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Holy Cow

" Holy Cow! " is an exclamation of surprise used mostly in the United States, Canada, Australia and England. It is a minced oath or euphemism for "Holy Christ!" The use of the term "Holy Cow!" dates to at least 1905. The earliest known appearance of the phrase was in a tongue-in-cheek letter to the editor: " A lover of the cow writes to this column to protest against a certain variety of Hindu oath having to do with the vain use of the name of the milk producer. " The Western concept of "Holy Cow"  Few people, however, revere the cow like the world’s 900 million adherents of Hinduism . Since the faith first evolved near Asia’s Indus River more than 4,000 years ago, respect for animal life has been a central theme in Hindu life. Although Hindus follow no single set of rules, reverence for cows can be found throughout the religion’s major texts. A Hindu woman worshiping a cow in North India Rig Veda are the oldest Hindu script

Last Stand of Diwan Mulraj

Ghanta Ghar, the clock tower of Multan Multan (Punjabi: ਮੁਲਤਾਨ, Hindi: मुल्तान, Urdu: تاريخ مُلتان‎), is a city located in the West Punjab now in Pakistan. It is one of the oldest cities in India, and its modern name comes from its old Sanskrit name Mūlasthān meaning the "place of origin".  The city had an ancient sun temple that was destroyed Islamist Jehadist Mohammad Bin Qasim in 712 AD. Since then it was ruled by Muslim governors till Sikhs during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh conquered Multan in 1818 AD and decimated Muzaffar Khan of Saddozai tribe in 1823. Muzzafar Khan and seven of his sons were killed before the Multan fort finally fell on 2 March 1818 in the Battle of Multan.   Diwan Sawan Mal Chopra Diwan Sawan Mal Chopra of Akalgarh, Gujaranwala was appointed as the governor of Multan. Sawan Mal was an able administrator and expanded the Khalsa rule from Multan to Dera Gazi Khan, Jhang, and surrounding areas. He was well known for

Sanskrit or Punjabi

Is Punjabi more ancient than Sanskrit? Which is more ancient? Sanskrit or Punjabi? This title may surprise many as the common perception is that Sanskrit is one the most ancient language of the world while Punjabi is a native language that was invented by the Sikh Gurus in 15th century while composing the hymns of Sri Guru Granth Sahib.  What if I can prove that is is a misconception and in fact, Punjabi language predates Sanskrit? Before I put forward my hypothesis, I would like to clarify that I am not a linguist expert but merely a student of languages originating form the land of my forefathers - commonly known as Punjab. I have also studied Sanskrit as a major subject during my schooling in India where it was a compulsory subject from Grade VI to Grade X. Sanskrit Sanskrit (Saṃskṛtam or saṃskṛta) is the primary sacred language of ancient India. In order to understand what Sanskrit is, we first need to understand the meaning of the word  Sanskrit . The term

Invasion of Kargil - The Real Story

The Kargil War was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir along the Line of Control (LOC). In India, the conflict is also referred to as Operation Vijay, the name of the Indian operation to clear the Kargil sector of the Pakistani infiltrators. Indian Sikh soldier guarding the Kargil victory memorial  The cause of the war was the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri militants into positions on the Indian side of the LOC. The town of Kargil is located 205 km (127 miles) from Srinagar, facing the Northern Areas across the LOC. Like other areas in the Himalayas, Kargil has a temperate climate. Summers are cool with frigid nights, while winters are long and chilly with temperatures often dropping to −48 °C (−54 °F). An Indian national highway (NH 1D) connecting Srinagar to Leh cuts through Kargil. During the winter season, due to extreme cold in the snow-capped mountainous areas of Kashmir, i

The Guru of the Sikhs

Sri Guru Granth Sahib - the Eternal Guru of Sikhs Sri Guru Granth Sahib [Punjabi (Gurmukhi): ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ], is the central religious scripture of Sikhism, considered by Sikhs to be the final, sovereign guru after the lineage of ten Gurus of the religion. Sri Guru Granth Sahib at Harmander Sahib, Amritsar, Punjab Sri Guru Granth Sahib is a voluminous text of 1430 Angs (pages), compiled and composed during the period of Sikh Gurus from 1469 to 1708 and is a collection of hymns (Shabad) or Baani describing the qualities of God and the necessity for meditation on God's Nām (holy name).  The Origin The origin of the Sikh scriptures lies in the hymns of its founder, Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji which were preserved by his successor, Guru Angad Devi ji.  The collection known as the "Pothi" was passed on to his successors and then handed over by the Third Guru's son Bhai Mohan to the fifth Guru, Arjan Dev ji. The Original Pothi of Guru Nanak The Adi Granth,