Introductory - Global Sikh Studies

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artisans and the craftsmen, i.e. the working classes)’. 65c
According to the same author, the Guru ‘sought to uplift the
qaum-i-arazil i.e. the downtrodden. He was keen on inflicting khift
(humiliation) on the mardum-i-avvan (the privileged classes). 65d ’ The
author of Asrari Samdi states, though in a hyperbolic style, that there
was not a single amir (rich man or noble) in Hindustan whom Banda
spared. 66 This statement tallies with that of Bhai Gurdas, the second,
that the Khalsa scattered to the winds the Zamindars and the amirs, 67
and with that of the contemporary Muslim saint Bulle Shah:
The Mughals drank the cup of poison,
The Coarse-blanket-wearers were raised to be rajas (rulers).
The Mughal nobles are all wandering, about in silence,
Well have they been swept off. 67a
It is stated in the ‘Haqiqat’ that “Asan baz Sikhan mulk ra baham
taqism kardand”, 67b i.e. the Sikh divided the country among themselves.
This historical testimony and the other given above finds support from
a different quarter. Soon after the annexation of the Punjab, the British
authorities started investigations regarding its customary laws. Mr.
Tuper, who bases his opinions on these investigations, reaches the
conclusion that “the general result of the Sikh rule was to destroy the
old tenures of the country” and “reduce squatters and inheritors to
same level.’ 67c Prinsep writes: “when the country, overrun by the Sikhs
had been pacelled out into new allotments, the former divisions into
districts, as established during the reign of the Delhi Emperors, and
recorded by the Kanungos, or rule-tellers, became void, and much
angry litigation arose in respect to the village boundaries and waste
lands. 67d This apparently refers to land redistribution. That the land seized
from the landlords by the Khalsa was distributed among the poorer classes
goes without saying. Even if it is assumed that the acquired land was
distributed among the members of the Khalsa, it has been shown
* We have been able to tap, with the help of friends and well-wishers
very limited Persian source-material