Sir, - I am writing a report about this part of our research and documenting the making of a replica of this 300 year old instrument which is likely to be one of the oldest musical antiques in India today. After ten years of searching for the ‘lost rabab’ it has been deeply satisfying to find this instrument and to be making replicas of it for future re-assimilation into Sikh musical practices...... A free thinker who followed his own way of thought, Chris, says his journey has been one of search for the lost rabab. And what is his dream? "I don’t know when it will come true," he confides. "But I dream of thousand of Westerners sitting together and doing the kirtan in English,".......(Go to the link for the entire article).

Email: japji@home.com

Sir, - Term "Survival of the Fittest" is not a Darwin’s Rule, as mentioned in an article ‘Sikhism: The Beacon of Human Rights’ published in The Sikh Review, Page 67, April 2000 issue. This term does not appear anywhere in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. Darwin used the term ‘Natural Selection’. The term " Survival of the fittest" was fabricated by English Philosopher, Herbert Spencer (1820-1904) who was a spokesman of the ruling elite on the eve of the epoch of imperialism. This term was propagated as "Social Darwinism".

This concept has not been valid among all human beings as stated by the author, but limited to ruling elite (kings, nobles, dictators) to justify subjugation and exploitation of the masses.

German philosopher, Nietzsche also believed in this concept which is clear from his Philosophy:

Nazis, under Hitler took advantage of this concept and, taking cover of Nietzsche’s philosophy, propagated Aryans as a strong and superior race. Killing of Jews, Gypsies and other similar ethnic groups considered weak and inferior, was the result of such a Nazi Philosophy.

The concept "Survival of the Fittest" was further advocated with ideas like: "Might is Right", "Big fish eat small fish" and similar slogans. The idea became a sort of tradition for the common man, which is evident from the fact that in rural North India we every day hear "jis ki lathi usi ki bhens." (Cattle belong to any one having a stick). This type of thinking has penetrated in the mind of man and has done lot of harm and social injustice to the Society and mankind.

With the advancement of knowledge, experience and wisdom in this information age, old concepts, ideas and philosophies are being challenged, re-interpreted and are undergoing change. The philosophy of "Survival of the Fittest" has now been replaced with "Survival of the Weakest" (FRONTLINE December, 24, 99 issue cover story page 21). This concept "Survival of The Weakest", if followed and practiced will take care of Human Rights.

Our Sikh Gurus preached and practiced this Philosophy of "Survival of the Weakest." The concept "wand chhakna" (Economic equality) clearly tells and impress upon us to help the weakest section of the society. Let us follow and practice this concept through cooperative and collective living as was done by our Gurus and forget about the "Survival of the Fittest".

Sir, I fully endorse the views of Dr. Mrs. B.K. Soni (SR April 2001) regarding preservation of holy sites.

It is observed after seeing the Gurdwara building that no attention to is being paid in this direction. I had the opportunity to pay obeisance to gurdwaras in remote villages of Amritsar district wallowed with memories of our Gurus. New grand majestic buildings have been constructed and marble has been used in abundance, but in this zeal and enthusiasm, in giving new shape to old sites, precious relics have been lost. Hardly any trace is available of old site or relic to which gurdwara is related.

For instance, there is one gurdwara in village Basar-ka-Qilla known as Sunn Sahib, Amritsar district, before visit to this place I had in my mind that a wall with old type bricks must have been preserved for entry to Bhora Sahib. I was surprised to see an artificial hole made in the wall to represent the original one. Even a few bricks could have been kept as reminder of the incident of Sikh history.

We hope that such sites could be preserved with modern building techniques.

163-A 45-E, Kartar Niwas

Pushkar Road (Kotra)

Ajmer, Rajasthan