How would you like the details of 2000 years of Punjabi and Sikh history at your fingertips? Today, UKPHA launches www.punjabhistory.org - a new Punjab History timeline resource on the internet.
Punjab, with its well-irrigated, fertile soil, a vast flat agricultural canvas in the plains, and a favourable climate, was the setting for some of humanity's earliest and most successful social, spiritual and agricultural experiments.
A rich source of man's most basic commodities led to the rapid development of an agrarian community and eventually into a highly developed market economy. Coupled with the avaricious nature of human life, the Punjab inevitably developed into a source of conflict and conquest.
When Alexander the Great burst through the Himalayan ranges and into the Punjab in 326 B.C., he was an early proponent of what became an established tradition of conquerors and marauders who entered from foreign lands to variously plunder, conquer, ravage, and then leave. The continuity, viciousness, and inevitability of these incursions made a profound impression on the indigenous people of this unique area, informing virtually every aspect of life in the Punjab. The consequence is a land of continual conquest, migration, and settlement and a people congruent with these hard facts of life.
This website uncovers some of the events and remarkable people that have defined the region of the Punjab.
By Amandeep Madra
www.punjabheritage.org