Abdali : a hero or villian for Pakistani punjabis?

[Sam_Bajwa]

I heard Taimur did a similar massacre of Muslim Jatts of Punjab, but he is too hailed as a hero in Pakistan.

Every invader did that brother but Abdali got fame since he massacred almost half of sikh population.

 

[Gohram]

Interesting story from that link:

''Thus it was that a combined Muslim Army of Afghans and Baluches marched into India to meet their
common foe in 1765. As always, Nasir Khan was in the forefront; but in this particular engagement, he
was more enthusiastic and reckless than ever, for if he fell on the battlefield, it would mean
Shahadat(martyrdom)-a Divine distinction which every true Muslim must live for.

And so it happened that while Mir Nasir Khan was piercing his way on his horse through the Sikh
ranks in a furious outburst near Lahore, he fell off his steed; and as he fell to the ground, the turban he
was wearing got loose. As a result, his long hair popped out from beneath his head-wear. One of the
Sikh combatants noticing the fall rushed out at him with the sword to secure what could have been his
'prize-kill'. But as fate would have it, another Sikh hastily halted his comrade's blow in the nick of time,
saying that the man(i e Nasir Khan) was a Khalsa(Sikh)!

The Sikh had naturally mistaken the turban-less Nasir Khan for a Sikh! For, his long hair and
unmistakably communal resemblance.

However, by the time the Sikhs became aware of their self-deception, Nasir Khan was once again on
his feet; and the other Baluch Swordsmen, too, charged and drove back the Sikhs, who eventually
suffered a crushing defeat and retreated in haste.

On returning to his camp after the encounter, Mir Nasir Khan immediately sent for a barber and got his
long hair and beard cropped short in strict accordance with requirements of Sharia(Islamic code of
conduct).

For a long time after this, he regretted to have missed the enviable attainment of martyrdom in the
cause of Islam on account his resemblance to a kafir(infidel) just because of his misleading long hair
and flowing beard.''

8 info

 

[Jamwal's]

The plunder and pillage mainly happend in india , the OP has done a lame attempt by asking the question from 'pakistani punjabis'

On the morning of Sunday, March 11, 1739, an order went forth from the Persian emperor for the slaughter of Delhi’s inhabitants. Chandni Chowk, the fruit market, the Dariba Bazaar and the buildings around the Jama Masjid were set afire and reduced to ashes. The inhabitants, one and all, were slaughtered. Here and there, some people offered resistance, but in most places were butchered unresistingly. The Persians laid violent hands on everything and everybody — cloth, jewels, dishes of gold and silver, were all acceptable spoil.

Delhi was looted, burned and dismantled stone by stone. The streets were strewn with corpses like dead leaves. The city was reduced to ashes and looked like a burnt plain. The following day, the pillage continued. The bodies that had accumulated in heaps lay unattended and plague broke out. When Nadir Shah sealed the doors to the granaries, famine broke out. The plundering continued for eight weeks and in the end, some 50,000 people lay dead. Finally, after numerous supplications by Mohammed Shah, the slaughter was halted and Nadir Shah’s army marched out of Delhi but not before loading itself with enough spoils to eliminate all taxes in Persia for the next three years.

Chandni Chowk, the fruit market, the Dariba Bazaar and the buildings around the Jama Masjid were and Still Muslim dominated areas even though Delhi is no longer a muslim city with 10% population.

 

[NP-complete]

Punjabis dont really care too much about the past because they dont have any unhealthy nationalistic obsessions. They look at the present and relish the fact that they are one of the more able races in the region. Because their land has traditionally been associated with spirituality and philosophy especially through sufi movement, punjabis have a deeper understanding of things. And dont buy superficial historical glory or militarism. There lives are serene and peaceful. They are a kind of people who would look down upon war-lords as those that were slave to their compulsions. Simply said punjabis are just wiser so they are unrushed and laid back.
This can be called the guiding principle of punjabis lives: