People’s history of the Punjab: Caste oppression,

That's the same tradition in Punjab and elsewhere. Many people take their surname from their pir faqir.

Like any region in the world, if you try to find differences between people, you will find many examples to support your thesis.

And if you want to be positive, and try to find similarities among people, again you will find many examples.

So it really depends on your approach wether it is positive or not.