Bhai Vir Singh was the child of an age in ferment. The extinction of Sikh sovereignty in the Punjab, the decline in the fortunes of Sikh aristocracy, the gradual emergence of an urban middle class, the dissipation of the “national intellectual life” of the Punjab owing to the neglect and decay of any indigenous education of the local people aroused among the Sikhs a concern for the survival of Sikhi, any political destiny and a concern for redefining the boundaries of their faith. Further challenges arose in the concern over modernization, of proselytization from Christian, Muslim and Hindu movements and even from agnostic cults such as Brahmo Samaj. Parallel to the developments foreboding gradual appropriation of Sikhism by the Hindu social order emerged a powerful end towards Braj classicism in the Sikh literary and schlolarly tradition.

Through Bhai Vir Singh’s writings he brought awareness of the glory of the Guru’s and the Khalsa to the Sikh masses. His writings in Punjabi are famous all over India. From his pen came the best novels of the Punjabi language. He wrote historical and philosophical essays, he was the force behind the cultural renaissance in the Punjab at the turn of the century. He was conferred the degree of Doctor of Oriental learning Honoris Causa in 1949 by Punjab University. He was honoured with the Sahitya Academy Award in 1955 and the Padam Bhushan in1956 for his contributions of Punjabi literature. Bhai Vir Singh was the force behind the Singh Sabha movements literary output which was so important in awakening the Sikh masses. His earlier written novels like Sundari, Vijay Singh, Santwant Kaur and Baba Naudh Singh have to the viewed with reference to the social and political conditions of the end of the nineteenth century. Their central theme was heroism and chivalry of the Sikhs and the ethical excellence of the religion. The novels brought out the pristine glory of the Khalsa in contrast to the servility of the Hindu masses and the oppression of the Pathan and Mughal rulers.

Bhai Vir Singh then turned his attention to explaining the Sikh scriptures in his weekly paper, the Khalsa Samachar. He also wrote poems which gave him a most honoured place among Punjabi poets. Thereafter he wrote biographies of the Sikh Guru’s: Kalgidhar Chamatkar, the life of Guru Gobind Singh Ji and Guru Nanak Chamatkar, the life of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Bhai Vir Singh Ji was dedicated to the cause of reform, he propagated the cause of education by building schools and colleges and was a founder director of the Punjab and Sind Bank, which greatly helped in uplifting the Sikh economy.

No sooner was the Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Grallth completed than Bhai Vir Singh launched on an even more arduous task. This was a detailed commentary on the Guru Granth Sahib. In a way, exegesis had been his lifelong occupation. Early in his career he had annotated selections from the Holy Book published in 1906 under the title Panj Granth Saiik, and, as he himself declared, all of his writing was an exposition of the Sikh Scripture. He devoted himself unsparingly to the commentary, but it remained unfinished. A lifetime of unrelieved hard work and the weight of advancing years at last began to tell. In early 1957 signs of fatigue and weakness appeared. He was taken ill with a fever and died in his home in Amritsar on 10 June 1957. The portion of the commentary- nearly one half of the Holy Book- he had completed was published posthumously in seven large volumes.

Bhai Vir Singh
Events at a glance

1872 - Bhai Vir Singh S/o Dr. Charan Singh and Mata Uttam Kaur, Born on 5th December at Katra Garbha Singh, Amritsar.

1891 - Passed Matriculation Examination getting District Board’s Gold Medal.

1892 - Led Singh Sabha Movement. Established Wazir-i-Hind Press at Amritsar. Founded Khalsa College, Amritsar.

1894 - Founded Khalsa Tract Society

1899 - Started the Khalsa Samachar, Punjabi Weekly

1902 - Organized Chief Khalsa Diwan.Reorganized the Management of the Khalsa College, Amrisar.

1904 - Started the Central Sikh Orphanage at Amritsar

1908 - Organized The Sikh Educational Committee. Established the Punjab & Sind Bank Ltd.

1909 - Helped in getting the Anand Marriage Act passed

1912 - Established Vidhva Ashram at Amritsar

1915 - Established Khalsa Hospital at Tarn Taran.

1920 - Initiated the movement for the uplift of the so called untouchables.

1935 - Started the Blind Asylum at Amritsar.

1936 - Helped in the foundation of Gurdwara at Hemkunt Sahib.

1943 - Founded free Homeopathic Hospital at Amritsar.

1949 - Conferment of the Degree of Doctor or Oriental Learning Honoris Causa by University of the East Punjab.

1953 - Nominated as the Member of the first Punjab Legislative Council after Independence. Presented Sahitya Akademy Award for his book “Mere Saiyan Jeo”

1954 - Presented Abhinandan Granth at the Sikh Educational Conference in Bombay. Nominated to the National Academy of Letters

1956 - Awared Padma Bhushan by the Govt. of India.

1957 - Passed away on 10th June at 60, Lawrence Road (Renamed Bhai Vir Singh Marg) Amritsar.

NASA's Viking 1 spacecraft was circling the planet, snapping photos of possible landing sites for its sister ship Viking 2, when it spotted the shadowy likeness of a human face. An enormous head nearly two miles from end to end seemed to be staring back at the cameras from a region of the Red Planet called Cydonia.

It was Giordano Bruno of Italy who first claimed in 1572 that there were millions of other planets that have life on them. In our own times  scientist Chris Chyba has stated that there is a great possibility of life on Europa.

The belief about life  in space rests on the argument that if conditions are right for life to exist on our earth, there may be other such planets in the universe with similar conditions.

Many  people  in  various  countries  have  reported unidentified flying objects (UFOs) with alarmingly unpredictable regularity. Some  people  even  claim  face-to-face  rapport  with aliens. Crop circles have  mysteriously  appeared  overnight at many places in the world especially in Britain and Canada. Scientists dismiss such claims as mistaken observations  or dreams.

An alien craft is reported to have crashed at Roswell in New Mexico (4 July, 1947) and it is reported that post-mortem was performed on its occupants. The state Government is silent about it. Fossilized microbial worm-like life was detected in 1989 in a 4.5 billion-year-old rock from Mars known as ALH 84009

The Sikh View

The  Sikh  Gurus  have  not  directly  mentioned  anything about the certainty of life on other planets but there are references, which can only be construed as having relevance  to  life on other planets. For example, we hear that there are only 8,400,000 forms of  life  on  earth  and also Sikhism  tells us that the  limit  of  God’s creation  is  beyond  human comprehension.  The  Guru  says,  “O Lord, You have embellished the creation with beauty creating the beings  of  various  kinds, you infused your power into  them. No one knows your limits.”  (AGGS  1094)

The Guru ji also states

“God  has  established  his  stocks  and  stores  in many worlds. He has  replenished  them once  and  for  all  so  that  the  supplies never run out.” (AGGS. 7 )

“I  see none  as great  a giver  as you. O Great  Giver;  You  give  in  charity  to  the  beings  of  all  the continents,  worlds,  solar  systems,  nether  regions  and universes.” (AGGS. 549 )

Regarding these other worlds he says, “Having created the creation, He watches over it. By His glance of Grace, He bestows happiness. There  are  planets,  solar  systems  and galaxies.  If  one speaks of  them,  there  is no  limit, no end. There are worlds upon worlds  of  His  Creation.  As  He  commands,  so  they  exist.  He watches over all, and contemplating  the creation, He  rejoices. O Nanak, to describe this is as hard as steel.” (AGGS. 8 )

Obviously  Sikh Gurus believed  that  there was  life on other planets,  otherwise  the  above  lines  of  the  Guru  would  have  no meaning and he would not have said, “Many solar systems, many galaxies.  Many  forms,  colours  and  celestial  realms. Many gardens,  many  fruits  and  roots.  He  Himself  is  mind,  and  He Himself  is  matter.  Many  ages,  days  and  nights.  Many apocalypses, many creations. Many beings are  in His home. The Lord is perfectly pervading all places.” (AGGS. 1236 )

There are copious references to life on other planets in the hagiographic literature of Sikhism (Janam Sakhis).

Sir James Jeans writes, “There are millions of stars in the sky each similar to our sun, and each doubtlessly surrounded, like our sun, by a family of planets on which life may be kept in being by  the  light and heat received from  its sun (Sir James Jeans Our mysterious Universe P. 8 )

Scientists  are  waiting  for  the  time  when  they  receive  a definite  signal  from  the outer  space  to prove  that we are not  the only inheritors of this Universe.

Gurmukhi

The word ‘Gurmukhi’ literally means from the mouth of the Guru. Gurmukhi has some similarities to older Indian scripts of the times, but it’s thirty five characters and vowel modifiers were standardized by Guru Angad Dev Ji. Rather than use the Hindu scripts such as Sanskrit, Guru Angad Dev chose to make a new script the standard for the Sikhs. Sanskrit was only restricted to the priestly Hindu class, but the Gurus did not believe in this elitism. Guru Angad Dev spent his lifetime teaching the Gurmukhi script to the common people of Punjab. Gurmukhi is not only used by Sikhs but by Hindus as well as Muslims living in Punjab to represet their common spoken language, Punjabi.

The whole of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji’s 1430 pages are written in this script. The name Gurmukhi is derived from the Old Punjabi term “guramukhī”, meaning “from the mouth of the Guru”. Sikhs are expected to make an effort at learning the Gurmukhi script and teaching it to their children in order to read the Guru Granth Sahib in its original written form.

Gurmukhi has 35 letters as well as nine vowel modifiers. In addition there are five special sound modifiers symbols. A vertical bar is used to indicate the end of a sentences. Two vertical bars indicate a longer pause between sentences or paragraphs. The first three characters of gurmukhi alphabet are unique because they form the basis for vowels and are not consonants. Except for Aira, the first three characters are never used on their own.

Notable features of the Gurmukhi alphabet:

1. This is an abugida in which all consonants have an inherent vowel. Diacritics, which can appear above, below, before or after the consonant they belong to, are used to change the inherent vowel.
2. When they appear at the beginning of a syllable, vowels are written as independent letters.
3. When certain consonants occur together, special conjunct symbols are used which combine the essential parts of each letter.
4. Punjabi is a tonal language with three tones. These are indicated in writing using the voiced aspirates consonants (gh, dh, bh, etc) and the intervocal h.

Punjabi

Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region both in Pakistan and India as well as in their Diasporas. Punjabi is spoken by approximately 88 million native speakers, making it the 11th most widely spoken language in the world. Punjabi is a significant language for the Sikhs and Punjabi speaking population is one of the greatest of the Indian subcontinent and, indeed, the world. The majority of Punjabi speakers live in Pakistan, but the language has gained no official status in Pakistan at all. In comparison to Urdu, it is not much used as a written language. Punjabi is the official language of the Indian state of Punjab and the shared state capital Chandigarh. It is one of the official languages of Delhi and the second language of Haryana. Punjabi is the provincial language of Punjab (Pakistan), the largest province of Pakistan. Punjabi is also spoken as a minority language in several other countries where Punjabis have emigrated in large numbers, such as the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom (where it is the second most commonly used language) and Canada, where in recent times Punjabi has grown fast and has now become the fourth most spoken language.

History

A successor of Sauraseni Prakrit, the chief language of medieval northern India, Punjabi emerged as an independent language in the 11th century from the Sauraseni Apabhramsa. Many ancient Sufi mystics and later Guru Nanak Dev ji, the first Guru of the Sikhism started the literary tradition in Punjabi. The early Punjabi literature has had a very rich oral tradition and was principally spiritual in nature. Muslim Sufi, Sikh and Hindu writers composed many works in Punjabi between 1600 and 1850. Baba Bulleh Shah was the most famous Punjabi Sufi poet who put Saraiki language Culture into the Punjabi Language

Major Punjabi dialects

Majhi
It spans the Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Narowal, Gujrat and some parts of Jhelum in Pakistani Punjab and Amritsar District and Gurdaspur District of the Indian State of Punjab.

Jhangochi or Rachnavi
It is the oldest dialect of the Punjabi which is spoken throughout the area, starting from Khanewal and Jhang at both ends of Ravi and Chenab to Gujranwala district. It then goes down to Bahawalnagar and Chishtian araes, on the banks of river Sutlej.

Shahpuri
This dialect is spoken in Pakistani Punjab. This language has been spoken by the people of District Sargodha including Dera Chanpeer Shah, Khushab, Jhang, Mianwali, Attock, parts of Faisalabad (formerly Lyallpur), parts of Dera Ismail Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalnagar, Chakwal, Mianwali, Sargodha, Khushab and Mandi Bahauddin districts.

Pothowari
This dialect is spoken in north Pakistani Punjab. The area extends in the north from Muzaffarabad to as far south as Jhelum, Gujar Khan, Chakwal and Rawalpindi.

Hindko
This dialect is spoken in north-west Pakistani Punjab and NWFP. This dialect is mainly spoken in districts of Peshawar, Attock, Nowshehra, Mansehra, Balakot, Abbotabad and Murree and the lower half of Neelum District and Muzafarabad.

Malwi
This is spoken in the eastern part of Indian Punjab. Main areas are Ludhiana, Ambala, Bathinda, Ganganagar, Malerkotla, Fazilka, Ferozepur. It also includes the Punjabi speaking northern areas of Haryana like Ambala, Hissar, Sirsa, Kurukshetra etc.

Doabi
Doabi spoken in Indian Punjab between the rivers of Beas and Sutlej. It includes Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur districts.

Pwadhi
Kharar, Kurali, Ropar, Nurpurbedi, Morinda, Pail, Rajpura and Samrala are the areas where the Pwadhi language is spoken.

Freedom is the birth right of every living person. It is a boon and an eternal blessing. Slavery or subjugation on the other hand is a stigma, shame and curse. Every living creature on this planet wants to enjoy the spirit of freedom. And every spirited Quam with living soul wants to break its fetters to attain freedom. Even a gold cage cannot lure a person with conscience to slavery.

Slavery has two dimensions – overt and covert. It is the physical slavery first and then there is slavery of the soul. History is a witness to those who, even after being shackled physically had their soul and spirit free. Epics and stories of resistance of such heroes became hallmarks of willpower and courage for the coming generations. Those who dared walk on this path shaped the future of their Quam.

On 14 August, 1947 the Union Jack that was ruling over India was split into two – a green coloured flag with crescent and a star, and the tricolour flag with Ashoka chakkra in the middle. Pakistan was thus born out of India. Although firanghees decided to leave India/Pakistan on the same day but thanks to the superstitious beliefs of the Indian leaders that they agreed to be occupied for a day longer because 14th was not regarded as an auspicious day. However, Pakistan got freedom on 14th August, and India a day after on 15th August, 1947.

Freedom came to India not because of the spinning wheel or as a fluke. It was dawned on India because of the innumerable sacrifices of the ‘Ghadharites‘, ‘Indian National Army’, the ‘Akalis’, ‘Babbar Akalis’, other revolutionaries and the stubborn resistance throughout India that inflamed the passion for freedom. In addition to this, World War-II and the trembling situation in England expedited the departure of the British from India.

It is a historical fact that during the freedom struggle there were three major political parties in India that were involved in negotiations with the British government. These were recognized as representatives of the three major nationalities living in the Indian peninsula. These were ‘Hindu Congress’, ‘Muslim League’ and the ‘Akali Dal’ representing Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs respectively. During the parleys, Congress and its godfather, Mahatma Gandhi, on many occasions, had asserted their opposition to the division of India on communal grounds, which according to them was akin dissecting the ‘Mother India’. Mahatma Gandhi had vowed not to accept the ‘two nation theory’ put forward by the Muslim League under any circumstances. On the other side the Muslim League had made its stand amply clear that they could no longer co-exist with the Hindus. They asked for partitioning the country into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan.

Then came the royal betrayal. Completely ignoring the Sikhs, Congress accepted the ‘two nation theory’ of Muslim League and presented Raja-Gandhi formula, thus accepting the demand of creation of Pakistan. Under this formula India was being divided in such a manner that the Pakistan boundary would touch Karnal. This division of India was splitting Sikhs into two parts. Half of them would come under the rule of Muslim Pakistan, and the remaining half under its arch enemy Hindu India. This death dealing situation meant the greatest ever danger to the Sikhs in their history.

Sikh leadership at that time was blessed by Rider of the Blue Horse with the wisdom and far-sightedness. Under the stewardship of Master Tara Singh, Akali Dal rejected this Congress-League conspiracy and made it clear that if India was to be divided purely on communal basis then the Sikhs, who are the legitimate heirs of Punjab, would demand their share in Punjab and asked for its division too. Hindus and Muslims asked for the division of India and a response to this was the division of Punjab by the Sikhs.

The present map of India is thus the gift from Sikhs to the free India. This demand was not only the biggest blow to the Congress’ dream to broke a deal on their own terms, but also to the Muslim League who wanted to bring the whole of Punjab and Bengal under their renewed notion of ‘Mughal Raj’.

Meanwhile realizing that now the division of Punjab was inevitable, both the Congress and Muslim League lured the Sikhs to stay in India and Pakistan respectively. But it was because of the determination of Master Tara Singh and his historic gesture outside Lahore Assembly, where he lifted the Sri Sahib and shouted ‘Pakistan Murdabad’, ‘death to Pakistan’, which devastated the obnoxious plans of Congress and Muslim League.

Then the Machiavellian propaganda was set into motion that Master Tara Singh had torn the Pakistan flag hoisted on the Lahore fort and also that the British were actually promising the Sikhs an independent homeland but the Sikh leadership of that time was lured by the Hindus to turn it down. Then injustice, discrimination, breach of promises, and atrocities committed upon Sikhs in independent India fueled this myth. The motive of this was clearly to create a wedge between the Sikhs and their genuine panthic leadership.

The contributions of Akali Dal under the great leadership of Master Tara Singh are unparallel in contemporary history. It is a shame that the contribution of the Sikhs and its leadership towards freedom struggle have been completely ignored by India and its people. As Indians celebrate their independence day every year, Sikhs can only hope that their unparallel sacrifices will finally get their respectable place in the hearts and minds of those who are now enjoying the essence of freedom.

1. Boiled alive in a pot
2. Being made to sit on hot iron plates
3. Having the skin ripped off
4. Being cut, piece by piece
5. Being scalped
6. Beheading
7. Being broken on the wheel

These methods were used from 1716 until 1763. There are so many amazing episodes in Sikh history. There are those days when Sikhs fought hundreds of thousands in batches of five and ten. The 22nd of December 1704 is a witness to this.

Those days also came when Sikhs were killed in the thousands. The 5th of February, 1762 is one such day when 30 000 Sikhs were killed. We remember that day as the “Vada Ghalughara.”

Nadar Shah, in 1739 hit the Mughal power in Delhi so hard that it would never stand again. In Punjab, three powers were fighting for supremacy: The Mughals were trying to maintain their slipping power; the Afghans wanted to annex Punjab to Kabul; and the Sikhs were fighting to ensure that Punjab never fell to any foreign power. With Nadar Shah’s attack, the struggle became all the more intense.

After Nadar Shah returned to Afghanistan, a new period of oppression came for the Sikhs. But just as the Sikhs were oppressed, they continued to grow in strength. Special armies were created with the sole purpose of hunting Sikhs. There were prices on the heads of Sikhs and the rates would change like a commodity. At one point the rate went as high as Rs. 80. But the government did not know that just as a rose bush prospers when it is trimmed, the Sikhs grow when faced with adversity.

After the Chhota Ghalughara or “Smaller Genocide” in which 10 000 Sikhs were killed, the world saw that on Vaisakhi Day, 1748, the Singhs did a Gurmatta that they would fight every invading force with all their strength. They declared that Punjab was theirs and they were the Sardars of the land.

This was the scene when Abdali was about to invade and news reached the Sikhs.

Ahmed Shah Abdali was associated with the Sadzai area. The people of that area were called “Abd-Ali” which soon became “Abdali”.

The Afghans tried to revolt against Nadar Shah but they were defeated and severely punished. He imprisoned many Afghans. Amongst the prisoners were two brothers: Zulfikar and Ahmed. Zulfikar was killed in a fight with the Galzais but Ahmed was able to win Nadar Shah’s confidence with his intelligence. Nadar Shah told his desires openly: “I have not found a more capable person than Ahmed Abdali in Iran, Turaan or Hind. No one’s character matches his.”

Nadar Shah was murdered in June 1747 by conspirators and the Afghans unanimously made Abdali their leader and gave him the title “Durrani Emperor.” Abdali began to repeatedly invade Punjab.

From 1748 to 1761, Abdali attacked Hindustan via Punjab five times. The fifth invasion was only to fight the Marhatthas. The Marhattas were in total control over Delhi and thinking of taking Punjab. In the Third Battle of Panipat, Abdali badly defeated them. On January 13, 1761 after his victory, Abdali began his return and in March as he moved through the Punjab, the Sikhs took their share of his booty and pursued him all the way to the Attock River (in the Northwestern Frontier).

Now in the Punjab, only two powers remained: the Afghans and the Sikhs. Because Abdali had returned to Kabul, the Sikh were in effect the rulers of Punjab. Abdali’s designated governors, Khawaja Mirza Khan, Aabad Khan, Sadat Khan and Sadak Khan Afridi were not able to control the Sikhs. Ahmed Shah sent Nur-Ud-Din to fight the Sikhs. Chhart Singh Sukherchakia defeated him and forced him to flee. Lahore’s governor, Aabad Khan also fled.

The Sikhs, under Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia seized Lahore and issued coins of “Deg Teg Fateh Nasrat Bed Rang. Yaaft Az Nanak Guru Gobind Singh”.

To incite Abdali, the defeated Afghans and Aakal Das Naranjaniya sent the coins to Kabul. Ahmed Shah began to prepare to defeat the Sikhs.

On October 27, 1761 the Sikhs had passed a Gurmatta at Sri Amritsar that they would destroy the forces that opposed them. Aakal Das was asked to repent his sins against the Sikhs but instead of being subdued he called on Abdali. Abdali met Aakal Das’s messenger at Rohtas (West Punjab). The Sikhs too heard of Abdali’s arrival.

The Sikhs focused their attempts on taking their families to safety. Bhai Sangu Singh, Baba Ala Singh’s representative, Bhai Sukh Singh and Bhai Buddha Singh of Kaithal were giving the Sikhs directions. The Sikhs and their families began to gather in Malerkotla. Malerkotla’s Nawab, Bhikan Khan called on Zain Khan for help.

Ahmed Shah arrived in Lahore on February 3, 1762. The Sikhs estimated that it would take him 10 days to arrive and by then their families would be safe. But the Sikhs were taken by complete surprise when on February 5th, Abdali arrived with 10 000 soldiers and began his slaughter.

Giani Gian Singh writes that the Singhs had not even tied proper dastaars for battle. They quickly tried to mobilize to fight but the first attack had cost thousands of lives. The Sikh families, with the elderly and children were under attack and Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia managed to surround the families with a wall of Sikh fighters. The strategy was to try to keep moving and fight at the same time.

Sardar Chhart Singh proposed that the individual Misals fight under their own banners but Sardar Jassa Singh replied, “Don’t even think of such a thing. We will not allow the Misals to be divided. We will stand together and protect the Panth.”

The convoy slowly moved towards Barnala. The Singhs tried to protect the families in the centre of their convoy but were suffering serious losses. But Abdali was taken aback by the ferocity of the Sikh defence. He asked his companions about the Sikhs and just like Nadar Shah had once praised the Sikhs, Abdali too was forced to say, “We will never destroy them. First the Mughals killed them. Then we killed so many. We have made every effort to finish them but they are still growing.”

Abdali asked his commanders to intensify the attack. They attacked with 8000 soldiers. Countless Singhs were martyred. The wall around the convoy was broken and the families once again fell under the Afghan sword. Abdali wanted to go into the middle of the convoy and inflict such a horrible blow that the Singhs would never rise again. The Singhs however were trying to regroup. The Misal Sardars were all united and all the Singhs were fighting together regardless of their affiliation. The way the Singhs were able to once again form the wall and continue moving is a glorious moment in not just Sikh history but of battle strategy in general. Even Abdali was compelled to praise them. In whatever direction the Singhs would focus their attack, the enemy was forced to flee.

Zain Khan advised Abdali that it was impossible to surround and kill the Sikhs now. They were few but they were fighting desperately and much beyond their numbers.

Sd. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, Sd. Sham Singh, and Sd. Chhart Singh all fought remarkably. Sd. Jassa Singh just managed to save himself on many occasions. The Afghans continued to try to break the Singhs’ wall and get to the families. The convoy moved a total of 10 miles.

Finally however, Abdali managed to break the Singhs away from the families and began to mercilessly slaughter the Sikh women, children, and elderly. Giani Gian Singh writes that there literally was a river of blood that began to flow. The Sikhs managed to travel 20 miles by the time night fell. Abdali and his solders were all tired from the 150 mile journey that had made and the entire day of fighting. The Afghans reached village Kuttub and began to drink water from the village’s pond. An amazing sight was to be seen: on one end of the pond the Afghans were quenching their thirst and on the other, the Sikhs. A battle took place at this place as well.

The Sikhs continued moving through the night and reached Barnala. This event is remembered as the “Vadda Ghalughara” and various sources confirm that 30,000 Sikhs were martyred that day. This was a massive blow to the Sikhs as almost half of their numbers had been destroyed.

Historians and observers were all amazed at the Sikh reaction to this tragedy. In May 1762, the Sikhs surrounded Zain Khan in Sirhand and were ready to fight again. After such a great loss, the Sikhs remained thankful to God. The Sikhs did an ardaas, “Sachay Patshah! The weak and irresolute have all been shed. All that is left is the Tat Khalsa and we will be able to handle this situation ourselves.”

There was not even one Sardar who was not injured in this battle. Sd. Jassa Singh had a total of 22 wounds.

The Sikhs did indeed handle the situation now. Historians like the Marhattha Bapu and Tamhimsap Maskin write that the Sikh strength was growing day by day and they began to attack the outskirts of Lahore.

The account “Tarikh-e-Sultane-Afghan” writes of one incident: Abdali was in his fort across the Satluj smoking the Hukkah when one Sikh came before him and attacked. The Sikh was killed by an arrow on the spot but Ahmed Shah decided he could no longer stay in Punjab and turned back to Afghanistan.

Three months after the Ghalughara, the Sikhs defeated the Afghans at Amritsar and used the Afghan prisoners to clean the Sarovar and surrounding premises they had defiled. The Sikhs celebrated Divali that year at Sri Amritsar. The Sikhs had suffered a great loss but they now had such power that no one could even look towards the Punjab again.

Instead of following guru jees path, Mahraja Ranjit Singh followed the imperial life style of the Mughal emperors and indulged in extravagance and loose morality. In this way he neglected the Sikh tenets and allowed evils and vices to be crept in the religion. Instead of paying obeisance to Harimandir Sahib and bathing in the Sarovar regularly he paid visits to Haridwar and bathed in the Ganga river. When he died some of his wives Came “Satis” which rite was repugnant to Sikh religion.

When the British conquered and annexed Punjab in 1849 they were aware of the power and glory of the Sikhs. They also new that Sikh power emerges from the Gurdwaras. Therefore they conceived a sinister plan to scuttle Sikhism by taking control of these institutions of religious power through their agents. In pursuit of their aim they installed Hindu Mahants as managers of historic and important Gurdwaras. For instance Mahant Narain Das and Mahant Sadhu Ram, both anti Sikh elements, were respectively made in-charge of Gurdwara Nankana Sahib and Harimandir Sahib. The fanatic and corrupt Hindu Mahants installed idols in the Gurdwaras and introduced Hindu rites and rituals which practices were denounced and renounced by the Sikh Gurus. In this way the Mahants again brought Sikh religion under the evil influence of Hinduism and muddled it greatly.

At the same time Daya Nand Sarswati, founder of Arya samaj, aggressively launched a campaign against Sikh religion. He criticised Guru Nanak Dev ji and Guru Gobind Singh and denounced Guru Granth Sahib. His tirade against Sikhism was effectively checked by the devout Sikhs who formed Singh Sabhas, Shiromani Akali Dal, and Chief Khalsa Diwan. These institutions countered the ill-designed campaign launched by the Arya S’amajis. These Sikh organizations, with a view to regaining the control of the historic Gurdwaras, launched a vigorous struggle. They also founded Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee for the management of historic Gurdwaras.

The British rulers were forced to give legal sanctity to the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and for that purpose they passed the Gurdwara Act in 1925 and recognised the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee as the sole authority to control and manage the historic Gurdwaras in the united Punjab. Thus an ill-conceived designs of the Hindus with collaboration of the British to assimilate Sikhism in Hinduism was successfully foiled. The control of historic Gurdwaras, including Nankana Sahib and Sanctum sanctorum, Harimandir Sahih, was taken over from the corrupt and immoral Mahants at heavy loss of lives of the devout Sikhs.

When the British granted freedom in 1947 they gave Pakistan to Muslims and gifted the rest of India to the Hindus. The Sikhs were left in the lurch because of deceit by Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru and other Hindu leaders. Master Tara Singh could be equally blamed for this act of deceit. These Hindu leaders promised the Sikh leaders that after attaining freedom the Sikhs would be assigned a specific area in the north west India where they could feel a glow of freedom and advocate their religion and culture. When the deceptive Hindus got freedom in 1947 and consolidated their power they conveniently forgot the promises made to the Sikhs. Not only that they were not given the promised land but they were constitutionally made a part and parcel of Hinduism which the Sikh Gurus had denounced and renounced more than four and half centuries ago. Article 25 (2) was incorporated in the Constitution of India which defines the Sikhs as Hindus. This was a clever move of the Hindus to assimilate Sikhism by dubious means.

When the Indian government decided to reorganise states on linguistic basis and census was held in 1951 the Hindus living in Punjab recorded Hindi as their mother tongue though they spoke pure Punjabi at homes and in conversation with others. This was another attempt on their part to deprive the Sikhs of their Constitutional and fundamental right to claim a Punjabi speaking state. Such Hindus who can betray their mother tongue can also be supposed to betray their mother land for their selfish and vested interests.

Thus the fanatic Hindus by their deliberate acts have sowed the seeds of blatant communalism and then they blather. to blame others for its emergence.

In 1956 all Hindu dominated states were reorganized on language basis but Punjab under the preconceived scheme was declared as a bilingual state. The Sikhs felt further betrayed. To get justice from the communal forces, the Sikhs launched a Morcha for formation of a Punjabi speaking state. The communal Hindus of united Punjab started a counter agitation opposing the creation of Punjabi speaking state. This counter agitation was started at the behest of the Indian Government which was overwhelmingly dominated by the Hindus. Nevertheless after a protracted struggle carried out by the Akali Dal for a decade and sacrificing costly lives, they achieved their partial aim in the form of a truncated Punjab on 1st November, 1966 minus Haryana and Chandigarh, the capital of the state. Not only this a large area of Punjab including Shimla, Dalhousie, Kulu Manali, Lahaul Spiti and Dharmshala were merged with Himachal Pradesh. Besides this gross injustice the Indian Government retained with it the control of Bhakra Management Board and river waters distribution.

The Shiromani Akali Dal again launched a Morcha demanding inter alia restoration of Punjabi speaking areas given to Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, Union Territory of Chandigarh, control over river waters and enactment of All India Gurdwara Act, with a view to encompassing the control of Nander Sahib, Patna Sahib and other historic Gurdwaras situated in other states, But the Indian Government was not to yield so easily. When the Morcha reached its climax Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister, announced an award in 1970 proposing to transfer Chandigarh to Punjab provided Fazilka and Abohar, which are Punjabi speaking areas, but Hindu majority areas are given to Haryana in lieu of Chandigarh. This was out and out a communal approach.

When the Sikhs were consistently discriminated and betrayed by the Indian government, the Akali Dal was forced to recast their demands. In pursuit of this the Akali Dal drafted a resolution and passed it at Anandpur Sahib in October 1973. This resolution is known as Anandpur Sahib Resolution. The main features of this Resolution are: the Union government should keep four portfolios viz; Defence, Foreign Affairs, Currency and Communication, with it and rest of the powers should vest in the states so that a true federal system of government is given a practical shape. It also says that the people should be permitted to keep arms ranging from shot gun to carbine of 30 calibre subject to the condition that the person should not be a convict and that he/she shall get the arms registered with the authorities. This Resolution in a modified form was passed in the annual conference of Akali Dal held at Ludhiana in October, 1978.

Max Arthur MacAuliffe

Gurbani is a source of Comforting Peace and unity of all. Unlike the scriptures of other creeds, Sikh scriptures do not contain love stories or accounts of wars waged for selfish considerations. They contain sublime truths, the study of which cannot but Elevate the Reader spiritually, morally, and socially. There are least things of sectarianism in them. They teach and inspire the believer with an ambition to Serve his fellow men, to sacrifice all and die for their sake.

Macauliff further observes:

Many of the great teachers of the world have known, have not left a line of their own composition, and we only knew what they taught through tradition or second hand information. If Pythagorean wrote any of tenets, his writings have not descended to us. We knew the teachings of Socrates only through the writings of Plato and Xenophone.

Buddha has left no written memorials of his teaching. Kung fu-tze, known to Europeans as Confucius, left no documents in which he detailed the principles of his moral and social system. The Founder of Christianity did not reduce his doctrines to writing, and from them we are obliged to trust the gospels according to Matthew, Mark , Luke, and John. The Arabian Prophet did not himself reduce to writing the chapters of the Quran. They were written or completed by his adherents and followers. But the compositions of the Sikh Gurus are preserved and we know first hand what they taught. They employed the vehicle of verse, which is generally unalterable by copyist, and we even become in time, familiar with their different styles. No spurious compositions or extraneous dogmas, can therefore be represented as theirs. Based on the Unity of God, it rejected Hindu formulations and adopted an independent -ethical system. It would be difficult to point to a religion of Greater Originality or to a more comprehensive ethical system.

By Macauliffe (Dy. Commissioner)

Sikh Women have played a constructive, significant, and positive role in Sikh history equal to men and yet they haven’t won a whisper of recognition from the historians. Although the historians have largely ignored the contributions of Sikh women but the fact remains that women have been equally active in maintaining the integrity and ideals of the Khalsa. The greatest contribution of the Sikh women of that era was to remain in the background and raise their children in the spirit and traditions of the resilient Khalsa, at a time when there was a price on their heads. For example the mother and sister of Bhai Taru Singh ji Martyr were in the forefront for helping the fugitive Sikh fighters and always helped them with food and shelter. They were both arrested and taken away to Lahore. The residents of Lahore had to pay Rs 100,000 for their release. It was women who kept the Khalsa alive through infusing the spirit of Sikhism in the hearts oftheir children.

In the battles fought by the Sikhs the women suffered the most. It is true that Sikh men had to undergo innumerable trials and tribulations but who lost their husbands, sons, bread-winners and life-support? Who consciously chose widowhood, resolutely spurned the glorious offers of their oppressors, received their dear children’s innards round their necks, resiliently declined to abjure faith, willingly invited economic insecurity, and single-handedly raised children to continue the fight against injustice? If there had been no resolute and dedicated Sikh women, there would be no Sikhism today. Was it not an easy option for them to abjure their faith, betray the Guru, live in peace, and enjoy the life in the lees? Sikh women knew the aims of the Khalsa. The spiritual arrow shot by the Guru had pierced deep down into their conscience. Their dedication was not only for themselves and their husbands but for a higher cause. It was the divine spirit, meditative discipline, and wisdom imbued by them from Gurbani and transferred by them into their sons that became instrumental in saving the honour of the Sikhs and the Indians. A Sikh is what a Sikh woman creates him to be otherwise how would a nine year old child (Guru Gobind Singh ji) willingly agree to lose his father and invite untold problems at his tender age?

The persecution of the Sikhs and especially their women folk had started as early as 1713AD when Farrukh Siyar (1713-1719AD) ordered the arrest and torturous death of Banda Singh. He issued a general edict that Sikhs should be arrested and offered only one alternative “Islam or death”. Prices were laid on the heads of the Sikhs and “Singhnia were to be reduced to concubines, and others to be made maid servants. When a Muslim died, his grave was to be dug by the Sikhs or their Hindu sympathisers. For Begar (unpaid labour), in place of cobblers Sikhs were to be employed. Abdus Samad Khan was specially appointed to oversee and execute these orders. The Sikhs were harried, hunted, and hounded everywhere. Later, when Zakriya Khan became the Governor of Panjab (1726-1745 AD), it became a regular, daily occurrence, to arrest and butcher the Sikhs. Muin-ul-Malk, Governor of Panjab (1748-1753AD), known as Meer Mannu in Sikh circles was the worst tyrant as far as persecution of Sikh women is concerned. The grit and gumption displayed by Sikh women in the prison of Meer Mannu when neither they nor their innocent children showed any weakness in the face of death, through untold atrocities is exemplary to say the least. Nur Ahmad Chishti tells us that Mannu “killed thousands of Sikhs” daily. Once, on the day of Eid, he beheaded 1100 Sikhs” in public. Could anything be more painful for Sikh women than to watch and witness the gruesome butchery of their own sons and husbands?

From this period right up to the time of the establishment of Sikh kingdom under Ranjit Singh (1799AD), many Sikh women have displayed bravery but unfortunately very little is known about them. For example when the poor village farmer Dyal Singh died, his young widow trained her only son, that he later became the Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, the most revered leader of the Sikhs. Hari Ram Gupta writes that in November 1799 the wife of Sardar Milkha Singh of Rawalpindi opposed the doughty warrior Shah Zaman (grand son of Abdali) at Rae Kela in a bloody battle. The number of such brave women may run into thousands but unfortunately historians (most of them being male) have not left any records for us.

It is mentioned in Gurbilas Patshahi Dasween that at the time of the siege of AnandPur fort, the Sikh armies inside suffered from lack of water. The Sikh women organised themselves and secretly carried water into the fort everyday before sunrise. When the enemy got wind they were attacked and many were killed. It is also mentioned that Bhagat Singh’s daughter was blown away with a canon ball. Finding her mother sad and depressed, the Guru said, “Accept the will of God and pray for the Lord’s blessings”. The woman later gave birth to Darbara Singh who became the well known leader of the Sikhs. In our own times it was Maharaja Yadvinder Singh of Patiala who publicly honoured his mother by asking her to offer a brooch to the queen of England in 1911 on behalf of the women of India. Again it was he who appointed a woman to be the president of the Governing Council.

Respect those who endure great pain and give birth to Kings, Saints and the whole human race.

Author: G.S. Sidhu

Appearances speak volumes about people’s beliefs. It is a symbol of one’s roots and culture and an extension of their spirit. The Sikhs do not disfigure themselves by shaving. They keep long hair and respectfully use the word “KESH” for their hair. The word stands for head hair, beard and all other hair on any part of the body.

Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa (1699 AD) and declared that the Sikhs would to keep 5K’s. Historical records tell us that the Sikhs started riding horses, carrying swords and began to beat drums every morning and evening. They never shaved their heads and beards and were soon declared as outlaws by Mughals.

Will of God

Hair is a part of the body’s integument system. It is one of our many lines of defense protecting eyes, ears, nose and head from foreign matter such as dust and bacteria. Leaving the hair intact is like living in harmony with nature. It is ungrateful to reject a gift so graciously given by our kind master. God has given us one face and through our ignorance we try to make ourselves another by removing the hair.

We have discussed how most religious preceptors have avoided interference in the matter of human hair. If anything, they have appreciated God’s creation with wonder. The Sikhs are firm believers in God and their Gurus have advised them umpteen times in the scripture to accept the doing of God as sacrosanct. God creates hair on the body for a purpose and removing it from the body means proving ourselves more intelligent than God.

Our body is designed by nature taking into account its needs for survival and development. God has produced nothing useless. Everything created by God has its special function, which no other animate or inanimate object can perform. True that our link with God is through our mind and that outward accoutrements do not interfere in this process but it is also true that man can never find peace by going against God’s Will. It sounds ridiculous to think that the omniscient Creator did not design humans, known as the leaders of all creation, with careful thought. If God wills our appearance to be of a certain type then be it so. If He differentiates males from females there must be some good reason behind it otherwise what logic was there in not decorating the females with beards and moustaches?

No Sikh has been permitted to alter even a full stop in the Sikh scripture (Guru Granth Sahib). Similarly no Sikh is authorised to alter the appearance of a Sikh approved and authenticated by Guru Gobind Singh, who proudly said, “I endow the Khalsa with my special form. It is through my form that I will live among them”

The Sikhs value the Kesh as a gift from their Guru; a gift which keeps them connewith Him.. He, in his infinite wisdom, called the Kesh a visible token of his affection. It proves not only the Sikhs’ indebtedness to the Guru but also their commitment to the ideal behind the creation of the Khalsa.

Some people talk of scientific proofs of the utility of hair. The Sikhs do not need any scientific proofs of the usefulness or otherwise of hair. Their belief in God’s wisdom and their Guru’s word are sufficient for them to grow the hair and desist from shaving.
The story of Samson and Delilah (Bible –Judges) clearly demonstrates that the spiritual power of the Almighty God rests in the human hair in the same way as the ability of the plants to help bring rain.

Psychologically speaking the removal of hair from the male body is characteristic of the male’s tendency towards becoming feminine. Freud and Mcdougal are of the opinion that this tendency is a remnant of the common origin of men and women and that both men and women are trying to merge into each other. If this argument were accepted then, it would be considered a violation of the Will of God who wanted them to be different in looks as well as in functions. Again if merger has anything to do with the origin then the tendency of both sexes should be to become one with God, our common origin. This is possible only if we accept and respect God’s dispensation and willingly become a part of it instead of finding fault with it. The Sikhs follow this path. For them all that God does is sacred and any supposed improvement on God’s work is unforgivable.

“God and nature do nothing without a purpose. Nature always strives to realize perfection. There is nothing accidental but everything has a purpose. It is indeed this very prominence of design in Nature, which constitutes the beauty of her creation and the charm with which even the least of them repay investigation. Nature like a judicious manager gives to each the instrument it can use.” (Aristotle by Zeller Volume 1 page 71)