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Punjabization (Punjabi: پنجابیکرݨ (Shahmukhi), ਪੰਜਾਬੀਕਰਨ (Gurmukhi); Pañjābīkaraṇ), is a process of cultural or linguistic change in which someone or something non-Punjabi becomes acculturated to Punjabi influence. Punjabis are the largest ethnic group in Pakistan and one of the major ethnic groups in northern India.[1]
Most of the time in history, this process was not forced and happened on its own as non-Punjabi tribes settled in Punjab. One example is the Punjabization of the Pashtun tribes that settled in Hazara. These tribes gradually adopted local culture and shifted from Pashto to Hindko, a variety of the Punjabi language.[2][3][4]
This process also occurred with the Baloch settlers and their descendants, predominantly in southern Punjab, as they gradually assimilated into the Punjabi culture and adopted the Punjabi language.[5][6]
The earliest forms of modern Shalwar kameez originated in Punjab, after the advent of Islam, and were adopted by various othher people groups throughout South and Central Asia. Today, Shalwar kameez is the national dress of Pakistan. It has also become common amongst Indian Muslims, Afghans and Bangladeshis.[7][8][9]
Members of a variety of ethnic groups speak the language called Hindko. A large number of Hindko speakers in Hazara Division (Mansehra and Abbottabad Districts) are Pashtoons. Some of those speak Hindko as a second language; many others speak it as their mother tongue. These include the Tahir Kheli Pashtoons, who claim to have migrated to Hazara Division from Afghanistan during the eighteenth century. Many other mother- tongue speakers of Hindko are Swati Pathans, who are said to have formerly spoken Pashto while living in the lower Swat valley. After migrating across the Indus River into Hazara Division, which Ahmed dates around A.D. 1515, the Swatis adopted the Hindko language. There are also Pashtoons belonging to three other groups, the Yusufzai, the Jadun and the Tarin, who have replaced Pashto with Hindko. Many speakers of Hindko belong to groups other than the Pashtoons: Some of these are Saiyids, said to have come to the area in the early centuries of Islamic history, many of whom live in the Peshawar area. Large numbers of Hindko speakers are Avans, particularly in Attock District and Hazara Division. Still others belong to groups of Moughals, Bulghadris, Turks and Qureshis. In Jammun significant numbers of Gujars have adopted Hindko as their first language.
The shalwar kamiz was worn traditionally by Muslim women and gradually adopted by many Hindu women following the Muslim conquest of northern India. Eventually, it became the regional style for parts of northern India, as in Punjab where it has been worn for centuries.
The salwar kameez entered India (when Pakistan, Bangladesh, and current-day India together made up India or the British Raj) as early as 12th century through Mughal (Muslim) invasions from Central and West Asia. India and Pakistan have a strong Persian influence. Until before India's independence from the British, it is Muslim women (and men) in the then British Raj (the term used to refer to India before independence) who primarily wore the salwar kameez, although there were gender and regional variations in style. After Pakistan/Indian independence from the British, the salwar kameez became an everyday clothing item especially for North Indian women (including Sikh women, although Sikhs are not Muslims) and Pakistani women because the influence of Muslim culture was the strongest in Pakistan and North India around the time of independence.
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