names of which commence with the letter K. The kes, or uncut hair and beard; the khanda, or dagger; the kanga, or wooden comb; the kára, or iron bangle; and kuchh, short drawers coming to the knee. This last was to distinguish them from the Hindus, who invariably wear a loin cloth or dhoti, and they were further forbidden to smoke tobacco, a universal Hindu custom, and one, the prohibition of which it must have been difficult to enforce, and which has not had a favourable result. The Sikhs have largely taken to the consumption of opium and hemp, the latter of which is far more injurious than tobacco. The same prohibition has produced the same effect among the fanatical Muhammadans of Central Asia.
Female infanticide was prohibited, and they who killed their daughters were pronounced accursed. This custom in the time of Govind Singh and up to the British annexation of the Punjab was very prevalent, especially in the higher castes, such as the Rájputs, who had the greatest difficulty in disposing of their daughters. As an example may be mentioned the Rájput house to which Mahárájá Ghuláb Singh of Jammu belonged. Here the practice was invariable, and no marriage of a daughter was known to have taken place in that family until 1871, when the Mahárájá's granddaughter was married, amidst great rejoicings, to the son of the ancient house of Jaswal. In spite of the prohibition of Govind, the practice long remained common among the Sikhs, and even to-day there are parts of the Punjab where, especially in
