Editing Punjab (section)

==== British Punjab (c. 1849–1947 CE) ====
{{see also|Punjab Province (British India)}}
[[File:Maharaj Ranjit Singh.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Illustration of [[Ranjit Singh]], founder of the [[Sikh Empire]]]]
The Sikh Empire ruled the Punjab until the British annexed it in 1849 following the [[First Anglo-Sikh War|First]] and [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grewal |first1=J. S. |series=The New Cambridge History of India |title=The Sikhs of the Punjab |date=1998 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=0-521-63764-3 |pages=126–128 |edition=Revised |chapter=The Sikh empire (1799–1849) - Chapter 6}}</ref> Most of the Punjabi homeland formed a province of British India, though a number of small [[princely state]]s retained local rulers who recognized British authority.<ref name=":9" /> The Punjab with its rich farmlands became one of the most important colonial assets.<ref name=":9" /> Lahore was a noted center of learning and culture, and [[Rawalpindi]] became an important military installation.<ref name=":9" /> Most Punjabis supported the British during [[World War I]], providing men and resources to the war effort even though the Punjab remained a source of anti colonial activities.<ref name="hibb 1980" />{{rp|163}} Disturbances in the region increased as the war continued.<ref name=":9" /> At the end of the war, high casualty rates, heavy taxation, inflation, and a widespread influenza epidemic disrupted Punjabi society.<ref name=":9" /> In 1919, Colonel [[Reginald Dyer]] ordered troops under command to fire on a crowd of demonstrators, mostly Sikhs in [[Amritsar]]. The [[Jallianwala Bagh massacre|Jallianwala massacre]] fueled the [[Indian independence movement]].<ref name=":9" /> Nationalists declared the independence of India from Lahore in 1930 but were quickly suppressed.<ref name=":9" /> When the Second World War broke out, nationalism in British India had already divided into religious movements.<ref name=":9" /> Many Sikhs and other minorities supported the Hindus, who promised a secular multicultural and multireligious society, and Muslim leaders in Lahore passed a resolution to work for a Muslim Pakistan, making the Punjab region a center of growing conflict between Indian and Pakistani nationalists.<ref name=":9" /> At the end of the war, the British granted separate independence to India and Pakistan, setting off massive communal violence as Muslims fled to Pakistan and Hindu and Sikh Punjabis fled east to India.<ref name=":9" />

The [[British Raj]] had major political, cultural, philosophical, and literary consequences in the Punjab, including the establishment of a new system of education. During the [[Indian independence movement|independence movement]], many Punjabis played a significant role, including [[Madan Lal Dhingra]], [[Sukhdev Thapar]], [[Sardar Ajit Singh|Ajit Singh Sandhu]], [[Bhagat Singh]], [[Udham Singh]], [[Kartar Singh Sarabha]], [[Bhai Parmanand]], [[Choudhry Rahmat Ali]], and [[Lala Lajpat Rai]]. At the time of partition in 1947, the province was split into East and West Punjab. [[East Punjab]] (48%) became part of India, while [[West Punjab]] (52%) became part of Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pakgeotagging.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/partition-of-punjab-in-1947.html |title=Pakistan Geotagging: Partition of Punjab in 1947 |access-date=11 February 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208221714/http://pakgeotagging.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/partition-of-punjab-in-1947.html |archive-date=8 February 2016|date=3 October 2014 }}. Daily Times (10 May 2012). Retrieved 12 July 2013.</ref> The Punjab bore the brunt of the [[Civil disorder|civil unrest]] following [[Partition of India|partition]], with casualties estimated to be in the millions.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Talbot|first1=Ian|title=Partition of India: The Human Dimension|journal=Cultural and Social History|year=2009|volume=6|issue=4|pages=403–410|quote=The number of casualties remains a matter of dispute, with figures being claimed that range from 200,000 to 2 million victims.|doi=10.2752/147800409X466254|s2cid=147110854 | issn=1478-0038 }}</ref><ref name="dcosta2011">{{Cite book|title=Nationbuilding, Gender and War Crimes in South Asia|last=D'Costa|first=Bina|publisher=Routledge|year=2011|isbn=978-0415565660|page=53}}</ref><ref name="Silence2000">{{Cite book|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/b/butalia-silence.html|title=The Other Side of Silence: Voices From the Partition of India|last=Butalia|first=Urvashi|publisher=Duke University Press|year=2000|access-date=1 September 2021|archive-date=25 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325043612/https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/b/butalia-silence.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Muslims in India Since 1947: Islamic Perspectives on Inter-Faith Relations|last=Sikand|first=Yoginder|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|isbn=978-1134378258|page=5}}</ref>

Another major consequence of partition was the sudden shift towards religious homogeneity occurred in all districts across Punjab owing to the new international border that cut through the province. This rapid demographic shift was primarily due to wide scale migration but also caused by large-scale [[Religious persecution#Religious cleansing|religious cleansing]] riots which were witnessed across the region at the time. According to historical demographer [[Tim Dyson]], in the eastern regions of Punjab that ultimately became [[Punjab, India|Indian Punjab]] following independence, districts that were 66% Hindu in 1941 became 80% Hindu in 1951; those that were 20% Sikh became 50% Sikh in 1951. Conversely, in the western regions of Punjab that ultimately became [[Punjab, Pakistan|Pakistani Punjab]], all districts became almost exclusively Muslim by 1951.{{sfn|Dyson|2018|pp=188–189}}