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Dravidians and the Punjab
by Anwar Shaikh |
EDITORIAL
Racial Threat to India
| Dr. M. S. Srinivasan, Chairman of the First
Public Protection Trust, Madras, is a well-known patriot. He has written
several books to cure political and social ills of India through
professional remedies. Interested in the unity of his motherland, he is
naturally worried by the Dravidian problem of South India, which is
brandishing a racial hatchet to harm the physical integrity of the
country.
Being aware of my views about the origin of
Aryans, he asked me to provide him with details so that he could do
something to help the deteriorating situation in the South.
Dr. Srinivasan has expressed a noble sentiment.
In response to it, I have modified the second chapter of my book:
"The Wonders of the Rgveda." It appears here as "Dravidians
And The Punjab" and demonstrates the racial unity of the Aryans and
the Dravidians, who are originally one people.
The authority on the subject is Rgveda which also
shows that, unless people of India return to this Source of Light, they
will keep wandering in the darkness of disunity, division and distraction.
It is because the Indian society is rooted in the Veda, and no tree can
survive without attachment to its roots.
- Anwar Shaikh |
Dravidians and the Punjab
No scripture has ever praised its land of
origin with half as much love, enthusiasm and devotion as the Rgveda has
applauded Punjab, originally the land of the Sindhu and six rivers. This fact
shows the eternal bond between the Rgveda and the Punjab. There is not a word
about the foreign origin of the Aryans in this book, which is undoubtedly the
greatest authority on this issue. If the Aryans were foreign migrants or the
invaders, the Rgveda would have mentioned where they came from. In fact, this is
the first-thing, the Book would have done. Being myself an immigrant to Great
Britain, I know what home-sickness or nostalgia is. It is, in fact, a
psychological relief for an immigrant community to talk of their homeland, do
their best to preserve their customs and traditions, call new settlements after
the names of their home-towns, and mention their motherland in their arts and
literature. This is exactly what the immigrants to Great Britain from the Indian
sub-continent and other parts of the globe are doing with a zeal which is
ever-young, ever- growing and ever-romantic. This applies to any community of
settlers; when the British went abroad, the English set up a colony in America
which they called New England. the Scots called their settlement in Canada, Nova
Scotia, and the Welsh from South Wales founded the state of New South Wales in
Australia. Those who claim that the Aryans deliberately concealed their original
homeland, are just fabricators, determined to impress on the face of history,
their fallacy which is foul, fiendish and fanciful. Why did they have to hide
their origin? What could they possibly gain from this hypocrisy? Not only that,
conquerors never make a secret of their identity. In fact, they display it as a
matter of pride. This equally applies to the Punjabis; in their homeland i.e.
Punjab, they thought of themselves as Arya or Noble owing to their cultural
accomplishment; when they pushed into the Doab, the Ganges Valley, they named it
as the Aryavarta, the land of the Aryans to distinguish themselves from the
non-Aryans whom they called Mlechha i.e. the barbarians, ignorant of the Aryan
speech and manners. They did not need such a distinction in the Punjab, which
was their original home.
Aryavarta is the nostalgic expression of their
homeland, the Punjab, which they adored in the Vedic hymns repeatedly with an
affection unknown in any scripture. Let me quote from Hymn LXXV, called the
Rivers:
1. The Rivers have come forward triply, seven and seven.
Sindhu (the Indus) excels in glory all the streams that flow.
2. Rich in good steeds in Sindhu, rich in cars and
robes, extravagant in gold, skillfully- fashioned, profusely rich in ample
wealth.
Here is a smack in the face of those who pretend that
there were no horses in India, and therefore call Aryans the dwellers of Central
Asia where horse-riding is common. This hymn clearly states the land of Sindhu
abounded in steeds, the high-spirited horses. This shows that high-quality
horse-breeding was a noble profession of the Punjabis who mostly belonged to the
Kshatrya caste. The fact that a religious military sect was first evolved in the
Punjab, demonstrates the martial character of its people, which was at its best
at that time. This Punjabi peculiarity was to reassert itself in the form of
Sikhism centuries later.
This hymn also gives a geographical description of the
land we call Punjab. It is originally a territory where according to Professor
Max Mueller, seven rivers flow, namely:
1. Indus
2. Vitasta
3. Asikni
4. Parusni
5. Vipas
6. Sutudri and the
7. Sarasvati/Kubah
About the Sarasvati, some scholars believe that this is
another name for the Indus river, and others hold that it has ceased to exist.
However, learned men like Lassen and Ludwig include Kubah (the Kabul River) in
this list instead of Sarasvati. As this description of the Punjab does make
sense, I am averse to widening the investigative scope of this article.
Therefore, I shall restrict my view of the Punjab to the territories
traditionally thought to be part of it. By this, I mean the areas that lie in
the north of Rajasthan, Sindh and Baluchistan, between the Yamuna in the East
and the Sulaiman Range in the West. For the sake of explanation, I may add that
Jammu and Kashmir have always formed part of the Punjab. In fact, it comprises
an area 800 miles in length and 650 miles in breadth which includes cities such
as Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Multan, Lahore, Amritsar, Ambala, Delhi and fifty miles
beyond. Of course, the geographical concept of the Punjab has suffered changes
during different periods of history but these are the areas which come to the
mind from the study of the Rgveda. However, from the eulogy that the Rgveda
bestows on the Sindhu(Indus River) one cannot ignore a part of the northern Sind
which has also been referred to by the historian as the Lower Punjab.
According to the Rgveda, the Punjab is Sapta Sindhu,
the land served by seven rivers, namely the Indus, the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi,
Beas, Sutlej and Kubah. The Aryans thought that these rivers were divinities for
having wonderful qualities.
The study of the Rgveda leaves on in no doubt that the
flower of civilization flourished on the banks of the Indus rewarding mankind
with its fragrance through the migration of its noble sons to other parts of the
world. I ought to introduce here the mighty Indus which is a great
trans-Himalayan river, 1800 miles or 2900 kilometers long. It has a drainage
area of 450,000 square miles, mostly in the plains of Pakistan. I do not deny
the cultural glory of the Nile, the Tigris and the Euphrates but the splendor of
the Sindhu is immeasurable. Not only is it the sacred, sweet and supreme stream
of the Rgveda but its annual flow of about 274,055,000,000 cubic yards is twice
that of the Nile and thrice that of the Tigris and Euphrates put together!
After emerging from the regions of high altitudes, the
Indus flows rapidly between the Swat and Hazara districts of Pakistan. The Kabul
River joins the Indus just above Attock. It cuts across the Salt Range near
Kalabagh to enter the Punjab Plain. After receiving the waters of its five
tributaries, namely the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas and the Sutlej,
which create the name Punjab (land of the five rivers), it becomes a large water
stream; it widens to several miles in the flood season during July and
September. Near Tatta, the Indus begins its deltaic stage and splits up into
distributaries which join the sea at various points south east of Karachi.
Migration from the Punjab has been a fairly regular
feature. In 1947, all Hindu and Sikh Punjabis left the West Punjab and all
Muslim Punjabis migrated from the East Punjab as a result of religious
antagonism. During the early Vedic period, different Kshatrya clans of the
Punjabis lived in various parts of this land. Membership of this caste was
founded on fighting. Thus greater the martial skill a Kshatrya acquired the more
pious, prestigious and pompous he became. They developed customs of chivalry
which far excelled what was practiced in Europe during the medieval times. Since
purpose of the martial arts is self-defense and decapitation of the adversary,
These Punjabi warriors, who were conscious of their fighting skills, called
themselves as the Aryans or Nobles. However, habitually split on religious
grounds into two fanatically opposed groups as the Aryans and the Dasa or Dasyus,
they could not find peace in their homeland. Their sectarian wars must have been
eternal. As a result, the weaker or defeated groups sought solace in emigration.
These emigrants though beaten, were still Kshatrya, trained in the art of
fighting, horse-riding and military administration. Above all, they had proud
traditions of dying for honor and domination. In the beginning, they found the
northern passes, more convenient exits to Central Asia and Europe than moving to
the South or East India, though they did so in the later Vedic period c. 1000
B.C. Since civilization to various parts of India spread from the Sapta Sindhu,
it gives Punjab the honor of being the Cultural Fountain of India.
The Punjabi or Aryan culture is based on the Rgveda,
which demonstrates precociousness of the Punjabi mind. In fact, the Rgveda is
uniquely splendid in depicting the vision of the Vedic seers, their analytical
power and pulsating zeal for knowing the truth through observation and mastery
of description. Of course, the Bible and the Koran have exerted a tremendous
influence on the world civilisation but that has been done through the agency of
faith. The Rgvedic influence has been infinitely greater in this field and far
more lasting. It is because the Vedic approach is rational; it is based on the
natural sequence of cause and effect; its essence is: "you reap, what you
sow." This is why the Vedic doctrine advocates Karman (practice) and Free
Will, which involve reasoning. It is opposed to the Biblical and Koranic
philosophy based on predestination and intercession.
I need not describe the precedence of the Punjabi
culture over the Indian way of life because it is much too obvious. The same
goes for the cultural life of the Far Eastern countries which have heavily
borrowed from the Indian traditions. However, I ought to demonstrate the traces
of the Vedic customs found in the Western culture. I intend to establish this
fact, which will prove that the ancestors of European nations must have migrated
from Punjab, the land of the Rgveda, otherwise they could not have inherited the
Vedic culture.
Before launching an enquiry into the influence of the
Rgveda on Europe, I may describe what the Veda is: the word: Veda means
knowledge. In practice, it applies to a huge mass of sacred Indian literature of
great antiquity. In fact, the vedas are inspired and represent man's quest for
the truth. This is the spiritual urge which is over and above the human drives
such as food, sex and shelter. The spiritual urge forces humans to think what
this life is for. Why are we here? Is there a life after death? What is the way
that leads to eternity? Why is this universe mysterious? Where has it come from?
Has it a beginning and an end? Who made it? What is the nature of it Maker? Is
He Himself subject to the law of change? Is the universal law absolute or is it
mutable?
Such are the questions which made the Vedic seers
cogitate and meditate. So great was their vision and intuitive intensity that
the inspirations they drew from this process look superhuman and remain
unparalleled in their magnitude, magnificence and mastery of conveyance. The
Vedic principles and conclusions are essentially inspired; they are a product of
someone who is a seeker, a researcher and anxious to dive into the turbulent
world of the mind, extremely difficult to explore. The success rate is so high
that they look of divine origin. This is why some Hindus believe that the god
Brahma wrote every word of them in his own hand upon leaves of gold. Of course,
believers are always led by their beliefs, and not reason. The most gracious and
the greatest quality of the Rgveda is that it depicts man's quest for the Truth
and his ability to find it. The Vedic God does not tout for devotees; it is the
devotee who looks for Him, and when the searcher genuinely attunes himself with
the natural and social phenomena around him, he feels inspired and becomes the
knower of the Truth.
However, the Hindus having suffered the Semitic
influence over the last 1,000 years, believe that the Vedas are revealed and not
inspired. I am right in stressing this point because the Vedic teaching is not
based on Predestination but Free Will which declares Karman (the deed) as the
vehicle of Mukti (salvation) and not grace or intercession. However, detailed
discussion of this issue is outside the scope of this article.
There are four Vedas:
1. The Rgveda, the original composition which took place
in the Punjab and belongs to the earliest period. It consists of 1028 hymns
which usually praise the forces behind natural phenomena such as sun, moon,
sky, stars, wind, rain, fire, dawn, earth, etc. Some ot the hymns depict
wisdom which is incredible for the age of the Vedic composition. There are no
romantic stories or fairy tales in it.
The other three Vedas are principally the reflections
of the Rgveda and were written outside the Punjab. They are namely:
2. Samaveda or Knowledge of the Melodies.
3. The Yajur-Veda or Knowledge of the Sacrificial
Formulas, and
4. The Athar Veda, or Knowledge of the Magic
Formulas.
Again, each of these four Vedas is divided into four
sections:
1. The Mantras or Hymns.
2. The Brahmanas, or manual of rituals, prayers and
incantations for the priests.
3. The Aranyaka, or "forest texts" for
hermit saints, and
4. Upanishads, the celebrated philosophical
treatises.
Age of the vedas is a big problem. Some Hindu scholars go
as far back as 6000 B.C. Basing his judgement on astronomical calculations,
Colebrook concluded that a Vedic Calendar existed in the 14th century B.C. From
this fact, it has been determined that the date of the earliest hymn ought to be
carried back another 1,000 years; it means that the antiquity of the Rgveda goes
back to 2500 B.C. At one time, I held the same opinion. As original language of
the Rgveda provides the basic structure for other languages such as Greek,
Latin, Kelt, Teuton and Slovonian, its antiquity ought to be stretched back by
another 1,000 years, to 3500 B.C. It is because the said Janguages could not
have come to look so different from Sanskrit in less than ten centuries. Again,
it has been acknowledged in recent years that science of philology cannot exist
without the study of Sanskrit nor can the comparative study of religions make
sense without reference to the Veda. Since the Veda serves as the focal point in
terms of language and religion, it provides a record of the progress related to
human thinking and maturity of mind. Thus the Veda must have the longest
possible antiquity, compatible with the evolutionary conditions and principles.
Therefore, 3500 B.C. or thereabout seems to be the right age for the Rgveda.
There is another way of tackling this issue, that is,
looking at the Vedic gods such as Indra, Agni, Varuna, Surya, Pushan, Parjanya,
etc. What is called Hinduism is centred around the triad of Vishnu, Brahma and
Siva. This phenomenon of Three-in-One, also exhibited by the expression: OM, is
derived from the Rgveda, which treats them as younger and junior gods. It means
that Indra, Agni, Varuna, etc., are older gods than Vishnu, Brahma and Siva, yet
they all are Vedic gods because they have been referred to in the Vedas. Calling
Siva, as the Dravidian god is an act which has no justification. He is as much a
Vedic or Aryan god as the other two i.e., Vishnu and Brahma. However, Siva, who
is considered the god of the Dravidian or Indus Valley Civilisation, thus
becomes a point of special interest.
It is not Siva who is the fountain of the Indus
Civilisation but the undivided Punjab whose geography is stated by the Rgveda.
In this context, look at the following:
To him the strong, great, tawny, fair-
complexioned, I utter forth mighty praises,
We serve the brilliant God with adorations,
We glorify the splendid name of Rudra.
(Book II, 33-8)
Here the fair-complexioned god being invoked is
universally acknowledged as Siva, who is also called Rudra. He is obviously not
black or non-Aryan. Since the Indus Valley civilisation is ascribed to him, it
must have been a younger extension of the Vedic culture. It should also be noted
that the artefacts found in the Indus Valley (Punjab and Sindh) such as dolls
wearing jewels in their noses and ekka etc., prove that the people of the Indian
sub-continent still practise their original customs. People of the Punjab have
always been fanatic in their religious zeal. In the pre-partition India, though
both the Hindus and the Muslims were Punjabis, they hated the sight of one
another. The Hindus thought of the Muslims as Mlechhas (the impure) and the
Muslims called them "Kafirs" (the infidels). Neither they intermarried
nor they shook hands with one another, nor did they attend social meetings
together; similar conditions must have prevailed in the Vedic times. The
religious differences earned the people of Mohenjodaro and Harappa the
contemptible epithets of Dasa and Dasyus, who were racially Aryans but came to
practise different forms of religion. This religious conflict led to perpetual
battles. The stronger groups called themselves Aryans (Nobles) but the weaker
sections were named as Dasas or Dasyus. To protect their religion, which was a
varied form of the Vedic faith, prevalent in the Punjab, the Dasas migrated
towards the South.
When a nation loses its sense of national glory, it
becomes like a rolling stone, which feels comfortable on a downward slope. This
is the psychological condition which people of the Indian sub-continent have
suffered for a long time. Having reached its climax in 1947, it is heading
towards a second peak as it is quite clear from the mode of politics in South
India these days. Therefore, I may digress to add a few words about the
"Aryan-Dravidian" basic racial unity though it may appear strange to
those who are indulging in a similar two-nation theory as did the Muslims half a
century ago.
The Hindus determined to follow this political path
must also realise that they will face similar hellish conditions in their
separate "homelands" as do the Muslims in Pakistan.
Since this book is about the wisdom of the Rgveda and
the cultural influence it has exerted on the world civilisation, I intend to be
as brief as possible on this issue and shall be guided by the Encyclopaedia
Britannica in relation to historical and lingual narrative:
1. Siva is the Rudra of the Rgveda. He has been
mentianed there as often as seventy-two times, and nearly forty times indirectly
in connection with the Maruts, sons of Rudra also called Rudras. He is the
roaring or flashing Tempest-God of the Rgveda. In fact, he is given the opposite
features because he is not only the Tempest-God but is also described as a
gentle healer and beneficient.
The Sivites, who later developed this Vedic description
of Siva, cannot call him a Dravidian god. He is simply a Vedic god, and
therefore, whatever culture is ascribed to him, has got to rank as a branch of
the Aryan culture. This fact vouches for the basic unity of the Aryans and
Dravidians.
2. The three-faced Agni is the forerunner of the three-
faced Siva. It gives them the same origin, which is Vedic.
3. As previously stated, Siva is as fairly complexioned
as is Agni or other Aryan gods. Therefore, he is one of them.
Those who paint him black to identify him with South
India suffer from a bias which originates from a will highly mischievous,
malevolent and misdirected. The colour of a people is climatic and not a racial
factor. An example to this effect are the gypsies, who also come from the
Punjab. Most of those, who dwell in Europe, have developed blue eyes and white
skins.
4. Since Rudra or Siva is a junior god of the Rgveda.
the culture ascribed to him, has also to be junior to the Vedic culture.
Therefore, there is no substance in the assertion that the "Aryans who were
foreign invaders" learnt culture from the Dravidians, "the natives of
India."
This myth is also exploded by the fact that as there is
no mention in the Rgveda that the Aryans were foreigners, there is no statement
which confirms that the Dravidians are the aboriginies of India. Since racially
both these groups are on par with each other, they have got to be the same
people. These remarks are confirmed by the recent archaelogical findings around
Rawalpindi (Pakistan). The methods of burial and antiquity of the artefacts,
have led to the opinion that civilisation in this area existed some 500 years
earlier than other parts of the Indus Valley.
5. Since Siva is a part of the Vedic faith which is
indigenous to the Punjab, the Dravidians must also originate from the Punjab. In
fact, such an opinion has existed for sometime.
6. The Dravidians did not originate in South India.
Take Ayurveda, for instance. As its name implies, it is a Vedic system of
medicine but those who believe in the racial divide of Aryan-Dravidian, claim
that it is a Dravidian method of cure. Similarly, they claim that most of the
Hindu heroes of northern India including Kautilya, were Dravidian. Even Sultan
Haider Ali was a Dravidian, though history knows full well that his grandfather
was a street-beggar of Lahore. Since they have a common ancestry with the people
af northern India, they can be rightly proud of them. Why indulge in mischievous
innovation, which can be injurious to the whole nation?
7. When it comes to religion. the Punjabis seldom pay
attention to reason. During 1947, the Punjabi Muslims drove the Punjabi Sikhs
and Hindus out of the West Punjab. Thereafter, East Punjab was again divided
because of the Hindu-Sikh religious strife. This peculiarity of the Punjabis has
existed since time immemorial. The so-called Dravidians were turned out of the
Punjab owing to religious antagonism. There is evidence to this effect: Brahui
is one of the Dravidian languages. It is still spoken in Sindh (Pakistan) by
300,000 people. As a result of the religious abrasion, it was natural for the
"Dravidians" to migrate from the Punjab to Sindh and elsewhere. These
Brahui speaking people are a remnant of that religious upheaval.
In 1953, India constitutionally established the
linguistic state of-Andhra Pradesh followed by Tamil Nadu, Mysore, and Kerala
Literature of the Tamil language is the most extensive and as ancient as that of
Sanskrit but that is no basis for a separate racial identity. People of the same
land can speak different dialects without losing one-nation status. The common
heritage that the Aryans and Dravidians possess by way of Lord Siva and the
associated rituals, plus close cultural traditions, render them as indigenous
Indian groups. Even if they came from elsewhere, the fact that they have lived
in the same land for the last 5,000 years, has welded them together racially. If
through marriage, individuals and families can become members of one united
clan, how can two racial groups maintain their separate identities over such a
long time? The fact that they have had a close social intercourse over the
centuries, has made them all Indian, and their common deference to Lord Siva, is
a uniting force and not a dividing factor.
8. What I have said above is a logical conclusion, and
does not contradict my view that the Aryans and Dravidian are one racial group,
which originated in the Punjab. The modern Dravidian states of India are lingual
and not racial. As an independent family, the Dravidian languages were first
recognised in 1816, and it was Robert A Caldwell, who actually introduced the
term Dravidian from the Sanskrit word: "Dravida." Attempts have been
made to link the Dravidian speakers with various linguistic groups such as
Uralic (Hungarian, Finnish) and Altaic (Turkish, Mongols). This is a doomed
effort. There is a simple explanation for the presence of some Dravidian words
and grammatical constructions in these foreign lands. That is, originally there
was no animosity between the "Aryans-Dravidians." In the beginning,
they emigrated as one group but might have spoken different dialects. It was
natural for the more advanced dialect to prevail, though the under- dilect was
bound to leave some impressions on the literatures of foreign lands. This
situation is clearly explained by Britain, which linguistically, is an
association of the English, Welsh and Scottish. As the English have been
dominant partners, their tongue has become the international language but as it
contains many Welsh and Scottish words and idioms, they have also filtered into
foreign speeches. It is further evidenced by the fact that a number of features
belonging to the Dravidian languages appear in the Rgveda. This confirms that:
a. The Aryans and Dravidian lived in the same areas i.e.
the Punjab.
b. As Siva is common to both the Aryans and
Dravidians, they were originally the same people and practised the same
religion and culture.
c. Their split was caused by their religious
interpretations leading to the dichotomy of Aryans and Dravidians. The
dominant group called itself Noble and the vanquished sect was named as Dasa
or Dasuys.
It is quite possible that as one racial group, they spoke
the same language, but after a few centuries, they became bilingual. The
linguistic scholars have quoted several instances to this effect such as the
spheres of phonology i.e. retroflex consonants, syntax and vocabulary. The Dasas
must have first moved to the areas of the lower Punjab i.e. now called Sindh, to
isolate themselves from the Victors but as the religious hatred became worse,
they headed to south India. It obviously did not happen all at once but over a
period of a long time. This is shown by the presence of Brahui in Sindh. As they
settled in Sindh, they took their indigenous Punjabi culture with them. It is
amply proved by the findings of the figurines of Siva, a Vedic god, various clay
statuettes wearing jewels in their noses, primitive models of ekka, and so on.
That they were originally followers of the Veda, is proven by the yogic posture
of Lord Siva depicted on certain seals excavated in the Punjab and Sindh. Yoga
is, of course, a highly illuminating aspect of the Veda.
One wonders why they did not settle in the nearer
districts of the Ganga-Jamuna Doab. The answer seems to be that by then Aryans,
the dominant group of the Punjabis had started colonising the said areas, and
Dravidians, the vanquished Punjabis, wanted to get as far away from their
persecutors as they could; nothlng could be farther than south India and
northern Ceylon.
The Welsh history supports my hypothesis. As I shall
narrate later, the people of Wales like other Celts, practised Vedic culture.
Their priestly class was essentially Brahmans due to their privileges, rituals
and way of life, but they were not callec as such; they were known as Druids,
which is a variant of Dravidian. Some scholars have remarked Vid is the root of
Druid. Since this word, meaning "to know" is also the root of Veda, it
seems right to assume that the Dravidians were as much Vedic as the Aryans. They
both originated in the Punjab, and were racially one people.
Indian glory has suffered, not only from the
misinterpretation of "Aryans" and the "Aryan-Dravidian"
divide but also the lingual claims of the Western historians, who usually refer
to an Indo-European language. They claim that the said language was a sister of
Sanskrit, and thus assert that the similarities between Sanskrit and the
European languages such as Greek, Latin, German, English, Welsh, Lithuanian,
etc., are due to this reason. Thev also stress that these similarities were
further deepened by the Aryan invasion of India, leading to a permanent
settlement.
If this were true, some European nation would have
possessed a book like the Rgveda but none of them has ever had such a book.
Again, the fact that Sanskrit has survived in its entirety but its so-called
sister European language has not, proved that the Punjabis were the superior
race of the time. Since, it is the Veda, whose survival has preserved the
continuity of the world civilisation, the Indian cultural benelicence ought to
be recognised. The cause of the said similarities between Sanskrit and the
so-called Indo-European language, springs from the fact that almost all lands of
Europe were once conquered and colonised by the Punjabis, who came to be known
as the Celts. The Iranian Avesta cannot claim this honour because it has been
inspired by the Veda and contains many quotations from it.
On the surface, it appears a fairy tale but when we
delve deeper, it emerges as the whole truth, which the mist of time has
concealed almost completely. However, before I narrate this story, I must state
why the Punjabis were able to beat their adversaries in foreign lands. The
reason is that the Rgveda prescribes fighting for its followers to support holy
causes which include honour, righteousness, care of the weak and the oppressed
as well as conquest and just administration. These facts formed part of the
Kshatriya code, which they practised with complete sincerity and devotion. As
other nations lacked such a mental discipline, they could not stand up ta the
Punjabis or the Celts. Centuries later, a similar situation was repeated by the
Prophet Muhammad, who prescribed fighting for his Muslim devotees known as
Mujahedeens. It is for this reason, the Arabs prevailed against their opponents
and succeeded in setting up a large empire.
Unfortunately, the martial ethos of the Rgveda has been
completely misrepresented by the Hindus, who practise Ahimsa (non-violence), and
yet claim to be the followers of the Vedas! However, this is not the issue here;
the real point is that the Aryans and Dravidians are cognate.
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