As can be seen in the map above (and in the one below), during Mughal times, the Punjab region was divided into three subahs. The Lahore Subah lay between the Indus and Sutlej rivers and included the present-day Jammu region, while the areas south of the Sutlej were part of the Delhi Subah. More intriguing are the boundaries of Multan, which appear to include northern Sindh and even some distant regions of Balochistan. I leave it to my readers to judge how authentic the map below actually is.
By the early nineteenth century, the British had become the supreme power, and Punjab was the last to fall to their expanding empire. The first war between the two powers was fought in the winter of 1845–1846, and the Sikhs were defeated after a series of bloody and hard-fought battles. According to the Treaty of Amritsar, signed after this defeat, Sarkar-i-Khalsa lost the territories between the Beas and Sutlej rivers. Jammu was separated from the Punjab state, and the Dogra rajas were recognized as the rulers of this state. The Kashmir valley was also sold to the Dogras. They further expanded their state and conquered Gilgit, Baltistan, and Leh in the 1840s.
In 1849, after the Second Anglo-Sikh War, Punjab was annexed to British India as a new province. Here it is pertinent to mention that some other Sikh states in the Malwa region succeeded in maintaining their independence by willingly coming under the protection of British India as the paramount power. A treaty was signed in 1809 between Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the British; under the terms of this agreement, the river Sutlej was agreed upon as the border between the two countries, thus barring Ranjit Singh from taking any action against these states. These states survived until 1947.
To decide the final border between India and Pakistan, a boundary commission was set up under a British barrister, Mr. Cyril John Radcliffe. He was given just five weeks to complete this extremely contentious and gigantic task. His decision was made public on 17 August 1947. The dividing line he suggested is called the Radcliffe Line and forms the border between India and Pakistan. It also divided Punjab into two parts.
After independence, both parts of Punjab in Pakistan and India underwent many administrative changes. The case of Pakistani Punjab was much simpler. The population, after the migration of Hindus and Sikhs, was overwhelmingly Muslim and linguistically homogeneous, with the vast majority speaking Punjabi or its various dialects. So, no major changes were required. However, Bahawalpur, the only princely state of Punjab that acceded to Pakistan, was merged with the Punjab province in 1955.
The situation in the Indian part of Punjab was more complex. Besides the districts, there were almost 33 princely states spread all over Punjab. These states were organized into two groups. The states in the Himalayan mountains were merged and given the name of Himachal Union Territory; these states were Hindi-speaking and ruled and inhabited mostly by Hindus. The states in the plains were merged together to form PEPSU (Patiala & East Punjab States Union). These states were mostly Punjabi-speaking, except for three small states near Delhi. These were eight in number: the four larger ones were ruled by Sikhs, and the four smaller ones were ruled by Muslim rulers.
Though almost all Muslims of the Indian part had migrated to the West in 1947, followers of two religions still inhabited this state: Sikhs and Hindus. Another issue causing resentment and unrest in the state was the question of the state’s official language. More than half of the state’s population was Hindi-speaking. Sikhs were particularly resentful, because even after 1947 they were a religious and linguistic minority in the new Punjab.
The Indian Constitution allowed the creation of new states or their reorganization on a linguistic basis. Indeed, in 1956, major internal changes were made, particularly in the southern and western areas of India, and new states were created based on the language spoken in a particular area. On the same principle, the Sikhs demanded a Punjabi Subah. However, for some reasons, the central government in Delhi delayed action on this issue. Hindus of Punjab, both Hindi- and Punjabi-speaking, were also not supportive of this idea.
But the Sikhs were not a people to be cowed down by pressure tactics. They agitated for almost two decades before their demands were finally accepted, and the Hindi-speaking areas were separated from Punjab. Two states, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, were formed out of these areas. Thus, the demands of the Sikhs were finally met, and they became a majority in Punjab for the first time in their history. Probably, the great contribution of the Sikhs in the war of 1965 finally convinced Indira Gandhi to accept their demands.
