Description

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The unifying theme in the life of Guru Gobind Singh was confrontation with the Mughals, which culminated in a struggle for political power. This fact is brought into sharp focus when we consider the Guru's life and legacy simultaneously in the contexts of the Mughal Empire, its feudatory states in the hills, and the Sikh movement. The creation of the Khalsa in 1699 as a political community with the aspiration to rule made conciliation or compromise with the Mughal state almost impossible. Their long struggle ended eventually in the declaration of Khalsa Raj in 1765.
Using contemporary and near contemporary sources in Gurmukhi, Persian, and English, J.S. Grewal presents a comprehensive study of this era of Sikh history. The volume elaborates on the life and legacy of Guru Gobind Singh and explores the ideological background of the institution of the Khalsa and its larger political context. Grewal, however, emphasizes that the legacy of the Khalsa was also social and cultural. This authoritative volume on the tenth Guru is a significant addition to the field of Sikh studies..

About the Author

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J.S. Grewal, Life fellow, Punjabi University, Punjabi University, Patiala J.S. GREWAL: a former Professor and Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, and Director and later Chairman, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, was until recently Professor of Eminence at the Punjabi University, Patiala. The recipient of Ph.D. and D.Lit. from the University of London and several academic and cultural awards, he has written extensively on historiography, medieval India, and the Punjab and Sikh history. His major publications include Guru Nanak in History (1969); Muslim Rule in India: The Assessments of British Historians (1970);The Sikhs of the Punjab (1990); Sikh Ideology: Polity and Social Order (2007); The Sikhs: Ideology, Institutions and Identity (2009); History, Literature, and Identity: Four Centuries of Sikh Tradition (2011); Recent Debates in Sikh Studies: An Assessment (2011); Historical Writings on the Sikhs (1784-2011): Western Enterprise and Indian Response (2012), and Master Tara Singh in Indian History: Colonialism, Nationalism, and Politics of Sikh Identity (2017). He is a Life Fellow of Punjabi University, Patiala.