What do you think?
Rate this book
Faith, Gender, and Activism in the Punjab Conflict
Brings together personal narrative, oral history, and scholarly rigor to offer a new perspective on an understudied conflict
Draws on a wide range of primary sources, including videos, legal forensics, and other materials from at-risk, near-extinct archives
Appeals to scholars, students, and activists interested in South Asian studies, oral history, memory studies, gender and conflict, transitional justice, Sikh culture and history, and the history of postcolonial India.
Punjab was the arena of one of the first major armed conflicts of post-colonial India. During its deadliest decade, as many as 250,000 people were killed. This book makes an urgent intervention in the history of the conflict, which to date has been characterized by a fixation on sensational violence—or ignored altogether. Mallika Kaur unearths the stories of three people who found themselves at the center of Punjab’s human rights movement: Baljit Kaur, who armed herself with a video camera to record essential evidence of the conflict; Justice Ajit Singh Bains, who became a beloved “people’s judge”; and Inderjit Singh Jaijee, who returned to Punjab to document abuses even as other elites were fleeing. Together, they are credited with saving countless lives. Braiding oral histories, personal snapshots, and primary documents recovered from at-risk archives, Kaur shows that when entire conflicts are marginalized, we miss essential stories: stories of faith, feminist action, and the power of citizen-activists.
Draws on a wide range of primary sources, including videos, legal forensics, and other materials from at-risk, near-extinct archives
Appeals to scholars, students, and activists interested in South Asian studies, oral history, memory studies, gender and conflict, transitional justice, Sikh culture and history, and the history of postcolonial India.
Punjab was the arena of one of the first major armed conflicts of post-colonial India. During its deadliest decade, as many as 250,000 people were killed. This book makes an urgent intervention in the history of the conflict, which to date has been characterized by a fixation on sensational violence—or ignored altogether. Mallika Kaur unearths the stories of three people who found themselves at the center of Punjab’s human rights movement: Baljit Kaur, who armed herself with a video camera to record essential evidence of the conflict; Justice Ajit Singh Bains, who became a beloved “people’s judge”; and Inderjit Singh Jaijee, who returned to Punjab to document abuses even as other elites were fleeing. Together, they are credited with saving countless lives. Braiding oral histories, personal snapshots, and primary documents recovered from at-risk archives, Kaur shows that when entire conflicts are marginalized, we miss essential stories: stories of faith, feminist action, and the power of citizen-activists.
- GenresNonfictionIndia
304 pages, Paperback
Published January 15, 2020
13 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 30, 2023
4/5
Kaur's work in this book had clarified a lot of historic events I was not originally privy to. As a Sikh we're taught to question and learn and that's what I feel like Kaur does in her work. She learns and conveys to the reader about the human rights abuses and genocide committed by the Indian state against Sikhs, as well as the the underhanded manoeuvring and stoking of communal violence. In addition to taking into account perspectives of those caught on the sidelines and those who fought to reduce the violence or hopefully curtail it fully.
I feel as though I've taken in intense amounts of information, and some info that absolutely blew my mind. It also had me take a step back and look at what I've been taught growing up and reflect on it as well. Overall, I am glad this is the book I am ending 2023 with. Hearing about the genocide and the continued violence against the Sikh population through the eyes of human rights activists active at the time was genuinely interesting and a perspective that gave insight to how horrific the indian bureaucracy can be at all levels. In addition, the walk through history of Punjab from the times of the british raj to current day greatly appealed to me as I've always been interested in the history of my homeland no matter how distressing.
I just retracted a star because I personally felt that despite the naming of Gender in the title, while there was a look into how different women were affected in Punjab throughout the years I feel as though it wasn't a substantial amount. While I very much appreciated Baljit Kaur's words and Paramjit Kaur Khalra's as well, I still felt something missing. And obviously those interviewed can be seen to be from the elite class though the work they did was amazing, and I did appreciate the interludes where she interviewed ordinary people as well.
Overall, an amazing read. I personally loved how she melded different historical moments together, despite us jumping back and forth between timelines I didn't feel lost.
Kaur's work in this book had clarified a lot of historic events I was not originally privy to. As a Sikh we're taught to question and learn and that's what I feel like Kaur does in her work. She learns and conveys to the reader about the human rights abuses and genocide committed by the Indian state against Sikhs, as well as the the underhanded manoeuvring and stoking of communal violence. In addition to taking into account perspectives of those caught on the sidelines and those who fought to reduce the violence or hopefully curtail it fully.
I feel as though I've taken in intense amounts of information, and some info that absolutely blew my mind. It also had me take a step back and look at what I've been taught growing up and reflect on it as well. Overall, I am glad this is the book I am ending 2023 with. Hearing about the genocide and the continued violence against the Sikh population through the eyes of human rights activists active at the time was genuinely interesting and a perspective that gave insight to how horrific the indian bureaucracy can be at all levels. In addition, the walk through history of Punjab from the times of the british raj to current day greatly appealed to me as I've always been interested in the history of my homeland no matter how distressing.
I just retracted a star because I personally felt that despite the naming of Gender in the title, while there was a look into how different women were affected in Punjab throughout the years I feel as though it wasn't a substantial amount. While I very much appreciated Baljit Kaur's words and Paramjit Kaur Khalra's as well, I still felt something missing. And obviously those interviewed can be seen to be from the elite class though the work they did was amazing, and I did appreciate the interludes where she interviewed ordinary people as well.
Overall, an amazing read. I personally loved how she melded different historical moments together, despite us jumping back and forth between timelines I didn't feel lost.
May 2, 2021
Picked this book up awhile ago but only got around to reading it today. Although quite a bit of it was absolutely gut wrenching, I cannot recommend it enough to anyone interested in understanding the violence that gripped Punjab from the mid 1980s to mid 1990s. I really appreciated how rather than fixating on the machinations of political “leaders,” Kaur sheds light on the human rights movement, and the power of citizen-activists, specifically the “People’s Judge” Ajit Singh Bains, former MLA Inderjit Singh Jaijee, and feminist Baljit Kaur, and how their work saved countless lives. She also does an excellent job of avoiding the pitfalls of other accounts by challenging the absolute binaries of anti-India/pro-India and peaceful Sikh/militant Sikh, as well as usual State vs. Khalistan narrative.
January 17, 2021
Kaur, a lawyer and writer focusing on human rights, writes about the protagonists (Baljit Kaur, Justice Ajit Singh Bains and Inderjit Singh Jaijee) and highlighted their human rights campaign throughout the decades that shaped Punjab into what it is today.
Kaur shares the narratives of her 3 protagonists via their readings and first-hand interviews.
Kaur offers notes after each chapter where she has a bibliography of articles, books, and interviews which give the reader further reading lists and credible sources.
Kaur shares the narratives of her 3 protagonists via their readings and first-hand interviews.
Kaur offers notes after each chapter where she has a bibliography of articles, books, and interviews which give the reader further reading lists and credible sources.
June 4, 2022
Mallika Kaur is a gifted story teller who captures the complexities of the Punjab conflict. She records the accounts of those directly involved in the deadliest decade of the conflict and shares them with the outside world. This story is one of citizen activism in the face of oppression. Ms Kaur tells the story of a long history of a people’s fight for human rights and self-governance and historic events such as the strategic moves during the partition in 1947 to diminish Sikh power.
Not only does she unravel the complexities of the conflict, but Ms Kaur succeeds in peeling away those “absolute binaries” to share the nuances of the conflict. She seeks to “speak the truth” of the people she met and voices she heard. She is exceedingly fair in her ability to report the strengths and shortcomings of those involved.
The reader receives an understanding of the birth and development of Sikhism and the Gurus’ efforts to elevate women, eliminate the caste system, and feed the hungry. Understanding the tenets of the Sikh religion allows us to understand this story of survival of an oppressed minority and pay homage to the thousands of men and women who were tortured and killed.
Mallika Kaur is an exceptional writer with an original voice. She elegantly weaves personal stories and memories throughout the pages in this human rights story. The Wheat Fields Still Whisper should be read by all in an effort to underscore the ongoing theme of racism and war crimes against minorities.
Not only does she unravel the complexities of the conflict, but Ms Kaur succeeds in peeling away those “absolute binaries” to share the nuances of the conflict. She seeks to “speak the truth” of the people she met and voices she heard. She is exceedingly fair in her ability to report the strengths and shortcomings of those involved.
The reader receives an understanding of the birth and development of Sikhism and the Gurus’ efforts to elevate women, eliminate the caste system, and feed the hungry. Understanding the tenets of the Sikh religion allows us to understand this story of survival of an oppressed minority and pay homage to the thousands of men and women who were tortured and killed.
Mallika Kaur is an exceptional writer with an original voice. She elegantly weaves personal stories and memories throughout the pages in this human rights story. The Wheat Fields Still Whisper should be read by all in an effort to underscore the ongoing theme of racism and war crimes against minorities.
September 15, 2020
The Wheat Fields Still Whispers - Faith, Gender, and Activism in the Punjab Conflict by Mallika Kaur is a book that looks at what it was like to live in Punjab in those days (Unna din) as they are referred to by people in Punjab.
The author takes us backward from the present day to the fateful day of Operation Blue Star. Traversing through counterinsurgency measures, curfews, 3 exclusionary laws that changed the social landscape of Punjab. Through her interviews, interactions, ethnographic, and archival work she probes how the Sikh community had become key to India’s identity politics post-1984. How Sikhs were demonized as a problematic minority and hunted down in their own homes in Punjab.
The narrative is largely about giving agency to women as well- who often are left behind because they do not speak up against such heinous crimes because society makes them feel ashamed. Mallika Kaur navigates these spaces as women talk about crimes against them by the police and the authorities.
It was disturbing to read about young men and women being shot, abducted, tortured, and killed for being - a Sikh!! And this is all going to happen again and again!!
The essay that had the most impact on me was Ten Thousand Pairs of Shoes - where devotees who had come to offer prayers on the day of Operation Bluestar never returned to claim their shoes for they were killed or detained afterward.
This is a book for anyone who is interested in reading about the Punjab conflict, or curious about what preventive detention laws do to a community.
The author takes us backward from the present day to the fateful day of Operation Blue Star. Traversing through counterinsurgency measures, curfews, 3 exclusionary laws that changed the social landscape of Punjab. Through her interviews, interactions, ethnographic, and archival work she probes how the Sikh community had become key to India’s identity politics post-1984. How Sikhs were demonized as a problematic minority and hunted down in their own homes in Punjab.
The narrative is largely about giving agency to women as well- who often are left behind because they do not speak up against such heinous crimes because society makes them feel ashamed. Mallika Kaur navigates these spaces as women talk about crimes against them by the police and the authorities.
It was disturbing to read about young men and women being shot, abducted, tortured, and killed for being - a Sikh!! And this is all going to happen again and again!!
The essay that had the most impact on me was Ten Thousand Pairs of Shoes - where devotees who had come to offer prayers on the day of Operation Bluestar never returned to claim their shoes for they were killed or detained afterward.
This is a book for anyone who is interested in reading about the Punjab conflict, or curious about what preventive detention laws do to a community.
June 16, 2022
Required reading for all South Asians, especially Punjabi diaspora. So much of what we think we know about Punjab, and the so called conflicts, is propaganda. With ongoing violations of human rights of Sikh communities globally, this book offers us needed perspectives and truths. This book centers people and their lived truths. Its impeccably researched. It’s poignant, informative and highly recommended.
July 12, 2022
This book was a much-needed education for me. For those whose families lived through the Punjab conflict, it is a witness, a testimony, a braided history of survival through the most dire experiences. Mallika Kaur is a gifted writer, communicator, historian, journalist, lawyer, and truth teller. Read this book to learn about the Sikh activists and community who survived attempted genocide and bolstered the tenets of the Sikh faith in doing so.
April 16, 2023
Well this is one of the books I was excited to read as the topic is talked about in news a lot. My disappointment with the book is related to the storytelling where the author talks about one side, without giving any information to what the other side of the story is. Some examples of things which made me give this rating is the whole time government and police was blamed for all the events and Bhindranwale was not once blamed for the situation. The topic for me is not that simple or black and white, I am not saying the government was right and things which happened were not politically motivated but to simply show one side of the story and take the blame away from hard liners was not easy for me to digest.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews