Sikh Studies

NAIEVE AND QUIXOTIC GOVERNOR GENERAL HARDINGE HAD SEEN NO MILITARY ACTION SINCE 30 YEARS AND WAS A TOTAL NOVICE AS FAR AS INDIAN WARFARE WAS CONCERNED- HIS DECISION TO WAIT FOR LITTLER’S DIVISION WAS A MASSIVE BLUNDER –BECAUSE LITTLER’S DIVISION AFTER A FEW MINUTES OF DRUBBING BY SIKH ARTILLERY FLED TO MISRIWALA AND PLAYED ABSOLUTELY NO ROLE IN THE FIRST DAYS BATTLE
June 2022
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.25276.92805
Project: incompetence
Agha H Amin


NAIEVE AND QUIXOTIC GOVERNOR GENERAL HARDINGE HAD SEEN NO MILITARY ACTION SINCE 30 YEARS AND WAS A TOTAL NOVICE AS FAR AS INDIAN WARFARE WAS CONCERNED- HIS DECISION TO WAIT FOR LITTLER’S DIVISION WAS A MASSIVE BLUNDER –BECAUSE LITTLER’S DIVISION AFTER A FEW MINUTES OF DRUBBING BY SIKH ARTILLERY FLED TO MISRIWALA AND PLAYED ABSOLUTELY NO ROLE IN THE FIRST DAYS BATTLE
• June 2022
• DOI:
• 10.13140/RG.2.2.25276.92805
• Project:
• incompetence
• Agha H Amin




The initial plan of Gough was to attack the Sikh entrenchment at FerozShah from the east without waiting for Littler who was ordered to march from Ferozpur and join Gough.
Instead of honestly assessing this plan J.W Fortescue made fun of it and subjected it to ridicule , finally being totally non committal about the plan , having chances of success or failure.
Eminent British military historian Rait brilliantly summarised Hardinge as “a brave man ; but he had seen no fighting from the Waterloo campaign to the date of battle of Moodke .He had been secretary of state for war but he had never known the responsibility of high command in the sight of an enemy .   

Another direct participant described Hardinge’s pathetic naievette as “The Indian army knows right well that it was Lord Gough’s earnest wish to fight the battle at 11 o clock in the morning, but he was overruled by the governor general (not the  second in command ) who insisted upon waiting for Littler. His assistance was purchased at the frightful expenditure of 4 hours of daylight and a vast expenditure of strength , energy etc on part of our men .” 
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Major Agha.H.Amin was commissioned in the old PAVO Cavalry in March 1983.
He was educated at Saint Marys Academy Lalazar and Forman Christian College Lahore.
He served in various command, staff, research, logistics and instructional positions in his military career, including mechanical transport officer of an armoured brigade headquarter, mechanical transport officer of an armouredregiment , general staff officer research trial and publications at School of Armour , Instructor Class C at Tactical Wing School of Armour and finally independent command directly under a major general as Officer Commanding 5 Independent Armoured Squadron.
In his civilian career performed projects like Uzbekistan Kabul Transmission lines concrete foundations, CASA 1000 Line survey as sub contractor of SNC Lavalin Canada and Turkmenistan Mazar transmission line as sub contractor of FichtnerGmbh Germany.
Also served as Assistant Editor Defence Journal Karachi , Executive Editor Globe Karachi , Editor Journal of Afghanistan Studies financed by Danish foreign ministry , Editor Intelligence Review , Editor Pakistan Military Review , Editor Journal of Book Reviews, Editor Indian Military Review etc.
Authored over 120 books and journals. Articles published in Pakistan Army Journal and Citadel Journal of Command and Staff College Quetta.
Established unprecedented and todate unbroken record of an independent tank squadron defeating 7 tank regiments in a corps level firing competition.
Recommended creation of army commands in Pakistan Army command and staff college Citadel Journal issue 2/98 in 1998 which was adopted by the Pakistan Army in 2005-7.

Has advised various states and international companies on security matters as sub contractor of Spanish , USA and Hongkong based companies.
Contact e mail :--- mazen@csio-ops.com and pavocavalry@gmail.com
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In 2007, the Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan wore an attire similar to calendar image of tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh, and performed a ritual baptism, which became controversial. This article will show how this controversy opens up two significant issues: first, questioning the egalitarian ethos of caste equality upheld by the Sikh religion, and second, with regard to authenticity of religious practice – of what is deemed Sikh and non/un-Sikh practices. The controversy became the fulcrum for questions of visuality and material practices around imageries of Sikh gurus in the domain of popular religiosity and visual culture. This historically relates to the much-debated status of images around gurus in contemporary Punjab. The image and ritual become a crucial site of conflict with regard to questions of Sikh identity, religion and caste. Questions of iconoclasm, authenticity and representation have emerged around the images—largely audio-visual in nature--of the Sikh gurus. In this article I will analyse music video/s that engages with the genre of Sikhi (Sikh principles or faith) highlighting crisis in Sikh identity through lyrical and visual references, for instance to the institutions of popular religion, such as Deras. I then mainly argue that the DSS event cannot be grasped without understanding the modes of engagement and ritual practices around images of Sikh gurus. Such an analysis will not only underline contestations around the ‘vexed’ status of images comprising both Sikh and Dera gurus but will also critique the normative understanding of Sikh identity and religion.

Prof. (Dr.) Balwant Singh Dhillon, a much-acclaimed Sikh-historian, a dedicated researcher, a prolific writer, and a profound scholar of religion, was born in 1950, at Village Ran Singh Wala, District Faridkot, Punjab, India. With his keen interest in learning, he received a B.A. degree from SGGS College, Chandigarh, in 1972, and an M.A. (History) degree from the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur in 1974. During his younger days, he nurtured a keen interest in sports. On attaining the National Level Athlete ranking, he was enthusiastic about pursuing a career in sports. Thereby, he joined Master Course for Coaching in athletics at the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, in 1974. Herein, he came in contact with Prof. Labh Singh of the Institute of Sikh Studies (IOSS, now Gurmat College), who inspired him to take up Sikh studies. This interaction brought a sea change in his life motive, and he committed himself to pursue a career in Sikh studies. After receiving M.A. (Religious Studies) degree from the IOSS in July 1976, he joined M. Lit. (Religious Studies) course at Punjabi University, Patiala. Here he had the opportunity to learn from several eminent scholars, e.g., Prof. Harbans Singh, Prof. Gurbachan Singh Talib, Prof. L.M. Joshi, and Dr. A.N. Sinha, etc., which made his resolve steadfast. In January 1977, he joined the Department of Guru Nanak Studies at Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar, to pursue his research activities for a Ph.D. degree. In March 1985, he was awarded with a Ph. D. degree by GNDU, for his outstanding research work on "The Sikh Gurus and the Mughal State." Starting, in April 1979, as a Research Assistant at the Department of Guru Nanak Studies, he rose to the position of Professor and Head of the department. He retired in June 2010. During his tenure at the university, he had also served as Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Religious Studies, Senator and Syndic of the University. As Head of the Department of Guru Nanak Studies, he played a vital role in starting the teaching of M.A. (Religious Studies and Philosophy)at GNDU, Amritsar. Under his stewardship, the research projects on "Sikh Religion and Philosophy," "Sikh History," and "Sikh Literature" were taken up, which led to a research and development grant of Rs. 3.2 Million from U.G.C., New Delhi, during 2006-2011. Dr. Dhillon was instrumental in establishing the Centre on Studies in Sri Guru Granth Sahib at the university, in April 2011, and served as its founding Director till February 2015. He has also served as the Editor-in-Chief for reputed Sikh research journals, "Journal of Sikh Studies" and "Perspectives on Guru Granth Sahib," published by the GNDU. In his forty years long professional career, he has been credited with authoring/publishing about a dozen books and over 100 articles in various research journals, books, and encyclopedias. Besides chairing several international seminars/conferences, he played a vital role in organizing many such events at the Department of Guru Nanak Studies and Centre on Studies in Guru Granth Sahib. He has the honour of representing India at many conferences/seminars within Canada, America, England, Germany, and Australia. With his continuous dedication to religious studies, he has established himself as an exponent of interfaith dialogue and an eminent writer in the field of Sikh history. Through his well-researched and analytic writings, he has created an indelible mark of scholarship on his readers' minds. For his outstanding contributions in the fields of Sikh history and literature, he has been honoured by several literary and social organizations. Despite his great love and commitment to Sikh History and Religion, Dr. Dhillon subscribes to the idea that Sikh Gurus' Philosophy is perennial and universal in its approach to understand cosmology, Nature, life, and human behaviour in the present era. Furthermore, He asserts that the Sikh Gurus' ideology, its beliefs and practices, social order, worldview, and devotional pattern, as propounded in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, address the basics befitting the 21st century. His views on various aspects of Sikh history and philosophy are presented here for the benefit of readers.

India was divided on the basis of  two nation theory into India and Pakistan. Sikhs were considered as part of the Hindus along with Jains and Buddhists. During political parleys with the British, the Sikhs were  invited as equal partners with Muslim League and Indian National Congress but Sikh leaders failed to put up their case with the acumen and political wisdom desired at such meetings. The Paper presents summary of three Reports.

Organisms respond to changes in their environment by evolutionary adaptations in form and behaviour. At present, we face great survival challenges as both these factors have come under undue stress due to our unbridled demands of high national economic growth and expanding individual needs and desires.

Sikhism is the world's fifth-largest religion. It was founded during the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Its adherents are known as Sikhs. Currently, there are about 30 million Sikhs worldwide. Most of them live in the Indian state of Punjab. As per Sikh tradition, Sikhism was established by Guru Nanak (1469-1539) and subsequently led by a succession of nine other Gurus. Before his death, the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708), bestowed the status of Guru to the sacred scripture of Sikhs, Adi Granth, which is presently known as Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS) [1]. The Adi Granth was first compiled by Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru, in 1604. Its second and final version has been the handiwork of Guru Gobind Singh, who added the hymns of his father, Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru [2], at Damdama Sahib, Talwandi Sabo, Punjab, in 1705. The holy Sikh scripture, SGGS, contains 1430 pages of text in poetry form. In addition to the hymns of the six Sikh Gurus and four Sikhs, it includes hymns composed by fifteen saints (Bhagats) and eleven poet laureates (Bhats) of the Guru's court. Muslims and Hindus, Brahmins, and "untouchables" all come together in one congregation to create a universal scripture. It is a compendium of mystic, metaphysical and religious poetry written or recited between the 12th and 17th centuries in the Indian sub-continent [3]. Sri Guru Granth Sahib, through its comprehensive worldview, offers a perfect set of values and an applicable code of conduct. Its cardinal message is addressed to the welfare of all humans irrespective of their caste, color, creed, culture, and religion. SGGS emphasizes love, respect, empathy, and acceptance of others' existence. It prohibits us from infringing on the freedom and rights of others. The life and works of the Sikh Gurus exemplify the practicability of these ideas. Their inter-faith dialogues highlighted that human unity and oneness could be achieved through tolerance, communication, and respect for others [4].

Questo volume ricostruisce il quadro storico-sociale del contesto di origine del sikhismo e analizza i caratteri dell’immmigrazione indiana in Italia. Nella prima parte, dopo la presentazione dei tratti socioeconomici
del Panjab, dell’impatto del colonialismo inglese sulle
strutture sociali locali e della conseguente emigrazione di massa, gli autori approfondiscono i fondamenti dottrinali del sikhismo, le relazioni tra etica sikh e condotte sociali, i movimenti che attraversano l’identità sikh nell’India di oggi.
La seconda parte contiene i primi studi empirici sulla presenza degli immigrati indiani in alcune regioni italiane (Emilia-Romagna, Friuli, Lombardia, Veneto).

The social identities such as ethnicity, sexuality, religion, and nationality have come to the center of political mobilization. However, there is little agreement about the true cause of this emerging importance of social identities or about its most likely political effects. The differences that exist between social identities in their genesis, manifestation, and political effects are immense but most importantly identities need to be analyzed in their cultural location as well as in relation to their historical epoch. In fact, identities are often created under the umbrella of colonialism, religious boundaries, gender construction, racial and sexual subordination, and national conflicts. Shaping and reshaping of identities through gender is a widely accepted phenomenon under imperialism. Similarly, the case of the Sikhs of Punjab being understood as Sikh identity was essentially fabricated by the colonial state. But one cannot ignore the religious diversity within the Punjab and plural identities within the religious communities. The start of the twentieth century was a crucial time for South Asian religious communities regarding the formation of identities. It was the time when communal consciousness led to religious purification movements and distinct communal identities.

The Khalistan movement is a Sikh separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing a sovereign state, called Khālistān ('Land of the Khalsa'), in the Punjab region. The proposed state would consist of land that currently forms Punjab, India, and Punjab, Pakistan.

Various religious philosophies the world over, although differ in many details, yet they all emphasize the basic unity of the universe, through the recognition of panch tattva as the basis of creation. Most of these philosophies agree that a continuous exchange between these basic elements life and the creation, helps to balance the ever ongoing cycles of creation and destruction. The existence of panch tattva, with their extraordinary qualities, makes us aware of the unity and mutual interrelation of all things. They help us to transcend the notion of an isolated individual self and to identify ourselves with the ultimate reality. In this article on panch tattva, a perspective from Sri Guru Granth Sahib is outlined

Guru Nanak and other Sikh Gurus, Bhagats and Bhats have used analogies and metaphors to convey the essence of their message to the Sikh Sangat. We have tried to establish the scientific basis of some of these analogies. The use of metaphors and similes is more common. For example, metaphors of flora and fauna have been used in Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS) to bring home the truth to the seeker. Bhagat Namdev used this methodology to explain the technique of Meditation (Simrin) in his shabad recorded in SGGS. Bhagat Ravidas and Bhagat Kabir also follow suit in using metaphors and similes in their compositions in SGGS.

Mostly visible in the streets of Punjab, and especially inside and near Gurdwaras, Nihangs is an order of Sikh warriors, characterised by blue robes, antiquated arms such as swords and spears, and decorated turbans surmounted by steel quoits. Who is a Nihang? Nihang is an order of Sikh warriors, characterised by blue robes, antiquated arms such as swords and spears, and decorated turbans surmounted by steel quoits. Etymologically the word Nihang in Persian means an alligator, sword and pen but the characteristics of Nihangs seem to stem more from the Sanskrit word nihshank which means without fear, unblemished, pure, carefree and indifferent to worldly gains and comfort. The 19th century historian Rattan Singh Bhangu describes Nihangs as "unaffected by pain or comfort", "given to meditation, penance and charity" and "complete warriors".

This paper is an in-depth exploration of the modern school of yoga popularly known as Kundalini Yoga As Taught By Yogi Bhajan (KYATBYB). The practice will be examined in its political, historical, and religious dimensions, as compared with other movements within Modern Postural Yoga and their historical precedents and as compared with other expressions of yoga within Sikh history. Yogi Bhajan’s influences will be explored, and the work of other critical authors will be revisited and revised where new information has come to light. Yogi Bhajan’s many inspirations will be laid out in detail, including the various political and interpersonal rivalries that may have shaped his path. Ultimately, the mind of the late Yogi Bhajan is unknowable, but those indelible fingerprints of the past that can be discerned will serve as a jumping off point by which the historical dimensions of the practice may be better understood.

Violence has always played a part in the religious imagination, from symbols and myths to legendary battles, from colossal wars to the theater of terrorism. The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Violence surveys intersections between religion and violence throughout history and around the world.

The forty original essays in this volume include overviews of major religious traditions, showing how violence is justified within the literary and theological foundations of the tradition, how it is used symbolically and in ritual practice, and how social acts of violence and warfare have been justified by religious ideas. The essays also examine patterns and themes relating to religious violence, such as sacrifice and martyrdom, which are explored in cross-disciplinary or regional analyses; and offer major analytic approaches, from literary to social scientific studies.

The contributors to this volume--innovative thinkers who are forging new directions in theory and analysis related to religion and violence--provide novel insights into this important field of studies. By mapping out the whole field of religion and violence, The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Violence will prove an authoritative source for students and scholars for years to come.

[Introductory essay in:] "Sikh Heritage: Ethos and Relics" by Bhayee Sikandar Singh and Roopinder Singh. (New Delhi: Rupa)

    This book's two authors have worked in a unique partnership that transcended their individual accomplishments. Bhayee Sikandar Singh is co-editor of the magazine Nishaan. His position within the cultural life of the Punjab gives him unprecedented access. His upbringing, training and interest give him a unique insight into the subject that he has tackled in this book.
    Roopinder Singh is deputy editor of the 131-year-old daily newspaper, The Tribune, which is the largest circulated English newspaper in North India. A respected editor, scholar, journalist and an accomplished photographer, he is author of many books, including a critically-acclaimed volume on the founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak Dev.
    Together, they worked for five years and combined their different kinds of expertise to write with profound authority and eloquence. As a result of this successful teamwork the general reader--even those readers with little awareness of Sikh traditions-will surely feel the powerful appeal of being led along the very same paths trodden by the founding Gurus of Sikhism.
    The immediacy and presence of history is all around us as we read this book, particularly because history inheres within the Sikh 'relics' or heirloom heritage objects from throughout the Punjab and beyond, in ways that few, if any other, authors could more authentically describe.
    As the authors note, many of the families who own the heirloom artefacts most directly associated with the earliest founders of the Sikh faith have made them available for publication here for the first time, for which historians and the public owe a debt of gratitude to these families, to the authors and to the many others who have helped bring this book to print.

The major contribution of Syan is in three interconnected areas. One, he questions a view widely prevalent in Sikh historiography that there was a major rupture in Sikh
thought and practice on the question of violence/non-violence after the death of fifth Sikh guru Arjan Dev. Two, he argues that there was no unanimity and homogeneity in the Sikh community during the seventeenth century, after the death of Guru Arjan, on the path the Sikh community should follow regarding the use of violence and non-violence, and that there were competing claims on this issue. Third, he argues that the Sikh engagement with the Moghul Rule was not always one of confrontation or, to put the same point in a
different way, the Moghul rulers were not always hostile to the Sikh faith.

8 pp colour section and 23 b/w images ISBN : 9781911628248 • Covers the Sikh Misls • East India Company • Sikh Empire • Sikh Relics and Artefacts

The Sikh Confederacy consisting of military units or Misls rose from the ashes of the crumbling Mughal Empire in the Eighteenth century. As a result, under the leadership of General Baghel Singh they conquered the Red Fort of Delhi in 1783 leading to the Sikh Empire being formed in the Punjab under Maharajah Ranjit Singh in 1801. During this time the East India Company also expanded its frontiers and territories, witnessing the rise and the progression of the Sikhs. This was coupled with the influx of Christian Missionaries who came to convert the Sikhs into the British way of thinking. The two Empires were destined to clash and the Anglo Sikh Wars of 1845-1849 witnessed some of the bloodiest battles Victoria's Britain fought, with major losses on both sides. The annexation of the Punjab led to the employment of the Sikhs into the British Indian Army. This led to the Sikhs becoming part of many British campaigns, including their major contributions in the First and Second World Wars. This book weaves the reader through anecdotes and important events highlighting the relationship between the British and the Sikhs which exists to this day. In this deeply researched book, Mann uses rare anecdotes to provide recognition to early descriptions from British administrators, writers and illustrators who depicted the history of the Sikhs and the land of the Punjab. The book is also supplemented with a number of Anglo Sikh treaties which determined relations in the Nineteenth century.

The paper compares Sikh Metaphysics against others to arrive at a conclusion as to how God creates. It is generally believed that in Sikhism, God creates by himself. This paper examines Gurbani (The Sikh sacred text) to conclude that God acts through his creative force called Naam. The creative force is indistinguishable from the creator. It acts differently in the manifestation than it does in the transcendence. In the manifestation the force is called Maya.

Ethnic insurgencies have received less scholarly attention than colonial or ideological insurgencies—even as they have become the predominant form of insurgency following
the decolonization process and then the end of the Cold War. In the face of ethnic insurgencies, what determines the effectiveness of the various counterinsurgency strategies adopted by host states? Are democracies more likely to succeed by pursuing some kinds of counterinsurgency strategies rather than others? Theory indicates that
multiple counterinsurgency strategies, if thoroughly implemented, can defeat ethnic insurgencies. Host state regime type—particularly democracy—is important as a
constraint on the will to employ and thoroughly implement some counterinsurgency methods. Democracies are most likely to defeat ethnic insurgencies by employing more
cooperative or “balanced” strategies. Although such strategies employ economic and political inducements and rely on local ethnic elements to help fight the insurgents,
they also depend on a credible host state commitment to sustain the counterinsurgency for as long as it takes to win. Case studies of India’s multiphased counterinsurgency
efforts in Punjab and Kashmir offer some preliminary evidence in support of this theory. In both Punjab and Kashmir, early counterinsurgency efforts relied on less
discriminate campaigns conducted by central armed forces or by illegitimate local proxies. The outcomes were strengthened insurgencies. In both cases, the Indian state
adapted by seeking the cooperation of legitimate local moderates in more discriminate counterinsurgency efforts. These later, “balanced” strategies were more effective. This
was particularly true in Punjab, where conditions for local cooperation were more favorable.

In the wake of the war on terror the British Sikh diaspora has made a conscious effort to distinguish and set themselves apart from the Muslim community. Although historically this distinction is not novel, within the UK such an effort to illustrate this difference has been enforced to a much greater extent and has become more prominent within a context in which Sikhs have often been mistaken for being Muslim. In an attempt to distance themselves from being represented as or amongst Muslims, Sikhs have adopted many of the racial pathologies which are widely embedded within Western culture and its antipathy towards Muslims and Islam. Recent years have thus seen the development of a Sikh variant of Islamophobia which shares some of the general themes associated with Islamophobic discourse but it also has unique inflections reflecting the particularities of Sikh history and contemporary circumstances. This article will examine the consequences of Sikh attempts to distinguish themselves from Muslims especially when this distinction comes in the form of uncritical assimilation. I will examine the cost of such assimilation upon Sikhs and Sikhness arguing for the development of alternative or counter-hegemonic narratives principally centred around decolonisation rather than assimilation.

Vastness of Universe: The Sun, the Earth, the Moon, the stars, the satellites and the galaxies etc. form our universe. A wreath like arch of stars, stretching across the sky is the Milky Way. It is a part of our galaxy, which is an enormous system of clouds of glowing gas and 100 billion stars. Our universe contains about 1011 galaxies. Our universe is vast. No one knows whether the universe is finite or infinite in size. The observable universe is a few tens of billions of light-years across. A light-year is a distance travelled by light in one year, at the speed of 300,000 kilometres per second. It is equal to 9.46x1012 kilometres. The bright, unusual objects called quasars are the most distant objects in the universe found to date. Quasars may be as far as 16 billion light-years from the earth. Even with all the latest scientific paraphernalia of radio telescopes, X-rays, observatories and space technology, our scientists are unable to find the edge of the universe. So until now, scientists could not find the limits of the creation. In this article, an attempt is made to describe Guru Nanak's exposition on the vastness and various other aspects of of the Universe.

Story of Rise and Fall of Lahore Darbar. It started with Ranjit Singh who used all available ‘tools’ including religious formations to manufacture and consolidate power in his own hands. This ended up as rule by one family engaged in a form of ‘dynastic colonialism’. It neither remained a Sikh Khalsa Empire nor a Punjab Kingdom but a single-family rule or a Sukerchakia empire based on Ranjit Singh’s misl (warrior band) which acquired its name from his ancestral village Suker Chak from where his grandfather Charhat Singh had moved his tribe to Gujranwala where Ranjit Singh was born.

The Paiṅtīs Akharī is an acrostic bani about the Gurmukhi alphabet said to be by Guru Nanak Dev Ji. It is apocryphal as it is not in the Adi Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. The Guru describes the experience or attributes of Ik Oaṅkār with each letter, or the non-divisible advait Vahiguru, which is the ecstatic experience of non-duality. The state of enlightenment or Nirvana is described, where the term turia is employed by Guru, he states that in actual fact there is no difference between the soul and the Super-soul, like water that merges back into water.
The cover shows the Thirty-Five letters of the Gurmukhi Alphabet written by Guru Arjan Dev Ji, and the Muhārnī, which is a special way to learn all the sounds in Gurbani. By the Guru writing the letters at the top and alongside his Gurbani we can safely conclude that Gurmukhi script itself is considered holy and is a spiritual language. G. B. Singh (1950) concluded that it was more ancient than even Sanskrit (which has Fifty-Two letters), and provided detailed impressions of ancient rock carvings of glyphs to prove it (See the table below). According to Prof Anurag Singh and the late Giani Sant Singh Maskeen some of them are also found in Turkmenistan. G. B. Singh has proved that development of all languages began with Runes and Hieroglyphics, which is a fascinating angle on the history of Gurmukhi. In the tradition it is said each sound resonates from a certain chakra, and is said to purify them (see the diagram by Sant Sher Singh on the next page). Each letter and word must be perfected via special methods in order to perfect the banis, this is known as santhiā.

摘要：锡克教是穆斯林政权统治印度时期外来的波斯—伊斯兰文化与印度本土文化碰撞与交融的产物。十七八世纪,锡克教逐渐由和平传道的教派运动变为武装团体,其与莫卧儿帝国政权的关系亦由支持与扶持转向反抗与镇压。这种变化发生于莫卧儿帝国"王法"与"教法"博弈的大背景下,并非单纯的个人恩怨或教派冲突。锡克教见证并参与了莫卧儿政权由推崇保守教法的外来征服者集团变为推行开明宗教政策的本土化集权帝国,后重新转向保守并最终解体的过程。莫卧儿虽然继承并发展了苏丹国时期半世俗半宗教性质的"王法治国"政治传统,但受限于各方面条件没有将其进一步发展成适合多元帝国的现代国家意识形态。
关键词：王法; 教法; 莫卧儿; 锡克教;

The hagiographies of Guru Nanak Dev Ji such as the Srī Gur Nānak Parkāsh Graṅth, and other older Janamsākhiā, narrate that the Nasīhatanāmā was said in a conversation between the King of Misar or Rum (regions around Egypt and Turkey), who was a cruel tyrant, and Guru Nanak Dev Ji. It is a letter of advice from Guru Nanak to the Emperor or the King named as Hamid Karun. He is advised by the Guru to do good deeds and be kind as God has bestowed wealth on him. Money should be spent on good causes, and that money belongs to him who spends it. The world is transient, only the True God is eternal, therefore no one should feel proud of his possessions as we are all bound to perish, and one should remember the name of God (nām). You can listen to this bani here: https://soundcloud.com/kamalroop-singh/nasihatnama-by-guru-nanak-dev-ji

This essay probes the interplay between gurbani, sakhi and the human self. It attempts to show that a study of textual nuances (in this case the meaning of the word Chaubole) can sometimes be helpful in detheorizing varied conceptualizations of language, subjectivity and love in relation to the human body-self. While many of the prevalent methodological techniques in scriptural analysis are informed by the culture of modernity and are founded on supposedly universal notions of language as a tool of rational communication, I argue that this need not always be the case. The language of the Guru Granth Sahib, for example, stirs multiple effects in the human subject that urge us to tread a path of spiritual love. Sakhis are seen here not as mere myth, which conveys meaning through metaphor, but as vehicles that deliver the force of spiritual teachings right up to the door of the reader's subjectivity. This force empowers the subject's spiritual quest and it exists in the form of a charged language that retains the capability of transforming the self. This is one reason why I have chosen to write this essay in a language other than English. Interpretive frameworks imposed by the global spread of English through several centuries of colonialism can only be counteracted by resurrecting the particularities of oppressed, silenced and mutilated languages.