Authenticity of Kartarpuri Bir - Global Sikh Studies

81
APPENDIX A
Dr. W. H. Mcleod has made certain observations in
the chapter, entitled ‘The Sikh Scriptures, of his book The
Evolution of the Sikh Community, which are misleading and
contrary to facts. The author has seen my book Sri Kartarpuri
Bir De Darshan. But if he had read it carefully, he would not
have made the remarks and suggestions that he has. It is, for
instance, fantastic to suggest, as the author has done, that “the
widely disseminated Banno version must represent the original
text.” and that “a few portions must have been deleted because
they could not be reconciled with beliefs subsequently accepted
by the Panth.” The author seems to insinuate that poltions
from the “original” version which were not acceptble to
“modern” Sikh thought were deleted. Who did this, how and
when has not been explained. From the position assigned to
Sri Guru Granth Sahib in the Sikh system, this just could not
have happened. And it did not. The first lithographed edition
of Sri Guru Granth Sahib appeared in the 1870’s and it is
identical with the subsequent printed editions. That
lithographed edition appeared much before the Singh Sabha
reform movenent had established itself. Secondly, the Kartarpuri
Bir, which was installed in the Harimandir (Golden Temple)
by Guru Arjan, was not available for being copied. Copies were
generally made of the Banno Bir which was freely available.
There was an additional reason why this version gained the
vogue. The Sikhs were reluctant to start the beginners, who
were likely to make errors, on the accepted bir. They