devotion and prayer), and external forces (social and political oppression, to be addressed by community service and armed self-defense as needed, and balancing spiritual and temporal power in the world as opposed to renunciation), produced suffering.^[13]

Modern period[edit]

Colonial era[edit]

During the colonial era, the practice of religious syncretism among Punjabi Muslims and Punjabi Hindus was noted and documented by officials in census reports:

"In other parts of the Province, too, traces of Hindu festivals are noticeable among the Muhammadans. In the western Punjab, Baisakhi, the new year's day of the Hindus, is celebrated as an agricultural festival, by all Muhammadans, by racing bullocks yoked to the well gear, with the beat of tom-toms, and large crowds gather to witness the show, The race is called Baisakhi and is a favourite pastime in the well-irrigated tracts. Then the processions of Tazias, in Muharram, with the accompaniment of tom-toms, fencing parties and bands playing on flutes and other musical instruments (which is disapproved by the orthodox Muhammadans) and the establishment of Sabils (shelters where water and sharbat are served out) are clearly influenced by similar practices at Hindu festivals, while the illuminations on occasions like the Chiraghan fair of Shalamar (Lahore) are no doubt practices answering to the holiday-making instinct of the converted Hindus."^[20]: 174

"Besides actual conversion, Islam has had a considerable influence on the Hindu religion. The sects of reformers based on a revolt from the orthodoxy of Varnashrama Dharma were obviously the outcome of the knowledge that a different religion could produce equally pious and right thinking men. Laxity in social restrictions also appeared simultaneously in various degrees and certain customs were assimilated to those of the Muhammadans. On the other hand the miraculous powers of Muhammadan saints were enough to attract the saint worshiping Hindus, to allegiance, if not to a total change of faith... The Shamsis are believers in Shah Shamas Tabrez of Multan, and follow the Imam, for the time being, of the Ismailia sect of Shias... they belong mostly to the Sunar caste and their connection with the sect is kept a secret, like Freemasonry. They pass as ordinary Hindus, but their devotion to the Imam is very strong."^[20]: 130

— Excerpts from the Census of India (Punjab Province), 1911 AD

Punjab region[edit]

Colonial era[edit]

Population trends for major religious groups in the Punjab Province of the British India(1881–1941)^[21]

Religious group	Population % 1881	Population % 1891	Population % 1901	Population % 1911[b]	Population % 1921	Population % 1931	Population % 1941
Islam	47.6%	47.8%	49.6%	51.1%	51.1%	52.4%	53.2%
Hinduism	43.8%	43.6%	41.3%	35.8%	35.1%	30.2%	29.1%
Sikhism	8.2%	8.2%	8.6%	12.1%	12.4%	14.3%	14.9%
Christianity	0.1%	0.2%	0.3%	0.8%	1.3%	1.5%	1.5%
Other religions / No religion	0.3%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.1%	1.6%	1.3%

Post-independence era[edit]

Religion in the Punjab region^[2][3][4]
(2011 & 2017)^[a]

Religion	Estimated population	Estimated percentage
Islam	114.14 million	60.13%
Hinduism	54.17 million	28.54%
Sikhism	18.04 million	9.5%
Christianity	2.72 million	1.43%
Others	0.64 million	0.33%
Total Population	189.82 million	100%

West & East Punjab[edit]

Religion in West Punjab(1941)[c][22]: 42  Religion Population Percentage Islam  12,983,076 75% Hinduism [d] 2,376,309 13.73% Sikhism  1,527,345 8.82% Christianity  382,669 2.21% Others[e] 40,458 0.23% Total Population 17,309,857 100% Territory comprises the contemporary subdivisions of Punjab, Pakistan and Islamabad Capital Territory.

Religion in East Punjab(1941)[f][22]: 42  Religion Population Percentage Hinduism [d] 7,960,240 46.82% Islam  5,276,668 31.04% Sikhism  3,588,840 21.11% Christianity  129,797 0.76% Others[e] 44,459 0.26% Total Population 17,000,004 100% Territory comprises the contemporary subdivisions of Punjab, India, Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh.

Subregions[edit]

Following the creation of the North-West Frontier Province in 1901, the Punjab region (Punjab Province) was divided into four natural geographical divisions by colonial officials on the decadal census data:^{[20]: 2 [22]: 4}

1. Indo−Gangetic Plain West geographical division (including Hisar district, Loharu State, Rohtak district, Dujana State, Gurgaon district, Pataudi State, Delhi, Karnal district, Jalandhar district, Kapurthala State, Ludhiana district, Malerkotla State, Firozpur district, Faridkot State, Patiala State, Jind State, Nabha State, Lahore District, Amritsar district, Gujranwala District, and Sheikhupura district);
2. Himalayan geographical division (including Nahan State, Simla district, Simla Hill States, Kangra district, Mandi State, Suket State, and Chamba State);
3. Sub−Himalayan geographical division (including Ambala district, Kalsia State, Hoshiarpur district, Gurdaspur district, Sialkot District, Gujrat District, Jhelum District, Rawalpindi District, and Attock District;
4. North−West Dry Area geographical division (including Montgomery District, Shahpur District, Mianwali District, Lyallpur District, Jhang District, Multan District, Bahawalpur State, Muzaffargarh District, and Dera Ghazi Khan District).

Throughout history, religious diversity has been noted across the Punjab region. During the colonial era, the various districts and princely states that made up each of the four geographical divisions were religiously eclectic, each containing significant populations of Punjabi Muslims, Punjabi Hindus, Punjabi Sikhs, Punjabi Christians, along with other ethnic and religious minorities.

However, between the censuses of 1941 and 1951, a sudden shift towards religious homogeneity occurred in all districts across Punjab owing to the new international border that cut through the province due to the partition of India in 1947. This rapid demographic shift was primarily as a consequence of wide scale migration but also caused by large-scale religious cleansing riots which were witnessed across the region at the time. According to historical demographer Tim Dyson, in the eastern regions of Punjab that ultimately became Indian Punjab following independence, districts that were 66% Hindu in 1941 became 80% Hindu in 1951; those that were 20% Sikh became 50% Sikh in 1951. Conversely, in the western regions of Punjab that ultimately became Pakistani Punjab, all districts became almost exclusively Muslim by 1951.^[23]

Indo−Gangetic Plain West geographical division[edit]

Including Hisar district, Loharu State, Rohtak district, Dujana State, Gurgaon district, Pataudi State, Delhi, Karnal district, Jalandhar district, Kapurthala State, Ludhiana district, Malerkotla State, Firozpur district, Faridkot State, Patiala State, Jind State, Nabha State, Lahore District, Amritsar district, and Gujranwala District.^[20]

Population trends for major religious groups in the
Indo−Gangetic Plain West geographical division of Punjab Province (1901—1941)^[22]: 48

Religion	Percentage 1901	Percentage 1911	Percentage 1921	Percentage 1931	Percentage 1941
Hinduism	43.79%	42.62%	41.37%	36.04%	33.54%
Islam	37.36%	37.81%	38.0%	39.72%	40.41%
Sikhism	18.35%	18.73%	19.10%	21.88%	23.11%
Christianity	0.18%	0.51%	1.23%	1.54%	1.60%
Jainism	0.32%	0.33%	0.29%	0.27%	0.28%

Districts & Princely States[edit]

Religion in Hisar District (1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Hinduism [d]	652,842	64.85%
Islam	285,208	28.33%
Sikhism	60,731	6.03%
Christianity	1,235	0.12%
Others [e]	6,693	0.66%
Total Population	1,006,709	100%

Religion in Rohtak District (1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Hinduism [d]	780,474	77.53%
Islam	166,569	16.55%
Sikhism	1,466	0.15%
Christianity	1,026	0.1%
Others [e]	6,864	0.68%
Total Population	956,399	100%

Religion in Gurgaon District(1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Hinduism [d]	560,573	65.84%
Islam	285,992	33.59%
Sikhism	637	0.07%
Christianity	1,457	0.17%
Others [e]	2,799	0.33%
Total Population	851,458	100%

Religion in Karnal District(1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Hinduism [d]	666,301	66.99%
Islam	304,346	30.6%
Sikhism	19,887	2%
Christianity	1,223	0.12%
Others [e]	2,818	0.28%
Total Population	994,575	100%

Religion in Jalandhar District(1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	509,804	45.23%
Hinduism [d]	311,010	27.59%
Sikhism	298,741	26.5%
Christianity	5,971	0.53%
Others [e]	1,664	0.15%
Total Population	1,127,190	100%

Religion in Ludhiana District (1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Sikhism	341,175	41.68%
Islam	302,482	36.95%
Hinduism [d]	171,715	20.98%
Christianity	1,632	0.2%
Others [e]	1,611	0.2%
Total Population	818,615	100%

Religion in Firozpur District(1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	641,448	45.07%
Sikhism	479,486	33.69%
Hinduism [d]	287,733	20.22%
Christianity	11,031	0.78%
Others [e]	3,378	0.24%
Total Population	1,423,076	100%

Religion in Lahore District (1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	1,027,772	60.62%
Sikhism	310,646	18.32%
Hinduism [d]	284,689	16.79%
Christianity	67,686	3.99%
Others [e]	4,582	0.27%
Total Population	1,695,375	100%

Religion in Amritsar District (1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	657,695	46.52%
Sikhism	510,845	36.13%
Hinduism [d]	217,431	15.38%
Christianity	25,330	1.79%
Others [e]	2,575	0.18%
Total Population	1,413,876	100%

Religion in Gujranwala District (1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	642,706	70.45%
Hinduism [d]	108,115	11.85%
Sikhism	99,139	10.87%
Christianity	60,380	6.62%
Others [e]	1,894	0.21%
Total Population	912,234	100%

Religion in Sheikhupura District (1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage (1941)
Islam	542,344	63.62%
Sikhism	160,706	18.85%
Hinduism [d]	89,182	10.46%
Christianity	59,985	7.04%
Others [e]	291	0.03%
Total Population	852,508	100%

Himalayan geographical division[edit]

Including Nahan State, Simla district, Simla Hill States, Kangra district, Mandi State, Suket State, and Chamba State.^[20]: 2

Population trends for major religious groups in the
Himalayan geographical division of Punjab Province (1901—1941)^[22]: 48

Religion	Percentage 1901	Percentage 1911	Percentage 1921	Percentage 1931	Percentage 1941
Hinduism	94.60%	94.53%	94.50%	94.25%	94.35%
Islam	4.53%	4.30%	4.45%	4.52%	4.27%
Sikhism	0.23%	0.46%	0.44%	0.49%	0.60%
Christianity	0.20%	0.26%	0.26%	0.14%	0.10%
Jainism	0.03%	0.02%	0.02%	0.02%	0.03%

Districts & Princely States[edit]

Religion in Kangra District (1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Hinduism [d]	846,567	94.13%
Islam	43,249	4.81%
Sikhism	4,809	0.53%
Christianity	590	0.07%
Others [e]	4,162	0.46%
Total Population	899,377	100%

Sub−Himalayan geographical division[edit]

Including Ambala district, Kalsia State, Hoshiarpur district, Gurdaspur district, Sialkot District, Gujrat District, Jhelum District, Rawalpindi District, and Attock District.^[20]: 2

Population trends for major religious groups in the
Sub−Himalayan geographical division of Punjab Province(1901—1941)^[22]: 48

Religion	Percentage 1901	Percentage 1911	Percentage 1921	Percentage 1931	Percentage 1941
Islam	60.62%	61.19%	61.44%	61.99%	62.29%
Hinduism	33.09%	27.36%	26.66%	22.85%	21.98%
Sikhism	5.68%	9.74%	9.77%	11.65%	11.89%
Christianity	0.48%	1.59%	2.01%	2.05%	1.74%
Jainism	0.12%	0.12%	0.12%	0.11%	0.12%

Districts & Princely States[edit]

Religion in Ambala District (1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Hinduism [d]	412,658	48.68%
Islam	268,999	31.73%
Sikhism	156,543	18.47%
Christianity	4,892	0.58%
Others [e]	4,653	0.55%
Total Population	847,745	100%

Religion in Hoshiarpur District(1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Hinduism [d]	584,080	49.91%
Islam	380,759	32.53%
Sikhism	198,194	16.93%
Christianity	6,060	0.52%
Others [e]	1,230	0.11%
Total Population	1,170,323	100%

Religion in Gurdaspur District (1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	589,923	51.14%
Hinduism [d]	290,774	25.21%
Sikhism	221,261	19.18%
Christianity	51,522	4.47%
Others [e]	31	0%
Total Population	1,153,511	100%

Religion in Sialkot District(1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	740,218	62.18%
Hinduism [d]	231,319	19.43%
Sikhism	139,409	11.71%
Christianity	73,846	6.2%
Others [e]	5,705	0.48%
Total Population	1,190,497	100%

Religion in Gujrat District(1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	945,609	85.58%
Hinduism [d]	84,643	7.66%
Sikhism	70,233	6.36%
Christianity	4,391	0.4%
Others [e]	76	0.01%
Total Population	1,104,952	100%

Religion in Jhelum District(1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	563,033	89.42%
Hinduism [d]	40,888	6.49%
Sikhism	24,680	3.92%
Christianity	730	0.12%
Others [e]	327	0.05%
Total Population	629,658	100%

Religion in Rawalpindi District(1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	628,193	80%
Hinduism [d]	82,478	10.5%
Sikhism	64,127	8.17%
Christianity	4,212	0.54%
Others [e]	6,221	0.79%
Total Population	785,231	100%

Religion in Attock District(1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	611,128	90.42%
Hinduism [d]	43,009	6.36%
Sikhism	20,120	2.98%
Christianity	504	0.07%
Others [e]	1,114	0.16%
Total Population	675,875	100%

North−West Dry Area geographical division[edit]

Including Montgomery District, Shahpur District, Mianwali District, Lyallpur District, Jhang District, Multan District, Bahawalpur State, Muzaffargarh District, and Dera Ghazi Khan District.^[20]: 2

Population trends for major religious groups in the
North−West Dry Area geographical division of Punjab Province (1901—1941)^[22]: 48

Religion	Percentage 1901	Percentage 1911	Percentage 1921	Percentage 1931	Percentage 1941
Islam	79.01%	80.00%	78.95%	78.22%	77.85%
Hinduism	17.84%	13.58%	14.23%	12.80%	13.21%
Sikhism	2.91%	5.62%	5.64%	6.73%	6.74%
Christianity	0.23%	0.79%	1.17%	1.18%	1.17%
Jainism	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%

Districts & Princely States[edit]

Religion in Montgomery District (1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	918,564	69.11%
Hinduism [d]	210,966	15.87%
Sikhism	175,064	13.17%
Christianity	24,101	1.81%
Others [e]	408	0.03%
Total Population	1,329,103	100%

Religion in Shahpur District (1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	835,918	83.68%
Hinduism [d]	102,233	10.23%
Sikhism	48,046	4.81%
Christianity	12,620	1.26%
Others [e]	104	0.01%
Total Population	998,921	100%

Religion in Mianwali District(1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	436,260	86.16%
Hinduism [d]	62,824	12.41%
Sikhism	6,865	1.36%
Christianity	324	0.06%
Others [e]	48	0.01%
Total Population	506,321	100%

Religion in Lyallpur District(1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	877,518	62.85%
Sikhism	262,737	18.82%
Hinduism [d]	204,059	14.61%
Christianity	51,694	3.7%
Others [e]	297	0.02%
Total Population	1,396,305	100%

Religion in Jhang District(1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	678,736	82.61%
Hinduism [d]	129,889	15.81%
Sikhism	12,238	1.49%
Christianity	744	0.09%
Others [e]	24	0%
Total Population	821,631	100%

Religion in Multan District(1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	1,157,911	78.01%
Hinduism [d]	249,872	16.83%
Sikhism	61,628	4.15%
Christianity	13,270	0.89%
Others [e]	1,652	0.11%
Total Population	1,484,333	100%

Religion in Muzaffargarh District(1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	616,074	86.42%
Hinduism [d]	90,643	12.72%
Sikhism	5,882	0.83%
Christianity	218	0.03%
Others [e]	32	0%
Total Population	712,849	100%

Religion in Dera Ghazi Khan District (1941)^[22]: 42 hide

Religion	Population	Percentage
Islam	512,678	88.19%
Hinduism [d]	67,423	11.6%
Sikhism	1,072	0.18%
Christianity	137	0.02%
Others [e]	40	0.01%
Total Population	581,350	100%

See also[edit]

• Hinduism
• Sikhism
• Islam
• Buddhism
• Jainism

References[edit]

1. ^ Singh, Nagendra Kr; Khan, Abdul Mabud (2001). Encyclopaedia of the World Muslims: Tribes, Castes and Communities. Global Vision. ISBN 978-81-87746-09-6.
2. ^ Jump up to:^a b "SALIENT FEATURES OF FINAL RESULTS CENSUS-2017" (PDF). Retrieved 11 June 2021.
3. ^ Jump up to:^a b "Population by religion community – 2011". The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.
4. ^ Jump up to:^a b "Population by religion community - 2011". Census of India, 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015.
5. ^ Nayar, Kamala Elizabeth (2012). The Punjabis in British Columbia: Location, Labour, First Nations, and Multiculturalism. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. ISBN 978-0-7735-4070-5.
6. ^ Wheeler, James Talboys (1874). The History of India from the Earliest Ages: Hindu Buddhist Brahmanical revival. N. Trübner. p. 330. The Punjab, to say the least, was less Brahmanical. It was an ancient centre of the worship of Indra, who was always regarded as an enemy by the Bráhmans; and it was also a stronghold of Buddhism.
7. ^ Hunter, W. W. (2013-11-05). The Indian Empire: Its People, History and Products. Routledge. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-136-38301-4. In the settlements of the Punjab, Indra thus advanced to the first place among the Vedic divinities.
8. ^ Sullivan, Bruce M. (2001). The A to Z of Hinduism. Bruce M. Sullivan. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. p. 9. ISBN 0-8108-4070-7. OCLC 46732488.
9. ^ Michaels, Axel (2004). Hinduism. Past and present. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 38.
10. ^ Encyclopedia of religion. Lindsay Jones, Mircea Eliade, Charles J. Adams (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. 2005. pp. 9552–9553. ISBN 0-02-865733-0. OCLC 56057973.
11. ^ Samuel, Geoffrey (2010). The origins of yoga and tantra : Indic religions to the thirteenth century. Cambridge University Press. pp. 97–99, 113–118. ISBN 978-0-521-69534-3. OCLC 781947262.
12. ^ Flood, Gavin (13 July 1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-43878-0.
13. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f g h} Nayar, Kamala Elizabeth (2012). The Punjabis in British Columbia: Location, Labour, First Nations, and Multiculturalism. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-0-7735-4070-5.
14. ^ "In ancient Punjab, religion was fluid, not watertight, says Romila Thapar". The Indian Express. 2019-05-03. Thapar said Buddhism was very popular in Punjab during the Mauryan and post-Mauryan period. Bookended between Gandhara in Taxila on the one side where Buddhism was practised on a large scale and Mathura on another side where Buddhism, Jainism and Puranic religions were practised, this religion flourished in the state. But after the Gupta period, Buddhism began to decline.
15. ^ Rambo, Lewis R.; Farhadian, Charles E. (2014-03-06). The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion. Oxford University Press. pp. 489–491. ISBN 978-0-19-971354-7. First, Islam was introduced into the southern Punjab in the opening decades of the eighth century. By the sixteenth century, Muslims were the majority in the region and an elaborate network of mosques and mausoleums marked the landscape. Local converts constituted the majority of this Muslim community, and as far for the mechanisms of conversion, the sources of the period emphasize the recitation of the Islamic confession of faith (shahada), the performance of the circumsicion (indri vaddani), and the ingestion of cow-meat (bhas khana).
16. ^ Chhabra, G. S. (1968). Advanced History of the Punjab: Guru and post-Guru period upto Ranjit Singh. New Academic Publishing Company. p. 37.
17. ^ Rambo, Lewis R.; Farhadian, Charles E. (2014-03-06). The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion. Oxford University Press. p. 490. ISBN 978-0-19-971354-7. While Punjabi Hindu society was relatively well established, there was also a small but vibrant Jain community in the Punjab. Buddhist communities, however, had largely disappeared by the turn of the tenth century.
18. ^ Nicholls, Ruth J.; Riddell, Peter G. (2020-07-31). Insights into Sufism: Voices from the Heart. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5275-5748-2. With the Muslim conquest of Punjab there was a flow of Sufis and other preachers who came to spread Islam. Much of the advance of Islam was due to these preachers.
19. ^ Singh, Pritam (2008-02-19). Federalism, Nationalism and Development: India and the Punjab Economy. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-04946-2.
20. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f g} "Census of India 1911. Vol. 14, Punjab. Pt. 1, Report". Retrieved 21 July 2022.
21. ^ Krishan, Gopal (2004). "Demography of the Punjab (1849–1947)" (PDF). Journal of Punjab Studies. 11 (1): 77–89.
22. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai} "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1941 VOLUME VI PUNJAB PROVINCE". Retrieved 22 July 2022.
23. ^ Dyson 2018, pp. 188–189.

1. ^ Jump up to:^a b Estimates from combining 2011 Indian census and 2017 Pakistani census with religious data amalgamated from Punjab, India, Punjab, Pakistan, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Islamabad, Chandigarh
2. ^ Delhi district is made into a separate territory
3. ^ 1941 figure reached by combining total population of all districts (Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Gujrat, Shahpur, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Attock, Mianwali, Montgomery, Lyallpur, Jhang, Multan, Muzaffargargh, Dera Ghazi Khan), one tehsil (Shakargarh -- then part of Gurdaspur District), and one princely state (Bahawalpur) in Punjab Province, British India, as per 1941 census data. These districts, tehsil, and princely state would ultimately make up the subdivision of West Punjab Province, Pakistan (contemporarily known as Punjab Province, Pakistan), following the partition of India in 1947. The districts and princely state in 1941 that made up Punjab Province, Pakistan have since undergone various bifurcations at several points throughout the post-independence era, due to the rapid population growth witnessed across the province.
4. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad} Including Ad-Dharmis
5. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad} Including Jainism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Tribals, others, or not stated
6. ^ 1941 figure reached by combining total population of all districts (Hisar, Rohtak, Gurgaon, Karnal, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Firozpur, Amritsar, Simla, Kangra, Ambala, Hoshiarpur, and Gurdaspur(minus Shakargarh Tehsil), and princely states (Loharu, Dujana, Pataudi, Kapurthala, Malerkotla, Faridkot, Patiala, Jind, Nabha, Nahan, Simla Hill, Mandi, Suket, Chamba, and Kalsia) in Punjab Province, British India, as per 1941 census data. These districts and princely states would ultimately make up the subdivision of East Punjab, Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Chief Commissioner's Province of Himachal Pradesh, and Bilaspur State (contemporarily known as Punjab, India, Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh), immediately following the partition of India in 1947. The districts and princely states in 1941 that made up Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh in India have since undergone various bifurcations at several points throughout the post-independence era, due to the rapid population growth witnessed across the province.

Notes[edit]

1. ^ Michaels (2004, p. 38): "The legacy of the Vedic religion in Hinduism is generally overestimated. The influence of the mythology is indeed great, but the religious terminology changed considerably: all the key terms of Hinduism either do not exist in Vedic or have a completely different meaning. The religion of the Veda does not know the ethicised migration of the soul with retribution for acts (karma), the cyclical destruction of the world, or the idea of salvation during one's lifetime (jivanmukti; moksa; nirvana); the idea of the world as illusion (maya) must have gone against the grain of ancient India, and an omnipotent creator god emerges only in the late hymns of the rgveda. Nor did the Vedic religion know a caste system, the burning of widows, the ban on remarriage, images of gods and temples, Puja worship, Yoga, pilgrimages, vegetarianism, the holiness of cows, the doctrine of stages of life (asrama), or knew them only at their inception. Thus, it is justified to see a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions."
   Jamison, Stephanie; Witzel, Michael (1992). "Vedic Hinduism" (PDF). Harvard University. p. 3.: "... to call this period Vedic Hinduism is a contradictio in terminis since Vedic religion is very different from what we generally call Hindu religion – at least as much as Old Hebrew religion is from medieval and modern Christian religion. However, Vedic religion is treatable as a predecessor of Hinduism."
   See also Halbfass 1991, pp. 1–2

Bibliography[edit]

• Dyson, Tim (2018), A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-882905-8

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• History of Punjab