The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations/Preface
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Book by
Manthan Publications, Rohtak. ISBN 81-85235-22-8
PrefacePage IX
Someone has remarked that "a preface acts as a messenger, who does not read out the message, but bands it over to the receiver - the reader - to decipher, enjoy, read and be transformed by it". The preface to the book that follows is offered more or less in that spirit, and also in the hope that it will arouse the interest of a casual reader at least to glance through this rather voluminous treatise. The present treatise is the outcome of thirty years of the study of historical and linguistic, epigraphical and inscriptional, numismatical and archaeological, anthropological and ethnological, dermatoglyphic and serological, ecological and geographical evidence about Jats, painstakingly gathered from a wide variety of sources. This has resulted in my interpretation of the above data bearing on the origin, antiquity and migrations of the Jats, presented in this book.
Every conclusion put forward is based on definite statements, for which authorities are cited. No pains have been spared to verify the references to make them complete and accurate. I crave the indulgence of the writers for sometimes repeating in the 'Notes and References' in this book the original sources quoted by them for the benefit of the prospective investigators of the subject. The references utilised are given in an intelligible and self-explanatory form and, consequently, the tedium of abbreviations has, as far as possible, been avoided.
Like A.Kalyanaraman, I submit that this book of mine "Can be viewed only as the essay of an enthusiastic amateur who has a few significant theories and interesting postulates to offer which may attract discriminating students of ancient history and culture". In spite of my best efforts, my bumble attempt as of an amateur may abound in inadequacies of matter and method, possible inequity in emphasis, subjectivity and inadvertent partiality, display of emotion due to enthusiasm in the presentation of facts, (but with malice towards none), a possible failure to present my arguments in strict conformity with historicity, and riding several hobbies almost to exhaustion, (perhaps natural in such pursuits), for which the indulgence of the gentle reader is sought.
Page X
Benedetto Croce[1] once observed, "The historian must have a point of view and an intimate personal conviction. The historical work of art cannot be achieved, save by means of this point of view. If the historian is to escape the inevitable necessity of taking sides, he must become a political and scientific eunuch, and history is not the business of eunuches". Fortunately, I have a point of view and personal conviction that the Jats arr Aryans as much as the Scythians, who have now been conclusively established, as no distinct race from aryans, and are as native to the Sapta Sindhu, as are the Himalayas, though the rival hypothesis that they came from the north-west, is still the hobby-horse of a number of the European scholars and their Indian followers. This book is a modest attempt to demolish this which, in my view, is totally an untenable thesis, and to establish my own.
I would plead as Dr. Calvin Kephart does: "In the light of human nature, the author does not assume that various interested professions will accept with avidity all the original or revised findings announced herein, but he is serenely confident that Father Time will aid in the suitable appraisal of all such deductions which he believes to be correct. He will welcome any positive evidence of error, but must decry captious attitudes of critics whose earlier knowledge of the subject may be disturbed". [2]
Like Spinoza I, too, submit: "The reader may become confused and recollect many things which bring him to a standstill; therefore, I pray him to proceed with me and form no judgment.... until he shall have read all". [3]