HISTORICIZING PUNJABI HEROES: FOLKLORE, RESISTANCE AND ANTI-COLONIAL MEMORY IN COLONIAL PUNJAB

Abstract

Historical accounts of colonial Punjab have been pieced together from British records, military correspondence and administrative reports, and the voices of the colonisers have been privileged over the local experiences and indigenous voices. In Punjabi folklore, alternative historical narratives celebrate the fight of the region's heroes against political domination, the struggle for communal autonomy, and the spirit of courage, justice and sacrifice. Folklore helps historicize Punjabi heroes and preserve anti-colonial resistance during British rule in Punjab (1849–1947). The study critically evaluates oral traditions, folk ballads (vars), legends, qissas and collective memory alongside colonial archival sources using historical analysis, folklore studies, memory studies and postcolonial historiography. The paper shows how oral traditions have preserved resistance narratives that colonial historiography often omitted by studying Rai Ahmad Khan Kharral, Dulla Bhatti and other Punjabi heroes. Folklore reveals social values, political aspirations and collective memories that shaped Punjabi anti-colonial consciousness, according to the study.