This Book Discusses The Various Sikh Movements Launched During The Struggle For Independence, Especially Between 1935 And 1947.

It is difficult, even more than twenty years after partition, for those Britons, Indians, and Pakistanis who lived through those terrible months in 1947 to look back on them with detachment. But it may reasonably be presumed that those who played some significant part in the episode or who saw what went on have at least some responsibility for setting down their evidence, so that future generations may achieve a closer understanding of the processes which have dramatically changed the history of their three peoples and countries. The publication of this volume is a culmination of an attempt to collect evidence from those still alive who had taken an active hand in the partition and who had thus far not set down their share of the record. From this it grew into a regular series of meetings spread over three years between "participants" and historians, young and old, of the three countries. A valuable body of evidence and comment was thus brought together in London, and much of it is presented in this book. The papers included here fall into two categories, corresponding broadly with two main groups of contributors: on the one hand academic students of the partition and on the other hand actors in, or interested observers of, the events themselves. Thus the papers in the section Policies and Parties,relating first to British policy and then to the policies of the major Indian parties, are largely based on the study of the documentary record, while those in the section Perspectives and Reflectionsderive from personal experience and observations of Pakistani, Indian, and British contributors. As the papers show, the interpretation of events tends to vary with the preconceptions and present-day outlook of the contributors to the debate. A view widely held in India, for example, is that partition was a tragedy—a vivisection—and discussion in that country therefore tends to be concerned with discovering the reasons and apportioning the blame for this failure to maintain the unity of the subcontinent. In Pakistan, on the other hand, where naturally it cannot be accepted that partition should have been avoided, there is a tendency to project the growth of Muslim nationalism into the depths of history in order to justify the seeming inevitability of the establishment of a Muslim state. Among British writers there is of course some difference in outlook between generations, and within the generations between historians and those who actually served in India. Those brought up in the age of empire and concerned with the administration of that empire tend to differ from those of their contemporaries who were more influenced by the political climate of the thirties at home in England. The range of contributors includes, among others, B. Shiva Rao, C. S. Venkatachar, K. N. Chaudhuri, S. R. Mehrotra, B. R. Nanda, Mumtaz Hasan, Raja of Mahmudabad, Abdul Qaiyum Khan, Sir Francis Wylie, Lord Sorensen, and Percival Spear.

Sikhism traces its beginnings to Guru Nanak, who was born in 1469 and died in 1538 or 1539. With the life of Guru Nanak the account of the Sikh faith begins, all Sikhs acknowledging him as their founder. Sikhism has long been a little-understood religion and until recently they resided almost exclusively in northwest India. Today the total number of Sikhs is approximately twenty million worldwide. About a million live outside India, constituting a significant minority in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. Many of them are highly visible, particularly the men, who wear beards and turbans, and they naturally attract attention in their new countries of domicile. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Sikhism covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1000 cross-referenced entries on key persons, organizations, the principles, precepts and practices of the religion as well as the history, culture and social arrangements. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Sikhism.

State As A Problamatic Has Made A Very Strong Return To The Mainstream Of Social Science Literature In Recent Years. Theories On The Relation Of Class And State In The Post-Colonial Societies In General And Indian Society In Particular Have Approached The Subject From Varying Perspectives And With Reference To Differing Specific Questions. The Book Summarizes These Several Theoretical Positions. The Work Also Focuses On The Nature Of Auto¬Nomy Of The Post-Colonial Indian State From The Social Forces.

Contrary to popular opinion, there is more to Sikhism than the distinctive dress. First of all, there is the emergence of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, and the long line of his successors. There are the precepts, many related to liberation through the divine name or nam. There is a particularly turbulent history in which the Sikhs have fought to affirm their beliefs and resist external domination that continues to this day. There is also, more recently, the dispersion from the Punjab throughout the rest of India and on to Europe and the Americas. With this emigration Sikhism has become considerably less exotic, but hardly better known to outsiders. This reference is an excellent place to learn more about the religion. It provides a chronology of events, a brief introduction that gives a general overview of the religion, and a dictionary with several hundred entries, which present the gurus and other leaders, trace the rather complex history, expound some of the precepts and concepts, describe many of the rites and rituals, and explain the meaning of numerous related expressions. All this, along with a bibliography, provides readers with an informative and accessible guide toward understanding Sikhism.

Critical assessment of the politics among the Sikhs in the Punjab, India during 1940 and 1947.