Ruth
The Living Force
Found this whilst doing a search on the word 'magas' which is both a 'nom du guerre' of a rather infamous 'wil o' the wisp' Russian terrorist who has 'died' multiple times and a small town in the Republic of Ingushetia (check out the flag - an interesting design, n'est pas?). Remind you of anything?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingushetia
The three things that 'fell from the sky' were 1)the plough, 2)the sword and 3)the cup. How come they left out the 'boring old plough' from the grail stories??!! I don't understand that!! I wonder what else they were missing?
The magas were apparently a group of Saka priests who worshiped the sun.
From here:
http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:0JEbVTE-XQEJ:www.dalitstan.org/books/gandasa/gandasa3.html+Magas+meaning&hl=en&gl=au&ct=clnk&cd=10
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingushetia
The three things that 'fell from the sky' were 1)the plough, 2)the sword and 3)the cup. How come they left out the 'boring old plough' from the grail stories??!! I don't understand that!! I wonder what else they were missing?
The magas were apparently a group of Saka priests who worshiped the sun.
From here:
http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:0JEbVTE-XQEJ:www.dalitstan.org/books/gandasa/gandasa3.html+Magas+meaning&hl=en&gl=au&ct=clnk&cd=10
Chapter 3
Collapse of the Brahminist Empire
by
Khshatrapa Gandasa
3.1 The Sakas
The Scythians inhabiting Central Asia at the time of Herodotus (5th century B.C.) consisted of 4 main branches known as the MassaGatae, Sacae, Alani, and Sarmatians, sharing a common language, ethnicity and culture. Ancient Greek (e.g. Herodotus, Pliny, Plotemy, Arrian) and Persian sources (Darius's historians) from the 5th century place the MassaGatea as the most southerly group in the Central Asian steppe. The earliest Scythians who entered the northern regions of South Asia were from this group. Historians derive "Jat" fom "Gatae", "Ahir" from "Avar", "Saka" from "Scythii", "Gujjar" from "Khazar", "Thakur" from "Tukharian", "Saurashtra" from "Saura Matii" or "Sarmatians", "Sessodia" (a Rajput clan) from "Sassanian", "Madra" from "Medes", "Trigartta" from "Tyri Getae" and "Sulika" from "Seleucids". "Massa" means "grand" or "big" in old Iranian - the language of the Scythians.
The early Sakas or Scythians are remembered by Greek (e.g. Herodotus, Megatheses, Pliny, Ptolemy) and Persian historians of antiquity as tall, large framed and fierce warriors who were unrivalled on the horse. Herodotus from the 5th century BC writes in an eye-witness account of the Scythians: "they were the most manly and law-abiding of the Thracian tribes. If they could combine under one ruler, they would be the most powerful nation on earth." According to their origin myth recorded by Herodotus, the Sakas arose when three things fell from the sky: the i) plough, ii) sword and iii) cup. The progenitor of the Sakas picked them up and hence the Saka race began its long history of conquering lands, releasing its bounties and enjoying the fruits of their labor (the cup has a ceremonial-spiritual-festive symbolism). The relevance of these symbols and codes of life and culture to the traditional Punjabi and northwest society are tantalizingly obvious. A branch of the Sakas kown as the Alani reached regions of Europe, Asia Minor and the Middle East. They have been connected to the Goths of France/Spain, Saxons and the Juts of Denmark.
3.2 Entry into India
Some of these Saka tribes entered northwest India through the Khyber pass, others through the more southerly Bolan pass which opens into Dera Ismail Khan in Sindh -- an entry point into Gujarat and Rajasthan. From here some invading groups went north (Punjab), others went south (Maharasthra), and others further east (UP, MP). This explains why some Jat, Gujjar and Rajput clans claim descent from Rajasthan (Chauhan, Powar, Rathi, Sial etc.) while others from Afghanistan (e.g. Mann, Her, Bhullar, Gill, Bajwa, Sandhu, etc.). This is supported by the fact that the oldest Rajput geneologies (10th centuries) do not extend into the northwest's Gandharan Buddhist period (400 B.C. - 900 AD).
Sir Cunningham (former Director General of Indian Archeological survey) writes:
"the different races of the Scythians which succesively appeared as conquerors in the border provinces of Persian and India are the following in the order of arrival: Sakas or Sacae (the Su or Sai of the Chinese - B.C. ?), Kushans (the great Yue-Chi (Yuti) of the Chinese - B.C. 163), Kiddarite or later Kushans (the little Yue-chi of the Chinese - A.D. 450) and Epthalites or White Huns (the Yetha of the Chinese - 470 A.D.).
Cunningham further notes that
". . . the successive Scythian invasions of the Sakas, the Kushans, and the White Huns, were followed by permanent settlements of large bodies of their countrymen . . ".
Cunningham and Tod regard the Huns to be the last Scythian wave to have entered India.
Herodotus reveals that the Scythians as far back as the 5th century B.C. had political control over Central Asia and the northern subcontinent up to the river Ganges. Later Indo-Scythic clans and dynasties (e.g. Mauryas, Rajputs) extended their control to other tracts of the northern subcontinent. The largest Saka imperial dynasties of Sakasthan include the Satraps (204 BC to 78 AD), Kushanas (50 AD - 380), Virkas (420 AD - 640) while others like the Mauryas (324 - 232 BC) and Dharan-Guptas (320 AD - 515) expanded their empires towards the east.
According to Ethnographers and historians like Cunningham, Todd, Ibbetson, Elliot, Ephilstone, Dahiya, Dhillon, Banerjea, etc., the agrarian and artisan communities (e.g. Jats, Gujars, Ahirs, Rajputs, Lohars, Tarkhans etc.) of the entire west are derived from the war-like Scythians who settled north-western and western South Asia in successive waves between 500 B.C. to 500 AD. Down to this day, the very name of the region 'Gujarat' is derived from the name 'Khazar', whilst 'Saurashtra' denotes 'Sun-worshipper', a common term for the Scythians. The Gujarat-Rajasthan region continues to be the most Scythic region in the world.
The oldest Rajputs clans found in southern and western Rajasthan arose much later from earlier Scythic groups; or are of Hun origin (5-6th century AD); and many are no doubt of mixed Scythic-Hun origin. Virtually all are of Scythic descent.
3.3 Sakastan : The Saka States
Uptil the advent of Mohammed Ghori in the 13th century, the west and northwest was politically unified with the subcontinent for only 92 years under the Mauryas since the start of Saptha Sindhva's Vedic period (1500 BC). For most of its independant history it was under the rule of Saka kings. The west was also independant from the rest of India, existing under its Saka dynasties for virtually the entire period of history. The term 'Sakastan' which is found on coins, was applied to the Rajasthan-Gujarat core region, and at its greatest extent included Punjab, UP and Haryana as well.
The largest Saka imperial dynasties of Sakasthana include the Satraps (204 BC to 78 AD), Kushanas (50 AD - 380), Virkas (420 AD - 640) while others like the Mauryas (324 - 232 BC) and Dharan-Guptas (320 AD - 515) expanded their empires towards the east. A brief selected list of Saka rulers of Punjab and the northwest spanning 16 centuries includes Porus (4th century BC), Mauryas (3rd century BC), Rudradaman, Azes, Maues, Soter Megas (2nd century BC), Azilises, Wima Kadphises (1st century AD), Kanishka I, Haviska (2nd century), Vasudeva (3rd century), Vyaghra rata and Yasovardhana.
Mauryas
The Mauryas were themselves perhaps of Scythic origin. D.B. Spooner who evacuated Pataliputra was struck by his findings and writes in his article "The Zoroastrian Period of Indian History" as follows:
"For Chandragupta' s times, the evidences are more numerous and more detailed, and indicate a following of Persian customs all along the line - in public works, in ceremonial, in penal institutions, everything".
The theory of a Scythic descent of the Mauryas is supported by the following pieces of evidence :
Mauryan coins have the symbol of the sun, a branch, a humped bull and mountain (Dehiya, p.155). All these are pre-eminently Scythian MassaGetae icons who were Sun worshippers with the high mount symbolizing earth and the irregular curving lines alongside it symbolizing water. The tree branch is a symbol of productivity of the earth - agriculture and soldiering were the traditional noble occupations of Sakas. The historians of Darius record that when he attempted to attack the Scythian MassaGetae (an old-Iranian culture of Central Asia) along the Black sea in the 5th century BC, "the Saka kings swore by the sun god and refused to surrender earth and water".
The clan name of Toramana and Mahirgula, viz Jauvla, is still available among Indian Jats who are now called Jauhl.
Jat/Gujar clans and villages named Maur and Dharan exist even today in Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and western MP.
The Puranas do not even refer to the largest imperial dynasties of the north such as the Mauryas (324 - 232 BC) and Dharan Guptas (320 AD - 515) as "Kshatriyas". Regarding the Mauryas, Dehiya [p.147] states "Another indication of the foreign origin [ ie. Saka ] of these people is . . . The Vishnu Purana calls them [ Gupta rulers ] Sudras. The Markandeya Purana brands the Mauryas as Asura. The Yuga Purana called them 'utterly irreligious, though posing as religious'. The Mudra Rakshasa calls these people as Mlecchas and Chandragupta himself is called 'Kulahina', an upstart of unknown family".
It has also been suggested that this Scythic influence was occasioned by the immigration of Iranic Scyhtians fleeing the Greek conquest. Be that as it may, the fact remains that the main civilizing impetus behind the Mauryan empire was Scythic.
Dateless revisionist Brahmanist monkey tales with reincarnating imaginary devtas may lie BUT inscriptions/coins texts do not - unless read by crooked and bigoted Brahmin and Bania historians like Majumdar and Bhevelkar turning "Jarta" (Sanskrit for "Jata") into "Guptas" and "Gartas" into "Guha" (cave)! Only unbiased non-Brahminist research can help uncover the true past of the Scythians of India.
Gupta
Some historians also feel that the Guptas were of Scythic origin. The term "Gupta" in this theory is considered a misnamed version of "Jarta" found in early texts and inscriptions by modern pro-Brahmanist historians (e.g. Majumdar, Belvelkar, Satavalekar). "Jarta" is thus thought to be the Sanskritized form of "Jat" as other Saka tribal names such as "Gujar" become "Gurjara" and "Munda" become "Marunda". Gupta is derived from "Goptri" meaning "military governor" as in the inscription of Skandagupta (Dehiya, p 176). It was not a surname or clan name but a title.
P. L. Gupta writes "The most common gold coins of the Guptas appear to be the direct descendants of the gold coins of the later Kushans . . .". He adds that the standing pose of the Gupta kings at the altar is almost identical to that of the Kushan kings, as is their dress - Kushan long coats and trousers (uchkin, salwar/kameez). The Kushana or Kasvan tribe of the Sakas had ruled over Sakasthan (west and northwest) in the period from 1st century to 4rd century AD. The early Gupta coins are significantly called "dinar" and their weight is the same as those of westerly Kushana coins. Moreover, Alberuni (an Arab who traveled to southasia in A.D. 1030) learnt that "the Guptas were powerful but bad and the locals (in the Gangetic region) celebrated the end of their rule by starting a new era" (Dehiya, p. 190). This again supports the Scythian origin of the Guptas: the end of the Saka empire in the eastern subcontinent was a cause of celebration to the gangetic Brahmins.
Regarding the Guptas, Dehiya [p.181] states "The coins of SamudraGupta, Chandragupta I, Kacha, Chandragupta II Vikramaditya, Kumaragupta I, Skandagupta, etc. all have the central asian long coat and trousers and boots and long swords. This is the most significant fact proving that the Guptas were in fact central asian Jats (a Saka tribe; derived from Getae) . . . ".
However, the fact that the Guptas were responsible for the rise of Vaishnavism and the revival of Brahmanism goes against their purported Scythic origin. The features described above may be explained in terms of their adoption of certain Saka customs as they conquered Sakastan. In conclusion, most historians consider the Guptas to be neo-Brahminist. With their advent began the slide of India into casteism and the dark ages which immediately preceded the Islamist Liberation.
3.4 Destruction of Saka States
The Saka states and its civlizations were destroyed not by external forces, but by a deadly poison seeping from within. This deadly disease is none other than the Brahminists, who infilitrated the Saka states. By means of the dogma of jati (professional caste) the Brahmins divided and destroyed the unity of the Saka peoples, pitting brother against brother and son against father. The Brahmin inventions of dowry, female infanticide, and sati further debilitated the base of Saka civilization. Under the weight of Brahminist imperialism the glorious civilization of the Scythics was crushed and the Sakas ground into lower caste labourers serving their Aryan Brahminist masters. Finally, the alien Gupta kings from Kannauj destroyed the internally weakened Saka empires during the renewal of Brahmanist fascism. The glorious faith of the Sakas - the Saura religion, was fully destroyed and the crushed remnants absorbed into Brahminism.
3.5 Brahmanisation of Sakas
During the 8-11th century religious transition, with Buddhist institutions and universities gone, the earlier Buddhist and Saka texts and literature of Sakasthan (and other regions of South Asia) went through Brahmanical censorship in which literature on earlier religions, social orders, history and rulers not conducive to their socio-political agenda was either destroyed, altered or interpolated to advance their caste ideology and claims of superiority. For example, the Deva Samhita of Gorakh Sinha from the early medieval period states "They are, like gods, firm of determination and of all the Kshatriyas the Jats are the prime rulers of the earth . . . Their history is extremely wonderful and their antiquity glorious. The Pundits of history did not record their annals lest it should injure and impair their false pride and of the vipras and gods".
In revisionist post-11th century Brahmanical accounts even the grandest Saka-Buddhist emporer Ashoka Maurya (Maur clan) is maligned, slandered, mocked and all but erased from history as "insignificant king", "mlecha", "shudra" and "not generous to Brahmins". It is amazing and disquieting that most of the 1500 year history of Sakasthana and Buddhism in the subcontinent has been reconstructed from archeology and foreign sources (e.g. Greek, Chinese, Tibetan) rather than Indian materials. The thoroghness with which the Brahminists destroyed Saka civilization is indeed amazing. Whilst Greek and Scythic languages are recorded as spoken languages in various linguistic treatises, these languages were soon destroyed by the Brahmins. Few traces of the Saka civilization survived Brahmanic vandalism. Like the Panchalas, Carvakas and Latas, the Sakas joined the long line of races annihilated by Brahmins.
Gangetic Brahmanical literature has gone through continual modification, interpolation and revision and was in earlier times were maintained solely in the oral tradition. The oldest Gangetic texts date to the 11th century AD and are written in Devnagari - a new script developed in that century (also the oldest Brahmanical temples and ruins are all post Buddhist, 9th century A.D.). To further this Brahmin monopoly over literature and Sanskrit, the new script was subsequently taught only to the Brahmin's obedient "twice born" orthodox castes. The rest of the population, including the Sakas, were maintained in enforced mental blindness.
Under the increased professional rigidity and foreign caste prejudices propagated by Brahmanism in the west and north-west in the post-10th century era, Sakas engaged in artisan pursuits (e.g. Tarkhans, Lohars) were edged downward in Brahmanical "caste standing" while other Saka groups lost their tribal and clan identity altogethor to emerge only as occupational jatis. The Sufis and Sikh Gurus of the Punjab (11-17th century) rose to counter and arrest this process of social denigration and caste division and re-unify society along its traditional Saka ideals of brotherhood, equality and spiritual humanism. Interestingly, among the Puranic tirades the Gangetic caste-bigots unfurl against the Saka civilization and people of the West and North-West, one more term used to denounce them (besides "mlechas", "sudra" and "vahikas") is "vratyas" meaning "brotherhood". The concept of a casteless society and democratic republican polity propounded by the Saka tradition in which no segment among them was acknowledged as "superior" and where political leaders were elected (e.g Panchayat, Sarpanch, Sarva Khaap, Thok, etc.) was an abomination to the Aryan priesthood from Gangasthan (Kannauj or Brahmavarta).
3.6 Saka Islamic Sufism
The different religions of the Sakas are :
Sufic Islam (Sikhism, Kabirism, Nanakshahism, Dadupanthism, etc.)
Solar Cults (Saura)
Buddhism was once popular, but many of these people were forcibly converted to Vaishnavism & Brahmanism during the Brahmanic Dark Ages.
Local development of Punjabi Sufism and Sikhism (12-18th century) are threads of continuity with the region's relatively egalitarian and humanistic Gandharan spiritual and cultural traditions and heritage. Punjabi Sufism centers arose in the post-12th century and attempted to revive the humanistic, unorthodox and egalitarian ideals of its Gandharan civilization (400 BC- 900AD). At the Sufi centers, both the Qoran as well as age-old Buddhist philosophies were taught, discusses and debated. The Sufi masters wrote and preached in the local Punjabi language, opposed Brahmanical orthodoxy, and attempted to rejuvinate the lost soul and light of the country by propagating the egalitarian aspects of Islamic theology.
Sufism and the Sufi saints (known as Babas) were held in high esteem and had a wide-based secular following among all segments of Punjabi society as their teachings not only reinforced the traditional Saka-Buddhist-Saura spiritual and social values and heritage but in a language and cultural milieu which was Saka to the core. Among the earliest Sufi orders established in Punjab was that of Makhdum Hujwirir (1092 AD) who due to his great generosity became known as Data Ganj Baksh ("God's treasure house") and was venerated by all Punjabis. His mausoleum was rebuilt by Ranjit Singh in marble in Lahore. The Lahore Sirkar and Sikh (Sufic Muslim) and Muslim zamindars gave generously for the upkeep of Sufi shrines and tombs. One of the most prominent Sufi Babas of Punjab from the 13th century was Shaikh Farid Shakarganj of the Chishti order. He lived at Pak Pattan which became one of the main centers of Sufism in the Punjab. Another important center of Sufism was opened at Multan by the Suhrawardhiyas, Bahaudhin Zakarya and Ruknuddin Zakarya in the 13th century. In the 15th century the Qadiriya order established a Sufi centre in Sindh. Mian Mir, the famous divine of Lahore who became a personal friend of the fifth Sikh Guru Arjan and laid the foundation stone of the Harimandir at Amritsar, was from the Qadiriya order. Many of the Sufis Orders in Punjab were persecuted by the bigoted casteist Brahmanist Aryans, and Brahminists who had infiltrated the court of Aurangzeb killed and poisoned many of the Sikh saints. In a most horrible manner did the Brahminist Ram Rao cut off Guru Tegh Bahadur's head in the court of Aurangzeb, and in the most vicous manner did the Brahmins later distort history and falsely implicate the Muslims in this ghastly crime. Contemporary court chronicles clearly bear out the testimony that the Sikh gurus were welcomed by the Mughal Caliphs of Delhi, and prove that the Brahminist infiltrators committed the cowardly deeds of murdering the Sikh gurus. Indeed, so close was Aurangzeb to the Sufis that he himself was known as Kalandar (ascetic). Indeed, this is the crucial point of Brahminist Pseudo-Secular and Hindutva propaganda: the Brahmin murder of Guru Tegh Bahadur is falsely blamed on the Muslims. In fact, the staunch opposition of Tegh Bahadur to Brahmanic casteism, stanch opposition to Brahmanism and the Vedic apartheid system earned him the disfavour of the Brahmins, who hence killed him in Aurangzeb's court.
Although the earlier 1300 year old Saka-Buddhist Gandharan institutions had collapsed by the 10th century, the traditions and ideals from which they had sprung had been retained by the society and its holy men. When the opportune moment came with the development of Sufi orders and institutions throughout the Punjab two centuries later, these ideals reflowered and the ancient light ("noor") of Gandharan-Saka civilization stored in the region's cultural traditions continued to shine through under the new prism of Sufism.
In the late 15th century, political rule in the north changed from the Afghan Lodis to the Moguls lead by Babar. The first Sikh Guru, Nanak, was born on April 15, 1469 in a village now known as Nankana Sahib, West Punjab. From early childhood, he was drawn to the company of Sufis who formed the secular and mystical spiritual tradition of the Punjab. In 1499, at the age of 30, he began the first of his four spiritual-voyages to foreign lands in quest for spiritual knowledge. Nanak is perhaps the most widely travelled spiritual founder who ever existed. During his travels, he visited religious centers in Nepal, Ladakh, Mathura, Rajasthan, Benaras, Assam, Maharasthra, Baghdad, Mecca and Medina and distilled what he perceived to be the essense of spirituality, religion and the purpose of life into his own unique path and in a language the common man could understand. Upon his return, he preached in the villages and towns of the Punjab and settled with his family at Kartarpur on the banks of the Ravi. He also periodically visited Shaikh Sharaf, Shaikh Ibrahim (the 10th successor of the famous Farid Shakargunj) and other Sufi saints at Pak Pattan and Multan and the compositions of 16 Sufis and Bhagats, alongside the Bani of the Sikh Gurus, is found in the 1400 pages of the Guru Granth Sahib. Meanwhile, the Sikh Gurus did not see any Gangetic Brahmanical shastra promoting the supremacist chatur-varna caste ideology fit for consumption by their followers. Hence no Brahmanical hymn is included in the Sikh Granth ! Indeed, Brahmanism is strongly repudiated in no uncertain terms by Sikhs gurus. As a historical artifact, many of the Sufi and Bhagat hyms of the Granth Sahib recorded by the Gurus in the 16-17th centuries form the only surviving account of the post-Gandharan Punjabi spiritual renaissance to take root between the 11-15th centuries. Nanak is remembered in the folklore of the Punjab as follows: "Baba Nanak shah-fakir (Baba Nanak, the king of holymen) Hindu dha guru, Musalman dha pir" (Guru of Hindus and Pir of the Mussalmans). It must be noted that it was only the lower caste Hindus who accepted him as a Sufi saint; none of the Aryan Brahminists did so.
The main ingredient of Nanak's whole philosophy of spirituality and meaning of life can be put in the nut shell: "kirt kamao, naam japo, wand shakho" ("earn your living truthfully, reflect and meditate on the creator and share your gains with other"). Like Buddhism, Sikh religious philosophy identifies false ego (houma) and the untamed, wandering and unrelenting mind's "five thiefs of the soul" as the foundation of "evil" and "dukh" (misery) afflicting the personal and collective man. Nanak's path for overcoming and conquering his "mana" (mind), and hence dukh, is through a monotheistic path of "naam-simran" and "seva": reflection, meditation and repetition on "his name" and the act of "service to mankind". He rejected the Brahmanic concept of "sanyas" as the path of finding enlightenment and proscribes his followers ("Sikh" meaning "disciple" - Pali, "Sikkha") to live the life of a "householder", actively engaged in the social and political life of the community while pursing a spiritual life. He rejected casteism, claims of brahmanical superiority, man-made idols/devtas and believed in the equality of the human soul (atma-parmatma) and upheld the oneness of divinity and brotherhood of human-kind. This proves that the roots of Sikhism lie within Islam, and not within Brahmanism.
In many ways the Sufi and Sikh traditions of Punjab represent a renaissance, continuity and revival of the earlier egalitarian and humanistic spiritual and cultural traditions/heritage of the region's preceding Gandharan Saka-Buddhist civilization (500 BC - 900 AD). Therefore, one should not be surprised upon finding many Sufi and Sikh saints between 12-18th centuries with names like "Buddha Singh", "Gandha Singh", "Buddha Shah", "Buddeh Shah", "Bulle Shah", etc; or that many of the Gurmukhi letters were in use in earlier Gandharan scripts; or that many important historical Gurdwaras ("Guru's house") connected with the Gurus are situated on historical Gandharan Buddhist shrines (e.g. Panja Sahib); or that the institutionalization and very high regard given to socio-religious concepts of "sangat meh pangat" in Sikhi also exists in the Buddhist notion of enlightened society ("sanga"); or that the institution of Guruship found in Sikhism (and Sufism) has its parallel in the Buddhist tradition of "lammas" who were believed to inherit the sacredness, piety and divine inspiration of their predecessor. Nanak never presented himself as a Brahmanic Messenger or Avtar and believed that just as a candle is able to depart light to another without diminishing its own light, similarly a Guru could enlighten the soul and impart divine wisdom to the sangat and his successors and bring them to be his spiritual equals. Moreover, the religio-political institution of the Khalsa established by the last Guru Gobind Singh (with 5 elected "pyaras" and elected Jathedar) in 1699 and the 12 misls (republics) to arise in the middle of the 18th century are based on the traditional Saka republican democratic political system and insitutions (panchayat, sarpanch, sarva khaap, thok, etc.) found throughout the history of Sakasthan and which survive to this day.
Contrary to current notions popularized by 20th century "one nation" and "two nation" ideologies, Punjabis of all faiths belong to the same tribes and clans and share the same Saka ethnicity, culture, language and history.
Contemporary Mogul historians who witnessed the 18th century struggle in the Punjab like Nur Mohammed record large scale conversion of Muslim Punjabis, especially of the agrarian and artisan classes, to the Khalsa while many joined as allies. The bulk of Sikhs are hence of Mughalloid (Immigrant Muslim) race, with substantial contributions from "lower caste" Sakas. During the rise of the 12 misls or republics between 1730-1780, Sikh sardars and clans formed alliances with their Muslim counterparts and the court, administration and the army of Ranjit Singh (Lahore Empire) was secular and well represented by Punjabis of all faiths and persuasions including Napoleon's French and Italian generals and administrators (e.g. Allard, Ventura, Avitable). Therefore, the division of Punjabis as separate "nations" based on religious persuasion has little historical basis and is more an artifact of foreign Brahmin 20th century "One/Two Nation" dogmas, identity creation and propaganda devised, spun and imported into the region by neo-Brahmanist organizations - nursing their own ambitions of empire centered on Aryavarta or Gangasthan. The most obvious fact and reality is that the subcontinent is in reality a multi-ethnic/linguistic/cultural/national region (like Europe or the Middle-East).
Punjabi Sufism and Sikhism which developed in the North West between 12-17th centuries are rooted in the humanistic and egalitarian spiritual traditions and culture of Sakasthan and its preceding Gandharan civilization (400 BC- 900 AD). Sikhism produced its own separate holy book (including the hymns of 16 Sufis and "low caste" bhagats, e.g. Baba Farid, Kabir) and places of worship and rejects Brahmanical claims of supremacy, Gangetic chatur-varna caste ideology, priests, shastras and gods. Like Buddhism and other non-Brahmanical faiths, it has been seen as a latent threat to their hegemonic and imperialistic ambitions by Brahmanist idealogues, organizations and politicians and had to be crushed as an independent religious philosophy with its distorted remnants absorbed into the Brahmanical Hindu fold. As a result, the Brahmanists have sought to exterminate Sikhism right from its inception. Many of the Sikh gurus were murdered and poisoned by Brahmins, and the Brahman Indira Gandhi launched the mass extermination of Sikhs in Operation Bluestar which led to the destruction of parts of the Golden Temple at Amritsar. The Brahmins Indira Gandhi and her Brahmin son Rajiv Gandhi were responsible for the genocide of 200,000 Sikhs (detailed estimate below). Worse still, the Brahmins succeeded in dividing the Sufist Sikhs from their Islamic Mughal blood-brothers. This was to have far-reaching consequences.
3.7 Survivals of Sakas
Based on coins, inscriptions, archeology and early Indian/Buddhist/Chinese/Greek/Persian manuscripts dating back to 500 BC, historians and ethnographers since the 19th century (e.g. Cunningham, Tod, Rapson, Ibbetson, Elliot, Ephilstone, Dahiya, Dhillon, Banerjea, Sharma, Sinha, Puniya etc.) have shown that the traditional agrarian and artisan communities of the entire northwest (e.g. Jats, Gujars, Tarkhans, Khatris, Ghakkars, Rajputs, Awans, Khambos, Lohars, Yadavs, Ahirs, Meos, etc. including various BC groups) are descended from Scythian (or Saka) tribes of central Asia (an aggressive and expansionist old Iranian speaking culture) who settled western and north-western South Asia in successive waves between 5th century B.C. and 1st century AD. The capital-lion Saka inscriptions at Peshawar and Mathura state "Sarvasa Sakasthanasa puyae" (for the merit of the people of Sakasthana). Inscriptions and coins mentioning 'Sakastan' are found all over the Saka core region of Rajasthan-Gujarat and surrounding tracts.
Ethnological information collected in colonial censuses shows that the majority (+65%) of the population of the west ("Sakasthan" including Rajasthan, Gujarat, northern Maharashtra, Punjab and western UP) is of Saka origin. Terms like "Sakasthana" and "Saka" appear on ancient Saka inscriptions and coins found as far as Mathura, Ujjain and Vidharba in western UP (former United Provinces), western MP (Malwa) and Maharashtra, respectively. Other major Saka cities and centers include Jodhpur, Jaipur, Sialkot, Jalandar, Taxila, Moga, Ropar, Patiala, Batinda, Peshawar, Kabul. Peshawar and Mathura were the twin capital of the Kushana Sakas.
The Sakas have left their deep imprint on the ethnic composition, ethos, cultural heritage, political institutions, social customs, dress, kinship patterns, folk dances and cuisine of the Punjab and other provinces of Sakasthan. These include : democratic-republican political systems and institutions, elected panchayat, sarpanch, thok, khaap, sarva khaap; kurta-pajama, uchkin, turban, salwar-kameez, ghagra; bhangra, giddha, dhol, tumbi, thadi-jathas; diet based on wheat, meat, onions, sour-milk (lassi), liqor; an ethos and tradition showing a high affinity for self-sacrifice and heroism, a strong sense of self-honor (ankh) and independence, strong work-ethic; a secular, unorthodox, mystical and humanistic outlook towards religion and spirituality, etc.
Interestingly, in the orthodox Brahmanical culture of the eastern subcontinent, the use of onions, meat and liqor was taboo and the diet based on rice. Moreover, traditional Brahmanical dress consisting of the sari and dhoti are visibly different in appearance and style from the traditional uchkin, turban, kurta pajamas, jodhpurs, salwar kammeez and ghagra worn by the Mughal-Saka populations in the north and west.
If the Sakas or Scythians did not conquer and settle the west and northwest, how does one explain the capital-lion Saka inscriptions at Peshawar and Mathura state "Sarvasa Sakasthanasa puyae" (for the merit of the people of Sakasthana) ?
Saka ruins litter the whole landscape from Peshawar to Ujjain, Multan to Mathura including places like Moga, Ropar, Jodhpur, Sialkot, Jalandar, Taxila and have been archeologically studied by colonial historians and archeologists.
Saka Descent of Rajputs
The earliest Rajput genealogies of the northwest date only to the 9-10th century AD (post-Buddhist period) and arise from Saka (e.g. Jats/Gujars) and Hun (5-6th century invaders) clans who formally accepted Shankarcharya's revived Brahmanism (9th century) after the demise of Buddhism. Cunningham and Tod consider the Hunas to be the "last Scythian wave". Conditions of formal conversion: i) use only Brahmin as priest, ii) ban on widow remarriage and iii) burning of widows (sati). Converted clans/villages who relapsed on these conditions, rejoined "Jathood" or "Gujarhood". Despite popular conceptions of caste rigidity and permanence promoted in modern historical education, a high level of social and occupational mobility existed in Sakasthan even in post Buddhist times as attested by the Director General of the 1881 Indian Census, Sir Ibbetson [p. 8] : "The Sahnsars of Hushyarpur were admittedly Rajput till only a few generations ago, when they took to growing vegetables and now rank with the Arains. Some of the Tarkhans, Lohars and Nais of Sirsa are known to have been Jats or Rajputs who within quite recent times have taken to the hereditary occupations of these castes; and some of the Chauhans of Karnal whose fathers were born Rajputs, have taken to weaving and become Shekhs. . . . The process is going on around us, and it is certain that what is now taking place is only what has always taken place during the long ages".
Political control over the western and northwestern subcontinent post 500 BC (Gandharan period) was primarily in the hands of Sakas (Scythians) and their descendents who mainly patronized Buddhism and Solar cults prior to 9th century AD. Based on analysis of coins, inscriptions, archeological finds and early Indian/Buddhist/Chinese/Greek/Persian manuscripts dating back to 500 BC, historians and ethnographers (e.g. Cunningham, Tod, Rapson, Ibbetson, Elliot, Ephilstone, Dahiya, Dhillon, Banerjea, Sharma, Sinha, Shrava, Puniya etc.) have shown that the traditional agrarian and artisan communities (e.g. Jats/Gujars/Tarkhans/Khatris/Rajputs/Lohars/Yadavs etc.) of the entire northwest are the descendants of Scythian tribes from central Asia.
While the plains facts of history clearly contradict the supremacist and hegemonic claims Poorbia Brahmanists began making on southasia during the 19th century, this historical quackery and the elitist neo-Brahmanist identity (the "superior Aryans") and chauvinistic socio-political doctrines derived from it have been the founding ideology and the "historical consciousness" of the new Indian Brahmanist Order.
The Sakas of the northwest did not accept the supremacy of the Brahmins, did not practise the chaturvarna caste system advocated by their "law givers" like Manu, had their own Saka priests (Magas), and mainly patronized Buddhism mixed with their own religion (sun-worship) prior to 9th century AD. Their ill-disposition to Brahmanism earned them an unending hostility of the frustrated Gangetic priesthood. The post-Buddhist transmission of Brahmanism into Sakasthan required adaption to fit it into the Saka social and political order prevailing in the northwest where Sakas continued to wield political power, run their villages and own the land. The Brahmin livelihood depended on the goodwill and generosity of their Saka employers and patrons. In the Saka social order, zamindari, cultivation, artisanship and soldiering were considered the "noblest" and "highest" professions and way of life. These social ideals and cultural heritage are diametric opposites of eastern Brahmanical social dogma in which those who worked the land and worked for their living were designated "polluted" and "sudras" while those following non-Brahmanical religions were "mlechas" (barbarians). In return, the Sakas considered the Gangetic priests to be little more than soothsayers and palm-readers who begged for their food. With the rise of Sufism by the 11th century, the bulk of the population in Punjab had formally moved away from Brahmanism and the remaining employed Brahmins for ritual and ceremonial purposes while also patronizing Sufis, Fakirs, Yogis and Naths who followed the local secular and unorthodox spiritual traditions.
These two different social, cultural and religious systems and orders represent nothing less than a "Clash of Civilizations": to the southeast of the western ganga river lay the Aryan "Brahmanical culture" while to the west of this frontier lay the "Saka civilization". Subsequently, the extreme North was Islamicised to form a 'Mughalstan'. There thus exist the following four broad 'nations' in South Asia: Sakasthan in the west centered on Rajasthan and Gujarat, Islamic Mughalstan stretching from Kashmir to Bangladesh, Sudrastan comprising Dalitstan-Dravidistan reaching from Jharkhand to Tamil Nadu, and Hindu Rashtra comprising Maharashtra, Kannauj, Utkal and West Bengal. Moreover, since the advent of the Vedic period in the northwest (1500 - 500 BC) and during its succeeding Saka period (500 BC - 1200 AD), the Sakasthan country was politically separate from the subcontinent over 97% of its 2500 years known history - even this "3% togethorness" of 92 years occurred under the eastward expanding Saka empire of the Mauryas. The Sakasthan core region of Rajasthan-Gujarat was almost never under the occupation of Brahminists in the pre-Gupta age. To the Brahmins, the west and northwest Rajasthan-Gujarat Saka country has always been historically a "foreign land of Barbarians" ("Vahika-desa" populated by "vahikas", "vratyas", "mlechas" and "sudras") as written in their own holy shastras. The Mahabharta, Puranas and Brahmin Law Givers repeatedly "forbid Brahmins" from traveling to these foreign lands where, in turn, their alien religion, priesthood, gods and caste creed was spurned and rejected by the Saka people population. For example, the Mahabharta, verses 2063-2068, Karna Parva, states "one should not go to Vahika-desa in which the five rivers and the Indus . . . where the mlechas live . . ".
As discussed above, the northwest country ("Saptha-Sindhva" in Rig Veda) was politically independent from rest of southasia over 97% of its history from the start of its Vedic period to the Afghan conquest (500 BC - 1200 AD), as was the Sakasthan region surrounding Rajasthan. Between 500 BC-1200 AD, it was under the political rule of Saka tribes and dynasties who form 65% of the present western population based on ethnological information collected in colonial censuses. Saka priests were known as "Magas" (Sun priests who prayed to the sun for bountiful harvests) who, along with Buddhist masters of Sakasthan, found themselves out of work when Buddhism and its institutions declined during 8-10th century. Many of them eventually became recruited into the "Brahmin" fold (e.g. Saraswat, Dakaut divisions) while Gangetic emigrants form the "Gaur" division of Brahmins. These Saka converts to Brahmanism did not intermarry with Brahmins from other regions and divisions, ate meat and were occupationally lax. Although they were indoctrinated into the Gangetic caste ideology, they have always been regarded as a "lower grade" by the easterly orthodox Brahmins. Brahmins as a whole in South Asia are ethnically, culturally and racially a diverse heterogenous group geographically distributed up to Indonesia, Burma and Thailand, while the Saka population is confined to the western regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat ("Khazar-land"), whilst Mughals (Foreign Muslims) dominate the north-west.
The fact is that there have always been two types of ruling classes (Kshatriyas) in South Asia: i) those who patronized the Brahmin priesthood and ii) those who felt no need or desire to do so and patronized other religions (e.g. Saka religion, Buddhism, Islam, Sufism, Sikhism, Christianity). In dateless and placeless revisionist Brahmanical texts (written centuries later when Brahmins gained larger influence; eg. post-9th century Shankarcharya revival), the latter are dubbed "mlecchas", "sudra", and "low castes kings", etc. while the former are glorified with fantastical tales and showered with the blessings of their devtas. The second type form most of the known and verifiable Kshatriyas and ruling orders in the history of South Asia - all in the case of the west and northwest!
