The Best ARTICLES from Newspapers

[Jack]

The Best ARTICLES from Newspapers

[deepak soni]

PRIDE and honour make a potent potion and the turban evokes these feelings in those Sikhs who wear a turban. People have been wearing turbans since time immemorial and you find individuals wearing turbans in many nations in Asia and Africa. While for some turbans might be an optional, formal, attire, for the Sikhs wearing a turban is a religious imperative.

Turban-wearing Sikhs stand out in a crowd, for good or bad, and there are many documented cases, spread over centuries and spanning the globe, when the Sikhs have faced discrimination and worse because of their turbans.

Often prominent people would stand up for their rights. When the question of Sikhs wearing turbans and refusing to wear steel helmets came in front of the British parliament, Sir Winston Churchill said it was ' '  '"a matter of deep regret that consequent to contemporary cynicism, people had been toying with many precious social and religious values, but those who want to retain and maintain them with due respect should receive our appreciation as well as help. The Sikhs need our help for such a cause. We should help them willingly. He who is familiar with Sikh history knows the Sikhs' '  ' relationship with England, the high degree of their achievements, and must help them with full strength. The Sikhs should be exempted from wearing steel helmets because it hurts their religious feelings' '  ' .

Especially in the final decades of the last century, the Sikhs would take recourse to the legal systems of the nations that they faced discrimination in, and more in time would be granted relief since courts worldwide recognised the fundamental right of the Sikhs to wear an item of their religious attire. This was so in Britain, Canada and the US, to name just three major nations.

In France, however, it was the state that discriminated against Sikh school students and banned them for wearing turbans to school, because turbans were seen as ' '  '"conspicuous religious symbols' '  ' . It enacted an all-embracing law against ' '  '"conspicuous religious symbols' '  '  in 2004 and enforced it vigorously. Others affected by the law include Muslim girls wearing headscarves, Jewish boys wearing scull caps and Christians wearing large crosses.

The logic behind this decision is to take secularism not as equal respect for all religions, as it is seen in India; or a separation of the church and the state as is practised in most of Europe and the US, but a particularly narrow and strident interpretation that seeks to stamp out religion and religious symbols to preserve secularity.

French courts have supported the government in this and now the principle is being extended-the Sikhs are being asked to uncover their heads while being photographed for driving licences. Recently, United Sikhs, an international charitable organisation that has also been fighting for the cause of the turban, reported that its appeal regarding Shingara Mann Singh, 52, a French national who was refused a replacement driver' '  's licence because he did not take off his turban, was turned down by a top French court. Similarly, appeals by eight French students, who have sought to be allowed to attend school, have met with a similar fate.

The forthcoming visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy has drawn attention to this issue again. The issue of banning turbans in French schools has been raised , protest marches have taken place, and vigils are being planned.

It is a historical fact that 80,000 Sikh soldiers fought for France and many lost their lives during the two world wars, fighting major battles in Ypres, La Bass'   ' ©e, NeuveChapelle, Festubert, Loos, Givenchy and Somme.

The late Hardit Singh Malik was granted the French Legion of Honour Award in 1952. He had served as a fighter pilot for the French Air Force, and won nine aerial battles in World War I. The turbaned Malik also served as Indian Ambassador to France soon after India became independent.

The issue is neither the contributions of the Sikhs to the freedom of France, nor the ties they have with France and the French people. What is at stake here is a fundamental matter of giving people the freedom to profess and practise their faith.

The following are excerpts from a statement by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York on September 25, 2007, which is being circulated on the Internet:

' '  '"Attachment to one' '  's faith, to one' '  's language and culture, and to one' '  's way of life, thought and belief ' '  '  " all this is natural, legitimate and profoundly human' '  ' To deny that is to sow the seeds of humiliation. A ' '  '"clash of civilisations' '  ' will not be averted by forcing everyone to think and believe alike; cultural and religious diversity must be accepted everywhere and by all.' '  ' 

[GURSHARAN NATT]

Punjab, a region in Northern India and the east side of Pakistan, has a long history and rich cultural heritage. The people of the Punjab are called Punjabis and they speak a language called Punjabi. The three main religions in the area are Sikhism, Hinduism, and Islam. The region has been invaded and ruled by many different empires and races, including the Aryans, Persians, Greeks, Egyptians, Afghans, and Mongols. Around the time of the 15th Century, Guru Nanak Dev founded the Sikh religion, which quickly came to prominence in the region, and shortly afterwards, Maharaja Ranjit Singh reformed the Punjab into a secular and powerful state. The 19th Century saw the beginning of British rule, which led to the emergence of several heroic Punjabi freedom fighters. In 1947, at the end of British rule, the Punjab was split between Pakistan and India .


Many races of people and religions made up the cultural heritage of the Punjab. Punjab is the land where spiritual aspirations arose. This heroic land bore numerous invasions, and after all its suffering, did not entirely lose its glory and its strength. Here it was that the gentle Nanak preached his marvellous love for the world. Here it was that his broad heart opened and his arms outstretched to embrace the whole world.

One of the earliest stone age cultures of South Asia nourished in the Punjab. People generally accept that about eight centuries before Christ, the Punjab was the most enlightened and the prosperous region in the world. The Harappa civilization developed in Punjab and its culture spread to Iran, Afghanistan, Balochistan, and north-western parts of South Asia.

The Vedic and Epic period of the Punjab was socially and culturally very prolific as during this glorious period, the people accelerated in the fields of philosophy and culture. Here the people composed the Rig Veda and the Upanishads. Further, tradition maintains that Valmiki composed the Ramayana near the present Amritsar city and Kaikyee belonged to this region. Lord Krishna gave the divine message of the Gita at Kurukshetra. It was here that people wrote eighteen principal Puranas. The authors of Vishnu Purana and the Shiv Purano belonged to the central Punjab.


Right from the invasion of Alexander in 326 B.C., the Punjab bore the brunt of incursions and the aggressive assaults of the hordes from the north. During the gruesome period great kings like Porus, Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka and host of other heroes emerged to defend Punjab from the onslaughts.

During Mughal rule, there was lots of conflict, chaos, and political upheavals in the Punjab. Appearance of Guru Nanak (1469-1538) was an event significant not only for the region but for the whole country. He was the founder of a powerful popular movement which has left a lasting impression on the history and culture of all of South Asia. Born in the district of Sheikhupura, he rejected the division of mankind into rigid compartments of orthodox religions and preached the oneness of humanity, and oneness of God, thus aiming at creating a new order which embraced the all pervasive spirit in man. He condemned and ridiculed the false and unnatural notions of high and low in society, He denounced idolatory and laid stress on meditation for the realization of the Universal self.

British intrution had political, cultural, philosophical and literary consequences in the Punjab. The opening of a new system of education introduced a new spirit in the life of the Punjabis. More people realized the greatness of Punjabi culture. During the freedom movement, Punjab played a role worthy of its name. Many heroes emerged from the Punjab such as Lajpat Rai, Ajit Singh, Bhagat Singh, Uddham Singh, Bhal Parmanand and a host of others.

Since independence, life in the Punjab proves to be tragic and traumatic. The partition resulted in riots and terror which tore up millions of homes and destroyed many lives. The massive exodus resulting from the newly formed state of Pakistan created problems of uncontrollable dimensions. The Punjabis trekked in blood and shreds.

However, the Punjabi spirit of tenacity and toughness sustained the uprooted people. The disillusioned people set to work with no self pity to plough fresh fields. They built new industries and became prominent in sports. Punjabis attained an eminent place in cultural, aesthetic, and literary work, and revived folk art, song, dance and drama. All of this has created a sense of pride and climate of involvement in the heritage of the Punjab.

[GURSHARAN NATT]

History of Punjab:  Land of the Punjab

Meaning of Punjab The Punjab, called Pentapotamia by the Greeks, derives its name from two Persian words, panj (five), an aab (water, having reference to the five rivers which confer on the country).


Location of Punjab Punjab is a region that encompasses Northern India and the East side of Pakistan. Punjab is bounded on the north by the vast Himalyan ranges, which divide it from China, Tibet and Kashmir; on the east by the river Jamna, the North-Western Provinces and the Chinese Empire; on the south by Sind, the river Sutlej, which separates it from Bahawalpur, and Rajputana; and on the west by the Sulaiman range, which divides it from Biluchistan, and Afghanistan, which joins the Khaibar.


Location of Punjab in South-East Asia

Five Rivers of Punjab The most remarkable feature in the topography of the country is found in its rivers, the feeders of the great Indus, which, after traversing for hundreds of miles in the mountainous regions of the lofty Himalayas, descend into the plains, fertilizing the soil, and continue their course generally to the south, until, after their confluence with the Indus, the Nile of India, the amalgamated waters fall into the ocean. These rivers run between the Indus and the Jamna, and their names, in succession, eastward from the Indus, are the Jhelum, the Chin, the Ravi, the Bias and the Sutlej.




Punjab Has Six Rivers It is to be observed that there are, in fact, six rivers instead of five; but, as the Indus was much dreaded by the religious classes, and was considered the sacred boundary of India to the far west, the ancients seem to have disregarded it in giving the country its present name. A delineation of these rivers is necessary, not only because they form the principal features in the topography of the Province, but because their importance, from a military as well as from a political and mercantile point of view, has been admitted from the remotest antiquity to the present day.

[GURSHARAN NATT]

 Climate & Resources

Geography of the Punjab The Punjab is an extensive, flat plain, hemmed in by high mountain walls on the north and west, and open to the south and east. The area, considered as a whole, presents the appearance of a gently sloping plain, leading from the high mountains on the north to the sandy deserts on the south. The great cities of Lahore and Amritsar are each 900 feet above the level of the sea.


The flat plains of the Punjab

Variety of Features The land of five rivers presents a great variety of features. Traversing the northern tracts, the traveller would regard the Punjab as the garden of India; but, as he/she approaches the south, the barren sandy plateau to the south-westand the wastes of Hissar to the south-east present a strange scene to his/her view. The traveller sees interminable wastes, the wildest prairies overgrown with grass and scrub.

Salt Resource The great salt range of the Punjab, springing from the root of the Sufed Koh, extends eastward to the Indus, which it crosses at Kalabagh, and terminates somewhat abruptly on the right bank of the river Jhelum. The range contains inexhaustible veins of rock-salt, deposits of chloride of sodium, formed og frass wacke, limestone sandstone, gypsum and red tenacious clay. The salt range produces, besides the mineral that gives it its name, antimony, alum and sulphur.


Climate of Punjab The climate of the Punjab presents extremes of heat and cold. In the regions extending along the southern base of the Himalayas, the south-west monsoon blows, and the rainfall is abundant. But in places distant from both the hills and the seat the heat is excessive and very little rain falls. The monsoon season lasts from the middle of June to the end of September. The hot weather proper begins with April. The heat in the summer is intense; scorching winds blow, the earth is parched, vegetation withers, and many trees are shorn of their leaves.


Extreme Heat In Multan, in the extreme south-west, the heat is so oppressive as to be preverbial. At Lahore, the thermometer has been known to rise to 112 degrees in a tent artificially cooled. In June, when the heat is intense, great piles of clouds appear and the south-west monsoon bursts with little warning. With thunder and lightning come furious storms of wind, and this war of the elements is followed by heavy torrents or rain, which cool the atmostphere and make the vegetation green.




Punjabi man selling fruit in Amritsar
Fruits of Punjab Except in the hills, Punjab contains comparatively little that is indigenous. There are no natural forests in the plains; extensive tracts occur covered only with grass, shrubs and bushes. The mango is largely cultivated in the south-east of the Punjab and attains a high degree of perfection about Multan and Hoshiarpur. Cultivated fruit trees are abundant, such as orange, pomegranate, apple, peach, fig, mulberry, quince, apricot, almond, and plum.


Animals of Punjab The animals of the land of five rivers has the reputation of being richer and more varied than its flora. Tigers are still found in the forests of the hills, and the lion was once not uncommon. The other beasts are leopards, panthers, hyaenas, lynxes, wolves, bears, jackals, foxes, stoats, and martens. There are also nilgais, antelopes, deer, goats, wild boar, porcupines, monkeys, and bats. The feathered tribes include parrots, peafowl, junglefowl, pheasants, eagles, vultures, hawks, quails, pelicans, waterfowl, cranes, herons, hoopoos, and doves. Among poisonous snakes the most remarkable are the cobra, and a small snake, the sangehur, the bit of which causes instantaneous death. The rivers are infested with alligators, and fish of various species abound. The silkworm is reared with great skill and industry, and bees produce abundant wax and honey. Camels thrive in the hot southern plains, and herds of buffaloes on the grazing lands adjoining the rivers. Horses of excellent quality are reared in the north-east part of the country.


Agricultural Products Of agricultural products, sugercan is grown everywhere in the fertile tracts and indigo in the low southern regions, borth being largely exported towards Sindh and Kabul. Cotton is produced and exported in large quantities. Wheat and maize are extensively cultivated. The other articles of produce are buckwheat, rice, barley, millet; oil-seeds, such as sesamum and mustard, various sorts of vetches, carrots, pease, beans, onions, turnips, cucubmbers, and melons.


The buffalo of Punjab

Irrigation Extensive irrigation is carried on by means of canals and the Persian wheel is employed to draw water from the wells. Wheat, gram and barley are grown in the spring, and Indian corn, rice, cotton, pulses, indigo, and sugercane is the autumn. Wheat is largely produced in the divisions of Lahore, Amritsar, Jalandhar, and Rawalpindi. The largest areas under cotton cultivation are found in the districts of Lahore, Ambala, Gurgaon and Rawalpindi. The chief sugar producing districts are Sialkot, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Hoshiapur, and Ambala. Indigo is almost entirely confined to the districts of Multan, Mozaffargarh and Dera Ghazi Khan. Tea is grown in the hill tracts of Simla and Kangra.

[GURSHARAN NATT]

Below is a timeline of the history of Punjab.

Before 3000 BC   Aboriginals of Punjab
3000 BC - 2000 BC   Indus Valley Civilization
2000 BC - 1500 BC   Aryans Invade the Punjab
2000 BC - 500 BC   Aryan Civilization
Vedas Composed in the Punjab
Development of Caste System
800 BC   Invasion of Punjab by Semiramis
650 BC   Invasion of Punjab by Ancient Scythians
550 BC - 500 BC   Persian Invasion of Punjab
550 BC - 400 AD   Spread of Buddhism in Punjab
321 BC   Invasion of Punjab Alexander
273 BC - 232 BC   Period of Ashoka
206 BC   Invasion by Antiochus
165 BC   Invasion by Eneradites
110 BC - 400   Scythians Invade Punjab, Rule Punjab
400 - 711   Turks, Kashmiri Kings Conquer Punjab
711 - 962   Arabs Invade Punjab
Rajputs Expel Arabs, Rule the Punjab
962 - 1186   Turks Invade Punjab, Ghaznivide Dynasty
1186 - 1205   Ghori Dynasty
1205 - 1288   Tartar Dynasty
1288 - 1321   Khiljai Dynasty
1321 - 1395   Toghlak Dynasty
1396   Invasion of Punjab by Tymur
1416 - 1450   Dynasty of the Syads
1450 - 1526   Lodi Dynasty
1469 - 1539   Period of Guru Nanak
1519   Moghals, under Baber, Invade Punjab
1526 - 1540   Moghal Dynasty
1539 - 1675   Period of 8 Sikh Gurus After Nanak
1540   Sher Shah Conquers Punjab
1540 - 1555   Sur Dynasty
1555   Moghals, under Humayun, Conquer Punjab
1556 - 1605   Akber Ascends the Throne, Rules Punjab
1605 - 1658   Jahangir, Shah Jahan
1658 - 1707   Muhyuddin Aurangzeb
1675 - 1708   Guru Gobind Singh
1699   Birth of the Khalsa
1708 - 1715   Conquests of Banda Bahadur
1713   Muhammad Farrukhseer Ascends the Throne
1739   Invasion of Nadir Shah
1748   Ahmad Shah
1764 - 1799   Rule of Sikh Misls
1799 - 1839   Rule by Maharaja Ranjit Singh
1849   Annexation of the Punjab
1849 - 1947   British Rule
1947   Punjab Divided Between India and Pakistan

[GURSHARAN NATT]

he Aborigines of Punjab

First Settlers of Punjab Very little is known of the aboriginals of Punjab, who settled in the region thousands of years ago. It is generally accepted that the aborigines lived in caves and on the marshes of river banks. Their language was simple, they lived in small numbers and in isolated communities, and they generally wore animal skin to cover their bodies. Larger groups formed small tribes and became owners of flocks. The aborigines had little knowledge of the properties of metals, and used stones, clubs, and spears as hunting weapons.

Their Food The abundance of fruit, herbs and roots, and of beasts of prey, and feathered game, afforded the aborigines an easy means of subsistence. Hunting seems to have been the earliest occupation of these people. Those that lived on the rivers feasted on raw fish and flesh. Many of the aborigines were canibals, as those who lived to old age were slaugtered and feasted on by the young.


The Aboriginals of the Punjab

Their Race and Population The aborigines were a dark race and are expressly mentioned as such in the Rig Veda, the oldest living scripture in the world. According to the 1881 census, about 959,720 aborigines live in the Punjab. Majority of today's aborigines, who number about 20 million, who were driven out of Punjab by various invaders, generally live in the south-east of India or in the Himalyas mountains. These aborigines tend to live in the jungles, dense forests, and remote areas, and often practice magic and sorcery.


Belief System Unlike the Hindus, the aborigines observed no distinctions of caste. In addition, they buried their dead in the ground, beneath circular stones, mounds and perpendicular slabs, like the early inhabitants of Europe. The widows of the aborigines not only re-marry, but, usually marry the younger brothers of their deceased husbands. The modern Hindus generally abstain from eating beef; the aborigines feed alike on all flesh. In addition, among the aborigines, all ceremonies, civil or religous, is complete without drinking and dancing.

[GURSHARAN NATT]

The Indus Valley Civilization

Indus Valley Civilization This earliest known civilization that encompassed the Punjab dates back to about 3000 BC. Discovered in the 1920s, it was thought to have been confined to the valley of the river Indus, hence the name given to it was Indus Valley civilization. Very little is known of how and why this civilization came about, but it was a highly developed urban one and two of its towns, Mohenjodaro and Harappa, represent the high watermark of the settlements. Subsequent archaeological excavations established that the civilization was spread to a wide area in northwestern and western India. Thus this civilization is known as the Harappan civilization.


Indus Valley Civilization

Urban Development The emergence of this civilization is as remarkable as its stability for nearly a thousand years. All the cities were well planned and were built with baked bricks of the same size; the streets were laid at right angles with an elaborate system of covered drains. There was a fairly clear division of localities and houses were earmarked for the upper and lower strata of society. There were also public buildings, the most famous being the Great Bath at Mohenjodaro and the vast granaries. Production of several metals such as copper, bronze, lead and tin was also undertaken and some remnants of furnaces provide evidence of this fact. The discovery of kilns to make bricks support the fact that burnt bricks were used extensively in domestic and public buildings.




Art Work from Civilization
Occupations Evidence also points to the use of domesticated animals, including camels, goats, water buffaloes and fowls. The Harappans cultivated wheat, barley, peas and sesamum and were probably the first to grow and make clothes from cotton. Trade seemed to be a major activity at the Indus Valley and the sheer quantity of seals discovered suggest that each merchant or mercantile family owned its own seal. These seals are in various quadrangular shapes and sizes, each with a human or an animal figure carved on it. Discoveries suggest that the Harappan civilization had extensive trade relations with the neighbouring regions in India and with distant lands in the Persian Gulf and Sumer (Iraq).


Society and Religion The Harappan society was probably divided according to occupations and this also suggests the existence of an organized government. The figures of deities on seals indicate that the Harappans worshipped gods and goddesses in male and female forms and has also evolved some rituals and ceremonies. No monumental sculpture survives, but a large number of human figurines have been discovered, including a steatite bust of a man thought to be a priest, and a striking bronze dancing girl. Countless terra-cotta statues of Mother Goddess have been discovered suggesting that she was worshipped in nearly every home

[GURSHARAN NATT]

 Aryan Conquest of the Punjab

The Aryans The mountains in the north-west is the primitive home of the Aryans, who migrated into the Punjab. Bands of these immigrants penetrated into the Punjab through the Himalyan passes. Being fresh from a cold northern country, they were very fair in color and called themselves Arya, meaning honourable. They bore the closest relation to the inhabitants of Iran and had a very similar language. Their first conquisition was the Punjab, and the period of when they invaded is uncertain, but is generally accepted they came some 2500 years ago, about 1500 B.C.


The Four Vedas During this time, the four Vedas, the oldest living scriptures in the world, composed around 1500-1700 BC, supplies evidence concerning the life of the Aryans who settled in the Punjab. The Rig Veda, meaning fount of knowledge, is regarded by Hindus as the highest, the most sacred scriptures. The Vedas are four in number, the Rig, the Sama, the Yajar and the Atharvan, and they are each a collection of hymns and prayers. The hymns belong to different ages, and, before the art of writing was introduced, were preserved by the saintly families to whom they are believed to have been revealed. In that shape, they were handed down for generations from father to son. Gradually, the hymns were written in Sanskrit during the later period of the Aryan existence.


Early Artwork

Features and Language The Aryans of the Punjab bear a close resemblance to their brothers of the West with their straight noses and finely-chiselled features. They once spoke Sanskrit in its rude form, and also speak in a language common to Greek, Germanic, and Celtic languages. Even today, if one looks at the various Indian languages, one will find words common to many of the Western languages.


Battles Between Aryans and Early Inhabitants The Rig Veda provides evidence that the primitive Aryans were not allowed to settle in the Punjab unmolested as long and bloody struggles were maintained in the wild. The inhabitants dwelt in cities built of stone, and possessed horses, cattle and chariots. They fought desperately for hearth and home, and the Aryans lost many battles before being finally able to subdue the early inhabitants. The Aryans fought in chariots drawn by horses. They had swords, axes, bows, spears, trumpeters, and standard-bearers. Trumpets and drums were used to excite them to valorous deeds or to convey the orders of commanders. The drum is the most ancient instrument used by the Hindus and it roused the warlike spirit of the warriors.


Battles Between Aryans and Inhabitants

Veneration for the Cow The Aryans were a people given more to the keeping and breeding of cattle than to the work of the plough. They were pastoral people, of nomadic habits. They often prayed their gods to bestow upon them many cows abounding in milk. The deities were invoked to protect the cows from misfortune, to increase the herds and to make the pastures green. The cow was pronounced to be the animal favored of the Al-mighty, and since it was so useful to man, its perservation became a religious obligation. The Aryans also kept humped oxen and camels.




Early Inhabitants of the Punjab
Their Organization and Civilization In their earlier colonies each father was the priest of his own family circle, and the vedic communities were organized into kingdoms. Those that were successful in war were often rewarded with slave women, dresses, cows, gold and chariots. The life of the Aryans of the Punjab was martial and manly. Their warlike character developed, and they adapted themselves to the conditions of tropical climate, very different than their cold, northern home. They dug channels for the purpose of irrigating their fields, and sowed beans, barley and sesame. They were acquainted with the arts of spinning and weaving and working of leather. They had among them carpenters, carriage makers, ship builders, goldsmiths, and other artisans. The possessed some knowledge of navigation; they had physicians who understood the healing properties of herbs. Also, monogamy seems to have been the rule, and a prince had to content himself with one wife.


Social Customs and Status of Woman Women enjoyed a higher social status in Vedic times than that now accorded to her. She was termed the light of the dwelling. She had the privilges of acquiring knowledge, and some of the most eloquent hymns in the Vedas are attributed to female authors, ladies and queens. Child-marriage, although not absolutely prohibited, was not encouraged. Distinctions of caste were unknown, and Brahminism represented a profession, not a distinct caste. The practice of sati, or the burning of a widow, was not sanctioned by the Vedas. In addition, unlike modern Hindus, the ancient Aryans held beef in esteem as an article of food. There were at one time beef-eating gods and beef-eating worshippers. The Aryans settlers of the Punjab were a spirit-drinking race and indulged freely in beer, wine, and spirit. Sages and sainds drank and offered the fermented juice to the gods. The Aryans buried their dead, often in mountains, where they would become prey to the birds.

[GURSHARAN NATT]

 Ancient Hindus

Caste System Around 1500 B.C., the Aryans colonized extensive districts and founded large cities in their newly acquired territory. They had to contend against the old population, and became involved in wars among themselves for the best land. Successful leaders found themselves in possession of extensive territories and became acknoledged rulers. During the task of organizing the subdued territories, the caste system began to be developed. Preeminent over all other castes were the Brahmins, who acted as councillors at the courts, priests at sacrifices, sang sacred hymns, and gained a supremacy alike over the king and the people. In total, four different castes were developed. Next to the Brahmins were the Shatrias, or the military, who protected the people. The next caste in the laddre were the Vaisyas, or workers, who tended the herds and tilled the fields. The last and most bottom caste were the Sudras, or servile class, the remnants of the vanquished aborigines, who became servants. The Brahmins secured their social supremacy by the compilation of customary laws known as the Code of Manu, which describes them as being of greatness.




Jewelry of Ancient Hindus
Hindu Literature The Hindu literature has given birth to two nobel epic poems, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The Ramayana is related to a period of 1000 B.C., but the compilation belongs to a later date. The reputed author, a poet named Valmiki, composed his work in present day Amritsar. The subject treated of is the invasion of Ceylon by Rama, king of Awadh, whose wife Sita, had been abducted by Rawan, the aboriginal and demon prince of Ceylong. A great fight took place and Sita was rescued. The Mahabharata deals with a period of 1200 B.C. and describes a great war between the Pandus, or people of the solar race, and the Kurus.


The Kings and Royal Families The land of five rivers was divided into a number of principalities governed by warlike princes and noble families. The cities were surrounded by brick, stone walls, and deep trenches. The kings and princes lived in sumptous palaces, adorned with gardens and terraces, and were surrounded by women-servants and body-guards. Their robes glittered with gold and jewels, and the soles of their shoes were wrought with gold. They wore ear-rings adorned with jewels of great size and brilliancy. People shewed the king the greatest reverence, they knelt before him and even prayed to him. Happy and fortunate events, such as winning a battle, birth of a royal child, and offering of a sacrifice, were announced to the citizens by ring of bells. They were armed with weapons of various kinds, as if they were going to war. The royal people were followed by elephants with gold and silver trappings, chariots, drawn by four horses, soldiers, handsomely equipped with royal robes, gold and silver utensils, emeralds, precious stones, and accompanied by lions, tigers, panthers, buffaloes, and other wild beasts.




Art of the Early Hindus
Way of Life The people were skilled in the arts. The soil produced every species of fruit and vegetable known to cultivation. Slavery was unknown to the Hindus, and theft was a very rare occurrence as houses were generally left unguarded. Perjury was punished with the loss of a hand or foot, and for heinous crimes the offenders were flayed by the king`s orders. The Punjabis married many wives. A wife was purchased for a yoke of oxen and women were also given as prizes to competitors who excelled in archery, wrestling, boxing, and other sports. The troops of the ancient Hindus were commanded by generals, who were mostly the king`s ministers. Gunpowder was invented in this land, and the ancient Hindus were acquainted with the use of firearms. There was great adepts in the art of smelting and casting metals. The Hindus dressed in a cotton shirt below the knee and halfway between it and the ankle. The lower part was covered with a cloth reaching to the middle of the leg, called a dhoti. Rich people wore necklaces and rode in chariots drawn by four horses. Men allowed their beards to grow and dyed them with various colors. The women were draped and wore no tight-fitting garments.