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72
ABSTRACTS OF SIKH STUDIES : APRIL-JUNE 2005 / 537 NS
McLeod duly takes notice of that. He, however, deliberately makes
two cardinal mistakes. One, he says maliciously, “This is widely
regarded as a great pity, even within Sikh society where the numerically
preponderant Jat community bewail the fact that there was never a
single Jat Guru.” (pp 87-88). This issue has been raised by him, for
the first time, out of extraneous considerations. Two, Ranjit Singh
who seemingly got “total ascendancy” in Punjab was not a Jat but a
Sansi, and it was only that class of Sansis that was admitted into Jat
class, whereas other Sansis continued to be enumerated as criminal
tribes under the British.
Now look at his tradition of Khalsa which he says, borrowed
heavily from the Jats’ cultural pattern. He says, “Uncut hair was a Jat
custom which was evidently observed by Hindu and Muslim Jats as
well as by Sikh Jats.” Further that, “With these two symbols may be
paired the comb and the bangle, respectively. “Of the breech”, he
continues, “it seems safe to assume that this symbol must also relate
in some way to the same situation.” (McLeod, p 52)
On Jats, McLeod is not supported even by his once collaborator
J S Grewal, who says that McLeod’s views that Jat cultural pattern
provided ingredients of Khalsa code was untenable. It was “contrary
to historical facts” and “McLeod’s assumption that Jats wore uncut
hair remained unsupported by evidence.” One wishes these were so.
But it seems that McLeod must have been under the influence of
bhang, hemp, when he wrote atleast this paragraph, if not the entire
book. Again, when he says that Khalsa “slate must be wiped clean”,
he only reflected what (Mahatma) M.K. Gandhi once said, “the Guru
has not said anywhere that you must grow beards, carry kirpan and so
on.” McLeod was obviously following the brief held for him.
One can say that the Evolution of the Sikh Community published
after 1994 when the Indian state gained ascendancy over the Sikh
youth in making them discard keshas, hair, in a way reflected an
extraneous situation, and came quite handy to the Indian setup.
It is these asinine qualities that form McLeod’s postulates and
perverse presentation of Sikh ethos and tradition. Some one else
shall be presenting a detailed analysis of McLeodian shenanigans.