DISCOVER
ABOUT THE CATALOGUE
There are nearly 500 important manuscripts written in the Punjabi language in various UK public collections.
These manuscripts undoubtedly hold a great deal of interest for the UK’s Punjabi community. Their existence
pays tribute to the cultural remnants of Punjab’s pre-modern medicinal, theological, poetical and religious
literature, as well its highly developed scribal and artistic traditions. Many of these manuscripts had never
been suitably catalogued before, while the remaining others were catalogued in an incomplete fashion in the
nineteenth century. With some notable exceptions, such as the collection housed in the British Library,
this corpus of important manuscripts have suffered from a lack of access and readily available information,
as a result these manuscripts have hitherto remained largely unknown to the general public.
Over a million British people speak Punjabi as a first or second language making it the second
largest language community in the UK. As Punjabi is studied as a GCSE and A-level subject, and
with Degree programs becoming more established in the UK, the need to document the existence of
these source materials becomes increasingly necessary. The manuscripts are vital source materials
for students, academics and educators alike.
This catalogue will enable scholars, teachers, historians and the wider public to access
the manuscript records so that they can gain a deeper understanding of the physical nature of
the manuscripts and the texts they contain: their construction, history and cultural significance.
Having this information readily accessible contributes to the conservation of the manuscripts, since
they are available to the general public without having to be handled; furthermore, scholars with a
specific interest in the texts can access information at the click of a button.
THE PUNJABI LANGUAGE
The Punjab region, situated in the northern part of the Indian sub-continent and straddling modern day India and Pakistan is an area that has been defined and redefined by political borders over many centuries. The very name of the Punjab is derived from the five great rivers that cut through the fertile plain, nourishing the soil, defining its culture and generating both wealth and sustenance for the occupants and a source of avarice for a steady stream of conquerors and plunderers. Since pre-modern times, the borders of the Punjab have fluctuated wildly as a succession of conquerors and kings vied to maintain the Punjab for their own. Since 1947 alone, the region has been bifurcated (between Pakistan and India) and then divided again into three smaller states in India. Whilst the political boundaries of the area have varied wildly the one cultural facet that unites the region is the language. Today, the Punjabi language is the vernacular tongue across swathes of northern India, including parts of the states of Haryana, Himachel Pardesh as well as Punjab and Chandigarh. In Pakistan the Punjabi speakers in Punjab state and the union territory of Islamabad make the language the most widely spoken language in the country. As a testament to the pioneering and entrepreneurial culture of the Punjabi people the language is also to be found in countries all around the world where they have settled.
The Punjabi language has its deepest roots in the Vaidik and Sanskrit languages that were brought to the region by the Aryan invaders who are thought to have arrived between 1500-500 B.C. The language developed with influences of Pali, Prakrita, Apbrahmsha, Pehlevi, Hindi and Farsi (Persian). The language has also changed significantly with the introduction of vernacular Urdu and English.
Punjabi is generally written in two scripts, namely Shahmukhi and Gurmukhi. The former is a local variant of the Arabic script used to record the Punjabi language. Literally meaning 'from the king's mouth' the text is written from right to left, and from right page to left page. It is based on the Nasta‘līq style of the Persian script and has traditionally been used by the Punjabi Muslims of India and Pakistan. However, since the middle of the twentieth century it has mainly been used by those in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The Gurmukhi (lit. ‘from the Guru’s mouth’) script is used to write Punjabi in India. Gurmukhi originates from a set of letters that derive from the Brahmi alphabet which was formalized and further developed by the Sikh gurus; Guru Nanak and Guru Angad. The Gurmukhi script became the mode of writing and communication for the Sikh masses and had further been adapted to write other languages, such as Braj Bhasha, Khariboli, other Hindustani dialects, Sanskrit and Sindhi.