The Khalsa, 1699
A Mughal newswriter on the Khalsa
Macauliffe, citing a Persian historian, gives a newswriter's report of Guru Ji telling the four castes to abandon their rules, with about twenty thousand men agreeing.
Macauliffe, citing a Persian historian he calls Ghulam Muhai ul Din, says a Mughal newswriter forwarded Guru Ji's address to the emperor. It told people to take up one creed and end religious differences. The four castes were to drop their separate rules and be brothers, eating from one dish without disgust.
The newswriter added his own note. Some Brahmins and Khatris said they would accept the teaching, while others refused to be told by a boy to give up the faith of their ancestors. Still, he says, some twenty thousand men rose and pledged obedience.
How do we know?
Only one account tells this story.
Both items go back to one citation. The original report was not seen, and the historian has not been securely identified. Macauliffe's wording of an address that rejects Hindu observances might be shaped by later concerns. The report is widely repeated, so it is shown here with this warning, not as a checked Mughal paper.
- Later traditionCredits the Persian historian Ghulam Muhai ul Din for the text of the address and the newswriter's own remarks on the crowd. (pp. 93-94)[Macauliffe]
- ScholarshipRepeats the words and the figure of twenty thousand, citing Macauliffe for them. (pp. 115-116)[Banerjee]
