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Authenticity of Kartarpuri Bir - Global Sikh Studies

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12<br />

the left is 15 and not 15/1. Secondly, after making a rough<br />

guess about the Bani likely to be available for each section or<br />

Rag, one or more clusters or bunches <strong>of</strong> eight leaves each,<br />

numbered in advance, were allotted for each Rag or section <strong>of</strong><br />

the Bani. And, as and when the Bani, or part <strong>of</strong> it, <strong>of</strong> a particular<br />

Rag, section, Guru, or Bhagat was available, it was sorted out<br />

and copied out at the appropriate places in the concerned<br />

packets or sections, in a particular, or proper sequence.<br />

Though, as we have seen, the numbering <strong>of</strong> the pages had<br />

been given inside <strong>of</strong> a leaf, for the convenience <strong>of</strong> identifying<br />

the concerned packets (which had, evidently to be kept loose<br />

or unbound), without the need <strong>of</strong> opening them, the outside<br />

<strong>of</strong> the first leaf <strong>of</strong> the cluster or packet had been marked by<br />

the page number borne by its inside, i.e. a packed starting with<br />

page 33 on the inside <strong>of</strong> its first leaf would also bear number<br />

33 on the outside <strong>of</strong> it, though in the bound book it would be<br />

the right-half page <strong>of</strong> page 32 or 32/2. All the same, the<br />

adoption <strong>of</strong> this method <strong>of</strong> marking was essential in readily<br />

picking up and identifying packets for the purpose <strong>of</strong> recording<br />

any Sabad, Shalok or Var in the assigned packet or packets at<br />

the appropriate place, or section. We shall see later that while<br />

the adoption <strong>of</strong> this method was convenient and necessary<br />

for the day to day working, it led to some mistakes. As indicated<br />

already, totals <strong>of</strong> Padas, Sabads, or Shaloks <strong>of</strong> each Guru or<br />

author, or the totals <strong>of</strong> the Sabads <strong>of</strong> each Rag are also serially<br />

given.<br />

We shall hereafter record internal pieces <strong>of</strong> evidence<br />

into two parts: (i) those that are individually conclusive in their<br />

evidentiary value, and, (ii) those that are, coupled with other<br />

evidence, conclusive in showing the authenticity <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Bir</strong>.<br />

4. Individually conclusive facts<br />

1. G. B. Singh who suspected the originality <strong>of</strong> the

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