The Spokesman Weekly Vol. 29 No. 41-42 June 9-16, 1980

8/14/2019 The Spokesman Weekly Vol. 29 No. 41-42 June 9-16, 1980

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THE: " SPOKESMA N" WEEKLY. 2t.

New:A;rtangenien s ;At ', Tbe -Centre Not Impressive.. i n i ~ t r r ~ ~ J 9 p : inlhe. .;\ Ilinj:l s ates, < ..yhich went~ J ? S i ~ ~ w e e k : ~ a g o ~ . 9 d fi ldlDg new m ~ n forthe n t r a l r ' : t : a t 5 I n e t w e r e 'Ch1ef .preoccupation ofpoJiticaiieaders, especially of Congress (1).

~ x c e p t in Tamil Nadu whereMr M.G. R?m.ch2ndran tookover .5 cbief minister, neither theexercise was smooth nor theresults impressive. Democraticprocesses were mumed andimposition fro Il tbe top made tberule.Ordinarily, the Congress (I)legislature parties io the statesconcerned should have beengiven the unfettered freedom tochoose their leaders. But thiswas not done, tberebY dealing ablow to democratic traditions.Drafting of men from thecentre to lead state governmentsin some states was not due tolack of talent in tbe state partiesbut was occasioned by tbe centraldes ire to bave its own fa vouritesat tbe belm of affairs tbere.

Only in Gujarat, Raj astban ,and Orissa, tbe choico of newchief ministers was free fromfactional struggles.In Punjab, Prime MinisterMrs Gandhi had to snub thetwo warring groups, who stoodoutside ber ' resideoce in battleartays, and personally decide infavour ofSardar Darbara Singb.Fortunately, the cboice wasaccepted relatively fast, thoughthe dissident groups delaye.d . theswearing-in of t b ~ mmlStrywith their counter-claim, for due:representation.In Madbya Pradesh and'Mabarashtra, the going wastougb, with t?e s t ~ t e leaders'Putting up sbff re,\Stan.ce. InM.P., tbe strife was m l t I g a twitb the offer of d7puty chiefm j l ~ i s t e r s h i p to Mr Sh,va B h a ~ uSo anki who was the ~contender against Mr ArJunSingb. But in Maharasbtra,former Chief Minister VasantdadaPatil stuck to his guns till theend. He turnej down , firmlyand scornfully. twin offers of aberth for him in tbe centralcabinet and deputy chief ministership for his wife. Thus,. tbeelection of Mr A R. Antulay asthe leader, witli blessing.s fromMrs. Gandhi, cannot bide theinternal f i ~ s u r e s . These can growto menacing proportions if heis unable to win over tbetraditional powerful Marathas intbe party.Uttar Pradesh faced a.dilemma. lis party bad "unanimously" elected Mr Sanjay'Gandhi as its leader. But theprime minister, in keepmg withearlier declaration, refused

to allow bim ascend tbe thronein Lucknow. The job wouldhave tested the youngman'sability to clear the me ss andprovide a bold and imaginativeleadership in tha t vast state. Ifhe had succeeded, be wouldliave earned more laurels for'himself and his mother. But if

he had failed. he .wouldhave been exposed as a. gas.b, . In Bihar, the choice of DrJagannath Mishra was a foregone conclusion.At the centre, tbe longawaited ' expansion bas not answered all the questions.

~ m p o r t a n t portfolios like defence.. industries; steel and mines,labour, and health and familywelfare are still witbout fulltime incumbents. The three new

9-16th June. 1980cabinet min isters have been givendepartments .by cbipping andcbopping resPQnsi'1ilities.of o t b ~ r .aien-things which do not makemuch sense. Also most i tbenew entrants are unknownentities. Maybe more inductionswould cbange tbe :>icture for thebetter. Of course, inclusion ofSardar Buta Singb was expected .for long.

-N.S. VasantlsNewPS.E.B. ChiefSardar N.S. Vasant, GeneralManager of Delhi ElectricitySupply Undertaking, bas beenapPolDted Chairman of the Punjab Slate Electricity Board:He took over from SardarT.S. Madan who bas procededon' leave .


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THE "SPOKESMAN" WEEKLY

SacredikhShrines

ssociatedWithGururjan

By:Prof. Rajindar Singh,

P.E .S. (Retd.)

In his life span of 43 years(1563-1606), including 25 yeatsof pontificate (1581-1606),Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Gurusanctified several places. Theyare mostly situated in the ' districtof Amritsar. though some ofthem now form parts of Jullundur Doab and Lahore as wellas Gujranwala districts of \yestPakistan . His grateful SIkhshave constructed magnificentgurd waras to mark these sacredplaces. I give here. below abrief account of such Import.ntplaces:-Haveli Sahib GoindwalSabibThis was the residential houseof Guru Arjan Dev, the thirdGuru. Near the verandah is asmall room. Here was bornGuru Arjan on 15th April , 1563A.D ., the youngest son of GuruR'lm Das and a t ~ Bhani. Asite called 'Thamb Sahib' showsthe'stump of tree which servedas a prop for the infant Arjon tostand up on his legs.Towards the west ofPhillaur, some 18 Km. awayfJ:om it is Meo gram , the villagewhere Guru Arjan was marriedto Mata Ganga , daughter of. Krisban Chand in 1579 A.D.

In the last pages of GuruGranth Sahib after the SanskritSa10kas are given some stanzasunder the heading 'Phonch,which ftcall the wedding songs

sung on the occasion. Theparental house of Mata Gangais now Gurdwara.Labore, Diwan KbanaGuru Ram Das .After Prithi Chand andMahadeo had declined to go toLahore to attend the marriageof Sahansar Ram's son, acousIn of G"ru Ram Das, thefourth Guru departed ArjanDev to represent him on theoccasion. He stayed at Dewankbana Guru Ram Das. Tbestay was prolonged because ofthe intrigues of Prithi Cband.Arjan pined lor Guru's Darshanand expressed his yearning InSbabad Hazare Majh MohallaPrithi intercepted theseJetters. t was one of tbe issueswhich clincbed tbe succession infavour of Guru Arjan Dev. Thehistoric place was left at themercy of Pakistan in 1947.Guru Ke Mabal, Amritsar .t is supposed to be thefirst building on Amritsar (ChakGuru) situated on tbe way fromGuru Ka Bazar to Lobgarh. I tformed the nucleus of Ramdaspur. Guru Arjan ascended. tbe'Gadi' here in 1581 wben 'TIlak'was applied and tbe period ofhis Gurusbip commenced.Harimandir SahibEvery incb of Darbar Sahib,its precincts, the Amrit-sarovarand the circumambulatory patb(Parkarma) round it bear thefoot-prints of Guru Arjan. Tbe

work bad been started by tbeFourtb Guru. He bequeatbed itto Guru Arjan, who complotedthe Pool of Nectar and tbenconstructed a temple in itsmidst, open on all fours, andaccessible to all, big and small,irrespective of faiths, creeds,castes ana colours. t was completed by 1589 . A.D.To the south of Darsban.Darwaza is a Ber Tree, whosefruit is a.s tasty as an lIlachi hndtberefore called JIlachi Ber. TheFifth Guru sat under tbe sparsesbade of this tree to supervisework of ex.cavation and coostructi n. Otbers too would

assem ble here after a hardlabour. Prominent among themwas Bbai Salo. Mebtab Singbof Miran Kot and Sukba Singhtied their houses to the trunk ofit, when they came from RajasthilO in 1740 and swooped uponMacca Ranghai, wbo had defiled the sanctuary witb his madorgies. Baba Buddba, the firsthead priest of Harimandir setunder a 'Ber' on the northernwing and collected materialfor construction. A TharraSahib exists to tbe east of thetemple from where Guru Arjanexpounded tbe gospel of GuruNanak to tbe Sangat. DukltBhanjan Sahib is a portion oftbe Pool of Immortality on theeast under a 'Ber'. A dip attbis spot is believed to beal allailments.

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Guru Arjan Dev sanctified ; e v ~ r a tplaces. His grateful Sikhs have constructed magnificent Gurdwaras tomark these sacred places.In tbe Guru Ka Bagh is situ a- Tarn Taranted anii Sahib wbere Guru Guru Arjan was a builderArjan held Diwans, w h e ~ e be- par-excellence. In the heart ofsides giving sermons ID tbe the Majba between the Rav; andafte rnoon every day, he. would . tbe Beas a tank was dug and aalso distribute clothes, and food temple was raised between 1590to tbe needy. Opposite to 'Har and 1996 A.D. t would, heKi Pauri' to the east of tbe said, serve as a "sbip of salvaGolden Temple near Ber Dukh' tion". Tbe sturdy Jats ofBhanjani, is a platform- called Majba, tbe Magbails, entered the

lhh Salhh Tiralh, whIch com- fold' of Sikbism and became Jtsmemorates the arrival of 'Potbis' back-bone. A dip in tbe tank;from Goindwal containi ng tbe according to tbe faitbful,'Baris' of the first four Gurus , removed leprosy.tben in possession of Baba On the banks of the poolMohan. were tbe residential quarters ofTabli Sahib Santokhsar the Guru. A well was dug to

Tbe excavation of Santokb- provide water,sar had been in progress since Kartarpurtbe time of Guru Ram' Das . In the Inllundur Doab he-Under the shade of a Tahli tree laid the foundation of tbe cityGuru Arjan used to sit to of Kartarpur, by digging tbesupervise work. first sod of a well, called Gang-. Tobha Bhal . Salo recalls tbe sar, wbicb would be as sacredself-less services of Bbai Salo as tbe boly Ganges.in tbe execution of Guru Arjan's Baoli n Dabbi Bazar Lahoreplans for tbe development . of During his visit to Lahore,Amritsar. t is situa ted in a be construc ted a Baoli (a wellBazar . witb steps descending to tbelanbar village lying some ,0 level of water).miles south of Lahore had tbe He also paid a ~ v i s i t to villagebonour of having a pillar, cal- Bhagalh in Gurdaspur and metled Dukh Niwaran, believed Baba Sri Chand.to beal leprosy. The . villagers Gurn Ka Bagbhad preserved a. warden staff Situated in the village Ghuke-and a pair of sboes of the Guru w.li, Tebsil, Ajnala some 18Km.and reposed tbe faitb tbat tbe from Amritsar, Guru Arjantoucb of the articles healed stayed bere for sometimes. Thepatients like a magic wand. house he stayed at was conver-Cbola.8ahib . ted into a Gurdwara. tTo avoid all chances of con- became the focus of a classicfrontation between the Sikbs struggle during the .Gurdwaraand tbe Minas, Guru Arjan Reform Movement in In .proceeded to ~ a r h a H Tbe Ram Sarresidents of Sarhah p31d scant The ever-lasting contribut ionattention to the visitors, and tbe of Guru Arjan Dev is tbe COm-Guru wen l away to village. pilation of Adi Guru Granth 'Cbaffar. He stayed at the that- Sahib. The work needed solitudecbed but of a poor devotee, and he selected a . place ofHoma by name. Thence. be natural beauty not far from themade way to Bhaini, wbere Harimandir . Jand, Ber andtbe wife of tbe village headman Pipal trees provided cool sbade.

. presented bim a tunic (a 'Chola'). A pool, Ram Sar was . construeThe Guru blessed the village, ted and round about it tents were"Cbola, Guru Ka Ola". patched up for bards, ministrelsWadali from Cbola Sahib and saints who offered to assist.he went to Wadali 7 Km. South - Here he dictated the . hymns toof Amrit.ar. Here was born Bbai Gurdas, who acted as theHargobind, tbe successor Guru scribe. The monumental workin 1595. was completed in 1604 andCbbeberta Sabib installed in the Harimandir witbTo commemorate the birth of Bbai Buddha as the first .Granthi.his son and to meet the needs Dera Sabib Laboreof people for water, Guru Arjan Tbis Prince of Martyrs was iDdug a well with. six Persian 1606 executed unde r ~ t b e orderswbeels plying over Jt of Jehangir by Murtaza Kban,Pipli Sabib the Governor of the Punjab.When Prithi Cband stopped He was tortured at Lal KuaDall supplies to the Langar and some 200 steps south of themisappropriated tbe o f f e r i n ~ s ? Labore fort, wbere lived CbanduBbai Gurda, ' sat unde r a Plpal Shab, a Mugbal official, wbo wastree outside tbe boundary of . bent upon wreaking veugeanceGuru Ka Cbak and received tbe upon the Guru for the ~ a t t e r s reSangats and collected their fusal to accept the hand of hisofferings for tbe Guru. daughter for his SOD Hargohind.


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THB SPOKESMAN WEEKLY 5 9-16th June, 19 80, Guru Arian (1581-1606), thefifth Guru of the Sikhs, was theFirst Martyr to. the faith. Hewas victim o.f nDt Dnly thefanaticism Df Jehangir but hadincurred the displeasure o.f tbeEmpero.r because Sikbism . wasbecDming very po.pular in nDrthIndia and many Hindus andMuslims were being attracted bythis faith. BDrn Dn 15th April,1563, Guru Arjan was an Drigi-nal thinker, illustriDUS poet,practical philo.sopher and a greatorganiser

t will be interesting to.analyse tbe achievements Df thisgreat Guru and also. to. (pro.beinto. tbe ulterier mDtive DfJehangir who. was determined to.put an end to. this faith.HarimandirSDDn after his successien in1581, Guru Arjan started huilding Harimandir in the ChakRamdaspur. He invited MiranMir-a Muslim saint o.f Laho.reto. lay its feundatio.n sto.ne. Instead Df build ing the shrine Dna high plinth, as is custemarywith the Hindus, he had it builten a level lewer than thesurreunding land so. that thewershipper would have to. go.down the step to. enter it. UnlikeHindu temples which had onlyo.ne entrance, Harimandir waso.pen o.n all fo.ur sides. Thesefeatures were symbelic o.f thenew faith which required tbeInwest to. go even lower andwhnse denrs were npen to. allwho desired to. enter it.After the Harimandir wasco.mpleted, Cbak Ram Daspurwas renamed as Amritsar. Asthnusands o.f Sikhs visited thecity every day, it So.Dn grew intotbe premier co.mmercial centreo.f the pro.vince. The city became the mo.st impo.rtant placeo.f pilgrimage fDr the Sikhs.What Mecca was to the Muslimsand Benans to the Hindus,Amritsar became to. the Sikhs.The vast area cDvered by tbeHarimandir, the hely tank .andthe Akal Takbat, wbicb wasadded later clearly indicate thegro.wing po.pularity o.f the newfaith during the life-time o.f

Guru Arjan. It ceuld acco.mmodate lakhs ef peo.ple-as itdees even to.day. t was intended to. be tbe fDcal point ofattracting the fDlIDwers Df theGuru and it bas remained so.till this day. TownsBesides Amritsar, the Gurubuilt three Dther tDwns-Df theseDne was Tarn Taran, elevenmiles south Df Amritsar where aGurd wara and leprDsarium werebuilt. The Dther was Kartarpurin the Jul1undur DDab and thelast was HargDbindpur Dn theriver Beas DasvandhTo. raise mDney fDr thebuilding of Harimandir, GuruArjan asked all Sikhs to. dDnatedasvandh a tenth Df theirincDme-in the name Df the

Probing The Ulterior Motive f JehangirMartyrdom Of Guru ArjanBy : Dr , K. Jagjit Singh, Kbalsa College, Bombay

Guru. In this way a central pDo.IDf money was created fDr theco.mmunal prDjects and cDntribution Df dasvandh becamea regular feature.Compilation of Adi GrantbGuru Arjan was a gifted and. prelific po.et. He desired t6 raisethe status Df Sikhism frDm a sect

to a religiDn. This Dbject CDuldbe attained by prDviding theSikhs with nDt only a place Dfpilgrimage but also. a holyscripture ef their DWn. TheGuru was aware Df the dangerDf spurious scriptures gaining

currency.. _He, therefore, decidedto make an authentic completiDnDf the writings Df bis predecessors. He welcomed contributio.n .from different sects ef Hindusand Muslims fer co.nsideration.H;ndu and Muslim writingswere included in wbat is calledtlie Bhagat Vanl Adi Granthis thus unique amo.ngst a wDrldscriptures as it includes hymnswritten by non-Sikhs. GuruArjan believed that a faithShDUld prDduce a balanced cut IDOk. Therefere, while editingand ~ m p i l i n g its cDntents hearranged them in an Drderly

manner and in such a way thatthey reflected philDSDpby Df thebalanced life. The Granth reflec-ted the faith o.f Nanak inits to.tality. Its hymns were ofa higb pDetic Drder and itslanguage simple. The hDly bDekat Dnce hecame a mo.st pDwerful;factDr in spreading the teach-ings ef the Gurus amo.ngstmasses .After cDmpiling tbe bDOkhe installed it in Harimandir in1604 and himself bDwed beforeit. By dDing so, be was acknDwledging the higher authDrity Dfthe Gurbani to -that of persDnal

Times of flin,Times of joy,Times that youCan best enjoyWith Campa-Cola,The Only One.Life is full of Campa-Cola times.


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THE SPOKESMAN WEEKLYnal importance and significancewhich he possessed as a Guru.The book became the focalpoint both in the life of anindividual and the community.t became source of consolation, joy aDd encouragement.

The compilation of AdiGranth was an important landmark in the history of the Sikhs.It became the sacred Granth ofthe new faith and created consciousness among the Sikhs oftheir being a separate community. t served as a source ofdivine wisdom. Its fascinat inghymns chanted in deep reverenceand devotion inspired the mindsof listeners to lofty ideas of simpleliving and high thinking. TheGranth soon' began to serve .sthe symbolic representation ofthe Gurus.There is a tradition that whilethe Adi Granth was being compiled, those who were jealons ofthe Gurus informed EmperorAkbar that the book containedteachings which were hostile toIslam. A copy was thus broughtto Akbar, who was pleased tofind out that it contain,d composition not only of the Sikh Gurus,but of Hindu and Muslim saintsas well. To express his satisfaction he made a gift of gold tothe books and offered robes ofhonour to Bhai Buddha andBhai Gurdas who had broughtthe book.The fact that Akbar wasapproached and an attempt wa>made to poison his ears indicatesthat velted interests had startedactively operating anj they wereready to use both fair and foulmeans [ stop the peacefulspreading of the faith.Growing PopularityGuru Arjan was the first SikhGuru who laid aside the garb ofFaqir and kept an estahlishmentlike a grandee and engaged alsoin trade in a grand style. According to Trumpp before GuruArjan, the Sikhs were a community neither very numerousnor much taken notice of. Thisstago w ' comiderably changedunder Guru Arjan. The Harimandir became a rallying pointfor the Sikhs.Guru Arjan's reign saw thefull flowering of Sikhism. Thenumber of his followers increasedby leaps and bounds. To them hewas indeed an importanttemporal and spiritual figure.V nder him everything was setfall for the achievement of agreat destiny.As the Sikh increased innumber and spread fast over thePunjab, they began to drawpublic attent ion on themselvesand this arouse: the s u ~ p i c i o nof the Mughal Government.In the writings of the SikhGurus there was an unmistakableinsistence on the uniqueness anduniversality of Guru Nanak'smessage. The belief that the.truth discovered by Guru Nanak:and shown to others was superiorto any other was shared alike bythe Guru and his followers.

Today ehangirlives only inthe pages of history whereast ~ c entire Sikh community is ahVlng monument of Guru Arian.

Moreover the teachings of theSikh Guru never attempted anycombination of existing patternsof beliefs 1 constitute a new andmore pleasing pattern or anyreconciliation of Hinduism andIslam. n fact to get to the sourceof religion itself the Sikh Gurushad set both Hinduism and Islamaside.Jebangir : Man OfContradictionBoth' Akbar and Jehangirwere contemporaries of GuruArjan. When Jehangir succeeded;'kbar, there was sudden changem the religious policy of theMughal Empire. Jehangir was astrange compound of tendernessand cruelty, just ice and caprice.,refinement and brutality, y oodsense .aod childishness. Accordingto Vmcent Smith, his love forease, his self-indulgence in drinkand love, his caprice andcruelty and his supersti tion andchildishness were notorious. Hischaracter was full of contradictions. This can b. seen in one ofthe tw.lve Institutes in which hesays, No person s permitted tomJ e or sell wine or ony otherprohibited liquor which occasioninebriety, though I myself amaddicted to wine-babbing.He says, "I have beenaccustomed to take winefrom my eighteenth year to. thepresent, which is the thirty eighthyear of my age, have regularlypartaken of it_ In early days,when I craved for drink, Isometime took as many as twentycups of double-distilled liquor .Though a Muslim can haveat the most four wives, accordingto Father Xavier, Joh.ngir hadno less than twenty lawfulwives, Concubines raised theharem to the monstrou:; numberof 300. There is thus much inJehangir's character that deservesto be condemned.Jehangir's religious policy isalso not easy to define. SirThomas Roe denounced him asan atheist. He _ did not alsofrankly accept any particularrevelation or subscribe to anydefinile creed. His personal religion seems to h ve. been a vaguedeism. He asSumed the name andtitle of Nur-u-din MuhammadJehagir Pad shah Ghazi.At Jehangir accession, theMuslim theologians who had notbeen pleased very much withAkbar's at tempt at secularizingthe state seem to have tried towin back their lost influence.Mulla Shah Ahmed, one ofthe greatest leaders of the age,wrote to various court dignitariesexhorting them to get this stateof things altered in the verybeginning of the reign becauseotherwise it would be difficult toaccomplish anything later on.

Jehangir maintained intactthe Muslim organisation of thestate in its essential aspects.Those. who could influence himbelieved that if a man believedin the truth ofa religion, hecould only prove it by persecutingthe non-believers. t is said thatin the beginning of his reignJehangir favoured Islam in orderto seat himself securely onthe throne of Delhi. Heacted as 'Protector of theTrue Faitb' rather than as theKing of a vast majority of nonMuslims., Jehangir's attempt at playingthe part of a Protector of the

True Faith led him into thepersecution of religious opinionsnot favoured at the court.~ o l l o w i n g facts throw amplelight on the religious policy ofJehangir :i During his reign convertsto Islam, according toJesui duthorities, were givendaily allowances;

ii When Mewar was invadedmany temples were destroyed. When he visitedKangra and Ajmer hedesecrated many Hindutemples;iii He prosecnted Jains. Theirreligious leaders were accused of immoral practices.He summoned Man Singh,their religious leader tohis court. Afraid of meetinga more ignqooiniolls fate,he took poison on his way.Jehangir issued ordersthereupon for the expulsionof the Jains from theImperial territories;iv Qazi Nur Ullah was floggedto death by Jehangir onaccount of his being aneffective hia writer;v Shaikh Ibrahim, a religiousleader of Punjab who hada large number of Afghanfollowers was imprisoned 'in the fortress of Chunar.vi Sh .. kh Ahmed Sirhindiwas a scholar and leaderof Chistia Qadain andNaqsband ia sect of Muslims.According to some Muslimtheologians he claimedto have risen to the statushigher than that of theCaliph. He was called fromSirhind an'd asked toexplain his position. Notsatisfied with his explanation, Jeh.ngir ordered theShaikh to be imprisoned fathis refusal to perform Sijda.Scholars give the followingexplanations for the torturous

death of Guru Arjan :I) During the early yearsof Jehangir's reign ShaikhAbmed Sirhindi felt iealous ofGuru Arjan's influence especiallywith Muslims. He wrote in

9-16th June, 1980strong terms to Jehangir a g a i n s ~ }Guru Arjan. He was not welldISposed towards men likeMian Mir and other Sufis whobelieved in tolerance of otherfaiths.. 2) According to Sikh tradi

tIOn Jehangir's wrath was alsoaroused by Diwan Chandu Shahwhose offer for the marriage ofhIS daughter with the Guru'sson Har Gobind had been earlierturned down.3) :rhe whole period ofGuru i\rj an was also influencedby the opposition - of hiselder brothe r Prithi Chand.WIth' Mughal courtiers andofficials, Prithi Chand conspired

s u ~ c e s s f u l I y to turn the Emperor'sm md agamst Guru Arjan and wasresponsible for the Guru's death.. In fact Guru Arjan hadIDcurred . e ~ a n g i r s displeasurebecause S,khISm was attractingmany followers and wasbecoming very popular in northIndIa. Some Muslims were alsoreported to have accepted him astheIT religious leader and thu's

r e n o u n ~ e d . Islam. Two courses,Jeha ngIT b,mself says, were opento hIm. He could either convertGuru Arjan to Islam forcibly ortake steps to close his 'religiousshop'. t seems that for longhehad been considering both thesec , : ) U r s e ~ and fortune providedhIm WIth an excuse which settledthe matter for him.. Khusro had met Guru ArjanIn the company of his grand- father Akbar and when afterthe unsuccessful rebellion againsth l ~ father he fled to Punjab hewaited on Guru Arjan. J e h a ~ g i rwas already hostile to tbe Guruand this meeting provided anexcuse to put a.n end to thefalse traffic. Jehangir writesabout this meeting in hisautobiography. He says, Inthese d y ~ when Khu.sro passedalong thIS road, tbIS foolishlyinsignificant fe.llow (Arjan)proposed to walt upon him.Khusro bappened to half at theplace where he lived. He cameto meet him. He discussed severalmatters with him and made Onhis forehead a finger mark insaffron which in terms of HinduS called Qashqa and is considered propitious".In fact the Guru eould nevercontemplate involving himselfin the struggle for throne. Tbiswas struggle for power and theGuru had nothing to do withit. According to MacauliffeKhusro was provided with arew thousand rupees. BeniPrasad in his History of Jehcrngirputs this amount at Rs 5,000/-.As already seen, in factJehangir himself wos opposedto Guru Arjan possibly becauseof his populari ty. He waseagerly waiting for an opportDOlty to lay his hand uponhim. His writing in TuzkeJehangiri clearly reveals hisulterior motive and intensions.-

(Continued on page 16)


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THE "SPOKESMAN" WEEKLY 7Guru Arjan Dev worship, a rall}'ing point forSikhs. He constructed what isnow known as Golden Gurdwara(Temple) or Darbar Sahib. Itsfoundation was laid hy a Muslimfaquir Mian Mir. It is locatedin the centre of the tank, thedigging of wbich was slarteddunng the time of Guru 'RamDas , and its reflection therein 'gives a nice view.

"Alas many a precious lifehas been spent and lostin this thankless businessof reforming the hUlllaabeast, yet still one sickensat the sight of societyand its carnal pursuits."P rof. Puran Singh.

Guru Arjan, the fifth Guruof rhe Sikhs, though not afounder of the Sikh faith, butit was he who placed the newfaith on proper and firm footings.There is no doubt that thefou'r Gurus who preceded GuruArjan had each one of themplayed his part. Guru Nanak,the founder of Sikh faith,preached oity of God Sahibmera eko hai, eko hoi bhai ekohail; according to him there wasno need of the crowd of deities,gods and godm.n. He rejectedpolytheism, worship of id"ls andthe caste system so deeply rootedin the 'Illdiall society. Secondly,ho preached the brotherhood ofman. He said that all humanbeings were the creation of theAlmighty, there was no high orlow. Thirdly, be initiated theinstiiution of langar (free kitcben)where eve r yone irrespectiveof caste and creed sat togetberand ate.Guru Nan.k was succeededby Guru Angad who gave"definiteness and distinctiveness"to the general principles ' laiddown by Guru Nanak. Hemodified tbe Gurmukhi scriptwhicb, in the words of DuncanGreenless, "did much to breakdown the ba ughty exclusivenessof ' the Brabmins. who hadenjoyed almost a monopoly ofliteracy and learning for so manyyears" , He took interest inpbysical exercises to maintaintbe health of his disciples. Hecollected information from hisdisciples coming from far andnear alld had Guru Nanak'stravels consolidated in writing.Guru Amar Das , tbird illline, furtber developed theinstitution of langar, and madeit obligatory for ever), one toeat in the langar before he couldhave the Guru's darshan. EvenAkbar, the Great did notviolate this principle and partook of meals in the langar,before he could see the Gurll.He coodemned sati, parda,infanticide, renunciatjon, andencouraged widow re-marriage.As the number of Sikhs had bythen increased and were spreadover large areas, the Gurudivided tbe country into 22manjis (dioceses), each under thecharge of a Sikh. He trained andsent out 95 men and 52 womento various places to preach thenew faith.

Guru Ram Das, whosucceeded Guru Amar Das,founded Amritsa r where thebeginning was made by digginga tank (sarovar) at tbe place.

Then came Guru Arjan.He took many steps to nourishthe iouog plant of Sikhism aodlaid its foundations on firmfooting.Guru Grauth Sahib

The first step he took wasto compile Ibe Scriptures in theform of a book contaioing thetenets of Sikbism ta is was l.tergiven tbe status of Guru byGuru Gobind Singh and sincethen is knowo as Guru GrantbSabib. Th is became the sacredbook of the Sikhs as bible isfor Cllristians and the Quranis for Muslims. Besides the b3niof the Sikh Gurus, Guru GranthSahib cootains bani of thevarious Magars belollging toother religions. ,various castes,and hailing from different partsof tbe country. This creates a senseof national integration, and in thewords of Sadhu T .L.- Vaswaniis " a Scripture of Union, amelap-shastra" . AccordioS toArcher, its compilation "intocompact coherent form, and itselevation authoritative scripturewas a significant 2chievemenf'.Darbar Sahib(Golden Temp e)The second step taken byGuru Arjan Siogh was to giveh is disciples a central place of

Tbis "Lordly House, tbeCourt of Honour, tbe Hall ofAudience" having spiritualatmosphere has become thecentral place of worsbip forSikbs, it is tbe Mecca of theSikhs. and attracts the devoteesfrom all over the world. TheSikhs have ever since beencoming to Amritsar for homageat tbe Darbar Sahib; the practicewas Dot discontinued ' even wbena visit to Amritsar sometimesmeant loosing one's life, especially during the 18th Century.As this central place became .a source of inspiration andstrength, the Darbar Sabib badto face many vicissitudes of life.Ahmad Shah Abdali (Durrani),whom th Golden Gurdwaraappeared offensive an obstacle in his way, bad it demolished in 1762; it was rebuilt ,bytbe Sikhs after two years andalso cleansed of the rubbisb theDurrani had had tbrown ioto it.After a rew years, the Durraniagain had it destroyed, and theSikbs again bad it rebuilt. Later,

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TH SPOKESMAN WEEKLY 8 9l6th June, 1980Manjis

Guru Arjan re-organised andimprove d upon the Manjis system. Tbe Sikhs in charge ofthese Manjis were designated asMasands. They were tbe Guru'slieutenants (naibs) who passedon to the 'Sikbs the Guru'smessages and collected donationsfrom tbem for onward remittance to tbe Guru .Tbus Guru Arjan had createdan autonomous community aState within a State , with agood deal of power and prestigesuch as must awaken jealousyand suspicion in tbose who wereultra-loyal to tbe MugbalEmpire , Martyrdom

Tbe establishment of tbeMughal dynasty in India byBabar, ' and the origin ofSikhism with tbe advent ofGuru Nanak had taken placesimultaneously and tbere wasaccord between the two in tbeinitial stages during tbe time oftbe firH tbree Mugbal Emperorsand tbe first four Sikh Gurusand a part of the fifth . TbeseMugbal Emperors respectedtbe Sikh Gurus, and even visitedtheir deras to pay bomage, wbicbin turn increased tbe Gurus'prestige. But the situation tooka tum witb tbe accession to theDelhi throne of Jahangir, wbocould not tolerate tbe iocreasiogpower of tbe Sikh Gurus .which,in time, cculd prove dangerous.So, Jabangir was out in lookingfor an excuse so tbat be couldnip tbe danger in tbe bud. Tbisis evident from wbat he wrotein bis memiors : For a verylong time I bad been pondetingthat eitber tbis false shop shouldbe exterminated or he (GuruArjan) should be brought intothe fold of Islam." (It is quitelikely tbat since tbe Mugbalsbad not been firmly establisbedin India till under Akbar, tbatIbe confrontation Wlth the Sikhswas postponed )In his nefarious designs,Jahangir was assis ted by a numberof persons and circusmtances. Tbefirst of this kind was GuruArjan's elder brotber Prithi 'Chand who had been supersededfor gur-gaddi by their father; beoften connived with and carried- tales to tbe Mughal Court againstGuru Arjan. Tb e second person was Cbandu Mal, an officialof Jahaogir. Cbandu Mal, onlearning that h is d u g b t ~ r .badbeen engaged with Guru Arjan .son, passed certain derogatOl yremarks .against tbe Guru. TbeSikbs resented the remarks andrequested the Guru not to acceptthe relat ionship. Tbe Guruagreed. (Tbis appears to be tbefirst ever passed gurmatta . TblSestranged tbeir rel ationship andChandu started looking for achance to avenge this in sult. Hegot this chance and joined bandswitb Prithi Chand.But what really gave Jahangir a bandle to deal with Guru

Arjan .was tbe revolt of ' theEmperor's son Khusro. Tbedefeated Khusro during bisfigbt bad paid a visit to GuruArjan who bad given tbe princeti/ak and also blessed bim, anordinary routine followed at tbeGuru's court whenever some onevisited tbe Jera. Jahangir, annoyed at tbis act of tbe Guru, finedtbe latter to two lakbs of rupees.Tbe Guru refused to pay the fineand also advised bis Sikhs accordingly. On tbis tbe Guruwas imprisoned and tortured: hewas placed in boiling water,made to sit on the heated ironplate, bot sand was poured overhis head. Consequently tbe Gurudied.

In this respect also, .GuruArjan laid the foundations onwbicb a marvellous mansion . bassince been raised.Before tbe Guru expired, hebad realised tbat bis followers .

needed protection wbicb' wasnot possible witbout beingarmed. So, Guru Arjan senthis last injunction to bis son andsuccessor, Guru Hargobind, tbathe should sit on tbe gaddl fullyarmed, and maintained a military 'forc e. He tbus laid tbe foundations of the Sikb martialism.A Rallying PointTo sum up, Guru Arjan bybuilding tbe Darbar Sabib atAmritsar gave tbe Sikbs acentral place of worsbip, createda rallying point for tbe Sikbnation . He compiled the GuruGrantb Sabib and placed it intbe Darbar Sabib; he produceda doctrinal sacred book for hisdisciples to guide tbem spiritually. He founded a number ofnew townsbips and encouragedeconomic development of tbeseplaces . He encouraged his Sikbsto go for borse-riding and hisson to b. armed, thus laying the

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foundations of tbe martialspirit among his " Sikbs who,later, became renowned soldier.s.Finally he laid tbe foundationsof sacnficing ooe's life for goodaod honest cause on whicb anoble mansion bas since been. erected.. So, it was Guru Arjan writesMalcolm, "who ought, from tbisact, to be deemed the first whogave consisteDt form and orderto the religion of tbe Sikbs, anact wbicb, though it bas produc"ed Ibe effect be wis hed, of uniting that nation more closelyand of increasing tbeir numbers ,proved fatal to himself". Tbus,in tbe words of Sadhu T .L.Vaswani, be was, perhaps, thegreatest man of his century 'aDd tbese four centuries andmore he has been one of tbedam ioant figures in tbe bistory ofIndia, the history of the world".

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l'HE SPOKESMAN WEEKLYMartyrdom OfGuru Arjan DevBy : Prof_ Hazara Singb, Ludhi.oa

The fifth Nanak, Guru Arjao Dev (1563--1606) . whosemartyrdom anniversary falls on the fourth lunar day of the IndIanmontll Jyaistha, made a distinct cootriou tion to the socIal transformation io the Punjab . He compiled the Guru Graoth, the hollscripture of Sikhs, founded Har Maodir at Amritsar and through blSmartyrdom showed a way of hope aod hooour to manklOd.Compilation of Guru GranthFor compiling tbe Guru Granth, Guru Arjan Dev sorted out tbeworks of all religious teacbers belonging to the Bhag/i Movement.t had been a cult which believed in religious tolerance. Three testswere proscribf nonviolence preached by Lord Buddha had remamed an academIC creed.Guru Arjan Dev was the first to practise it. t had a double purpose.t tended to arouse, through noble and brave sufferings, tbe hardenedand inhuman conscience of the wicked rulers from a slumber. It alsoinspired the oppressed and the a b ~ n d o n e d for a? hono.ura ble way . oflife, by impressing on them that non-cooperatton WIth eVIl S asmuch a moral obligation as is co-operation with good. Non-violenceand passive resistance were fearlessly preached and succ,ssfully.practised by the fifth Nanak more than two centuries before tbeAmerica.n political theorist, Henry'David Thoreau, wbo is r e g a r d e d

the preceptor of both Leo Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandbi, wrote.about tbem in his famous book Walden . . Tbe inspiring martyrdom of the Sikh Gurus (5th and 9th) marked the advent of an era or 'hope and honour for our people. The social revolution which got:stirred , the political emancipation which became a war-cry anj tbe :economic exploitation wbich was vehemently denounced strove t >forge the Indian society into an order which precoded Rousseau' sslogan of equality, fraternity and liberty by more than a century.

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THE SPOKESMAN WEEKLY 11. 9-16th June, 1980organisation of saint-soldiers-riho may be in a position tostand with dignity in this worldand propagate tbe guidanceeontained in the volume of theAdi Granth, even though GuruTegh Bahadur also added hiscontribution to tbat volume.That guidance. witb its twinmost important principles,worsbip of God and suppression.of Haumai, is the dire need of theworld.

The Ideal fGuru Granth And Guru Pa.nthGuru Gobind Singh, beforehis pbysical departure from tbe'World, completed both themain jobs undertaken by hispredecessor Gurus. He completed tbe volume of Adi Granthby adding therein the compositions of Guru Tegh Bahadur.He also completed tbe format ionof the strong organisation ofsaint-soldiers, the KbalsaPanth, on the Baisakbi day of

tbe year 1699 A.D. Tbe fiveSikbs, who offered the sacrificeof tbeir lives on that day,were full of two convictions.Firstly ihey were observing theaight of God realisation in

in his Rehtnama the last injunction wbich Guru . Gobind Singhgave to tbe Sikhs. By tbeWill of God Almighty tbe KhalsaPaoth is established; All Sikhsare ordained to accept GranthSabib as Ibeir Gorn, aDd 'GumKhalsa' as bis pbysical body"Mahan KosI , p. 596.)Ever since the volume ofGuru Granth Sahib ' wascompiled by Guru Arjsn Dev,he used to show great respectto it by resting at a lower placeand all subsequeot Gurus alsotreated the volume as deserving

full respect. They held thesimple but most logical princi'plethat tbeir teachings in the formof their words carried all value,not tbeir physical morta lbodies.The Sikhs pray to God everyday formankind Sarbat Ka ' Bhala .

Sikhs.Firstly, tbe Namdbarisbelieve tha t a living Guru, not abook of scripture, is alwaysessential to guide huma n beingsto God while according to tbem,tbe Sikhs believe tbat onlyGurus' words or sbabad, andnot a living Guru, can be aTrue Guru.Secondly the Namdharisbelieve that Guru Gobind Singhdid .Dot transfer Guruship toGuru Granth Sahib but to BabaBalak Singh whom they believeas their 11th Guru iu tbe line

of tbe Sikb Gurus.Regarding the first pointthat a liying Guru is alwaysessential, the Sikhs bold tbat.a True' Guru is sent by Godfrom time to time whether be isthe welfare of theTo achieve this,ntirethey must, therefore, first complete ' the s t r u c t ~ r e of'Guru Panth' which is the instrument to propagate

the teachings c o n t a i n ~ d in Guru Granth Sahib.-Guru Gobind Singh and wereunderstanding that his call inthe name of Dbarma meant'spreading God worship in tbeworld. Secondly, tbe five hadeliminated {[Urn their minds aself-interest and were ready topersonalities are being worsbipwped every w ~ e r e and ,the m a j ~ J . i Iof worshippers .liever :" rtliihigber to realize formre lGOlfiin Sudr.as 'or B a r i j a HFl ,i


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THE SPOKESMAN WEEKLY 12 9-16th June, 1980Western religions are even moredevoted to personalities and,therefore, during the last severalcenturies they have been givinghighest importance and priorityto one job and that is to convertotbers to have faith In tbeper sonalities of their Prophetswhom they believe as thegreatest and truest.

Personalities arc IDany whileGod is one and higher devotionto many has oCreated religiousdivis ion s and ,,,o.fticts. Instead ofNam-iimrin n W it is Mansimnin.Some splinter se.cts of Sikhshave alsQJoined this ~ a c e andare desperately in seMeh ofplaces of 'imp,mlanee and pridefor personalities whom theytreat as Gurus. t ~ u d notbe surprising, ~ b e f o r e , if inour w ~ r l d


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THE "SPOKESMAN" WEEKLY \3 9-16th June, 1980A musical function titled,HBanuri , ' "was organized in theFemises of the Sangeet NatakAkademi, New Delhi, from 2ndMarch to 7th March this year.

It was a presentation by a societycalled t URaag Rang , in collaboration with the Sangeet ~ t kAkademi and the Sahitya KalaParishad. In the broohurebrought out for the festival,the object is stated, to disc.ssand demonstrate the influenceof Vaishnavism and Sufism . onIndian dance and music".

asis Of Shabad irtan

The evening programmes;ncluded some well knownmaestros who gave performances


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THE "SPOKESMAN" WEEKLY 14

The Candle The RadianceBy : Giani Gurbachan Singb, Dehradun

Ko an milavai mera prilam pia a houn lis paih ap vechainDarsan Har dekhan kai la;n .Kripo karainh 1 salgur melcrihn Hor Har nom dhiaine sukh dehn la lujhaih aradhin dukh bhi lujhai dhiaine bhukh dehn to i l hi ajan dukh wich sukh manainTan man kat ka l sabh arpin wich agni ap jalainPakha pherin pani dhowan jo devainh so khainNunak garib dhaih paiya duara; Har mellaihu:wadiaiThe GraceWhoso brings about my meeting with the BelovedUnto him I se ll out myself . 'Just for a glance of tbe Lord, yeaI f Thou be merciful 10 me,And gel me in toucb with Ihe Satguru,Ever and ever I


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THE SPOKESMAN WEEKLY 15 9-16tb June, 1980eed Of Establishing Federation OfSikh Societies Of Canada

the Sikhs and their struggle for,retaining their identity andculture in an alieo - environment.He pleaded for a united andcollective approach and criticised factionalism' and partypolitics. Mrs. Avtar Kaur Khalsadwel t o o the sacrifices andsufferings of Sikh women indefence of tbeir rights as settlersin Canada. She wanted moredocumentary,films on Sikhhistory and values to promotea better appreciation of Sikhismon the 'part of tbe host community.

could bo considered. It continued to be a forum for rededication to Sikh values. Dr. J.O'Connell discussed the contribution of Guru am Dos Ashramtowards Sikh education andwanted the place of yoga inSikhism to be defined anddemarcated. Dr. Jarnail Singh, spoke of the Dynamism of SikhInstitutions and wanted thegurdwaras to function as acentre of community-life.

(From Our Correspondent)The. Sikh conference spon

~ o r e d by the Ottawa Sikh S o c i e ~ ywas held at Charleton UniversityConference Centre from 16thto 18th May, 1980. About 400delegates from Canada and USAparticipated in the deliberation .Two special guests invited fromabroad were Dr. Gobind Singh~ n s u k h n i of London andProf. Pritam Singh Gill oflullundur . The first eveningwas utilised for registration andreception of guests and informalcommunication among the participants.The inaugural session beganon 17th May at Southam Hall,with the Sikh prayer. Dr. HarpalSingh Buttar welcomed the delegates. Dr. Bakshish , SinghSamagh, Chairman of workingcommittee, dw elt on the need-of promoting better understanding between Sikhs and otherCommunities.The inaugural r ddress wasdelivered by Mr. P.G.L. Fairweather, Chief .commissioner,Human Rights Commission,Ottawa. The Key-note Addresswas presented by Dr. J.W.Spellman, Head of the Institute-of Asian Culture, University ofWindsor. He elaborated tbeid'ea of the Canadian mosaic incont rast to the American concept of the melting p1t ofmulti-racial culture. He affirmedthat all cultures were a part of,he Canadian identity.The second session Wl. rlevoted to the theme of Evolution ofSikhs in Canada . Dr . G.S.Paul dealt with the three pbasesof Sikh immigration to Canada:(i) Struggle for existence; (Ii)Participation stage (1954-70); (iii)Settlement of Sikhs. Prof. J.O'Connell dwelt on the Stateof Sikh Studies in Canada andthe need of research in theirproblems. Dr. Sukhmandar Singhspoke on the richness and effectiveness of the Sikh way of life.Dr. Balwant Singh of Lewisburgstressed the need for morestudies of Sikh theology andValues.The third session was devotedto the preservation of Sikhberitage. Dr. Gobind Singhthrew light on the philosophicaland spiritual concepts of Sikhism and their application to theproblems of living. The interacting between what he called theFive S's of Sikhism-Sewa, Sadachar, Sadh-Sallgat, Sangeef andSimran-resulted in the integralion and fulfilment of human

p e r s o n ~ l i t y He affirmed thatthe gulf between man's words,and deeds led to imbalance andtension. Dr. Amarjit SinghSethi spoke on the spiritualconsciousness in Sikhism and the


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TH "SPOKESMAN" WEEKLY 16Martyrdom f Guru Arjan great good fortune:

(Continued rom page 6) TortureHe says, A Hindu named Arjan of bymns in the Granth Mohsin Fani, the autbor oflived at Goindwal on the bank Sahib, I cannot erase or Dabistan, says, Guru Arjan wasof river Beas in the garb of a alter an iota ...The hymns tied in the burning sun over hotsaint and in ostentation. As which find a place in It are sand and was tortured. Thea sesult many of the simple not disrespectful to any severest heat of May overheadminded Hindus as well as ignorant Hindu incarnation or Muham- hoi sand under him and boilingand foolish Muslims had been madan prophet. It is certainly waler poured on his bare bodypersuaded to adopt his way of stated that prophets, priests, caused blisters all over." .living and he had raised aloft and incarnations are the During .one of the inter-th e standard of sainthood and band-work of tbe Immorta l missions in the torture Guruholiness. He was called Guru. God whose limit none can Arjan was permitted to batbeThis business had flourished for find. My main objecf is the in tbe cold water of the riverIhree or four generalions. For spread of truth and destruc- Ravi lIowing just below thea long time it had been in my tion of falsehood, and if, in fortress where he was keptmind to put a stop to this vain pursuance of ' this object, prisoner. Repeating God's Nameaffair (Dukan-e-Batil) or to bring this perishable body must he bad a dip but being exhaustedhim inlo t oe fold of Islam. depart, I shall account .it and famished, the clirrent bore

Jehangir's writing reveals the - - : ~ : I - . S - . - I . - M - A - R - K - E - D : F I - N : E - S - T - A - P - P - L - I A - N - C - E ~ S - - - - : : :following important facts:i) The Guru lived both as asaint and in ostentation;ii) A large number of Hindusand Muslims were beingattracted to this new faithfor three or ' four genera-tions; .iii) The Guru professed onlyto be a saint or a holymaD;iv) Jehangir wanted to puta stop to this vain affairor bring the Guru intotbe fold of Islam".Thus this great Emperorwho is known to the world forhis justice had a prejudiced mindand had pre-conceived , ideaof "putting a stop to this vainaffair". t is clear tha t even ifGuru Arjan had not blessed--Khusro, Jebaogir would havedefinitely stopped this vainaffair. Since there was noquest on of he Guru going intothe fold of Islam, death waswaiting for him at the bands ofthis Ghazi.After the revolt of Khusrowas crusbed and he was capturedJebangir wreaked his vengeanceon his followers and supporters.The list of Khusro's supporterssubmitted to Jehangir containedthe name of Guru Arjan.Jebangir writes in Tuzak-iJehangir, I fully knew his(Guru Ar jan' s) heresies and Iordered thai he should bebrought into y presence his

house and children be made overto Murtala Khan; his properlybe confiscated and he be put todeathby torlure.t is said that Jehaogir, inthe first instance, had only finedhim two lakhs of rupees andordered him to expunge fromthe Ad; Granth passages opposedto the Hindus and the Musalmans. But to this the Guru replied:Whatever money', I have isfor the poor, the friendlessand the stranger. If thouasketh for money thanmayest take what I have,but if tbou asketh for it byway of fine, I shall not give

thee even a Kauri (shell), fora fine is imposed on wickedand worldly perso,n and noton priests .and anchorites.And as to what thou hastsa.id , regarding the erasure

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916tb June, 1980him beyond the reach of histormentors. He was only 42 'years old then-almost of thesame age at which Guru GobindSingh-tbe tenth Guru of tbe'Sikhs also later died.It may be noted tbat Khusrohimself was also blinded andimprisoned. Subseguently herecovered his sight but not hillliberty. He was destined to be a.pawn in the political game and'was ultimately disposed of undervery tragic and suspicious.circumstances.According to Beni Prasad, tli .martyrdom', of Guru Arjan walia politieal execution. According:to Sir Jadu Nath Sarkar, GurwArjan had blessed Khusro andgiven bim financial help. 00-Khusro's defeat the Guru was;fined and on his refusal to pay'the fine, he was imprisoned andtonured which were the usualpunishments of revenue defaultersin those days.Impact of Martyrdom

Guru Arjan's martyrdom wasthe first of the long series ofreligious persecution which theSikhs suffered at the hands ofthe 'Mughal Emperors. GuruAljan's . son Guru Hargobindwas also ill prisoned by Jehangir_According to Dablslan he wasimprisoned for twelve years forthe non-payment of tbe fiDeimposed on his fatber. Duringthe 27 years of Guru Arjari':>ministry the Sikhs had becomeconscious of the fact that theywere now neitber Hio9US, norMuslims, but a separate community. After the 'm'artyrdom ofGuru Arjan, the Sikhs resolvednot to submit to any oppressionS.but to defeod their rights byarms and there . began theprocess of transformation ofthe Sikhs into a military power.The death of GJlru Arjanis thus considered a turning.point in the development ot"tJieSikh community. From thllttime onward there' commencedtbe struggle whicb changed thewhole character of tbis socioreligious movement. IWheneleven years old Son of GuruArjan tooK the seat of his fatherhe girded round his waist twoswords; one to symbolise -spiritualpower and the other temporal.He declared to his followeis thathe would welcome offerings ofarms and horses. He builta small fonress Lohgarh inAmritsar and also built AkalTakht-the throne of the TimelessGod where the ~ o n g r e g t i o oheard ballads exalting featS 'ofheroism. Change in the complexion of the Sikh organisationwas clearly visible.The change came becauseGuru Arjan a great saintlyfigure. an original t h i n k ~ rillustrious poet; practical philosopber and a great organiser feUvictim to the fanaticism ofJehangir. Today Jehangir livesonly in the pages of history where- ,as tbe entire Sikh communityis a living monument of Guru ,Arjan.


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THE "SPOKESMAN" WEEKLYUR CHANDIGARH NEWSLETTERPunjab s Political Scenario

By : Sarilar Bharpur SinghThere has been a turn ofevents in Punjab in favour ofCongress (I). The AkaJi Partyheaded by Sardar Parkash SinghBadal will now occnpy theopposition benches along with the C.P.L and the C.P(M) Partymembers and the Congress (I)members will occupy the Treasurybenches.There is no doubt that theAkali party along with itsalliance partners viz. C.P.I.and C.P. (M) have given a goodaccount of themselves in theelections and the Congress (1)have tbeir majority-thinner than

in any other of seven Stateswhere Congress (I) governmentbas come into power in somecase with absolute majorityand in others with the dependablemajority. The Akali party hadgiven a good fight to theCongress (I) party-the papersare full of comments that if theAkali leaders had put up - aunited fight against theCongress (I) party, the resultsmigbt have been different.According to some reportsthere are signs of simmering disunity in the Congress (I) partyparticularly between the oldguards and the youth wing. TheAkali party is now settled downas a united party without signsof factionalism and theC .P' . and the C.P. (M) areadhering to their poll pactfor the ' present. Nob ) I, canpredict whether there will be ornot cases of iloor crossing. Thesigns are that these cannot beruled out entirely. The disgruntledare not likely to stick to theirparty if political and economicadvantages come their way.

Continued/rom page 15lines for the Constitution of theFederation of Sikh Societies ofCanada. Sardar Gurcharan Singhmade a tabular formulation of theaims and objectives of theproposed Federation with audiovisual aids. Sardar RajindarSingh Ranga, the Chairman ofthe Session made useful suggestions for the establishment ofthe Federation. The representatives of Sikh gurd waras andassociations, who had receivedcopies of the proposed constitution, wanted more time to studythe details.After much discusion, thegathering unanimously approvedin principle the need of establisbing a Federation for Canadaand authorised the chairmanto get the tepesentatives of thevarious gurdwaras and societiestogether to consider the constitution and present it to the conference next year. It was decidedto hold tbe next conference atCalgary.

In the circumstances SardarParbsh Singh Badal is reportedto be very alert and watchfuland may be able to keep hisparty intact and weather allstorms tbat are likely to arise inthe next few weeks.Sardar Darbara SingbSardar .Darbara Singh is aseasoned soldier of the Congresswho has spent many dec.des ofloyal devotion to the Congressand after split to the Congress (I).He is a very mild manneredpolitical leader who does notlose his equilibrium by suddenSituations and sudden provocations. He will have to steer theState ship tbrough many politicalwhirlpools and tbrough manyeconomic whirlwinds. Time willshow whether this aged (62)but experienced political leaderwill b, able to satisfy thepolitical aspirations, the politicalambitions of the youth Congress (I) members who have nowentered tbe assembly for thefirst time. They may be impatient, they may e ebullientbut it will require tbe tactfulhandling of the political colts hySardar Darbara Singh. Histenure of Chief Ministershipmay turn out to e a blessingif he can unify the energy andthe utility of the youth wing tocontrol tbe spiralling pricesparticularly of the esse'ntialcommodities to the relief of poor,ections of people and backwardclasses.Task Before NewChief MinisterSardar Darbara Singh will,without doubt, bave to tacklemany difficult problems-serviceproblems-threats of strikesgalore, processions of government servants passing throughmain streets crying hai hai Thisdoes not give good impressionof government and in the longrun Cluses disaster. The secondproblem of prices-though anall India phenomenon, has itslocal bearings also. The commodity control, the marketcontrol , the availability of. essential daily requirements oflife are local problems and arethe concern of the State Government, particularly. of the ChiefMinister and how he successfullytackle. them will be seen in duecourse of time. The . thirdproblem which is no less important and perhaps is more important than all others is the evermounting crime wave.

Law And Order SituationNobody can deny ' that theincidence of crime is rising inPunjab. The police force, nodoubt, is beaded by a veryactive and devoted Inspector

17General of Police but the bruntof controlling and nipping thecrime and criminals is th -concern of local police everywhere. Their ability and tbeirreputation on tbis account is at present at a low ebb. twill be indeedfor Sardar Darbara Singh toinfuse a new spirit of loyal anddevoted work in all ranks of thepolice force to control crime, torise above partisanship, not tosuccumb to political pressuresin criminal cases. There issufficient public dissatisfactionin the working of the law andorder machinery-wbich incidentally has a so its effect, itsimpact on market rates. fblack marketing thrives underthe very eyes of the police whatcan an average man do. So thiswill require careful thought andplenning at the hands of or onbebalf of the Chief Minislerunder his direct superVISIon.This does not mean tbat SardarDarbara Singh in spite of politicalpre-occupations, solving politicalwranglings in and outside theparty, will not handle theproblems which face the commonman both in urban rural areas.Rural problems which deservehis immediate attention are thescarity of electric . power to runtuhe well. without the restrictionsof time, tbe 'Khad' . whichquite often is passed on to thecultivators in an adultrated formand is to aU intents and purposesuseless. The diesel to run thetractors . There . s no otber itemon which a cultivator has towaste 0 much time and feel quitefrustrated as the nonavailabilityof diesel oil. There is thequestion of reliable seed whichnot unoften is not fit for useand the hopes of good cropsare broken.Urban problems .which areequally important if the Congress I) is to enbance itsprestige and popularity with thecommon citizen is the propercontrol of full scale reductionof consumer goods. Themanufacturers of articles ofcommon use create artificialscarcity by either lowering theproduction or by withboldingstocks f'Jr some time, for cominginto the market and then lettingthe retailers and even thewholesalers create a panic andraise the prices. t is, therefore,for the Chief Minister to seethat the manufacturers in tbisState carryon full productione.g vanaspati , oil, sarson, soaps,detergents, etc. and above allfertilisers so that the prestige ofthe Congress (I) may not suffer.The Akali Dal will certainlycooperate witb the Congress (I)only in public interest viz. togive much needed relief to thevery much harassed . generalpublic. Sardar Darbara Singhwill, no doubt , accept the offerof Sardar Parkash Singh Badalthat tbe latter will cooperatewith the former to give as muchrelief to the general public in

916th June, 19S0Ihe matter of supplies and pricesas possible. No doubt muchdepends upon the Congress (I)ministers whom Sardar DarbaraSingh puts incharge of keyportfolios whicb toucb the publicevery day. The popularity of theCongress (I) will not increase byconfrontation witb Akalis butby securing their goodwill, goodfaith in general public matters.Court NoticesIn the Court of Sh. B.L. Garg,D.J.S., Sub Judge, 1st Class, .Delhi.In the matter of applicationNo. 252/S0 from I. Smt. ShantiDevi d/o Chet Ram Verma. wloBhonath Singh, Advocate, Palwal,District Gurgaon (Haryana), 2.Smt. Veer Wati d/o Chet RamVerma, w/o Sh. Trilok Chand,12-A, Nangli Razapur , P.O.Nizammuddin, New Delbi'13, 3.Smt. Jaswanti Devi dLo Chet RamVerma, w/o Sh. Bhagwan Sahai,rio Village ' P.O. Dhikauli(Mawana), Dis . Meerut, U.P., 4.Smt. Thakri Devi wd /o Chet RamVerma, rio Village Sadorpur.P.O. Baraula, Dist. Ghaziabad(U.P.), for a Succession Certificate under Act XXXIX of 1935.To All concernedWhereas the above namedapplicant has applied for succession Certificate to this courtunder section 372 of the IndianSuccession Act, 1925, in respectof debits/securities amounting . toRs. 20,778.39p said to be standing in the name of Sh. Chet Ram.Verma deceased.

Whereas the 12th day ofAugust, 19S0 at 10 O'clock i8the forenoon bas been fixed forhearing of the application, notice 'is hereby given to all concerned.Given under my hand andthe seal of the court on this .29.5.S0.Sd/- Sub Judge, 1st Class,(Seal) Delhi.In the Court, of Sh. B.L. Garg,D.J.s ., Sub Judge, 1st Class,Delhi.In tbe matter of applicationNo. 349/S0 from Smt. HarbansKaur, wd/o Shri Late GurbachanSingh, R/o . 22/2A, Double

Storeys, Prem Nagar , (Tehar II),New Delhi llOOI8, for a Succession Certificate under ActXXXIX of 1925.To All Concerned.Whereas the above namedapplicant has 'applied for succession Certificate to this courtunder section 372 of tbe IndianSuccession Act, 1925, in respectof debits/securities amountiug to .Rs. 6626.00 said to be standingin the name of Shri GurbacbanSingh deceased.Whereas the 19 .5.80 at 10 0 'clock in the forenoon has beenfixed for hearing of the appli.cation, notice is hereby given toall concerned. .Given under my hand .andthe seal of thecollrt on this31.5.80 . Sdl- Sub-Judge, 1st Class,(Seal) / . D:lhi. .


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THE "Sl'OKESMA.N" WEEKLY

tietters To 1;he Editor' _ \ssembly Elections

of the Opposition leaders will dowell to give up active politics andsome of the parties sbould at oncebe wound up if the Opposition isto exist and do well.The country now is passingthrough a critical stage, the oldguard not relinquisbing andshowing signs of sacrifice ' andtbe masses being quite helpless.For the future we have to dependupon now set of leaders, theyouth of tbe country. Let themwork hard, deserve and thendesire. It is they wbo can savethe country from misruledictatorship, dynastic rule and. disintegration.-Professor Darbara SinghAmritsar ' ,

18 9-16th June, 1980Training Camp t Paonta Sahib[n a press note SardarBalwinderpal Singh, . GeneralSecretary (Student Wing) ofGuru Gobind Singb Study Circle,Ludbiana, informs tbat theAnnual Workers Training Camp

of Study Circle will be held from15tb June to. 22nd June, 1980 atPaonta Sahib district Sirmor(Himachal Pradesh) in whichmore than 200 workers from Punjab & otber states will participate.

PrincipaL Surji Singb Bha'iia,Principal.Harbhajan Singh, Prof.Ram Singh, Dr. Dalip Singh Deep,Prof. Bhagwant Singh Bir, Sarda rGurbax Singh Guide Giani LalSingh, Prof. [nderjit Singh W a ~ u ,Prof. Vikram Singb, Dr.Ajit Singb Sikka, Prof. JoginderSingh, Prof. Jaspal Singh, Dr .Darsban Singh, Sardar PritbipalSingh Kapoor , Principal HardyalSingb, Principal Manjit Singb,Dr . Joginder Singh, Prof. BaljitSingh, Prof. Manjinder Kaur ,Prof. Hardy.l Singh, Prof.Gurdip Singb, Prof. H .S. Suri,Prof. ' Gurmoban Singh, S.Bban Singb, Prof. Amarjit SinghDua, Principal H.S . Pardesi,Prof. Gurmel Singh;Prof. SamsherSingb and many otbers will cometo discuss and ddress on variousaspects of Sikbism. To encouragetbe workers Shabad Recitation,Poems Recitation and compe i

The inaugration of the Campwill , be on 15th June byhoisting 'Kesri Nisban Sahib' and presenting Gaurd of Honour toGuru Granth Sahib. Dr. JaswantSingh Neki, Director, P;G .I. willhoist the Kesri Nishan Sahib andDr . Bbagat Singh, Vice Cbancellor, Punjabi University will presideover tbe first session, SardarGurcharan Singh Tohra isalso expected to attend .andencourage tbe campers. Padam, tion will be held.rof. Piara Singh

j- - .

Sir About tbese Assembly elections Mrs indira Gandhi criedaloud that she must be givenlevers of J, ..wer in States also topush up tbe progress of thecountryaud that the Statesshallle have the same party'sgovern meat as at the Centreand some of Iile voters ignoredher misrule of Emergency,arrests of i noeent personstampering with the Constitution,price rise aad lawlessness 10the country etc., aad obliged herand voted for C ."gress (I). Thevictory that she has go in tbeseAssembly elections is not, due toher popularity or cbaflsma buttbe presenco of so maoy OPPOSI-tion parties, and the. votersthougbt that these part eS wereof no use. Moreover the Congress (I) spent buge sums. andthe government controlled theelections by transferring keyofficials on a large scale andinserting tbeir loyal men in tbeirplaces and doing all sorts ofwrong propaganda. , Theseme.sures tilted the voting onCongress(I) side which ?otmajority in eight States, exceptIDgTamil Nadu.But even then tbe Congress(I)got less votes tban the Opposition parties combined and t h ~ lvotes were entirely agaIDst It .Take tbe case of Punjab Congress (I) got 63 seatswitb 44 9%of tbe valid votes cast whilethe Opposition got 54 seatswith 55.1 % of votes. Ev en theAkalis got 37 seats with 26 .92%of votes, In the last Lok Sabbaelection Congress (I) had got52% votes, winning 12 s ~ a t s outof 13 . Tbis shows conSiderabledecline in tbe popularity ofCongress 1) and that of MrsGandhi herself.

YES YOU CAN CROSSBUT DON'T BE CROSSIF YOU HAVE TO WAITA LITTLE AT THE GATE

Rashness Level ~Crossing can be highly fdangerous. Do not )try to cross throughclosed andclosing gates.

Tbe Opposition has lost astbere bave been too many partiesand too many candidates. Hadthere been only one candidatefor one constituency the sbapeof tbings could be quite different.Summing up Mrs Gandhi sincethe last ,Lok Sabha elections hasbeen losing in popularity andutility. Her competence to rulemay not be questioned lomt theimperious craving of her mIDd tobecome a dictator and bring inher own son along with ber issurely harming her and tbe timemay come when ber own partymen will give ber their refllsal tosupport her.But tbe Opposition partiesalso have to learn. Tbey sbouldgive up ,their fanciful dreams andselfishness and agree to' worktogether. Unfortunately theyhave lost their leader JaiPrakash Narayan but they candepend upon J.B. Kriplani andperson like Chagla, wbo has beenvery sincere to the countu . Some

-i,

NORTH RNRAILWAY


19/20


20/20

. ;Regd. No. C ) - 8 S THE SPOKESMAN WEEKLY

c

etthe n g l i s ~ h a v e o u r chipsThe money is jolly g09d. And youhave yourvery own courier servicethat's q'uick and safe.Airfreight. It really takes the worryout of such delicate transactions. .Our schedule: two ail-cargo services. to the U via Europe. One each to U.S.A, Europe and Japan. -All our

:. .regtifar p ~ s n g r flights also carrycargo and cover 4 cities around theworld. And i there's-sorne place we'don't go to, we'll oryour ..cargo to get there.. Get in toucb . .with us and youcan start 'countingyour chips.

Printed at Everest Press, 4, Chamelian Road, Delhi-I 10006 . published by Charanjit Singh, from 6-Northend Complex,

Documents

The Spokesman Weekly Vol. 29 No. 41-42 June 9-16, 1980