My senior year I was fortunate enough to be able to be involved in undergraduate research. As a student in Comparative History of Ideas I had the freedom to follow my own passion and interests. Following that path, I found myself in Punjab circa 1925. The Forgotten Archive is a project that attempted to highlight the lived experiences of Punjabis at the turn of the 20th century. The British Raj was slowly losing it's hold on the sub-continent, and whispers of independence were in the air. Religious groups were becoming more influential and amassing larger followings. Communities of both educated elites, and average Punjabis were becoming more politically active.
My project was part historical archive work and part creative writing. I taught myself how to read the Gurmukhi script so I could read old Punjabi vernaculars like the Khalsa Akbar, and the works of Kahn Singh Nabha in Hum Hindu Nahin. From my research I attempted to build a picture of what the lives of average Punjabis looked like, the ones who did not have access to printing presses and education to help document their lives and share their experiences. The link below will take you to an early draft of my manuscript to give you a better idea of the work I was able to do. Please note: this is not intended for citation or referencing it is primarily a piece of storytelling that is meant to be enjoyed.