Overview

This book demonstrates that historiography is a dynamic process. The five major Sikh writers analysed in the book present differences of factual detail, objectives and approach. If one glorifies the Khalsa as upholding the monotheistic tradition, another compromises the monotheistic tradition by bringing in the goddess. If one negates the egalitarian norm of the Khalsa social order, another valorizes its uncompromising sovereignty in the face of threat from the British. Modern historians present no less divergent views. If one looks upon the Khalsa as the emergence of a new nation, another minimizes their achievement in comparison with the British. If one tries to reconcile doctrinal sovereignty with political loyalty, another presents the Khalsa as serving the cause of Hindu nationalism. Still others can talk of the Khalsa as 'transfiguration' of the earlier Sikh tradition. With its multiple perspectives on the Khalsa, this book introduces the subject in a manner that no single perspective can do. It should be of interest of those concerned with the Sikh tradition and its study, and also to those concerned with other religious traditions.

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9788173045806

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Padmashree and a renowned historian, J.S. Grewal served the Indian Institute of Advanced Study at Shimla as its Director and Chairman of its Governing Body after serving Guru Nanak Dev University at Amritsar as its Vice-Chancellor and Professor of History. He has written extensively on Historiography, Medieval India, the Punjab and Punjabi Literature, and the Sikhs. His publications include Guru Nanak in History (1969); The Sikhs of the Punjab (1990); Sikh Ideology, Polity and Social Order (2007); A Study of Guru Granth Sahib: Doctrine, Social Content, History, Structure and Status (2009); and The Sikhs: Ideology, Institutions and Identity (2009).

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