www.sridasamgranth.com

A Reply to Dr. Jasbir S Mann's doubts on Sri DasamGranth

Dr. Harbhajan Singh

Dr Balbir Singh Sahitya Kendra, Dehradun (Punjabi University Patiala)

(translated by Bhai Prabhjot Singh, UK)From the Original write up in Punjabi

A California based writer Dr. Jasbir Singh ‘Mann’ (orthopaedic doctor by profession)and some writers under his leadership have been casting doubts in minds of theSikhs regarding objectives of Sri Dasam Granth by spreading baseless rumours. Withan ill-intention of propagating his groundless assumptions, he has once againlaunched a vicious attack with a 50-odd pages article named "Guru Granth Sahib; asthe only Sikh canon (Presently Published Sri Dasam Granth and British Connection)REJOINDER TO “Sri Dasam Granth Sahib; the Second Canon of the Sikhs”. There isabsolutely nothing new in Dr. Mann’s article. It is not even appropriate to say that itis an ‘old wine in new bottle’. Rather, it is ‘oldest of wines in oldest of bottles’. Thesole objective behind writing this article is to keep lying repeatedly so that it couldfinally appear to be the truth. Perhaps Dr. Mann is incapable of concocting newrumours, that is why he is repeating the same falsehood in desperate attempt togive some credibility to it. Although he gives the illusion of being unbiased in hiswritings, it is said that he is bribing people to write against Sri Dasam Granth. Inorder to conceal his true identity under the mask, he writes, “Two viewpoints havebeen circulating in Panthic and Sikh studies circles about Dasam Granth. One viewgives total acceptance and agrees that Guru Gobind Singh Ji wrote all compositionspresent in the Published Granth. 2nd view point is of total rejection of this Granth.Present author disagrees with both view points..”. Dr. Mann is of the belief that SriDasam Granth in its entirety is a creation of the British. Nowhere in the article doeshe prove that the British made additions of so-and-so compositions in Sri DasamGranth; instead, he keeps repeating that there no Granth called ‘Sri Dasam Granth’ existed in 18th Century, that the British got it prepared in the beginning of 19thCentury. He also does not mention that so-and-so compositions have been addedand how the British political system of the time or Christianity could profit bycreating these fake compositions. It is surprising that although I have alreadyrefuted his allegations in my published book, but instead of providing answers to anyof my work, he has once again attempted to cover his baseless hypothesis with thecloak of truth. I will attempt to uncover this stubborn falsehood of Dr. Mann in thefollowing pages.In an attempt to mislead the Sikh Sangat, the adversaries of Sri Dasam Granth arerepeatedly creating terror waves by alleging that there is danger from Sri DasamGranth to the Guruship of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Following this malicious intent of creating scare in hearts and minds of the Sikhs, Dr. Mann has titled his baselessarticle as ‘Guru Granth Sahib; as the only Sikh canon’. I have not met even a singlesupporter of Sri Dasam Granth that considers Sri Dasam Granth to be bigger andmore important than Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Every Gursikh, from times of BhaiKesar Singh Chibber to the present-day Sikhs, has considered and respected SriDasam Granth as the smaller Granth. However, I can also say with absoluteconviction that I have not met any adversary of Sri Dasam Granth that has full faith

www.sridasamgranth.com

in completeness of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. They have doubts on Ragmala, Bani of the Bhatts, Bhagat Banis, and objections against compositions of Bhai Gurdas Ji.They are determined to malign the names of members of the Guru’s family, BhaiNand Lal Ji and many other great personalities. Thus, there is a real danger to theGuruship of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji from Dr. Mann and his team of critics. Can Dr.Mann tell the name of any one supporter of Sri Dasam Granth, including those whodo Parkash of this Granth, that has ever doubted the completeness of Sri GuruGranth Sahib Ji? I also strongly object to his use of the word ‘Cannon’ for Sri GranthSahib Ji, because it does not translate to ‘Guru Granth’ at all. I had provided thedictionary meaning and description of the principle behind using this word but Dr.Mann did not provide any answers although he has surely hurt the Sikh sentimentsby repeated use of the word associated with Western culture. [Translator's note: Thisis what appears in Dr. Harbhajan Singh's book regarding the word 'Cannon': "TheRandom House Dictionary of the English Language' has given the following meaningof this word: 1. an ecclesiastical rule or law enacted by a council or other competentauthority and, in the Roman Catholic Church, approved by the pope. 2. the body of ecclesiastical law 3. the body of rules, principles, or standards accepted a axiomaticand universally binding in a field of study or art. 4. a fundamental principle orgeneral rule. 5. a standard; criterion. 6. the books of the Bible recognized by anyChristian church as genuine and inspired. 7. any officially recognized set of sacredbooks. 8. any comprehensive list of books within a field 9. Literature, the works of anauthor...]. Dr. Mann has written a lot of irrelevant stuff from here and there, but Iwant to focus myself on the questions raised by him. He argues that twofundamental questions need to be resolved regarding the objectives of Sri DasamGranth:Question 1: Based on Academic Benchmarks:a.When was this Granth written.b. The history of this Granth.c. Who was its writer?d. The internal consistency of this Granth.Question 2: The Granth that Malcolm reported in 1810 A.D. and later rectified andedited by the ‘Sodhak Committee’: Was there any Granth named ‘Dasami PatshahiDa Granth’, associated with Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji and with all the compositions,available in the 18th Century, whose Parkash used to take place in Gurdwaras of Punjab and Delhi? The academic proofs of participation of British in the thepreparation, order and propagation of this Granth cannot be neglected, therefore anycommittee concerned with the verification of authenticity claims should keep this inmind.After elaborating on the above doubts, Dr. Mann presents the following ‘Table of Knowledge’:1. Does any literary resource informs us of any debate regarding Sri Dasam GranthSahib in the 18th Century?2. Academic issues regarding Bhai Mani Singh’s Bir, Patna Bir and Anandpuri Bir?3. Is it true that Dasam Granth appeared in the 19th Century? Was Dasam Granthpresent in Punjab, Delhi and neighbouring areas in the 18th Century?

www.sridasamgranth.com

4. Is it right that Dasam Granth in its present published form was mentioned for thefirst time in 1810 A.D. in Malcolm’s book, “Sketch of the Sikhs”?5. Is it a historical fact that the British propagated and established the Banis of Dasam Granth in order to weaken the Sikhs and the Sikh rule?6. The dates within Dasam Granth?7. Did the British popularised recitation of presently parkash’d Bir in order to destroyindependent existence of the Sikh faith?8. Did Atma Ram Nirmala of Calcutta had any associations with the Nimala Mahantsof Patna?9. The relationship between Tribhangi Chhand of Akal Ustat and Atma Ram?10. Proofs of the establishment of superiority of ‘Bachittar Natak’ over Sri GuruGranth Sahib by the British during the end of 18th Century?11. Proofs of involvement of British Govt. in the composition of Dasam Granth(Devnagri) in 1847?12. The analysis of academic issues regarding ‘Khaas Daskhati Patrey’?13. Sikh Code of Conduct and Dasam Granth in 1925 A.D?14. The Guruship given by Guru Gobind Singh Ji to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji? (GuruGranth is the sole Canon of the Sikhs.)15. Sodhak Committee and Dasam Granth?16. The debate regarding the authenticity of Dasam Granth in 18th Century?17. The Hukamnama issued by Akal Takht on 6th June, 2008?The following are replies to the above contrivances by Dr. Mann:

Does any literary resource informs us that there was any debate regarding SriDasam Granth Sahib in the 18th Century?In answer to this question, Dr. Mann writes that according to Bhai Kahn Singh ‘Nabha’, debate on Dasam Granth started immediately after preparation of its Bir byBhai Mani Singh in 1726 A.D. However, this Dasam Granth Bir survived its originalform because Bhai Mehtab Singh fulfilled his oath to kill Massa Rangad. Dr. Mann isunhappy that by doing so, an individual pledge took over the principles of TenthGuruji. It would have been better if some collective decision was taken regarding thisissue. The writer further says that just like Bhai Mani Singh had cancelled the Bir of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji that was prepared by the compiler, similarly Banis likeCharitropakhyan and Hikayats should have been kept separated when he compiledDasam Granth. It is Dr. Mann’s opinion that although we consider Bhai Mani Singh asPanth-Rattan because of him being a Gursikh, still he has committed grave sin (bycompiling Dasam Granth) which has done immense damage of the Sikh Panth. Thewriter believes that the Bir prepared by him is not available at all. The Bir attributed