Punjab Now A Land Of Bihari 'sardars'

[2desi]

Punjab now a land of Bihari 'Sardars'

LUDHIANA: The tenth and final Sikh teacher, Guru Gobind Singh, who was born in Bihar's capital Patna nearly 300 years ago, would have approved of this sociologial trend in contemporary Punjab.

The old advisory to people to adapt to the culture of the places they go to, 'When in Rome, do as Romans do', has been assimilated with gusto by the migrant population of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, in the "land of five rivers".

Indeed, with 'kara' around his wrist, long flowing beard, turban, and 'Singh' suffixed to his name, the 'bhaiyya' from the heartland has transformed into 'paaji' in Punjab.

In a study by Punjab Agricultural University's Department of Economics and Sociology — with a sample size of 240 migrants (120 local labourers and 120 farmers) — a whopping 81% of migrants reported a change in the language they speak, the food they eat and the clothes they wear. Pegged at more than 10 lakh in a city of about 50 lakh people, there is one migrant from UP or Bihar for every five Punjabi.

The study, carried out by Dr M S Sidhu, Dr A S Joshi and Inderpreet Kaur, employed something called a multi-stage sampling framework wherein samples were taken from districts, blocks and villages. It also zeroed in on local labourers and farmers for cross-references.

Interestingly, in similar studies in 1978-79 and 1983-84, 33% and 40% of migrant labourers had reported a noticeable change in their language. In the last survey, however, the change in language went up to 76%. Also, 84% of respondents reported a change of preference from the traditional favourite rice to wheat. Similarly, 88% had switched from dhoti to pyjama-kameez. Some went for the more comfortable 'lungi' even as the women folk made the sartorial switch from sari to salwar-kameez.

Like Ranjit Kumar, who calls himself Ranjit Singh these days, nearly 11% of people from Bihar and UP use Punjabi surnames. The 25-year-old, who came from Bihar to Sainian Bahurian village in Gurdaspur district to work in the farm of Mann Singh, is as much Punjabi as anybody around him.

Sukhram, too, is no exception. He came to Sunam in Sangrur from Purnea in Bihar, some 15 years ago to work for Mohinderpal Singh Dhindsa.

Now, with a beard and kara on his wrist, he is indistinguishable from the people around him in this nondescript town.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Punjab_...how/2583135.cms

[dalsingh101]

Great news. But lets hope these people avoid our worst habits like killing female foetus and hardcore alcoholism....balle balle

[SaRpAnCh]

2Desi nice Signature pic make one about Khalistan as well,Biharis what can I say have invaded Panjab,they smoke ,do all the non gurmat things but then try to blend in,I for one do not support this ,the common Panjabi is loosing out to Biharis,thats the reason Dal Khalsa ,KAC did Panjab Jagao March to wake people up to this dangerous situation

[dalsingh101]

2Desi nice Signature pic make one about Khalistan as well,Biharis what can I say have invaded Panjab,they smoke ,do all the non gurmat things but then try to blend in,I for one do not support this ,the common Panjabi is loosing out to Biharis,thats the reason Dal Khalsa ,KAC did Panjab Jagao March to wake people up to this dangerous situation

That sounds like exactly what the BNP say about people like us coming to this country....

"They change the culture"

"They have invaded us"

"They take all the jobs"

The only thing Dal Khalsa need to do is find ways of integrating them into Punjabi society. Seeing as zamindars sons are now mostly druggies or too spoilt and lazy to work their land themselves, we need this labour. The same way England benefited economically from foreign like Punjabis in the past and Polish people now.

[Sikh Nation]

^ Exactly. Well Said brother. If the Biharis stopped coming to Punjab, the economy of Punjab would collapse faster than anyone could say the word hello. Also, they are converting to Sikhism, and following the traditions of Sikhism, much better than people who are born into the religion and take it for granted.

[SaRpAnCh]

They bring Hindu influence along with their 'culture',we can't get our religion sorted out and you lot worry about the economy ,Khalistan is the only solution,forget negotiations with Govts about Economy and development,maro goli

[OhTwadi]

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[B4ND4]

Umm.. its all good that they are changing but when sikhs change after coming to the west, why do we get upset???

[dalsingh101]

They bring Hindu influence along with their 'culture',we can't get our religion sorted out and you lot worry about the economy ,Khalistan is the only solution,forget negotiations with Govts about Economy and development,maro goli

Wake up! Plenty of traditional Punjabi "Sikhs" bring Hindu influences to Sikhism. The amount of times I have gone to "SIkh" houses and seen pictures of Kali, Hanuman, Shiv (the blue guy), Ganesh (elephant headed one) is countless.

[Azaad]

They bring Hindu influence along with their 'culture',we can't get our religion sorted out and you lot worry about the economy ,Khalistan is the only solution,forget negotiations with Govts about Economy and development,maro goli

Wake up! Plenty of traditional Punjabi "Sikhs" bring Hindu influences to Sikhism. The amount of times I have gone to "SIkh" houses and seen pictures of Kali, Hanuman, Shiv (the blue guy), Ganesh (elephant headed one) is countless.

very true...in punjab, nearly every sikh house has pictures of mata sheran wali or rama and sita next to their pics of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj..not to mention the pics of the Radhaswami Guru