THIS ABOVE ALL
Devout and the holy dip
Khushwant Singh

Hindus and Sikhs must be the only two religious communities in the world which believe that immersing oneself in a river declared holy or a pond (sarovar) declared sacred washes away sins. If it were that easy, we could soon achieve a sinless society. Without meaning to offend the religious susceptibilities of millions, I would like to ask believers in bathing as a religious ritual a few questions: Why is sin-cleansing limited to specific times — the Kumbh Mela, or a place like Har-ki-Pauri in Hardwar ? Why not for all times? Why is that the sarovar of Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple) is specifically marked out for soul and body cleansing?

Since childhood I have heard Sikhs recite:

(Bathe in the pool dug by Guru Ram Das, And cleanse yourself of all sins you have committed). Surely a shower or a few lotas of water splashed on your body with soap is more cleansing than a few dips in water with no soap.

There is no logic behind the Hindu-Sikh fetish for snan or ishnaan. Nevertheless, men and women gather in hundreds of thousands on special occasions to take this quick and easy path to salvation. It is a special occasion for sadhus of different akhaaras to foregather and extort money from the gullible. In their rivalry they often come to blows against each other. There are stampedes and dozens of men, women and children are trampled to death. Isn’t it time for thinking Indians to raise their voices and question the continuance of such meaningless rituals?

There are many words the meanings of which we vaguely know but rarely bother to find out what they actually stand for. One of those words is genes. I thought it was just another word for "in one’s blood." A concept which was drilled into our heads since our days in school is that we Indians belong to five racial groups — Adivasis, Dravidians, Aryans, Mongols and Semites.

I am a little more enlightened after reading Invasion of the Genes, Genetic Heritage of India by BS Ahloowalia (Eloquent Books). The author did his doctorate from the University of Chicago and worked for the Agriculture and Food Department in Dublin. He was also with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN. He has made his home in Vienna (Austria).

I admit I was reluctant to read his book as I thought the subject was beyond my comprehension. However, the word "genes" in the title made me curious to know what the word really meant. I was in for a very pleasant surprise as he not only explained it in simple, lucid terms with diagrams to illustrate it, but at the end of every chapter, he also gives a glossary of difficult words and their meanings. It read like a precisely written high school textbook. I went through it without any difficulty and learnt much.

Another myth he rubbishes is the notion of the origin of life on earth drilled into our minds by teachers and religion. Human beings were not created by churning of the oceans, nor by a God who created all creatures within six days before taking a break on Sabbath. It was, as Darwin has proved, with species of fish coming on dry land and evolving into reptiles, birds, mammals and humans. We have in fact descended from monkeys.

And finally, he tells us that there is no such thing as a pure race anywhere in the world. There has been so much inter-mingling through conquests and trading that introduced new genes in every country. India had innumerable invaders who came without women. They mated with local women and reared offspring of mixed races.

The latest arrivals in India were the Europeans, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the English. The earlier immigrants came without their women and were quick to adapt themselves to lifestyles of Indian rajas and nawabs. They acquired harems of Indian women and concubines and bred dozens of children. David Ochterlony, the first British resident in the court of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, had 13 Indian wives, who bore him dozens of children.

His assistant William Fraser had over half a dozen wives and mistresses and as many children as the Shah of Persia. Maharaja Ranjit Sintgh had over 30 Europeans to train his soldiers. At his instance they married Indian women so that he could be sure of their staying in his service. Dr Ahloowalia’s book is an eyeopener. It removes a lot of cobwebs spun in our minds by religious bigots. If I had my way, I would make it compulsory reading in all high schools.

Santa was seen standing in the middle of his acre of land under the scorching heat of the sun at mid-day. His friend Banta asked him: "Oye Santa. What are you doing at this hour in your farm?" "I have applied for the Nobel Prize," replied Santa. "What has this to do with the Prize?" Banta replied: "It says that the Nobel Prize is awarded to somebody outstanding in his field."