Authenticity of Kartarpuri Bir - Global Sikh Studies

and kept it with him as a national treasure of the Sikhs. At the
time of the British conquest of the Punjab, this Bir passed
into the hands of the Indian Government. Thereafter, this Bir
became the subject of a Civil Suit and for obvious reasons it
was restored to the Sodhis of Kartarpur, descendants of
Dhirmal. Therefore, its custody first with the Sodhis of
Kartarpur, then with Ranjit Singh, and again with the Kartarpur
family, is an important and basic piece of evidence. Because,
the presence and recovery of a manuscript, document, or book
from its natural and proper custody and environment is a
relevant and weighty factor in showing its authenticity.
II
1. Claim of Originality undisputed
We are not aware of any other copy of the Adi-Granth on behalf
of which any claim of originality has ever been made.
Accordingly, the only Bir about which a claim of its being
original has been made is the Kartarpuri Bir, and, this claim is
undisputed. In India where there is an unfortunate tradition of
making false claims about the location of sacred places,
scriptures, documents, manuscripts, etc., the singular absence
of any claim of originality for any other Bir is a very remarkable
fact to show that the authenticity of the Kartarpuri Bir has
never been in doubt.
2. Internal Evidence
We now proceed to state and consider the internal
evidence exhibited by the Kartarpuri Bir about its originality.
Here we might indicate the available material on the subject
as also the method of writing the Kartarpuri Bir adopted by the
scribe, evidently under the instructions of the author or the
compiler. Not many persons have made a detailed
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