APPENDIX
GHADAR
(REBELLION) OF 1915
Revolutionaries
belonging to the Amritsar District tried and convicted by Special Tribunals
I.
Persons tried in the First Lahore Conspirary case and sentenced to death along with
the forfeiture of property. Their death penalty was, however, commuted by the
Viceroy into life imprisonment :
|
No. |
Name |
Village |
|
1. |
Balwant Singh |
Sathiala |
|
2. |
Kala Singh |
Amritsar |
|
3. |
Kesar Singh |
Thathgarh |
|
4. |
Khushal Singh |
Paddari |
|
5. |
Sawan Singh |
Chabba |
|
6. |
Sohan Singh |
Bhakna |
|
7. |
Wasawa Singh |
Gilwali |
II.
Revolutionaries awarded life imprisonment and sent to the Nicobar and Andaman Islands.
Their assets were forfeited by the Government :
|
No. |
Name |
Village |
|
1. |
Bishan Singh |
Dadehar |
|
2. |
Bishan Singh |
Do |
|
3. |
Hazara Singh |
Do |
|
4. |
Sant Wasakha Singh |
Do |
|
5. |
Jwala Singh |
Thatian |
|
6. |
Kehar Singh |
Marhana |
|
7. |
Mangal Singh |
Lalpur |
|
8. |
Sher Singh |
Vainpoin |
|
9. |
Udham Singh |
Kasel |
III.
Persons who received varying terms of imprisonment :
1. Baaj
Singh Rayya 2 years’ rigorous imprisonment and
forfeiture of assets
IV.
Persons accused of the Second Lahore Conspirary Case Sentenced to
transportation for life along with forfeiture of property :
|
No. |
Name |
Village |
|
1. |
Bhag Singh |
Jaheer Sahib |
|
2. |
Bishan Singh |
Varpal |
|
3. |
Ganda Singh |
Khapaur Kheri |
|
4. |
Gujjar Singh |
Bhakna |
|
5. |
Hari Singh |
kakar |
|
6. |
Harnam Singh |
Rasulpur |
|
7. |
Jinder Singh |
Chaudhariwala |
|
8. |
Maharaj Singh |
Kasel |
|
9. |
Sucha Singh |
Chohla Kalan |
|
10. |
Sunder Singh |
Dulo Nangal |
|
11. |
Thakar Singh |
Thatian |
|
12. |
Wasakha Singh |
Dadehar |
V.
Persons sentenced to various terms of imprisonment in the Second Lahore
Conspiracy Case :
1. Jassa
Singh Jhar
Sahib 6 month’s rigorous imprisonment
VI.
Persons belonging to 23rd Cavalry, originally sentenced to death by
a military court, but their sentences commuted later into transportation for
life :
|
No. |
Name |
Village |
|
1. |
Bishan Singh |
Sathiala |
|
2. |
Bishan Singh No.2 |
Do |
|
3. |
Natha Singh |
Do |
|
4. |
Kehar Singh |
Do |
|
5. |
Chanan Singh |
Dhand Kasel |
|
6. |
Nand Singh |
Rai ka Burj |
VII.
Army men of the 23rd Cavalry court-martialled at Dagshai (near
Simla) and sentenced to death :
|
No. |
Name |
Village |
|
1. |
Bhag Singh |
Roorhiwala |
|
2. |
Mota Singh |
Do |
|
3. |
Dafedar Tara Singh |
Do |
|
4. |
Wadhawa Singh |
Do |
|
5. |
Inder Singh |
Jeohala |
|
6. |
Inder Singh |
Sahajpur |
|
7. |
Dafedar Lachhman Singh |
Chuslewar |
|
8. |
Boota Singh |
Kasel |
|
9. |
Gujjar Singh |
Lahoke |
|
10. |
Jetha Singh |
Do |
|
11. |
Budh Singh |
Dhotian |
CHAPTER III
|
(a) |
|
|
(b) |
|
|
(c) |
|
|
(d) |
|
|
(e) |
(i) Total Population
According to the 1961 Census, the total population
of the district was 1534916, comprising 827821 males and 707095 females. Out of
these, 1070892 were rural and 464024 urban.
Growth
of Population.-The population of the district increased from 893266 in 1881
to 1534916 in 1961. The increase is party because on the partition of the
country in 1947, 186 villages, including Patti, were transferred from the Kasur
Tahsil of the Lahore District (Pakistan) to the Amritsar District and formed
into the Patti Sub Tahsil which was later on raised to a tahsil and
sub-division.
The
following table gives the variation in population in the district during the
sixty years from 1901 to 1961 :
Year |
Persons |
Decade variation |
Percentage decade variation |
Males |
Females |
|
1901 |
1187140 |
. . |
. . |
649086 |
538054 |
|
1911 |
1021225 |
-165915 |
-13.98 |
573353 |
447872 |
|
1921 |
1077596 |
+56371 |
+5.52 |
600140 |
477456 |
|
1931 |
1295270 |
+217674 |
+20.20 |
718391 |
576879 |
|
1941 |
1621126 |
+325856 |
+25.16 |
880347 |
740779 |
|
1951 |
1367040 |
-254086 |
-15.67 |
742421 |
624619 |
|
1961 |
1534916 |
+167876 |
+12.28 |
827821 |
707095 |
(Census of India, 1961, District Census Handbook NO.13, Amritsar
District, p. 201)
During
the sixty years from 1901 to 1961, the population of the district increased by
29.3 per cent. The ten-year period (1901-11) was marked by severe epidemics of
plague and malaria which took a heavy toll of the population. During 1911-21,
there occurred the great influenza epidemic. The decades 1921-31 and 1931-41
were comparatively free from calamities and the population increased fast. The
decade 1941-51 experienced the holocaust of unprecedented communal trouble and
mass migration in the wake of the partition of 1947; the Muslim population of
the district migrated to Pakistan but most of the non-Muslim migrants from
Pakistan did not favour to settle in Amritsar because of its proximity to the
border. Consequently, the population of the district decreased by 15.67 per
cent despite 186 villages from the Kasur Tahsil of the Lahore District
(Pakistan) being transferred to the Amritsar District in 1947. The decennium
1951-61 was free from disease and the health measures taken by the Government
considerably reduced the death-rate, whereas the birth-rate remained unchanged.
The population of the district, thus, increased by 12.28 per cent.
Emigration
and Immigration.-Emigration and immigration of persons from one place/district/State/country
to another is a normal process. This is caused by various factors, e.g.,
economic, social and political.
Out
of 1534916 persons enumerated in the district during the 1961 Census, persons
born in the Punjab districts (as before the reorganization of the former Punjab
State in 1966) other than Amritsar numbered 101134 or 6.6 per cent of the
population. Among these, the percentage of females (7.8) was higher than that
of males (5.6).
The
Punjab-born persons formed 83.5 per cent of the district’s popultion. The
remaining 16.5 per cent hailed from areas shown below :
Place of birth |
Number |
Percentage to total population |
|
Other States of India |
37703 |
2.5 |
|
Pakistan |
208751 |
13.6 |
|
Other countries |
3911 |
0.3 |
|
Information not available |
1706 |
0.1 |
(Census of India, 1961, District Census
Handbook No.13, Amritsar District, pp.
35, 290-91)
Persons
born in other Indian States were mostly from Jammu & Kashmir (6668), Uttar Pradesh
(18188), Delhi (2461) and Himachal Pradesh (1110). Persons from Delhi were
enumerated mostly in the urban areas but from other States mostly in the rural
areas.
The
Pakistan-born persons, barring a few, were those who migrated in the wake of
the partition of the country in 1947. The persons reported to have been born in
countries other than Pakistan were mostly children of the Punjabis who in their
youth went abroad and had now come back or had sent their children home.
The
particulars regarding the persons who migrated from the district to other
places in the country or to foreign countries are not available.
Density
of Population.-The following table shows the density of population in the
district from 1881 to 1961:
Year |
Density
of population per sq. km. |
|
1881 |
219 |
|
1891 |
244 |
|
1901 |
236 |
|
1911 |
203 |
|
1921 |
214 |
|
1931 |
258 |
|
1941 |
322 |
|
1951 |
272 |
|
1961 |
302 |
(Census of India, 1951, Vol. VIII, Punjab, Pepsu,
Himachal Pradesh, Bilaspur and Delhi, Part I-A – Report, pp. 8-9, 26-27 ;
Census of India, 1961, Punjab District
Handbook No.13, Amritsar District, p.
30)
According
to the 1961 Census, the Punjab (reorganized)1 had on an average 221 persons to a square
kilometer, with the Jullundur District as the most thickly populated (353) and
Bhatinda as the most sparsely populated (153). The number of persons per square
kilometer in the Amritsar District was 302 and, in this respect, ranked 2nd
among then 11 districts2 of the State. The reasons for higher density in the Amritsar District
are not difficult to seek. With extensive irrigation facilities available
everywhere in the district, Amritsar is capable of supporting a heavy
population. The Amritsar Tahsil supported the maximum population (569 persons
per sq. km.), mainly because of the big city of Amritsar. In the Ajnala and
Patti tahsils, the density of population was 164 and 186 respectively. The main
factor contributing to fewer people in these tahsils is their nearness to the
Pakistan border.
1On the reorganization of the former Punjab
on November 1, 1966, the new (reorganized) Punjab State was left with only 11
districts, (viz. Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jullundur, Hoshiarpur, Ropar,
Ludhiana, Firozpur, Bhatinda, Sangrur and Patiala) out of a total of 19
districts before the reorganization
The
tahsil-wise distribution and density of population in the district, according
to the 1951 Census and 1961 Census, is given in the following table :
2With the formation of the new District of
Faridkot on August 7, 1972, the number of the districts in the Punjab State
rose from 11 to 12
Distribution
of population between the rural and urban areas in the Amritsar District, 1951
and 1961
District/Tahsil |
1951 Census |
1961 Census |
||||||
|
|
Persons |
Density of population per sq.
km. |
Males |
Females |
Persons |
Density of population per sq.
km. |
Males |
Females |
Total District
|
1367040 |
272 |
742421 |
624619 |
1534916 |
302 |
827821 |
707095 |
Rural
|
958333 |
|
512198 |
446335 |
1070892 |
|
570444 |
500448 |
Urban
|
408507 |
|
230223 |
178284 |
464024 |
|
257377 |
206647 |
Ajnala Tahsil
|
156197 |
144 |
83762 |
72435 |
178334 |
164 |
95447 |
82887 |
Rural
|
153151 |
|
82152 |
70999 |
175181 |
|
93806 |
81375 |
Urban
|
3046 |
|
1610 |
1436 |
3153 |
|
1641 |
1512 |
Amritsar Tahsil
|
687273 |
487 |
378087 |
309186 |
803219 |
569 |
437713 |
365506 |
Rural
|
326028 |
|
173276 |
152752 |
386284 |
|
205274 |
181010 |
Urban
|
361245 |
|
204811 |
156434 |
416935 |
|
232439 |
184496 |
Tarn Taran
Tahsil
|
281265 |
229 |
150477 |
130788 |
353872 |
234 |
187527 |
16345 |
Rural
|
264921 |
|
141651 |
123270 |
332911 |
|
176546 |
156365 |
Urban
|
16344 |
|
8826 |
7518 |
20961 |
|
10981 |
9980 |
Patti Tahsil
|
242305 |
178 |
130095 |
112210 |
199491 |
186 |
107134 |
92357 |
Rural
|
214433 |
|
115119 |
99314 |
176516 |
|
94818 |
81698 |
Urban
|
27872 |
|
14976 |
12896 |
22975 |
|
12316 |
10659 |
(Census
of India, 1951, District Census Handbook, Vol. 12, Amritsar District, p. xiii;
Census of
India, 1951, Vol VIII, Pt. I-A-Report, pp. 26-27 ; and
Census of
India, 1961, District Census Handbook No.13, Amritsar District, p. 197)
Sex
Ratio.-According to the 1961 Census, out of the total population of 1534916
of the district, 827821 were males and 707095 were females, i.e. a ratio of
53.9 : 46.1
In
the Punjab (reorganized), there were 854 females per 1000 males, and this was
the lowest figure for females among the States in India : the corresponding
figure for the Indian Union was 941 females per 1000 males. Curiously, there is
a belt stretching from the west to the east comprising the Amritsar,
Kapurthala, Jullundur and Hoshiarpur districts where the sex ratio is
conspicuously higher than that of the State average, and the number of women
per thousand men increases gradually from the west to the east. According to
the 1961 Census, it was 854, 886, 872 and 903 for Amritsar, Kapurthala,
Jullundur and Hoshiarpur Districts respectively.
During
the fifty years from 1911 to 1961, there has been an overall improvement in
favour of women as the following figures show :
Year |
Females per thousand males in
the Amritsar District |
1911
|
781 |
1921
|
796 |
1931
|
803 |
1941
|
841 |
1951
|
841 |
1961
|
854 |
Among
the four tahsils, Tarn Taran leads with 887 females per 1000 males, followed by
Ajnala (868), Patti (862) and Amritsar (835). The sex ratio for the rural areas
of the district works out to 877 : 1000 and for the urban areas 803 : 1000, the
corresponding figures in 1951 were 870 and 775 respectively.
Age
Composition.-In the following table, the population of the district,
according to the 1961 Census, is distributed into various age-groups. With a
view to comprehending the comparative strength of these groups, the totals have
uniformly been taken as 1000 :
Distribution of
1000 persons of each sex by age-groups, according to the 1961 Census, in the
Amritsar District
Age-Group |
Total Population |
Rural |
Urban |
||||
|
Persons |
Males |
Females |
Males |
Females |
Males |
Females |
|
All ages
|
1000 |
1000 |
1000 |
1000 |
1000 |
1000 |
1000 |
0-9
|
305.51 |
300.86 |
310.96 |
317.57 |
316.15 |
263.81 |
298.41 |
10-14
|
122.63 |
122.60 |
122.67 |
128.15 |
123.40 |
110.27 |
120.88 |
15-19
|
93.21 |
93.33 |
93.07 |
90.95 |
90.32 |
98.61 |
99.73 |
20-24
|
81.49 |
79.50 |
83.83 |
69.37 |
77.60 |
101.96 |
98.90 |
25-29
|
73.10 |
71.05 |
75.51 |
64.09 |
71.89 |
86.48 |
84.29 |
30-34
|
60.27 |
59.23 |
61.48 |
53.24 |
59.18 |
72.51 |
67.06 |
35-39
|
48.24 |
47.47 |
49.14 |
42.20 |
48.37 |
59.15 |
51.00 |
40-44
|
46.27 |
47.11 |
45.28 |
44.61 |
45.35 |
52.67 |
45.11 |
45-49
|
36.06 |
35.55 |
36.65 |
33.82 |
37.69 |
39.38 |
34.14 |
50-54
|
38.25 |
41.34 |
34.62 |
42.42 |
35.27 |
38.96 |
33.05 |
55-59
|
20.49 |
20.71 |
20.24 |
21.06 |
21.60 |
19.94 |
16.93 |
60-64
|
29.67 |
32.94 |
25.84 |
36.43 |
27.68 |
25.19 |
21.39 |
65-69
|
12.72 |
13.94 |
11.28 |
15.53 |
12.18 |
10.42 |
9.13 |
70+
|
31.85 |
34.13 |
29.19 |
40.38 |
33.09 |
20.27 |
19.72 |
Age not stared
|
0.24 |
0.24 |
0.24 |
0.18 |
0.23 |
0.38 |
0.26 |
(Census of India, 1961, Punjab District Census Handbook No.13, Amritsar
District, p. 32)
Too
much reliance cannot be placed on the inferences that may be drawn from the
figures given in the above table, since a district is a small geographical area
and the inflow and outflow of the population as a disturbing factor cannot be
ignored. With this reservation, some broad inferences, as drawn, are given
below :
The
age pyramid for the district has a broad base and tapers rather obliquely-306
persons per thousand of the population are below the age of ten and only 95 persons
are of the age of 55 years and above. Roughly speaking, four out of every ten
persons were below the age of 15, 5 in the age-group 15 years to below 55, and
only one past the age of 55.
The
age span of the females is lower than that of the males. The males below the
age of 15 years are 423 per 1000 males ; the corresponding figure for the
females in 434. In ages between 15 and below 55 years, the males count 475 per
1000 males, but the women are 480. In ages 55 years and above, the males are
102 and females are only 86. The girls in the rural areas unfortunately still
do not receive the same care as the boys, and after marriage, they have the
extra handicap of maternity troubles and stress of domestic life.
It
is a common observation that a large number of persons shift from villages to
towns for education and livelihood. The low-paid among them leave their
families in their village homes and live in the towns by themselves. When past
the age of useful work, some among them return to their villages. The effect of
this type of movement is reflected in the statistics of rural and urban age
composition. For age-groups below 15, 15 to below 55 and 55 and above, the
distribution among the males in the rural areas is 446, 441 and 113 and in the
urban areas, 374, 550 and 76. The corresponding figures for the females in the
rural areas are 440, 446 and 94, and for the urban areas, they are 420, 513 and
67.
Marital
Status.-In the following table, persons in different age-groups in the
district, according to the 1961 Census, are further classified according to
their marital status. To comprehend the significance of these figures, one
thousand males and one thousand females, for the district as a whole and for
the rural and urban areas, are distributed according to marital status :
1000 males and
females, according to the 1961 Census in the Amritsar District, classified
according to marital status
|
Marital status |
Total |
Rural |
Urban |
|||
|
Males |
Females |
Males |
Females |
Males |
Females |
|
|
All ages |
1000 |
1000 |
1000 |
1000 |
1000 |
1000 |
|
Never married |
584.46 |
510.29 |
590.19 |
506.75 |
571.75 |
518.87 |
|
Married |
369.34 |
423.57 |
360.29 |
429.71 |
389.39 |
408.70 |
|
Widowed |
44.01 |
64.62 |
48.22 |
62.64 |
34.69 |
69.42 |
|
Divorced or separated |
1.00 |
0.73 |
1.04 |
0.75 |
0.93 |
0.66 |
|
Unspecified status |
1.19 |
0.79 |
0.26 |
0.15 |
3.24 |
2.35 |
(Census of India, 1961, Punjab District
Census Handbook No.13, Amritsar District, p. 33)
It
will be noticed that, in the district as a whole, some 58 per cent of the males
and 51 per cent of the females were unmarried. A higher proportion of the
unmarried males was due to the shortage of females, and this aspect has been
studied earlier. Correspondingly, there was a higher proportion of the married
among the females than among the males.
The
proportion of the married males was higher in towns than in villages, but the
proportion of the married females was higher in the rural areas than in the urban
areas.
Marriage
in India is universal and there is always an explanation for an old bachelor or
spinster. Out of the unmarried males and females numbering 483827 and 360824
respectivlely in the district in the rural areas, there were only 31 bachelors per
thousand males past the age of 34 years, and 5 spinsters per thousand females
past the age of 25 years. The corresponding figures for the urban areas were 23
and 15.
(ii)
Distribution of population between the Rural and the Urban Areas
The
following table shows the distribution of population between the rural and the
urban areas in the district in 1931, 1941, 1951 and 1961 :
Distribution of
the population between the rural and urban areas in the Amritsar District in
1931, 1941, 1951 and 1961
District |
|
Persons |
Males |
Females |
Rural/Urban |
||||
|
|
1931 Census |
|
|
|
Total District
|
|
1117120 |
621040 |
496080 |
Rural
|
821008 |
444658 |
376350 |
|
Urban
|
296112 |
176382 |
119730 |
|
|
|
1941 Census |
|
|
|
Total District
|
|
1413876 |
776782 |
637094 |
Rural
|
966727 |
517529 |
449198 |
|
Urban
|
447149 |
259253 |
187896 |
|
|
|
1951 Census |
|
|
|
Total District
|
|
1367040 |
742421 |
624619 |
Rural
|
958533 |
512198 |
446335 |
|
Urban
|
408507 |
230223 |
178284 |
|
|
|
1961 Census |
|
|
|
Total District
|
|
1534916 |
827821 |
707095 |
Rural
|
1070892 |
570444 |
500448 |
|
Urban
|
464024 |
257377 |
206647 |
(Census of
India, 1931, 1941, 1951 and 1961)
The total population of the district rose from 11.17 lakhs in 1931 to 14.14 lakhs in 1941. Thereafter, it fell to 13.67 lakhs in 1951 but again rose to 15.35 lakhs in 1961. The decrease in the population of the district, during the decade 1941-50, was caused by a highe remigration of Muslims from the area to Pakistan than that of the non-Muslims from Pakistan. They settled in the district on the partition of the country in 1947.
In the same way, the rural population of the district rose from 8.21 lakhs in 1931 to 9.67 lakhs in 1941. It fell to 9.59 lakhs in 1951, but again rose to 10.71 lakhs in 1961. The urban population also rose from 2.96 lakhs in 1931 to 4.47 lakhs in 1941. It fell to 4.09 lakhs in 1951 but again rose to 4.64 lakhs in 1961.
(iii) Displaced Persons
On the partition of the country in 1947, there was an unprecedented migration of Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan to India and of Muslims from India to Pakistan. Thus, a huge number of Muslims from the Amritsar District migrated to Pakistan and settled in places from which the Hindu and Sikh refugees migrated to the district. The detailed particulars about the refugees and their rehabilitation in the district have been discussed in the section on ‘Rehabilitation’ of this chapter.
The table given in Appendix on pages 126-27 shows the details of the refugee population by the district of origin in Pakistan settled in the Amritsar District.
Punjabi is the predominantly spoken language in the district, followed by Hindi, Nepali, Kashmir, Urdu, etc. as borne out by the following figures relating to the mother-tongue given in the 1961 Census :
Mother-tongue
|
Number |
Per 1000 |
Punjabi
|
1174505 |
765.19 |
Hindi
|
351921 |
229.28 |
Nepali
|
2318 |
1.51 |
Kashmiri
|
1571 |
1.02 |
Urdu
|
1435 |
0.94 |
Others
|
3166 |
2.06 |
(Census of India, 1961, District Census Handbook No.13, Amritsar District, pp. 286-87)
Under the Punjab Official Language Act, 1967,3 Punjabi in the Gurmukhi script was introduced as the official language of the State on April 13, 1968. The Act provides that Punjabi shall be used for such official purposes of the State and from such dates as may be specified by notifications to be issued from time to time. For official work at the district level and below, Punjabi has replaced English in almost all matters, except accounts, technical matters, etc.
For the promotion of Hindi, the Government holds seminars, Kavi Sammelans (poetic symposia), etc., from time to time.
The Amritsar District forms the heart of Majha. If a Majha Jat is asked to define Majha in the district, he will demarcate the areas from Atari to Govindwal, wherefrom the old Badshahi road passed. According to the above assumption, Tarn Taran would be the central Majha, whereas the Ajnala and Amritsar tahsils could not be said to be part of majha. Broadly speaking, the entire district, alongwith the Gurdaspur District, is described as Majha. The areas of the Patti Subdivision, transferred from the Lahore District to the Amritsar District in 1947, have also been included in Majha.
The language spoken in the district is the Majhi dialect of the Punjabi language. This dialect has been adopted as the standard Punjabi for general purposes. The basis of grammar has, however, not been adopted from the Majhi dialect. This is not because this dialect did not come up to the required standard. It was rather because of the inadequacy of the first Punjab dictionary and the Punjabi grammar prepared and printed at Ludhiana (Malwa) by the Christian Missionaries. The first translation of the Bible in Punjabi was also published by the missionaries at Ludhiana. The forms of grammar were, consequently, adopted on the basis of the Malwai dialect. Those were accepted by the Punjabi writers, regardless of its being written on the basis of the Malwai dialect. Another potent factor for the Majhi dialect being adopted as the standard Punjabi was that this dialect was spoken by the people residing in the central Punjab. Moreover, this dialect was well understood by the people of the Punjab as a whole, even though some persons felt some difficulty in speaking it.
There are certain words in the Majhi dialect which sometimes enable us to recognize whether the man belongs to the Bist Doab or the Rachna Doab.
There are certain points of difference from the Ludhiana standard that can be noticed in Majha.
The cerebral 1 is never sounded in Amritsar. The ordinary dental 1 is always substituted for it. Thus, naal not nal. The letter a is often doubled. Thus, tuhadda, your; wadda for wada, great ; duradda for durada, far. On the other hand, letter which are doubled in the standard dialect of Ludhiana are often not doubled in Amritsar. Thus, uth-ke for utth-ke, having risen ; vich not vichch, in, but vichcho, from in; lagia, joined, but lagga, began; labh-pia, not labbh-pia, got ; aparia, for apparia, arrived.
3The Act of 1967 repealed
the Punjab Official Languages Act, 1960
Nasalization is frequent. Thus apna dhan, his own wealth; aundi-hai, she is coming ; bharna chahunda-si, he was wishing to fill ; jawanga, I will go ; chummia, it was kissed ; manaie, let us celebrate. Some of these nasalized forms are relics of the old neuter gender.
In the declension of nouns, the
intial v of the post-position vich is often elided, and the remainder of
the post-position is attached to the main words as a termination, as in gharich
for ghar-vich, in the house. The post-position of the agent case is nai
or nai.
The initial v in Majhi is sometimes substituted for d used in the standard Punjabi. For instance, vekhna instead of dekhna, to see.
Moreover, false genders are caused by attraction, in phrases, like ihdi hathi, on his own hand, hathi is used in the singular.
In the pronouns, the nasal of asi,
we, and tusi, you, is omitted, so that we have asi and tusi.
Other forms not shown in the grammar are mainai, by me; saada, our
; tainai, by thee ; tuhadda, your. Tu, thou, often has its
oblique singular tudh. The oblique plural of the pronoun of the third
person is una not uhna.
In the verb substantive, we have hai and han, both meaning ‘we are’ and ‘they are’. The present participle of the finite verbs often ends in na instead of da. Thus, marnaha, ‘I am striking’.
Irregular forms noted are deu, givt thou ; deh, give ; jah, go ; jawanga, I will go ; aunda or anda, is coming ; kuna, to say, or kunda nahen, does not speak. This irregular form of verb kuna is spoken only in the Tarn Taran Tahsil.
The people belonging to the lower strata of society pronounce sh instead of chh. For instance shittar for chhittar. When in easy mood, intending to give an expression of enjoyment, they say anand bajha oya, enjoyment is there. The word gu or gun is used instead of ga used in the standard Punjabi. For instance, men le lawun gu, I shall take, instead of men le lawun ga. A jat of Majha is popularly called Bhaoo (brother).
The peculiar abbreviation of jhai for bhat jai is prevalent. The word also undergoes change in its meaning. The word is used for one’s mother and not for one’ sister-in-law.
The persons belonging to the Khem Karan area still use certain Persian or Urdu words. This is so because that area before the partition was a part of the Kasur Tahsil of the Lahore District (Pakistan) and was very near the Kasur town, mostly inhabited by Muhammadans.
After the partition, the Hindus and Sikhs of Pakistan migrated to India and a good number of them settled in the district. They speak Majhi, Pothohari and Lehnda dialects. They have some definite impact on the Majhi dialect in Amritsar but not in the entire district. The children of the migrants speak Majhi fluently. They also speak their original dialect with their parents and in families originally belonging to the areas from where their parents migrated. The word, bhapa, so often spoken by the persons belonging to the Rawalpindi side, has been adopted by others in Amritsar. The Majhi spoken in the Tarn Taran Tahsil, however, stands affected to the least extent.
Some common English words, e.g. permit, ration, station and allot are commonly used by rural people. The literate persons so often use so many English words. They use English words when they are unable to find their equivalent in Majhi or in the standard Punjabi or just to show their literacy.
In
one important point, these specimens do not illustrate the dialect of Majha.
This is the occasional use of personal terminations with the past tense of
verbs. This is proberly a characteristic of the outer circle of languages and
does not belong to Punjabi, as illustrated in books of grammar. On the other
hand, it regularly appears in Lehnda, and, as explained in the introduction to
this section, there is a Lehnda basis at the bottom of Punjabi, which is almost
concealed by the language of the inner group that has established itself in the
central and eastern Punjab. As one goes westwards from the old Saraswati, the
Lehnda basis becomes more and more pronounced and, hence, we occasionally find
these terminations in Majhi. In Majhi, they are only found in the third person
of the transitive verbs, and are, for the singular, us os or osu and,
for the plural, one. Thus, instead of the regular us akhia (he said),
we frequently hear akhios and instead of unhe (or una) akhia (they
said), we frequently hear akhios and instead of unhe (or una)
akhia (they said), akhione. So dittos (he gave); kahios (he
said); kitosu (he did); manneosu (he heeded); dittone (they
gave) kitone (they did), etc.