Evening star., 1922-06-01
RELIGION AFFECTS
| WHEAT IN PUNJAB
Sikhism Has Grip on Great
Populations in Crop
Regions, Say Report.

Good weather in the Dakotas. plus
y adequate transportation. means an
ample wheat supply for the United
states. In Punjab, the Dakotas of
linda. there is a third factor, religion.
which may affect materially the
wheat supply of the British empire
This unknown quantity, religion.
plays a part in the geography of the
east which is often puzzling 10 the
IONS of the occdent," says A bulle-
tin of the National Geographic So
ciety concerning recent revolu-
! tionary activities in the Punjab.
J The Sikhs. who number fewer than
8 per cent Of the twenty-five millions
crowded into this wheat-feld area
of kipling's tales, constitute the pres
ent disturbing factor And. strangely
| enough, this religion. which probably
| is the closest approach to Christianity
that ever sprang from west OF the
| Suez shows development exactly op-
4 posite to that which marked the pre-
| vailing religion of Europe and Amer
| lea
The Christian religions generally
regard the eye for an eye doctrine
of the Old Testament to have been
| superseded by the teaching regard&
| ing forgiveness unto seventy time0
seven which is to be found in the
Bible, of the Sikhs has in it's early
| portion this Injunction. IF any one
treats you ill, bear it. If you bean
1 1t three times God himself will fighN
| for you and humble your enemies.
1t is interesting to note that this
| philosophy forms the keynote of
| Gandhis activities.
| "Tenth Reign" of Granth.
| However, in a second book.
| New Testament, called 'Granth Of
| the Tenth Reign is TO be found this
| bit of poetry:
Ibow ! how to the Arrow and the Cannon.
Which destroy the enemy.
bow 10 the Sword and the Rapier,
Which destroy the will.
And it Is because the latter pas
sage today is more generally adhered
TO by the Sikhs, with whom religion
| is the most intense reality of life.
that their minority population in the
PunJab has become an important fac
| tor in India's geography, economies
and political history.
The region of the five rivers
which is the meaning of Punjab is
| one of the best known areas of India
since II not only is favorite kipling
locale. but also contains the semi
capital, Simla; the Sikh holy city,
Amritsar, of massacre memory. and
the new capital. Delhi, with its world
famed bazaars. The entire Punj4D
comprises an area about equal TO
that of North and South Dakota. II
rests upon broad base along the
foothills of the Himalayas, and a ma
jor portion slopes between the val
leys of the Indus and the Setlej to
an apex southwest of their confluence.
A rectangle lies west of the Indus
along the Baluchistan border, while a
| second triangle, with the upper Sutlej
as its base, projects toward the south
east
| Mecca of the Sikhs.
Near the geographical center OF
J the Punjab is Amritsar. city of car
pets and malaria to the outside world.
but, what is more important in India,
holy city of the Sikhs. Thirty-siN
miles to the west is Lahore. where
the founder of Sikhism, Nanak, was
born less than quarter of a century
before Columbus discovered America.
| "Nanak was succeeded by nine
/! gurus or teachers. The fifth of these.
| Arjan, compiled the Granth, and the
| tenth. Govind. added those portions
which exalt the sword. The last of
| the gurus also initiated the ceremony
of baptizing Sikh youths with water
dripping from a two-edged sword.
| after which they must wear their hair
long and carry a dagger.
Emancipated Their Women.
| The standard English work on the
Sikh religion comprises six volumes.
and Sikhism is one of the newer and
! simpler religions of India at that
The Sikh teachings give their women
! greater freedom. break down rigid
| caste lines, forbid pilgrimages to
Hindu holy places, and discourage the
use of wines and tobacco. Sikhism
| embodies the concept OF a universal
god rather than a tribal deity: il is
strikingly akin to Christian teach
ings regarding family life. but ii diff
fers from Christianity in holding fast
to the oriental belief in transmigra-
tion of souls and in fatalism which
is accepted more literally than the
| western mind ever accepted predesti-
nation.
The Sikh religion developed in that
part of India which has been a cor
ridor for many migrations and a bat
tlefield for centuries. 1t has reacted
upon the hidebound and age-long be-
liefs that are more peculiarly of the
east, and yet IT has caused clashes
| with the British. notably during the
Sikh wars. because it was able TO
meet sword with sword, where other
Indian religions often employed sub
tier and more perplexing methods.
notably the non-co-operation tactics