1 POLITICAL ORGANIZATION OF THE SIKHS. 293
2 The Sikhs used opium and also indulged freely in the use of bhang,*
3 which they called su&ha,f from its supposed comforting and soothing effect.
4 The use of tobacco was unknown to them, and it is still forbidden, except
5 in the case of such Sikhs, the followers of Ndnak, as reject the institutions
6 of Govind. They also indulged to excess in the use of spirituous liquors,
7 and in justification of their so doing, quoted the following passages from
8 the Adi Granth, which say “Eat and give unto others to eat. Drink and
9 give unto others to drink. Be happy and make others happy.” The Hindu
10 Shastras were also quoted in support of excess in drinking.f
11 The Sikhs, with the exception of the converts from the Brahmans and
12 Chhatrvias, ate all kinds of animal food but beef (the slaughtering of cows
13 being looked upon as an act of sacrilege). They ate pork, the use of which,
14 as human food, was prohibited by Nanak, whose policy was to reconcile
15 the Hindus with the Mahomedans, and to do away with all formal differ-
16 ences of caste, agreeably to his doctrine of peace and good-will to all men.
17 The Sikhs had no code of law to guide them in the administration of
18 affairs or the dispensation of justice to the people, their scriptures, which
19 inculcate general maxims of justice, being seldom acted upon and having no
20 legally binding force. In fact their strict application, or a wilful departure
21 from them, were simple matters of convenience, and such questions were
22 dealt with in reference to the circumstance of each case, and the exigency
23 of the moment, rather than with any regard to the teachings of their
24 leader, as laid down in the Granth, or sacred book.
25 The administration of civil and criminal justice was vested in a pan-
26 chayet, composed of elders, or in a sardar or chief of the tribe, the decision
27 of oneor the other being binding. As in the Middle Ages, crimes and tress-
28 passes were expiated by money, the fines being without limit, and estimated,
29 not so much according to the gravity of the offence as the means of the
30 offender. These amercements helped to enrich the chief, or sardar, in whose
31 territory the crime was committed, and, as a rule, they were inflicted for
32 this very purpose. In the event of the fine so inflicted not being paid, all
33 the criminal’s relations were seized and cruelly punished along with him,
34 with a view to making them disgorge the amount. The most cruel measures
35 were adopted to elicit confessions, and to extort money for real or supposed
36 injuries. If the offender managed to obtain an acquittal, he paida shukrdand,
37 or a present of thanksgiving; if he was convicted, he paid a heavy jarmdnd
38 or fine ; if he did neither, he was thrown into a Taikhdnd, § or dungeon, and
39 remained there until he satisfied the cupidity of the chief, or until he was
40 removed by death. Capital punishment was unknown, the murderer being,
41 in every case, made over bodily to the relations of the deceased to be
42 lynched. However a murderer might be treated by the relations of the mur-
43 dered person, whether hanged, drawn, quartered, stoned, suffocated, drowned,
44 staked, decapitated, flayed, roasted, or toasted, it was regarded simply as
45 retributive justice. The most heinous offences were punished with the loss
46 of sight, mutilation of the hands, or deprivation of the nose|| or ears, though
47 * Cannabis stiras, an inebriating drug.
48 + Sukha in Bengal is a term generally applied to dry tobacco, which is used with the bhang.
49 The latter is usually rubbed into a ball (wet) in the palm of the hand, and a small quantity of the
50 former is then added, in order to make it dry enough to smoke. Bhang is used as a beverage in
51 the Panjab. :
52 t Liquor pepe’ manly deeds, courage and resolution. The goddess Durga used it, and
53 was under its influence when she slew Mahishasur. ,
54 § Called also bora or dugeon in the Panjabi.
55 | Mutilation does not appear to be the peculiar characteristic of eastern nations. Statutes
56 were passed in the reigns of Henry the VIII, Edward the VI., Elizabeth, and James I., direct
57 They were addicted
58 to vbhang,
59 And indulged in the
60 use of spirituous
61 liquors.
62 Their food.
63 Their code of law.
64 Their administration
65 of civil and criminal
66 justice,
67 Punishment of the
68 murderers.
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