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The Sikhs
In this compact but informative book, the author presents a concise history of the followers of one of the world's newest religions Sikhism. Beginning with the life and times of the founder, the highly revered Guru Nanak (1469-1539), the contents move on to describe the vital contribution made by the following nine gurus in shaping and developing the Sikh religion. The significance of the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, and its centrality to the religion are emphasized. The author discusses epoch making developments such as the setting up of Singh Sabha and the accompanying social reform, the decisive Akali agitation for control of various Sikh shrines and the impact of the Ghadr rebellion.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1952
41 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
About the author
Khushwant Singh
298 books1,429 followersKhushwant Singh, (Punjabi: ਖ਼ੁਸ਼ਵੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ, Hindi: खुशवंत सिंह) born on 2 February 1915 in Hadali, Undivided India, (now a part of Pakistan), was a prominent Indian novelist and journalist. Singh's weekly column, "With Malice towards One and All", carried by several Indian newspapers, was among the most widely-read columns in the country.
An important post-colonial novelist writing in English, Singh is best known for his trenchant secularism, his humor, and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit.
An important post-colonial novelist writing in English, Singh is best known for his trenchant secularism, his humor, and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
September 11, 2021
Dear world…..
It is “Sikh’s” with an emphasis on “KH” and not “Seeks”.
Please get your pronunciations correct since I have seen so many people pronounce it incorrectly including the speaker of this book. I would highly recommend if you guys read it via paperback and NOT listen as an audiobook!
Thank you!
It is “Sikh’s” with an emphasis on “KH” and not “Seeks”.
Please get your pronunciations correct since I have seen so many people pronounce it incorrectly including the speaker of this book. I would highly recommend if you guys read it via paperback and NOT listen as an audiobook!
Thank you!
March 3, 2021
I was a little skeptical at first since this book is on religion and also falls in the non-fiction category. I feared that reading it would be an arduous task, the book laden with technical, boring and incomprehensible details.
But I was pleasantly surprised, this book really is a fun read, although I wouldn't recommend someone finish reading it in one day [it can easily be done]. Give it at least 3 days so that you can soak in the history and are able to analyse the events and people in this book.
All in all this book is only a sort of warm-up to the Sikh culture and history. It will most definitely prime and augment one's interest in Sikh history. Further reading on Sikh culture is recommended to clear any misconceptions and half - knowledge.
Happy Reading.
But I was pleasantly surprised, this book really is a fun read, although I wouldn't recommend someone finish reading it in one day [it can easily be done]. Give it at least 3 days so that you can soak in the history and are able to analyse the events and people in this book.
All in all this book is only a sort of warm-up to the Sikh culture and history. It will most definitely prime and augment one's interest in Sikh history. Further reading on Sikh culture is recommended to clear any misconceptions and half - knowledge.
Happy Reading.
July 3, 2024
There were effectively 3 parts of this book.
The first part, covering the birth of Sikhism, the lives of the Gurus, the changing political climate after Gobind Singh, the rise and fall of Ranjit Singh's empire, is beautifully written and very well summarized. This came as a surprise because I've also read Khushwant Singh's "The Fall of the Empire of Punjab", and that book was trash. This version is fantastic.
The second part covers various Sikh political movements, mostly in the 20th century. Singh Sabha, Akalis, and many many other groups are mentioned along with an absolute shitload of names. This part was dull and very difficult to get through, because of how completely non compelling it was. I realized at one point that the only reason he's rattling off 15 new names of leaders per page is because he knows all of them personally, and can't help himself.
The third part includes a very hand wavy review of all extant Punjabi literature, but the key bit is the Afterword written by Rahul Singh, son of the author. I thoroughly enjoyed this Afterword, which serves to fill in the inexplicable gaps that Khushwant Singh left in his work, including chapters on Operation Blue Star and the drug problem in Punjab.
Overall, like all Khushwant Singh books, this one made me feel like it is an important read for me personally, but I just really wish this man had a real editor at some point.
The first part, covering the birth of Sikhism, the lives of the Gurus, the changing political climate after Gobind Singh, the rise and fall of Ranjit Singh's empire, is beautifully written and very well summarized. This came as a surprise because I've also read Khushwant Singh's "The Fall of the Empire of Punjab", and that book was trash. This version is fantastic.
The second part covers various Sikh political movements, mostly in the 20th century. Singh Sabha, Akalis, and many many other groups are mentioned along with an absolute shitload of names. This part was dull and very difficult to get through, because of how completely non compelling it was. I realized at one point that the only reason he's rattling off 15 new names of leaders per page is because he knows all of them personally, and can't help himself.
The third part includes a very hand wavy review of all extant Punjabi literature, but the key bit is the Afterword written by Rahul Singh, son of the author. I thoroughly enjoyed this Afterword, which serves to fill in the inexplicable gaps that Khushwant Singh left in his work, including chapters on Operation Blue Star and the drug problem in Punjab.
Overall, like all Khushwant Singh books, this one made me feel like it is an important read for me personally, but I just really wish this man had a real editor at some point.
June 1, 2020
All the ten Gurus are not mentioned .
February 7, 2021
The comments of Yograj Singh in the farmer’s protests unsettled me. His claims were provocative, and his anti-Hindu bashing made matters worse. That unsettled the respect and the regard that I had towards the Sikhs. In my professional life, I had the good fortune of working with Avinash Singh Khalsa, a gem of a guy with whom working was a pleasure. His clarity of thought and passion for community service are things I look up to. Given these contrasting opinions, I decided to dive deep and read more about Sikhs.
Sri Kushwant Singh’s book “The Sikhs” has been a regular suggestion for me on audible. Finally, I decided to take the plunge and hear it.
Khushwant starts with the life and times of Shri GuruNanak Ji. He speaks about the churn that was going on in medieval India; he traces the origins of the faith and then follows it up with all the nine gurus who succeeded Shri Guru Nanak Ji. The religion and the tenets are explained as well.
The author then takes us to the political landscape; we would see the Sikh confederacy, the various Misl’s that governed the land of 5 rivers and beyond. Then we see ShriMahaRaja Ranjith Singh Ji who consolidated parts of the confederacy and creates a stable kingdom. His triumph over Dogras, his organizing of Sarbat Khalsa, and the resolution to not shelter Jaswant Ra Holkar against the British are documented.
What distinguishes Maharaja Ranjith Singh Ji from the other kings of his time is his reading of the British. He understood their intentions early on and always avoided a confrontation lest it might prove detrimental to his subjects. The circumstances that had led to Maharaja’s tactical acceptance of British demands were well presented. Maharaja’s conquests and his emergence as a decisive force that kept the Afghan’s under check were nicely documented.
Shri Khushwanth Singh Ji then takes through the shortcomings of Maharaja and speaks about how the kingdom fell prey to palace politics and murders of the princes. Then we move to anglo Sikh wars and how the English, waiting for an opportunity, had annexed the kingdom.
Then we see the way Bristish got Sikhs on their side and how Sikhs worked for the British and how the British used them as a decisive force in the 1857 battle. Then we see the Gurudwara movements, Akalis and the Singh Sabha . We also get to see the various Sikh religious movements like Nirankaris , Namdharis etc ..
The immigration of the Sikhs, the good ,bad, and ugly phases of it , the Komagata Maru incident and Gadhar party lead us to another important milestone, which is the partition.
Sikhs lost the most due to partition, and that was shown beautifully in the book. My eyes went moist when I was going through the chapter.
The author then leaps to Indira Gandhi’s assassination and the aftermath. I felt very uncomfortable here as it overlooked the activities of Bhindranwale. The author then explains the trauma the Sikhs had to undergo at that time. He speaks of Rajiv – Longowal accord and how the terror increased in Punjab. He closes the book with the internal differences simmering in the Sikh community on the basis of caste.
The author does speak about cultural and literary aspects; he talks about Veer Singh and other great Punjabi writers.
While I felt that the book ended abruptly , the afterword by Rahul Singh was amazing. Shri Kushwant ji’s son Rahul Singh goes on to write about Bhindranwale , the Dera and other relatively new issues of the community.
What did I like :
Khushwant Singh ji’s style. He tried to be open throughout the book.
The research, it like an encyclopedia for Sikh history.
While praising historical personalities, he also mentions their flaws.
Rahul Singh’s Afterword, else the book would have been incomplete.
What I did not like :
The author time and again speaks about having external symbols and wants them to be the difference between Hindus and Sikhs. It is understandable when he says it for the first time. However, he keeps repeating this and that makes it hard and distracting at times.
His leaving of Bhindranwale’s episode creates a lot of doubts in the minds of the readers. Thankfully, Shri Rahul Singh completes it.
Conclusion
It is a classic. It is a book we ought to read to understand one of the most gallant and valorous communities of the world.
I loved the book to the extent that I bought a physical copy of it. The book is that good.
Do read the book. Happy reading.
Sri Kushwant Singh’s book “The Sikhs” has been a regular suggestion for me on audible. Finally, I decided to take the plunge and hear it.
Khushwant starts with the life and times of Shri GuruNanak Ji. He speaks about the churn that was going on in medieval India; he traces the origins of the faith and then follows it up with all the nine gurus who succeeded Shri Guru Nanak Ji. The religion and the tenets are explained as well.
The author then takes us to the political landscape; we would see the Sikh confederacy, the various Misl’s that governed the land of 5 rivers and beyond. Then we see ShriMahaRaja Ranjith Singh Ji who consolidated parts of the confederacy and creates a stable kingdom. His triumph over Dogras, his organizing of Sarbat Khalsa, and the resolution to not shelter Jaswant Ra Holkar against the British are documented.
What distinguishes Maharaja Ranjith Singh Ji from the other kings of his time is his reading of the British. He understood their intentions early on and always avoided a confrontation lest it might prove detrimental to his subjects. The circumstances that had led to Maharaja’s tactical acceptance of British demands were well presented. Maharaja’s conquests and his emergence as a decisive force that kept the Afghan’s under check were nicely documented.
Shri Khushwanth Singh Ji then takes through the shortcomings of Maharaja and speaks about how the kingdom fell prey to palace politics and murders of the princes. Then we move to anglo Sikh wars and how the English, waiting for an opportunity, had annexed the kingdom.
Then we see the way Bristish got Sikhs on their side and how Sikhs worked for the British and how the British used them as a decisive force in the 1857 battle. Then we see the Gurudwara movements, Akalis and the Singh Sabha . We also get to see the various Sikh religious movements like Nirankaris , Namdharis etc ..
The immigration of the Sikhs, the good ,bad, and ugly phases of it , the Komagata Maru incident and Gadhar party lead us to another important milestone, which is the partition.
Sikhs lost the most due to partition, and that was shown beautifully in the book. My eyes went moist when I was going through the chapter.
The author then leaps to Indira Gandhi’s assassination and the aftermath. I felt very uncomfortable here as it overlooked the activities of Bhindranwale. The author then explains the trauma the Sikhs had to undergo at that time. He speaks of Rajiv – Longowal accord and how the terror increased in Punjab. He closes the book with the internal differences simmering in the Sikh community on the basis of caste.
The author does speak about cultural and literary aspects; he talks about Veer Singh and other great Punjabi writers.
While I felt that the book ended abruptly , the afterword by Rahul Singh was amazing. Shri Kushwant ji’s son Rahul Singh goes on to write about Bhindranwale , the Dera and other relatively new issues of the community.
What did I like :
Khushwant Singh ji’s style. He tried to be open throughout the book.
The research, it like an encyclopedia for Sikh history.
While praising historical personalities, he also mentions their flaws.
Rahul Singh’s Afterword, else the book would have been incomplete.
What I did not like :
The author time and again speaks about having external symbols and wants them to be the difference between Hindus and Sikhs. It is understandable when he says it for the first time. However, he keeps repeating this and that makes it hard and distracting at times.
His leaving of Bhindranwale’s episode creates a lot of doubts in the minds of the readers. Thankfully, Shri Rahul Singh completes it.
Conclusion
It is a classic. It is a book we ought to read to understand one of the most gallant and valorous communities of the world.
I loved the book to the extent that I bought a physical copy of it. The book is that good.
Do read the book. Happy reading.
April 5, 2023
The fascinating history of the Sikhs
This is a story of a religious evolution in the Indian sub-continent, where the growing Sufi Islam influence of Shaikh Ibrahim Farid merged with a Hindu school of thought by Bhakta Kabir in the form of the teachings of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhsm.
As the author, Khushwant Singh, remarks, “[t]he Sikhs were the most outstanding example of Hindu renaissance produced by Islam - an edifice built as it were with Hindu bricks and Muslim mortar.”
Naturally, due to Hindu polytheist influences the religion seemingly have an abstract quality about its monotheism, but there is actually nothing vague about their believe in the unity of God and equate God with truth, thanks to the influences from monotheist Islam.
Also unlike Hinduism, Sikhism do not have a caste system. But they do not entirely reject Hinduism’s beliefs, as they accept the Hindu theory of karma and life hereafter.
In fact, they are increasingly pivoting towards Hinduism, where Singh remarks, “Within a hundred years of Guru Gobind Singh’s [the tenth and last Guru] death, rituals in Sikh gurdwaras were almost like that in Hindu temples, and more often than not were presided over by priests who were usually Hindu rather than Sikh. Sikhs began to wear caste marks; Sikh weddings and funerals followed Hindu patterns; ashes of the dead were carried to the Ganga and offerings were made to ancestors.”
Moreover, the Sikhs do not believe in the worshiping of human beings as incarnations of God. The gurus themselves also insisted that they were ordinary humans like others and were on no account to be worshipped. And instead, “the form of prayer is usually the repetition of the name of God and chanting hymns of praise. This was popularized by the Bhakti cult and Sikhism is its chief exponent today.”
However, while praying is central to the lives of the Sikhs, they uniquely do not have priests, as they believe that all adults (both men and women) are competent to perform religious ceremonial. And they also do not have a pilgrimage destination, although the Golden Temple in Amritsar is as good as any pilgrimage sites.
Furthermore, alongside the main features about Sikhism above, the book leaves no other details untouched either. It is complete with the biography of each of the important ten Gurus, the backstory behind the iconic turban and beard, the meaning behind the steel bangle, the origin story of the Khalsa, and the reasoning behind the name “Singh” as a surname.
It even covered the corruption cases within the community, the story of the infiltration of communism during the Cold War, their involvement in Indian politics, their emigration away from India (predominantly to Burma, the Malay states, China, Canada and the US), and the transformation of the religion from a pacifist to buffing themselves up with self defense and war expertise due to their oppressed circumstances by the Mughal rulers.
Indeed, the community has had some challenging days throughout history, such as the partition holocaust, or when a brutal attack towards the Sikhs (including the assassination of its then leader) forced them to respond with a political uprising that saw chaos in the Punjab region (where the Sikhs mainly resides), which at one point resulted in the building of the kingdom of the Sikhs (and the eventual demise of it).
But perhaps the most challenging them all is the infighting within the Sikh community. While a definition of a Sikh is “one who believes in the ten Gurus and the Granth Sahib [their Holy Book]”, there are those who, as Singh remarks, “do not believe in all the ten Gurus, e.g., followers of unsuccessful claimants to the title like Adasis, Minas and Ram Raiy as noted in the family tree of the ten Gurus. There are others who believe that the line of Gurus continued after the tenth and follow the precepts of a living Guru, e.g., Nirankaris and Namdharis. Similarly, some Sikhs challenge the authenticity of certain passages of the Granth Sahib, while others insist on including extraneous writings in it. Besides these, there are numerous subsects distinguished by allegiance to one or other Guru or claiming that the real Guru had been overlooked in deciding the succession.”
But nevertheless, despite these discrepancies the belief in the ten Gurus and the Granth Sahib remains the basic factor of the Sikh community, which covers the vast majority of them.
Today there are around 26 million Sikhs worldwide (0.3% of world population), 24 million of whom live inside India. They are largely little-known and often misunderstood (although not in a bad way), apart from their distinguishable attributes. But thanks to this book the many aspects of this fascinating religion just got a lot more clearer.
This is a story of a religious evolution in the Indian sub-continent, where the growing Sufi Islam influence of Shaikh Ibrahim Farid merged with a Hindu school of thought by Bhakta Kabir in the form of the teachings of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhsm.
As the author, Khushwant Singh, remarks, “[t]he Sikhs were the most outstanding example of Hindu renaissance produced by Islam - an edifice built as it were with Hindu bricks and Muslim mortar.”
Naturally, due to Hindu polytheist influences the religion seemingly have an abstract quality about its monotheism, but there is actually nothing vague about their believe in the unity of God and equate God with truth, thanks to the influences from monotheist Islam.
Also unlike Hinduism, Sikhism do not have a caste system. But they do not entirely reject Hinduism’s beliefs, as they accept the Hindu theory of karma and life hereafter.
In fact, they are increasingly pivoting towards Hinduism, where Singh remarks, “Within a hundred years of Guru Gobind Singh’s [the tenth and last Guru] death, rituals in Sikh gurdwaras were almost like that in Hindu temples, and more often than not were presided over by priests who were usually Hindu rather than Sikh. Sikhs began to wear caste marks; Sikh weddings and funerals followed Hindu patterns; ashes of the dead were carried to the Ganga and offerings were made to ancestors.”
Moreover, the Sikhs do not believe in the worshiping of human beings as incarnations of God. The gurus themselves also insisted that they were ordinary humans like others and were on no account to be worshipped. And instead, “the form of prayer is usually the repetition of the name of God and chanting hymns of praise. This was popularized by the Bhakti cult and Sikhism is its chief exponent today.”
However, while praying is central to the lives of the Sikhs, they uniquely do not have priests, as they believe that all adults (both men and women) are competent to perform religious ceremonial. And they also do not have a pilgrimage destination, although the Golden Temple in Amritsar is as good as any pilgrimage sites.
Furthermore, alongside the main features about Sikhism above, the book leaves no other details untouched either. It is complete with the biography of each of the important ten Gurus, the backstory behind the iconic turban and beard, the meaning behind the steel bangle, the origin story of the Khalsa, and the reasoning behind the name “Singh” as a surname.
It even covered the corruption cases within the community, the story of the infiltration of communism during the Cold War, their involvement in Indian politics, their emigration away from India (predominantly to Burma, the Malay states, China, Canada and the US), and the transformation of the religion from a pacifist to buffing themselves up with self defense and war expertise due to their oppressed circumstances by the Mughal rulers.
Indeed, the community has had some challenging days throughout history, such as the partition holocaust, or when a brutal attack towards the Sikhs (including the assassination of its then leader) forced them to respond with a political uprising that saw chaos in the Punjab region (where the Sikhs mainly resides), which at one point resulted in the building of the kingdom of the Sikhs (and the eventual demise of it).
But perhaps the most challenging them all is the infighting within the Sikh community. While a definition of a Sikh is “one who believes in the ten Gurus and the Granth Sahib [their Holy Book]”, there are those who, as Singh remarks, “do not believe in all the ten Gurus, e.g., followers of unsuccessful claimants to the title like Adasis, Minas and Ram Raiy as noted in the family tree of the ten Gurus. There are others who believe that the line of Gurus continued after the tenth and follow the precepts of a living Guru, e.g., Nirankaris and Namdharis. Similarly, some Sikhs challenge the authenticity of certain passages of the Granth Sahib, while others insist on including extraneous writings in it. Besides these, there are numerous subsects distinguished by allegiance to one or other Guru or claiming that the real Guru had been overlooked in deciding the succession.”
But nevertheless, despite these discrepancies the belief in the ten Gurus and the Granth Sahib remains the basic factor of the Sikh community, which covers the vast majority of them.
Today there are around 26 million Sikhs worldwide (0.3% of world population), 24 million of whom live inside India. They are largely little-known and often misunderstood (although not in a bad way), apart from their distinguishable attributes. But thanks to this book the many aspects of this fascinating religion just got a lot more clearer.
July 14, 2025
This book is about the sikh religion how it originated by Guru nanak dev ji, and certain things are added, till first sikh prime minister "dr.manmohan singh" reign in 2014.
In between journey of Sikh gurus from spirituality to being a warrior, being an able leader like Banda Singh bahadur, to a leading king like "Maharaja Ranjit Singh" the difference of caste system into "Nirankaris" and "Namdhari" and "Sehajdhari" and the role of sikhs in wars against the powerful and dominating, political groups and beliefs, journey of sikh from pain of partitions and genocide of 1984 we all forgive but not forgotten. The history of religion from what it was to what it had become , from a prosperous kingdom to drug addicts youth of today, religion has face it all, from agriculture to business we dominate in every section of society after partition in 1947. Role of freedom fighters there journey and there way of respond to govt. Is all shown bright and carefully. Even one like to read it then one must read it fully and try to understand it not just read it.
In the Last this is reprinted on Guru Nanak dev ji 550years celebration at the opening of Kartarpur corridor by our very own minister who make it possible "Navjot singh sidhu" and greatest achievement in his career would be this, if he ever have to turn back and look at his wide career graph
The mistakes and errors are given below:
Page 14
Missing of word " Guru" before nanak name everywhere
Page 15 "Guru" before arjun and its "Guru Arjan" before not Arjun
Taran tarn not "tarun tarun"
Missing of word "Guru " before gobind is missing every where in the book
It "quran" not "Koran " Muslims holy book
Page no 21
Age of 2 younger sons is "7" and "9" instead of 9, 10.
Page 32
Gurudwaras in Amritsar not "temples"
Page 41
" jalandhar " not "jullundur"
Page 52
"sindh" not "jind" "sindhia" not "scindia"
And everywhere it uses
Page 53
"haraamzaada" not huramzaada"
Page 54 "kathial" not "kythal"
Everywhere it is used.
Page 94 "raikot" not "rakoit"
Page 105 "Raqab ganj" not "rikab ganj"
"Kamagata maru" not " komagata maru"
"Gadar party" instead of "Ghadr party"
(Everywhere in the book)
Page 114 maharani instead of "maha ranee"
Page 121 "Maratha" not "Mahratta"
Page 122 "mintgumri" not "Montgomery"
Montgomery is city in Alabama
Page 127
• Jawala singh not jowala singh
• Kartar singh sarabha not kartar singh saraba and everywhere it is written
• Karam singh cheema not karan singh chima
Page 128
• Santokh singh dhandari not santokh singh dharde
Marathi not mahratti
PAge 183
• gurbaksh singh not gurbakhsh singh
In between journey of Sikh gurus from spirituality to being a warrior, being an able leader like Banda Singh bahadur, to a leading king like "Maharaja Ranjit Singh" the difference of caste system into "Nirankaris" and "Namdhari" and "Sehajdhari" and the role of sikhs in wars against the powerful and dominating, political groups and beliefs, journey of sikh from pain of partitions and genocide of 1984 we all forgive but not forgotten. The history of religion from what it was to what it had become , from a prosperous kingdom to drug addicts youth of today, religion has face it all, from agriculture to business we dominate in every section of society after partition in 1947. Role of freedom fighters there journey and there way of respond to govt. Is all shown bright and carefully. Even one like to read it then one must read it fully and try to understand it not just read it.
In the Last this is reprinted on Guru Nanak dev ji 550years celebration at the opening of Kartarpur corridor by our very own minister who make it possible "Navjot singh sidhu" and greatest achievement in his career would be this, if he ever have to turn back and look at his wide career graph
The mistakes and errors are given below:
Page 14
Missing of word " Guru" before nanak name everywhere
Page 15 "Guru" before arjun and its "Guru Arjan" before not Arjun
Taran tarn not "tarun tarun"
Missing of word "Guru " before gobind is missing every where in the book
It "quran" not "Koran " Muslims holy book
Page no 21
Age of 2 younger sons is "7" and "9" instead of 9, 10.
Page 32
Gurudwaras in Amritsar not "temples"
Page 41
" jalandhar " not "jullundur"
Page 52
"sindh" not "jind" "sindhia" not "scindia"
And everywhere it uses
Page 53
"haraamzaada" not huramzaada"
Page 54 "kathial" not "kythal"
Everywhere it is used.
Page 94 "raikot" not "rakoit"
Page 105 "Raqab ganj" not "rikab ganj"
"Kamagata maru" not " komagata maru"
"Gadar party" instead of "Ghadr party"
(Everywhere in the book)
Page 114 maharani instead of "maha ranee"
Page 121 "Maratha" not "Mahratta"
Page 122 "mintgumri" not "Montgomery"
Montgomery is city in Alabama
Page 127
• Jawala singh not jowala singh
• Kartar singh sarabha not kartar singh saraba and everywhere it is written
• Karam singh cheema not karan singh chima
Page 128
• Santokh singh dhandari not santokh singh dharde
Marathi not mahratti
PAge 183
• gurbaksh singh not gurbakhsh singh
September 17, 2021
An excellent short history of a wonderful people by a person who is both knowledgeable and a good writer. Unfortunately, the coverage of militancy and Bluestar is very limited.
The early history about the genesis of the faith is fascinating and definitely worth a read for the lessons it holds for humanity.
The early history about the genesis of the faith is fascinating and definitely worth a read for the lessons it holds for humanity.
December 25, 2022
While informative, this book is coloured by bias towards Sikhism throughout its narrative. It attempts to both be a chronological history of the Sikhs as well as offer insight into Sikhism as a distinct religion, but comes across as off balance.
August 17, 2025
"His life was gentle.
And the elements so mixed in him
That nature itself would stand up and say
to all the world:This was a man."
Shakespeare - in Julius Caesar
This is the book and this was the writer
And the elements so mixed in him
That nature itself would stand up and say
to all the world:This was a man."
Shakespeare - in Julius Caesar
This is the book and this was the writer
January 6, 2021
Interesting overview on a religious group that I knew nothing about.
May 2, 2023
The first few chapters are good, then it gets boring. But I'm glad to have read about a religion I have no idea about
June 15, 2023
Not what I thought.
February 4, 2024
I learned a lot reading this book. Remembering the names will be difficult, but I'm now much more informed regarding Sikhs.
June 20, 2021
First few chapters are good. Then from the sikh empire onwards too many names start coming in, which are hard to relate. The author doesn't talk about why Sikhs supported terrorists in Golden temple.
The first half of the chapter written by Rahul Singh is very crisp and to the point.
I am not commenting about his view on current politics.
One thing I found it strange is, apart from the Gurus, only political people from Sikh community was highlighted.
The first half of the chapter written by Rahul Singh is very crisp and to the point.
I am not commenting about his view on current politics.
One thing I found it strange is, apart from the Gurus, only political people from Sikh community was highlighted.
December 23, 2020
A deeply in depth and fascinating history of the Sikhs that is light on what they believe.
I mention that because I picked up this book to learn more about the Sikh religion, but I got so wrapped up in the history that I just kept going.
This book covers the founding to current day (2019) with a lot of history in between. I enjoyed reading this and learning all these things. I'm also mightily impressed by the authors non-partisan critique of his own people. It requires guts to take that unflinching look in the mirror and Khushwant Singh is not sparing in his criticism of stupidity even when it's from his own side. much respect for that.
I mention that because I picked up this book to learn more about the Sikh religion, but I got so wrapped up in the history that I just kept going.
This book covers the founding to current day (2019) with a lot of history in between. I enjoyed reading this and learning all these things. I'm also mightily impressed by the authors non-partisan critique of his own people. It requires guts to take that unflinching look in the mirror and Khushwant Singh is not sparing in his criticism of stupidity even when it's from his own side. much respect for that.
January 3, 2016
This book is an overview of Sikhism and covers major events. I did not know much about the history of sikhs and this book was a good start. It has quite a few gaps but I guess that is to be expected given that it is only about 265 pages.
I now look forward to reading the more comprehensive A History of the Sikhs (Vol I and II) by the same author and other books on Sikhs.
I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to get a general understanding of the history of Sikhism and its followers.
I now look forward to reading the more comprehensive A History of the Sikhs (Vol I and II) by the same author and other books on Sikhs.
I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to get a general understanding of the history of Sikhism and its followers.
July 25, 2015
Nice pictures showing some cultural instances of the religion. Some basic introduction stuff while some others were more of individual perception and mindset from the author. This book needs a revision from a modern and impartial writer to make it more useful to non sikh community
January 6, 2009
I expected the history to be much more basic than it turned out to be. I didn't know half the names/places the author was talking about.
March 16, 2009
depicts why sikh religion comes into the existence and describes the variousevents in the history of sikhism
December 1, 2012
Some lovely photographs!!
April 27, 2013
a good introduction written in the kind of charming prose that makes you addicted to khushwant singh.
July 4, 2013
It seems bit more kind of self praising, Sikhs are shown to be perfect.
It is nice to understand the history and myths about Sikhs, but it is more like partial.
It is nice to understand the history and myths about Sikhs, but it is more like partial.
Want to read
October 24, 2014Very Good
December 21, 2016
A brief overview of Sikh history. Well written.
August 21, 2007
marvellous photography!
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