Which historical period can be said best for Punjab?
Best in the sense when people who lived during that period were comparatively well off and lead peaceful life.
Best in the sense when arts and architects were flourished.
Best period which produced rich literature, folklore and poetry.
Or any reasons (related to a particular period of time) which you think made it best at that point of time and positively contributed for future development.
Re: The best period for Punjab
Punjab has remained comparatively wealthy due to agriculture in the past. Personally I like the gandhara period, but then we can argue that it was mostly confined in northern Punjab. Some might consider Sikh period to be the best as Punjab expanded to even include Kabul in the fold. The Punjab that we know today as a relatively new concept, I don’t think that it has been peaceful as it has always seen some invader ravaging it.
For some others Shahbaz Ka Punjab would be the best period. 
Re: The best period for Punjab
Thats why did not invite DB in this thread to make it another thread full of promotional pics.
BTW, I asked this question from a Punjabi colleague in office and guess what was his reply. Benazir’s period in 1990s. Lols.
Re: The best period for Punjab
Thats why did not invite DB in this thread to make it another thread full of promotional pics.
BTW, I asked this question from a Punjabi colleague in office and guess what was his reply. Benazir's period in 1990s. Lols.
that would make it Nawaz sharif's tenure as CM?
Re: The best period for Punjab
yes technically correct.
I think Sikh period was not best for Muslim population. Though different versions of history portray Ranjit Singh as a religiously tolerant person and even quote his marriage with a Muslim lady, but inter-religion marriages became norm for the ruler of time starting from Akbar (a separate thread coming on this). Ranjit Singh not only used Mosques as stable, he also destroyed many Mughal buildings in Punjab. Did he provide better life to his subjects is the question to be answered, how much his period can be termed as best for Punjab.
Re: The best period for Punjab
yes technically correct.
I think Sikh period was not best for Muslim population. Though different versions of history portray Ranjit Singh as a religiously tolerant person and even quote his marriage with a Muslim lady, but inter-religion marriages became norm for the ruler of time starting from Akbar (a separate thread coming on this). Ranjit Singh not only used Mosques as stable, he also destroyed many Mughal buildings in Punjab. Did he provide better life to his subjects is the question to be answered, how much his period can be termed as best for Punjab.
Like you mentioned in your post Muslims do not acknowledge his period as golden. Shah Waliullah called upon Abdali to rescue the Muslims from Sikhs.
Re: The best period for Punjab
Post-partition green revolution period in Indian Punjab
Re: The best period for Punjab
Post-partition green revolution period in Indian Punjab
What about Punjab during British Raj? incidents like Jalianwala Bagh massacre are highlighted, but didn't Punjab developed a lot during British Raj including introduction of barrages, etc which ultimately contributed to green revolution. Or I'm making some mistake, as I read some where that in Indian Punjab, migrants who were cultivating their lands in Pakistan Punjab on river water, had to irrigate their lands using wells.
Re: The best period for Punjab
Golden era of Punjab was jab Anjuman aur Sultan Rahi kee movies buntee theen
Re: The best period for Punjab
Golden era of Punjab was jab Anjuman aur Sultan Rahi kee movies buntee theen
Nice answer. End of Golden era of Punjabi movies.
Re: The best period for Punjab
What about Punjab during British Raj? incidents like Jalianwala Bagh massacre are highlighted, but didn't Punjab developed a lot during British Raj including introduction of barrages, etc which ultimately contributed to green revolution. Or I'm making some mistake, as I read some where that in Indian Punjab, migrants who were cultivating their lands in Pakistan Punjab on river water, had to irrigate their lands using wells.
Peace gives prosperity and it was peace after partition that settled things in Punjab's favour.
Political stability helped in getting so. In pre-partition Punjab, Muslim and Hindu-Sikhs were not in very good terms which requires prosperity to flourish. Post green revolution, Indian Punjab is probably has highest per capita GDP in the entire sub-continenet
Re: The best period for Punjab
Thats a tall claim, Sikh had occupied some fronteir districts of plain areas but ventured into hills let alone reaching Kabul. And their hold over frontier districts was poor and ridden with insurgency. Afghan-Sikh Wars
Sikh period was worst for Punjabi musalman. Mughal period of first six rulers was relatively peaceful and popular among Punjabi muslaman
Re: The best period for Punjab
The answer would be different if you ask different people. Other than that I don’t think Punjab has ever been peaceful, there have been so many invasions that it’s difficult to even keep count. Pakistani punjabis by and large do not look favourably towards the Sikh invasion too.
Re: The best period for Punjab
Punjab had been peaceful in a sense that despite number of invasions, it had very little history of local rebellion and uprisings. The invaders when became settlers largely coexisted with the locals peacefully. The absorbed some of the local traditions and customs, and the locals inherited some of their influences. That's the reason in Punjab, we don't have this fascination with ethnic purity and resentment against the non-indigenous influences as Punjab’s ethnic makeup and culture is a rich fusion of so many different precepts.
If we judge the best period for Punjab by looking at its contemporary standing, then I would say the Mughal Period and the British Raj were the best periods. Under Mughal era, Punjab became the centre of culture and commerce, and it still has a strong legacy in today’s Punjab. On the other hand, the British Raj played an instrumental role in diluting the feudal system in by creating an administrative set up, and creating a professional and geographically mobile group by introducing military services. That ultimately led to rise in literacy and employment rates, and created an independent socio-economic class not confined by rural feudalistic tenets, and having a true freedom of movement. This still holds true for modern Punjab.
Re: The best period for Punjab
Its wrong claim to say that Khalsa empire could have reached Kabul. The empire had difficulty in maintaining Peshawar let alone Kabul. In plains French trained Khalsa army was invincible. Ranjeet singh probably knew that Pashtoons can only be kept away from his empire but can never submit to his authority, british learnt in the hard way.
Mughal empire wasn’t very benevolent on Sikhs, Sikh-Mughal had very difficult history and was one the reason of Sikhs helping british to defeat Mughals in Delhi.
Intellectually, British Empire was good for hindu-sikhs, it brought education and revolutionary zeal, scientist like Hargobind Khurana and present Narinder Singh Kapany are result of British education.