The following was written by Bhai Sahib Bhai Randhir Singh Ji. It is written in first person by him. It includes a dialogue- the person speaking is clearly marked. All side notes are Bhai Randhir Singh Ji's comments.

(A dialogue between Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh ji and the Prison-Superintendent, Mr Gupta, at Nagpur Prison)

Superintendent: Well Randhir Singh, ever since I have come to here as Superintendent, this is the first time anyone has tried to anoy me by hunger strike. You have not taken meals for four days. Will that not fall as curse on me ?

I: Well Sir, I did not go on hunger strike conciously nor are you to be blamed for anything. By chance thaings took such a turn that I had to go without food. I had washed my hair with country soap but I did not get any oil, without which they cannot be combed. If I knew that I would not be getting any oil then I would not have washed my hair with the washing soap. With this soap the hair becomes very dry and it is not easy to comb without applying some oil. The oil makes the hair smooth and then while combing they do not break away or become entangled with one another. A Sikh is supposed to comb his hair twice daily, and without cleaning his hair he cannot take his meals. This is the strict religious order which I had to obey. As I did not get the oil promised to me I did not take my meals. I did not go on hunger strike as a protest.

On hearing this the superintendent reprimanded the whole of his staff and asked the why they did not inform him about the matter. He immediately ordered that a bottle of good oil be brought. After half an hour the superintendent personally brought the oil. And the following dialect followed.

Superintendent: I am extremely sorry that unnecessary trouble has been caused to you. All this happened in my absence. I have great respect and feeling for your sentiments, ad we should respect your religious sentiments, with due consideration but I am sorry there has been an inadvertent disregard for them. As long as I am here this will not happen again.

I: I am extremely grateful to you. The fact of the matter is that in the prison and outside in all government offices honesty and sincerity has disappeared. Selfishness and profiteering is the main motive. The store-keepers of the prison procure the cheapest things and charge the government the highest prices.

No one cares to investigate the corruption prevalent in the prisons. Poor prisoners will never complain, and if they complain, no one listen to it. We have had bitter experiences of such things. They profiteer even in small things. In this prison there are hardly eight political Sikh prisoners. At the most they require one bottle of coconut oil per month. But these people wish tomake profit even out of this. They bring the worst oil and charge the government for the most best. They robt eh government and exploit the prisoners.

The superintendent listened to all I said and accepted what I said aboutt he corrupt practices of the prison officials. He however, assured that he would not let these things happen. While talking to me he at once raised a question 'Is it very essential to keep hair on the head ?

I: Is it very essential to keep your head on your shoulders ?

Superintendent: The body cannot survive without he head.

Superintendent: No, God has created it, and placed it on my shoulders.

I: Because God has given you this head, therefore, you feel it to be an essential part of your body. Had it been made by you and placed on your shoulders, you could conveniently take it off, whenever you wished to do so.

Superintendent: Yes of course. But we cannot remove what has been given to us by God.

I: Suppose someone cuts off your God given head, what would you call him ?

Superintendent: Murderer, killer and slayer.

I: If someone questions you, why have you kept your head on your shoulders, what would you say ?

Superintendent: It would be very foolish of that person to put such a question.

I: just as God has given us this head and made it a part ofopur personality, so are hair is given by God and made part of our personality. As the hair is also given by God , the question you have posed, why is it essential to keep them is not tenable. The question is out of place. I have not created this hair myself. God gave them to me and I have kept them. Just as God has given us the head, and we keep it, so also the hair on our head has been given by God and we keep it. So it is the duty of every man and woman to preserve and maintyain them. You call a man who cuts off a person's head, a murderer, a slayer, a killer, would you not consider a man who removes his hair equally cruel. Is not one who destroys a God- given gift an important part of our personality, a blood- thirsty oppressor ? I think he is.

Superintendent: You cannot call him a murderer. You can call him by any other name.

I: Why not a blood thirsty murderer ?

Superintendent: Because when you cut your hair no blood comes out.

I: So you think that when no blood comes out, and when someone destroys a part of our body, it is not cruelty, and least of all murder. Supposing someone strangles a person, would you not call it a murder ? No blood comes out and the man is killed. Ido not wish to prolong any discursive discussion, but you agree that now a days so many methods have been devised to kill man that not a drop of blood comes out. Would you not call these murderers, killers, and blood thirsty slayers ? What else would you call them ?

Superintendent: But excuse me, if say, that when I cut off the head of a person you cannot replace it but if you cut off the hair of a person it grows again. A dead man never comes tolife, but when we destroy living hair, new ones grow in its place. There is a good deal of difference between cutting one's head and cuttting one's hair. even if both are crimes, there is a vast difference between the two crimes.

I: Do you believe in the transmigration theory ?

Superintendent: Yes, I do believe in the transmigration theory

I: Then according to that theory, you do not die even when your head is cut off. The soul (Atman) is born again. So those who murderer kill nothing. The soul is eternal. They relieve a person of one birth in a cycle of births. By doing so they indirectly do good. But the man does not die after being killed. He will be born again and again. This is what actually happens.

Yet he who kills commits a futile act, he does not do good. So they who cut their hair again and again do no good, nor is there any virtue in it. The hair that is cut again again just as the man who is killed is born again and again. The only difference is the soul may be born in different forms and may be even born as an animal. The hair of the head continue to grow when cut. Man foolishly cuts the hair and it grows again.that is how nature slaps the fool who goes against its requirements. Thus the attempt of a mna to cut his hair is as futile as to kill a man or an animal. The life and spirit of the Atman survives as long as the spirit and Vital force of God is present in it. Similarly the living essence of the hair will continue to be there as long as the body and head survive with the spirit of God. The hair of the body is to be preserved and kept clean just as Nature has created them. The hair of the head grow to a natural length. Beyond a certain length they do not grow.

Those who put an artificial hair to bring them to a fashionable length go against nature and do a foolish thing. Women do not grow any beard on their faces. If any woman wants to she cannot. Just as it is unnatural to try to develop beards on the faces of women, it is unnatural and wrong to destroy the natural hair that grows on men's head. Men naturally grow beards ontheir faces. But the fashionable people shave it every morning. Every morning nature slaps them on the face by reisting their attempt to remove the beard, but he are unconcious of it.

They want ot make their faces look exactly like those of women. Men gone against natureby shaving their beard and appearing like women and gained nothing. Unfortunately women have started cutting short the hair of their head like men, in order to look like men. They too have gained nothiing. I think it is utter shamelessness for mane to try to imitate women and for women to imitate men.

The real question should be, why is this God given gift, the natural hair and beard removed, but those who go against the wishes of nature start questioning the other way round. The unfortuanate thing is that the majority of people are shaving these days and this sheep like imitation and fashion to remove the hair and beard is deemed as the natural law. There are very few who obey the essentials laws of nature in this connection. Apart from the Skhis there are very few who keep hair and beard. Those who spoil their manly appearance and personality given by nature, are unconcious of their own folly in distorting their appearance but they are shocked to see a man keeping hair and beard, and do not hesitate to ask them : "is it essential to keep hair and beard ?/" He suddenly becomes unconcious of the fact that hair is part of the whole body and grows on every pore of his body. Those who are pure in mind body and soul. And those who know something aboout sciences know that to remove bodily hair from the whole of our body is a crime against health. You have taken up discussion on a subject on which many articles and even a book can be written. Neither you have the time to enter into such a long discussion nor am I free t do so. Such discursive discussions and questions are generally raised by Arya Samajists. Have you at any time fallen under their influence ?

Superintendent: (Laughing) I am not the type of Hindu the Arya Samajists are nor do I believe in any discursive discussion. I was attracted a bit towards Arya Samaj. I put the question out of curiosity and not with the intention of debating about it in an injurious way. I really wanted to know something about it. Although you have used some strong words in your discussion, yet your arguements have impressed me. Many of my doubts have been cleared. I hope that when you are released you will write an excellent book on the subject and get it translated in other languages to explain it to the world at large. Your argument of fashionable or sheep-like imitation is correct. Our riishis, munis, avatars and prophets used to keep their hair and beard. We have clear cut evidence up to the period of the Mahabharata. Brahmiuns, Kshatriyas, and Peshwas in our ancient history kept hair and beard. God alone knows when did the custom of shaving begin in India. Fromthe Mahabharata and other Indian literature of the period we learn that removal of hair or beard was considered worst punishment than death. When Shri Krishna on the recommendation of his espouse Rukhmani reduced the death sentence of her brother Rukhman to the punishment of removing his hair and beard Rukhman in a pitiable tone appealed to his sister saying "O Rukhmani you are not my sister you are my enemy. You have got my death sentence repealed and got for me a greater punishment of removing my hair and beard. To remove my hair and beard would be far more painful and tortuous than killing me" Your ideas are indeed very enlightened and you are indeed a true Sikh living according to the highest principles of your faith. No one has ever givebn so convincing reply to my question. For a seeker even one good argument is enough. Now a good deal of time has elapsed. My Namaste to you. We will meet again.

I: Sat Sri Akaal 'Later on surely does not come so easily'

To be very honest occasion to continue that dialogue 'Later on' never arrived again, but the prison- superintendent struck to me as a very kind and thoughtful person.