John Malcolm

“ The character of the Sikhs, or rather Singhs, which is the name by which the followers of Gúrú Góvind, who are all devoted to arms, are distinguished, is very marked. They have, in general, the Hindú cast of countenance, somewhat altered by their long beards, and are to the full as active as the Mahrátas; and much more robust, from their living fuller, and enjoying a better and colder climate. Their courage is equal, at all times, to that of any natives of India; and when wrought upon by prejudice or religion, is quite desperate. ”

“ Wherever the religion of Gúrú Góvind prevails, the institutions of Brahmá must fall. The admission of proselytes, the abolition of the distinctions of cast, the eating of all kinds of flesh, except that of cows, the form of religious worship, and the general devotion of all Singhs to arms, are ordinances altogether irreconcileable with Hindú mythology, and have rendered the religion of the Sikhs as obnoxious to the Bráhmens, and higher tribes of the Hindús, as it is popular with the lower orders of that numerous class of mankind. ”

“ Numberless and infinite are the sounds which proclaim thy praises.
How numerous are thy Peris, skilful in music and song!
Pavan (air) , water, and Vasantar (fire) , celebrate thee; D'herma Rájá (the Hindú Rhadamanthus) celebrates thy praises, at thy gates.
Chitragupta (Secretary to D'herma Rájá) celebrates thy praises; who, skilful in writing, writes and administers final justice.
Iswara, Brahmá, and Dévi, celebrate thy praises; they declare in fit terms thy majesty, at thy gates. ”

“ Every excess that the most wanton barbarity could commit, every cruelty that an unappeased appetite of revenge could suggest, was inflicted upon the miserable inhabitants of the provinces through which they passed. Life was only granted to those who conformed to the religion, and adopted the habits and dress of the Sikhs ”

“ He is instructed to labour to increase the prosperity of the town of Amritsar; and told, that at every place of worship which he visits he will be conducted in the right path by the Gúrú (Gúrú Góvind) . He is instructed to believe, that it is the duty of all those who belong to the Khálsa, or commonwealth of the Sikhs, neither to lament the sacrifice of property, nor of life, in support of each other; and he is directed to read the Adí-Grant'h and Dasama Pádsháh ká Grant'h, every morning and every evening. Whatever he has received from God, he is told it is his duty to share with others. ”

“ It is intended to contribute to the advancement of science, by presenting to the contemplation of the artist and the connoisseur, specimens of the most esteemed works of the best masters, ancient and modern, both in painting and in sculpture; and by diffusing in a novel and interesting form a knowledge of what for ages has been appreciated and enthusiastically admired, instil into the mind of the mere indifferent observer a taste for the polite arts. ”

“ Such were the doctrines, according to his disciples, which Nánac taught to both Hindús and Muhammedans. He professed veneration and respect, but refused adoration to the founders of both their religions; for which, as for those of all other tribes, he had great tolerance. "A hundred thousand of Muhammeds," said Nánac, "a million of Brahmás, Vishnus, and a hundred thousand Rámas, stand at the gate of the Most High. These all perish; God alone is immortal. Yet men, who unite in the praise of God, are not ashamed of living in contention with each other ”

“ The spirit, however, which he infused into his followers, was handed down as a rich inheritance to their children; who, though they consider Bábá Nánác as the author of their religion, revere, with a just gratitude, Gúrú Góvind, as the founder of their worldly greatness and political independence. They are conscious, indeed, that they have become, from [76] the adoption of his laws and institutions, the scourge of their enemies; and have conquered and held, for more than half a century, the finest portion of the once great empire of the house of Taimúr. ”

“ After Nánac had visited all the cities of India, and explained to all ranks the great doctrines of the unity and omnipresence of God, he went to Mecca and Medina, where his actions, his miracles, and his long disputations with the most celebrated Muhammedan saints and doctors, are most circumstantially recorded by his biographers. He is stated, on this occasion, to have maintained his own principles, without offending those of others; always professing himself the enemy of discord, [19] and as having no object but to reconcile the two faiths of the Muhammedans and Hindús in one religion ”

“ The principal leaders among the Sikhs affect to be familiar and easy of intercourse with their inferiors, and to despise the pomp and state of the Muhammedan chiefs: but their pride often counteracts this disposition; and they appeared to me to have, in proportion to their rank and consequence, more state, and to maintain equal, if not more, reserve and dignity with their followers, than is usual with the Mahráta chiefs. ”

“ The Sikh soldier is, generally speaking, brave, active, and cheerful, without polish, but neither destitute of sincerity nor attachment; and if he often appears wanting in humanity, it is not so much to be attributed to his national character, as to the habits of a life, which, from the condition of the society in which he is born, is generally passed in scenes of violence and rapine.
The Sikh merchant, or cultivator of the soil, if he is a Singh, differs little in character from the soldier, except that his occupation renders him less presuming and boisterous. ”

“ The administration of justice in the countries under the Sikhs, is in a very rude and imperfect state; for, though their scriptures inculcate general maxims of justice, they are not considered, as the Old Testament is by the Jews, or the Korán by the Muhammedans, as books of law: and, having no fixed code, they appear to have adopted that irregular practice, which is most congenial to the temper of the people, and best suited to the unsteady and changing character of their rule of government. ”

“ After the defeat and death of Banda, every measure was taken, that an active resentment could suggest, not only to destroy the power, but to extirpate the race, of the Sikhs. An astonishing number of that sect must have fallen, in the last two or three years of the contest with the imperial armies, as the irritated Muhammedans gave them no quarter. After the execution of their chief, a royal edict was issued, ordering all who professed the religion of Nánac to be taken and put to death, wherever found. To give effect to this mandate, a reward was offered for the head of every Sikh ”

“ The conduct of the Sikhs to their women differs in no material respect from that of the tribes of Hindús, or Muhammedans, from whom they are descended. Their moral character with regard to women, and indeed in most other points, may, from the freedom of their habits, generally be considered as much more lax than that of their ancestors, who lived under the restraint of severe restrictions, and whose fear of excommunication from their cast, at least obliged them to cover their sins with the veil of decency. ”

“ He called upon the Hindús to abandon the worship of idols, and to return to that pure devotion of the Deity, in which their religion originated. He called upon the Muhammedans to abstain from practices, like the slaughter of cows, that were offensive to the religion of the Hindús, and to cease from the persecution of that race. ”

“ The old Sikh soldier generally returns to his native village, where his wealth, courage, or experience, always obtains him respect, and sometimes station and consequence. The second march which the British army made into the country of the Sikhs, the headquarters were near a small village, the chief of which, who was upwards of a hundred years of age, had been a soldier, and retained all the look and manner of his former occupation. ”

“ The Sikh converts, it has been before stated, continue, after they have quitted their original religion, all those civil usages and customs of the tribes to which they belonged, that they can practise, without infringing the tenets of Nánac, or the institutions of Gúrú Góvind. They are most particular with regard to their intermarriages; and, on this point, Sikhs descended from Hindús almost invariably conform to Hindú customs, every tribe intermarrying within [136] itself. ”

“ The Sind Singh is the term by which the inhabitants of the districts under the Sikhs, bordering on the Sind, are known; and Nakái Singh is the name given to the Sikhs who reside in Multán. With the leaders of the Sikhs in these provinces, the extent of their possessions, or the climate and productions of the country under their rule, I am little acquainted. Those in Multán, as well as those settled on the river Jéhalam, are said to be constantly engaged in a predatory warfare, either with the officers of the Afghán government, or with Muhammedan chiefs who have jágírs in their vicinity. ”

“ It is from this cause that the lowest Sikh horseman usually assumes a very independent style, and the highest chief treats his military followers with attention and conciliation. The civil officers,—to whom the chiefs intrust their accounts, and the management of their property and revenue concerns, as well as the conduct of their negotiations,—are, in general, Sikhs of the Khalása cast; who, being followers of Nánac, and not of Gúrú Góvind, are not devoted to arms, but educated for peaceful occupations, in which they often become very expert and intelligent. ”

“ The education of the Sikhs renders them hardy, and capable of great fatigue; and the condition of the society in which they live, affords constant exercise to that restless spirit of activity and enterprise which their religion has generated. Such a race cannot be epicures: they appear, indeed, generally to despise luxury of diet, and pride themselves in their coarse fare. Their dress is also plain, not unlike that of the Hindús, [142] equally light and divested of ornament. Some of the chiefs wear gold bangles ”

“ The Almighty will not ask to what tribe or persuasion he belongs. He will only ask, What has he done? Therefore those violent and continued disputes, which subsist between the Hindús and Moslemans, are as impious as they are unjust. ”

“ The soil is light, but very productive: the country, which is open and level, abounds with every kind of grain. That want of water, which is so much felt in other parts of India, must be here unknown; as it is found every where in abundance, within two, or at furthest three, feet from the surface of the soil. The towns of Jaléndra and Sultánpúr are the principal in the Dúáb.
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The country between the Béyah and Ráví rivers is called Bári Dúáb, or Mánj'há; and the Sikhs inhabiting it are called Mánj'há Singh. The cities of Lahore and Amritsar are both in this province ”

“ Many Lives of Nelson have been written: one is yet wanting, clear and concise enough to become a Manual for the young Sailor, which he may carry about with him till he has treasured up the example in his memory and in his heart. ”

“ He called upon all Hindús to break those chains in which prejudice and bigotry had bound them, and to devote themselves to arms, as the only means by which they could free themselves from the oppressive government of the Muhammedans; against whom, a sense of his own wrongs, and those of his tribe, led him to [150] preach eternal warfare. His religious doctrine was meant to be popular, and it promised equality. The invidious appellations of Bráhmen, Cshatríya, Vaisya, and Súdra, were abolished. The pride of descent might remain, and keep up some distinctions ”

“ The Muhammedan conquerors of India, as they added to their territories, added to their strength, by making proselytes through the double means of persuasion and force; and these, the moment they had adopted their faith, became the supporters of their power against the efforts of the Hindús; who, bound in the chains of their civil and religious institutions, could neither add to their number by admitting converts, nor [74] allow more than a small proportion of the population of the country to arm against the enemy. ”

“ The Acálís are insolent, ignorant, and daring: presuming upon those rights which their numbers and fanatic courage have established, their deportment is hardly tolerant to the other Sikhs, and insufferable to strangers, for whom they entertain a contempt, which they take little pains to conceal. The Sháhíd and the Nirmala, particularly the latter, have more knowledge, and more urbanity. They are almost all men of quiet, peaceable habits ”

“ Adés! and the salutation of the Muhammedans is Salám Alíkam; and that of the Hindús, Rám! Rám! but the word of thy sect shall be Gúrú, and I will forgive the crimes of thy disciples. The place of worship of the Bairágís is called Rámsála; that of the Yógís, Asan; that of the Sanyásís, Mát; that of thy tribe shall be Dherma Sála. Thou must teach unto thy followers three lessons: the first, to worship my name; the second, charity; the third, ablution. They must not abandon the world, and they must do ill to no being; for into every being have I infused breath ”

“ The most savage states are those who have most prejudices, and who are consequently most easily conciliated or offended: they are [6] always pleased and flattered, when they find, that those whom they cannot but admit to possess superior intelligence, are acquainted with their history, and respect their belief and usages: and, on the contrary, they hardly ever pardon an outrage against their religion or customs, though committed by men who have every right to plead the most profound ignorance, as an excuse for the words or actions that have provoked resentment. ”

“ They till the ground, and are employed to carry burdens, and to do all kinds of hard labour: they are not allowed to eat beef, or to say their prayers aloud, and but seldom assemble in their mosques [81] ; of which few, indeed, have escaped destruction. The lower order of Sikhs are more happy: they are protected from the tyranny and violence of the chiefs, under whom they live, by the precepts of their common religion, and by the condition of their country, which enables them to abandon, whenever they choose, a leader whom they [125] dislike ”

“ This general remark I have found to apply with peculiar force to the varying accounts given, by Sikh and Muhammedan authors, of Nánac and his successors. As it would have been an endless and unprofitable task to have entered into a disquisition concerning all the points in which these authors differ, many considerations have induced me to give a preference, on almost all occasions, to the original Sikh writers. In every research into the general history of mankind, it is of the most essential importance to hear what a nation has to say of itself ”