. INTRODUCTION . CHAPTER 1 . CHAPTER 2 . CHAPTER 3 . CHAPTER 4 . CHAPTER 5 . CHAPTER 6 . CHAPTER 7 . CONCLUSION . REFERENCES CHAPTER 7 Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion I find McLeod’s understanding of Sikhism rudimentary. His interpretation of Guru Nanak’s teachings demonstrates his lack of understanding of the basic principles of Nanakian philosophy (Gurmat). Most probably he did not study Aad Guru Granth Sahib seriously! It seems he spent most of his time on the study of janam-sakhis, as they are so similar to the Christian Bible and that is why he considers his work on janam-sakhis as the best. It is very likely that he formulated his opinion of Sikhism from janam-sakhis. However, his work on janam-sakhis does not make any contribution to the understanding (Gurmat) and success of the Sikh movement. Sikhs had already questioned the authorship and the anti-Gurmat contents of janam-sakhis. Jaman-sakhis were rather considered as the source of history, which McLeod has attempted to destroy! McLeod has compared them to Hadith, which is absurd.158 If the Gurus thought that history was that important they could have written it themselves or had it written by someone else, as they did with their bani (sacred writings). If they thought that additional manuals were needed as moral instructions for the Sikhs, they would have written those too. There is no evidence that any Guru wrote any historical document or manual of moral instructions except their bani. So the comparison of Hadith with janam-sakhis is pointless, as they are full of anti-Gurmat teachings. The janam-sakhis were written by the detractors and opponents of Gurmat or by ignorant Sikhs or by devout and learned Sikhs whose works were later interpolated. Non-Sikhs look at Sikhism as simply a religious phenomenon. Whereas Hindus regard it as a reform movement within Hinduism as well as its military wing against the onslaught of Muslims, others regard it as a synthesis of Hinduism and Islam, an attempt to reconcile the two faiths. To my knowledge very few non-Sikhs have seriously studied Aad Guru Granth Sahib or tried to understand how and why the Sikh movement succeeded against two formidable foes: the Mughal rulers and the caste hierarchy (proponents and defenders of the caste ideology). The Sikh movement had no outside support except among low caste Hindus (peasants, artisans and untouchables). The large number of Khatris who joined the Sikh movement in the beginning, abandoned it later on due to their strong attachment to the caste system and weaker commitment to Sikh ideology, and due to persecution of Sikhs by the Mughal authorities.    McLeod has made an ugly attempt to connect the Sikh movement to Nath yogis and Vaisnava bhakats (bhagats) while ignoring the observations of contemporary writers and Prof. Mohammed Iqbal (1877-1938), a celebrated poet, philosopher and a great Islamic thinker. Moshin Fani, a Parsi, author of Dabistan-I-Mazhaib who came into contact with Guru Hargobind in 1640 AD made the following observation about Nanak-prasths (followers of Guru Nanak): The Guru believes in one God. His followers do not worship idols. They never pray or practice austerities like Hindus. They do not believe in incarnation, or places of pilgrimages, or the Sanskrit language, which the Hindus deem to be the language of gods. They believe that all the Gurus are the same as Nanak.159 Ghulam Mohyiuddin who witnessed the Khande Di Pahul (baptism) ceremony on Baisakhi of 1699 and the day’s proceedings reported to Emperor Aurangzeb that Guru Gobind Singh has abolished castes and customs, old rituals, beliefs and superstitions of the Hindus, and banded his followers in one single brotherhood. No one will be superior or inferior to another. Men of all castes have been made to drink the holy water (Amrit) from the same bowl. Though orthodox men have opposed him, about twenty thousand men and women have taken Khande Di Pahul at his hand on the first day. The Guru also told the gathering that I should call myself Gobind Singh only if I can make the meek sparrows pounce upon the hawks and tear them, only if one combatant of my force faces a legion of the enemy.160 Qazi Nur Mohammed who witnessed the battle between Ahmad Shah Abdali and Sikhs in 1764 called the Sikhs infidels and dogs, but after some reflection could not help without making the following remarks: Sikhism is distinct from Hinduism. The Sikhs never kill a coward and do not obstruct one who flees from the field. They seldom resort to cold-blooded murder even of their enemies. They respect the chastity of woman as a part of their faith and honour. Adultery does not exist among them. They do not rob a woman of her gold and ornaments, may she be a queen or a slave girl. They never resort to stealing and no thief exists among them and they do not keep company with an adulterer or a thief. When in festivities, they surpass Hatim in generosity.161 Prof. Iqbal’s observation about the success of the Sikh movement and its impact on the Indian society is remarkable in the sense that it captures the true essence of Nanakian philosophy (Gurmat). The Indian people did not pay any attention to the message of Gautam. They did not recognize the value of their “flawless diamond”. … India is a land of sorrow and suffering for the Shudar (masses of working people). There is no compassion in this place. … Eventually, a voice rose from Punjab proclaiming the unity of mankind under “One and Only God.” A “perfect man” from Punjab awakened the conscience of the Indian people with his message of “universal love and humanism.”    Poem: Nanak Nanak sang his song of “unity of mankind under One and Only God” throughout the land. Poem: Watan (country) Iqbal saw no visible impact of Bhakti movement or Sufis or any other movement on the Indian society. Further, his analysis of the victory of Khalsa forces over Muslim rulers is very true.        Khalsa shamsheero Quran re burd,        Andrin Kishwar Mussakmani namurd.162 The Khalsa took away the sword and Quran from the Muslims and shattered the dreams of Muslim conquest. In other words, it was Nanakian philosophy (Gurmat) that inspired the Sikhs to fight the oppression of Muslim rulers and the tyranny of the caste system. On the other hand McLeod digs up obscure and unreliable references when he wants to distort Sikhism. For example, he cites John Malcolm’s Sketch of the Sikhs published in 1810 to mislead the readers about Dasam Granth: “It appears that Dasam Granth was indeed accepted by the Khalsa as a part of the Guru Garnth in the later eighteenth century as the testimony of John Malcolm makes clear.”163 There is no evidence that Dasam Granth was found in Punjab or Delhi in the eighteenth century. There is also no evidence that in the eighteenth century Aad Guru Granth Sahib was not given exclusive preference over the bani (composition) of Guru Gobind Singh. Prior to Malcolm’s mention of Dasam Granth, there is no reference to it either in Sikh or non-Sikh sources (Muslim and European).164 However, there were 32 Dasam Granths circulating in the Amritsar area by 1890. The presently published Dasam Granth (1902) was created by the Sodhak Committee made-up of British cronies (1895-1897) to bring it into closer conformity with the Granth floated by the British in the late eighteenth century prepared by Nirmalas/Mahants (Nawal Singh, Dayal Singh and Sukha Singh) at Takhat Patna. The Patna granth was implanted in the East India Company Library by Colebrook and Charles Wilkins and used by John Malcolm to write his Sketch of the Sikhs in 1810. Devanagari version of this granth was written in February 1847 after the Sikhs lost the first Anglo-Sikh War (Second treaty with Lahore, December 16, 1846 at Bhairowal when the British became virtual masters of Punjab). Treacherous Sardar Tej Singh was the chief of the regency council when this Devanagari Dasam Granth was created. In recognition of his services, the title of Raja was conferred on him on August 7, 1847.164 Takhat Patna came under the control of East India Company near the end of eighteenth century. The revenue records of Patna treasury show that Nirmalas/Mahants of Takaht Patna were provided with pension and opium from 1814 onwards by the East India Compnay.164 I have often wondered why the writer of Bachittar Natak, which is a part of Dasam Granth, portrayed relationship between the Sikh Guru and Mughal rulers as cordial in spite of the fact that the Mughal rulers executed Guru Arjan and Guru Teg Bahadur. Moreover, the Mughals committed unspeakable atrocities on the Sikhs and there was a bloody struggle between Mughal authorities and the Sikhs that lasted for almost half a century until the victory of the Sikhs. Dr. Jasbir Singh Mann’s discovery of the relationship between the East India Company and the Nirmalas/Mahants of Takhat Patna goes a long way in solving this riddle. Most probably, before the takeover over of Takhat Patna by East India Company, the Nirmalas/Mahants were on the payroll of Mughal rulers. In chapter 13 of Bachittar Natak the writer implies that the Gurus approved of the Mughal rulers and as quid- pro-quo, the latter respected and supported the former. God Himself created the successors of Baba Nanak and Babur. Recognize the former as spiritual and the latter as temporal sovereign. The successors of Babur punished and looted the property of those who failed to tithe the house of Nanak. When these penniless wretched ones begged Sikhs for help, the Mughals looted the Sikhs who helped them. The Guru also shunned them. The Mughals punished and killed those who turned their back on the Guru, but those who remained faithful, were saved by the Guru. Why was the British (East India Company) involved in the subversion of Sikhism? Dr. Mann deals with this subject in detail in his forthcoming book.    People like McLeod who interpret the Sikh movement in terms of historical factors ignore the fact that Sikhs, who were locked in a struggle of life and death against the oppression of Muslim rule, and the forces of caste ideology in the eighteenth century, were insignificant in terms of numbers in the population of Punjab. Why did not the same historical factors inspire low caste Hindus in the rest of India or even in Punjab to pick up arms against the tyranny of the caste system and Muslim rule? In order to fit Guru Nanak into his so-called “sant tradition” McLeod has distorted Guru Nanak’s teachings. Commenting on the reaction of Sikhs to Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion, he says: “The hostility focused exclusively on the portion which concerned the life of Guru Nanak, the section dealings with his teachings being almost completely untouched by criticism. Apparently this later part was entirely acceptable.”165 Here again McLeod is not telling the truth. Both Daljit Singh and Jagjit Singh have challenged his interpretation of Guru Nanak’s teachings in Sikhism: A Compartive Study of its Theology and Mysticism and The Sikh Revolution: A Perspective View, respectively, without naming him as they criticized his works again without naming him in Perspectives on the Sikh Tradition.166 Besides, others may have been frustrated and discouraged from questioning McLeod’s interpretation of Guru Nanak’s teachings, as I found out myself. In April 2002, I wrote an article challenging McLeod’s assertion that Guru Nanak accepted the doctrines of karma and transmigration and submitted it for publication to Understanding Sikhism/The Research Journal. The editor, Prof. Devinder Singh Chahal liked it so much that he included it in the July-December 2002 issue167 and encouraged me to examine critically the entire section of Guru Nanak’s teachings in Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion. So I sent him another article in September 2002 challenging McLeod’s other interpretations of Guru Nanak’s teachings. To my surprise, he didn’t even acknowledge the receipt of the article. When I asked him about the article, he said, “You should write your own article.” I could not understand what he meant, so I asked, “What do you mean, I wrote the article and I am the sole author.” With some hesitation, he remarked, “It is not proper to name the author whose work you are criticizing, rather you write your own article on that topic.” “How do you review someone’s work without naming the author?” There was no answer and I kept wondering why is he reluctant to publish the article, which he encouraged me to write? Suddenly, the cat came out of the bag and started meowing loudly. In June 2003 Prof. Cole and Prof. Barrier advised the Internet Sikh Diaspora discussion group not to read Gurdev Singh and Trilochan Singh’s books that criticize McLeod’s works, and Prof. Chahal carried this advice to a wider Sikh audience.7,8 I asked Chahal, “Do you endorse Cole and Barrier’s advice?” “Who are you to question my intention? I am my own man, I do not take orders from anyone, I will answer and deal with such questions in later issues of my journal.” So far he has neither answered me nor dealt with my questions in his journal. “Do not be discouraged, do not give up, try other journals,” advised my wife and friends. The editor of The Sikh Review, Saran Singh relied, “Your articles are on file for publication in future issues. However, he has not published either of the two articles. Moreover, I knew very well that he is not going to publish my articles due to following reason. In my articles in The Sikh Bulletin168 and Spokesman169 I had mentioned that Saran Singh was occupying the stage with General Bhullar, and Professor Manjit Singh Sidhu at the World Sikh Conference held in New York in July 1984. In his comments on my article in the Spokesman, Dr. Sangat Singh remarked that maybe Saran Singh was looking for as appointment as a governor.170 Saran Singh has not responded to Dr. Sangat Singh’s observation so far and continues to publish Sangat Singh’s articles. The editor of the Quarterly Journal of Sikh Studies published by Guru Nanak Dev University, Prof Balwant Singh Dhillon did not even acknowledge the receipt of two articles. In response to my persistent inquiries he said, “We do not use the name of authors whose work is reviewed.” I was surprised that Chahal also gave me the same answer. It would have remained a puzzle for me had McLeod not disclosed that The Teachings of Guru Nanak section of Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion was translated into Punjabi as Guru Nanak De Udesh by Guru Nanak Dev University in 1974. And a summary of the English version was for a time distributed at the Golden Temple in Amritsar (presumably without McLeod’s name).171 Now I can understand why Dhillon refused to publish my articles. How could he go against his own university? But Dhillon has his own way of disclosing the identity of people without naming them.     In December 1995, the then vice-chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, disallowed me to obtain photostat copies of some folios of MS # 1245 that I needed badly for my present study. Yet prior to that, this very gentleman had, in a very clandestine manner carried a microfilm of this very manuscript to America, at the expense of university exchequer, for a foreign based Sikh scholar. Subsequent events have shown that this had probably been done deliberately for promoting certain scholars to establish a particular point of view to put the very authenticity of the Adi Guru Granth Sahib¾the eternal Guru of the Sikh community to doubt.172 It is puzzling why Dhillon did not disclose the name of the Vice-Chancellor, Harbhajan Singh Soch, son of Narinder Singh Soch. It was Harbhajan Singh Soch who conferred D. Litt. (Hons) on Bhai Harbans Lal.173, 174 There is one thing in common between Dhillon and Narinder Singh Soch¾the controversial Gurbilas Patshahi 6 edited by Joginder Singh Vedanti and Amarjit Singh. It was Narinder Singh Soch who showered lavish praise on Vedanti and Gurbilas Patshahi 6 while Dhillon was consultant to Joginder Singh Vedanti during the editing of Gurbilas Patshahi 6.175 Dr. Kirpal Singh, the editor of Abstracts of Sikh Studies, did not bother even to acknowledge my inquiries about the receipt of my articles. However, when Dr. Kharak Singh became the editor, he immediately informed me that he would publish the articles.176,177 Shortly thereafter Preet Mohan Singh Ahluwalia the editor of sikhspectrum.com published the articles in the August-November 2003 issue. Copies of the articles were sent to McLeod and he responded with the following comment.178 In reading the articles I was grateful also for the fact that I had managed to start something which was being conducted in a reasoned and logical way. So often responses to what I write have been highly emotional and lacking in all reason. My overall view was that it all hinges on one simple fact. Did Guru Nanak believe in karma or did he not believe in it? It seems to me that the answer is both yes and no. He did believe in karma as the fate of what I called unregenerate man, but he did not believe that it could triumph over the divine Name. The person who followed the divine Name was thereby freed from the power of karma. I wrote back that Gurmat rejects the theory of karma and transmigration and hell and heaven, and urges again and again that the present life is the only chance to realize God. According to the theory of karma and transmigration there could be many chances, theoretically unlimited and this drew the following response. I have read your message with much interest. Obviously you have been putting much study into the question of whether Guru Nanak accepted the doctrine of karma. I don't see that there is any significant difference separating us. I can still accept that Guru Nanak believed in the doctrine as it applied to unregenerate man and you will maintain that he did not accept it. We both can accept, however, that every person is confronted by the divine Name and that for him or her who responds to it the doctrine can have no effect. That, it seems to me, is the message of Guru Nanak. Then I asked him why he calls Aad Guru Granth Sahib as Adi Granth in his works.179 The dialogue ended with no answer from him. Finally, due to an uprising of Christians¾Nagas and Mizos in the Northeast part of India in the 1950s--the Indian government banned the entry of Western missionaries in India. Why was McLeod allowed to go to Punjab, a state that shares a border with Pakistan, which has been in a state perpetual war with India since 1947, and Kashmir, a disputed territory? After 1984, the Indian government banned the entry of foreigners going to Punjab. It seems McLeod had no problems traveling in the Punjab. Moreover, McLeod was not involved in any manner helping the lowest of the low and most destitute people like Mother Teresa; he was teaching English to high school students and Punjab history in Punjabi to college students who had problems understanding both his English and Punjabi. Furthermore, I would like to point out the role of Western universities and academic journals in spreading misinformation about Sikhism. As pointed out earlier, neither McLeod’s thesis supervisor nor examiners knew anything about Guru Nanak and the Sikh religion, yet the University of London accepted his thesis for the award of a Ph.D. degree. Moreover, to add insult to injury a review of this thesis in the Times Literary Supplement declared him as being among the foremost scholars of Sikh Studies in the world by Prof. Zaehner from the University of Oxford, who himself had no knowledge of Sikhism. It seems that even in the days of global communication and awareness, Western universities continue to have different standards for research on non-European people. And as for as Western academic journals are concerned, the editors regard the distortion of Sikhism, as novel work worthy of publication and correct interpretation in the category of already disclosed information not suitable for publication. The editors regard the response to articles containing misinformation on Sikhism as a personal attack on the author, an excuse for rejection. To my knowledge, among the current Western scholars of Sikhism, no one has seriously studied Aad Guru Granth Sahib, the only authentic source of Sikh philosophy. Their knowledge of Sikhism is based on unreliable secondary sources!