. INTRODUCTION . CHAPTER 1 . CHAPTER 2 . CHAPTER 3 . CHAPTER 4 . CHAPTER 5 . CHAPTER 6 . CHAPTER 7 . CONCLUSION . REFERENCES CHAPTER 2 Questioning the Authenticity of Kartarpuri Bir (Adi Granth) McLeod questioned the authenticity of Kartarpuri Bir (Adi Granth 1604 AD) and asserted that it is a copy of Banno Bir (1642 AD) without even looking at both of them, and without studying the related literature on the subject.63 To reach this conclusion, he relied heavily on the writings of a discredited and unskilled researcher, G.B. Singh (Gurbakhash Singh, 1877-1950), who himself had not examined the Kartarpuri Bir,64 but ignored the works of Bhai Jodh Singh who had meticulously examined both the manuscripts.65 And that of Mahan Singh, Gurdit Singh, Harbhajan Singh, and Pritam Singh who had examined the Banno Bir.66  Rightly so, Daljit Singh exposed not only McLeod’s phony “research methodology” but also his academic ethics.67 In 1984 McLeod prepared a textual source book on Sikh religion for the University of Manchester. It is unbelievable that he completely omitted standard or scholarly works of H.R. Gupta, A.C. Bannerji, Sher Singh, Avtar Singh, I.B. Bannerji, J.D. Cunningham, Duncan Greenlese, Dorothy Field, and Jagjit Singh. An objective and fair-minded person would have selected a wide range of texts including the texts commonly used in Sikh studies and accepted by the Sikhs. How could McLeod recommend such texts, as they do not support his absurd and odious interpretation of Sikhism? He claims that Daljit Singh’s criticism is unfair because he [McLeod] had already renounced explicitly his earlier opinion about Kartarpuri Bir,68 and he accuses Daljit Singh of “selective reading”. “In 1968 I had come upon Jodh Singh’s Sri Kartarpuri Bir De Darshan and this had led me to halt my earlier speculation. I concluded that the issue is still open, and later still I was persuaded by my student Pashaura Singh that my original theory was wrong.”69 In Essays on the Authenticity of Kartarpuri Bir Daljit Singh quotes verbatim that portion of The Evolution of the Sikh Community in which I recount the mistaken views on the Adi Granth text I had tentatively held until 1968. Daljit Singh then sets about condemning me vigorously for holding these views, although in the paragraph that follows (paragraph that Daljit Singh does not cite) I say explicitly that I had renounced them.70 His assertion is patently false, as examination of the relevant pages: 75-79 of The Evolution of the Sikh Community as pointed out by Ishwinder Singh9 reveal that McLeod did not explicitly renounce his earlier mistaken views about Kartarpuri Bir.71 “The problem, which confronts us, arises from a comparison of the Kartarpur and Banno versions. We note, in the first place, that the claim to the originality made on behalf of the Kartarpur manuscript appears to be sound. Dr. Jodh Singh has argued this in a manner, which seems to be entirely convincing.” Having said that he raises four questions regarding the extra material included in the Banno version, which is absent in the Kartarpur manuscript and proposes solutions to reconcile the difference between the two manuscripts. Then he goes on to say, “There was ample evidence that others had already formed the same suspicion concerning the Kartarpur manuscript and were seeking alternative explanations.” After this, he tries to explain why the extra material, which is present in the Banno manuscript, was deleted from the Kartarpur manuscript. Finally, he says Jodh Singh’s Sri Kartarpuri Bir De Darshan raises more problems and “hence the issue should still be regarded as open.”72 The bottom line is: McLeod does not say anywhere on pages 75-79 of The Evolution of the Sikh Community that his earlier views about Kartarpuri Bir were mistaken, and that he had explicitly renounced them. Moreover, Daljit Singh did not condemn him, he simply responded in a scholarly manner to the questions McLeod raised about the Kartarpuri Bir and solutions he proposed to reconcile the difference between Kartarpur and Banno versions. McLeod keeps harping on the fact that being a Western historian he relies only on rigorous proof, but he questioned the authenticity of Kartarpuri Bir and asserted that it is a copy of Banno Bir, without even looking at both of them, on the basis of unreliable evidence: The writings of G.B. Singh64 and Sant Inder Singh Chakarvarti,73 and a conversation he had with C.H. Loehlin.73 “In fact every literate person would be ashamed of the manner, in which G.B. Singh has abused the word research,” remarked Jodh Singh known for his cool and level-headedness.74 Sant Inder Singh Chakarvarti was a preacher of the heretic Namdhari sect. Namdharis never miss the opportunity to subvert Sikhism as they believe in a line of living physically fleshy Gurus after Guru Gobind Singh and do not believe that Guru Gobind Singh invested Guruship on Aad Guru Granth Sahib. Moreover, according to Jodh Singh, Sant Inder Singh Chakarvarti had no firsthand knowledge of the Kartarpuri Bir and had nowhere stated that he saw or studied that manuscript.75 C.H. Loehlin was an American missionary, who was Vice-Principal of Baring Union Christian College at Batala, Punjab. He had been trying to undermine the faith of Sikhs in Aad Guru Granth Sahib by creating doubts about its authenticity through his writings: The Sikhs and their book (1946), The Sikhs and their Scriptures (1958) and Granth of Guru Gobind Singh and the Khalsa Brotherhood (1971).76