Punjabi Cosmopolis: Interrogating Literary Historiography in Punjabi

Abstract

The South Asian region is a vibrant space of intellectual exchange, and over the years, several debates have surfaced on questions connected to history and historical consciousness. Any kind of historical consciousness in the region, how- ever, was initially treated as a colonial product, wherein the pre-colonial past was perceived to be an inert ‘ahistorical’ vacuum. In the last few decades, this al- leged ahistoricity has been questioned in historiography. This research addresses the various perspectives offered on historical consciousness within the context of Punjabi literary tradition. Essentially pivoted on Sheldon Pollock’s concept of ‘literary cultures in his- tory’, this investigation delves into the layers of literary historical consciousness in Punjabi to situate it within the wider historical tradition of the Indian sub- continent and South Asian realm of intellectual inquiry. Primarily, it undertakes a historiographical assessment of the literary historical tradition in Punjabi and offers insight into Punjabi scholars’ engagement with their literary past. The research investigates early literary historical consciousness in Punjab in select texts of the pre-colonial past before examining the rise of literary histories under colonial modernity. It probes into questions that dictate the processes of evaluation, canonization, and value-judgement in the context of Punjabi literary tradition in addition to addressing the range of perspectives on various facets connected to the origin of Punjabi literature, its periodization, canon, and the intricate mesh of religious and literary sensibilities, among other themes. This analysis yields a conceptualisation of Punjabi identity or ‘Punjabiyat’ which is rooted in the principle of heterogeneity and extends to a pre-colonial cultural formation that recognises the participation of multiple socio-cultural groups. This research also charts the evolution and import of literary periodicals within Punjabi literary tradition through publications like ਪ੍ਰ ੀਤਲੜੀ (Preetlari), ਪੰ ਜ ਦਿਰਆ (Panj Darya), ਜਨ ਸਾਿਹਤ (Jan Sahit), ਸਾਿਹਤ ਸਮਾਚਾਰ (Sahit Samachar), ਨਾਗਮਣੀ (Nagmani), and ਪ੍ਰ ਵਚਨ (Pravachan) among others. Drawing on the recent scholarship on readership and the public sphere in the realm of South Asian literary periodicals, this research explores how Punjabi liter- ary periodicals emerged as fine textual sites which facilitated a prompt exchangeof ideas and information. In addition to collecting and compiling information on over 200 Punjabi literary periodicals, it also features interviews with the editors of some of the literary periodicals that are published today and documents their views on Punjabi readership, the changing literary trends, their experiences as editors and their participation in Punjabi print tradition.