The Sikhs in History by: Sangat Singh (Dr.)

It is an outstanding piece of research work on Sikh history during the 20th century and has been conferred with Akali Phula Singh Award. In the words of Prof. Noel Q. King this work takes its place with the greatest of the works which have followed from the days of Cunningham and Macauliffe. The author cautions against distortion and falsification of history, and induction of Brahminical, narrow, sectarianism in Sikhism, as warned by Guru Gobind Singh. This work presents an account of extermination of Buddhism from the land of its birth. Thereafter, the author analyses the account of the Sikhs from Guru Nanak Dev to the present day. He goes into the process of development of Sikhism during the Guru period and after-for another half a century or so, the Singh Sabha movement and its afterflow till 1925. He lays emphasis on universal humanism of Guru Nanak, striking at varnashramdharma, with inbuilt inequa-lities of Brahminism. The author also dilates on the process of infiltration at first by Handalis, Minas, Brahmins down to post-Ranjit Singh era and 20th century onslaught at the hands of Bania-Brahmin pseudo-secularists. He presents a picture of shortfall in Sikh leadership, eventually leading to their ouster from the national mainstream at the time of framing of the Constitution in 1949, and terrible days of 1984 and after. The widespread apostasy, rise of Sant-Babas, induction of Bhayyas to reduce the Sikhs to a minority in Punjab, fulminations of Hindutava forces underpinned by Congress, and again the inadequacy of Sikh leadership are major factors in the current scenario that will determine the course of Sikh history in 21st century.

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