- There were seven rivers in Punjab when the Aryans came to India. They named it Sapta Sindhu, the land of the seven rivers. The Persians called it the Hafta Hindra. Sometime later the seventh river, the Sarasvati had dried up. The river Indus was excluded from the count because it marked only the Western boundary bof the province. The province was renamed after the remaining five rivers as Pentopotamia or the ‘Punjab’, the land of five rivers.
- The movement of Punjab rationalism achieved its consummation with the liberation of Lahore and setting up of the first independent kingdom of the Punjab under Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1799, It is a curious coincidence that it came about exactly one hundred years after Guru Gobind Singh’s call (o arms (1699), just little under two hundred years after the compilation of ‘Adi Granth’ (1604) and three Hundred years after the proclamation of this mission by Guru Nanak (1499),
- The fifth Guru Arjan Dev.’s first task was to complete the building, of a temple in “Chak Ram Das”. He invited the Muslim mystic, Mian, Mir of Lahore to lay the foundation stone of the Harimandir Sahib. Unlike the Hindu temples, which had only one entrance, Guru Arjan Dev had the Harimandir open on all four side for all those who wished to enter. After the temple was completed and the tank filled it was given a name, Amritsar the pool of nectar.
- The death of Guru Arjan Dev Jiat the hand sof the Muslims was a turning point in the history of the Punjab. His young son Hargobind took the seat and became our sixth Guru. He had two swords girded round his waist one to symbolize spiritual power and the other temporal. He made it known that he would welcome offerings of arms and horses instead of money. Across the Harimandir Sahib, he built the “Akal Takht”, where instead of chanting hymns of peace, the congregation heard ballads extolling feast of heroism, and instead of listening to religious discourses, discussed plans of military conquests.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 19, 1986
