19 July, 2012

Historical Writings on the Sikhs ( 1784-2011 ): Western Entreprise and Indian Response



Historical Writings on the Sikhs ( 1784-2011 ): Western Entreprise and Indian Response

By- Prof.  J.S. Grewal

Modern historical writing on the Sikhs started in the last quarter of the eighteenth century as a Western enterprise for purposes which were predominantly political and pragmatic, but nonetheless a part of the Western intellectual culture. Before the end of the nineteenth century, Indian writers appeared on the scene in response to this historiography. By now, Sikh studies are a common concern of the Indian and Western scholars.
The work is in six parts. The first two parts relate to the major writers till 1947, including Malcolm, Prinsep, Cunningham, Trumpp and Macauliffe. The Indian historians of the colonial period discussed in three parts include Latif, Banerjee, Sinha, Narang, Gupta, Chopra, Kohli, and Teja Singh and Ganda Singh. The expanding scope and the trends of Sikh studies are discussed in the last part which also gives a critical assessment of the recent controversies in Sikh studies about the basic issues of five centuries of Sikh history: life, mission and status of Guru Nanak; evolution and politicization of the Sikh movement under his successors; institution of the Khalsa; Khalsa way of life; nature of the Singh Sabha movement; issue of Sikh identity; and Sikh ethnicity after 1947.
The book will be of interest to historians of medieval, modern, and contemporary India as well as to scholars engaged in Sikh studies, and indispensable for researchers and teachers in  India and abroad.



J.S. Grewal is former Prof. and Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and Director and later Chairman, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla

ISBN  978-81-7304-953-8    2012   544p.   Rs.1495/ pounds 70

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Christian Themes in Indian Art: From the Mogul Times till Today



Christian Themes in Indian Art: From the Mogul Times till Today

By- Anand Amaladass SJ and Gudrun Lowner

This book is a pioneering work presenting Christian themes in Indian art from the beginnings of Christianity in India till today. The authors have, in the main, dealt with paintings and sculptures, but have supplemented this with one chapter on architecture, particularly that of church buildings, and one on popular art, including stamps. More than 1,100 rare coloured illustrations make this publication a unique reference book. It is the first complex treatment of the theme done in the last 25 years. Special emphasis is given to artists who as Hindus, Muslims and Parsees have chosen to paint Biblical themes. Already in the 16th century the encouraging and surprising encounter between European Christian prints and Indian miniature paintings took place. The Muslim Emperor Akbar invited three Jesuit missions from Goa to the Mogul court. Fascinated by European Madonnas and engravings, especially with Christian themes, he ordered his paintings to copy them in various ways. This was the start of a revolutionary fusion in Indian miniatures.

Most of the Bengali artists who were attracted by the human God Jesus and his agony are Hindus like Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Nikhal Biswas, Arup Das, Suhas Roy, Suman Roy, Sudip Roy etc. The authors always give a short biography and then highlight his/her works connected with the theme. The late Muslim M.F. Husain, whose faceless Mother Teresa pictures became icons, is presented side by side with his close friends, the Hindu Krishnen Khanna, the Parsee Jehangir Sabavala, the Hindu artists Satish Gujral, V. Nageshkar, Anjolie Menon, Ramchandran and the Sikh sisters Amrita and Rabindra Kaur Singh. The Who is Who of Indian art history is presented from a new angle. Christian artists include the late F.N. Souza, who simultaneously hated and loved his Christian childhood God, and artists like A.D. Thomas, Angela Trindade, A. Fonesca, V. Masoji, F. Wesley (both by Naomi Wray), C.J. Anthony Doss, Alphonso Doss, S. Raj, J. Sahi, L. D’Souza-Krone, Sister Clair etc., all who stand for the attempt to incorporate the Christian gospel into the Indian culture. This original research includes many young talents too. An extensive Bibliography, Glossary and Index make this book an indispensable reference source for many years to come. Every library and individuals interested in intercultural encounter between India and the West in art, intercultural theology, dialogue and history must have this book.


Anand Amaldass SJ studied Philosophy and Catholic Theology. He took a Master’s degree in Sanskrit and a Ph. D. from the University of Madras in 1981. Since 1984, he is teaching at Satya Nilayam Jesuit  Faculty of Philosophy in Chennai, now part of the Loyola (Autonomous) College, Chennai. He was Dean of the Faculty and Director of the Research Institute for Philosophy and Sanskrit. His area of research includes Indian philosophy and religion, aesthetics and interfaith dialogue.
Gudrun Lowner studied Protestant Theology and comparitive religion in Bochum, Wuppertal, Geneva and Heidelberg. Her Ph. D. was from Heildelberg University in 1997. Her thesis was on Religion and Development in Sri Lanka.


ISBN  978-81-7304-945-3    2012   428p.   Rs.4000/ pounds 95

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Bhakti Movement in Medieval India: Social and Political Perspectives



Bhakti Movement in Medieval India: Social and Political Perspectives
By- Shahabuddin Iraqi


This well documented study brings into focus the picture of Medieval Indian society in different ways - the nature of relationship between the state and the Hindus; the mutual understanding between members of the two communities; different trends of Bhakti thought and movement and the interaction between the thoughts and practices of different Sufi orders and Bhakti cults. The detailed account of the literature of Bhakti Saints provided by the author constitutes a veritable treasure trove of source material on different aspects of medieval Indian history. Besides, an attempt has been made to trace the evolution of the Nirguna aspect of Bhakti movement with its aims and objectives.

The volume offers an in-depth study of the conflicting as well as cordial relationship of the leaders of different schools of Bhakti thought with the state and their approach to society, politics and administration. It also analyses the circumstances that led some of the spiritual movements to assume political and even a militant character. Much interesting evidence has been explored from the sources hitherto unknown in the preparation of this book. The work will prove to be a valuable contribution to medieval Indian historical studies.



Shahabuddin Iraqi is Chairman, Department of History and Coordinator of the Centre of Advanced Study (History), Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. He has been engaged for a long time in exploring and procuring source material in Hindi on History of Medieval India, and has published a number of articles bearing on the theme in reputed journals. He has written an edited several books, most recently, Medieval India 2 and Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: Vision and Mission (Manohar, 2008). The author has also prepared a standard text of the sayings of Kabir on the basis of contemporary sources and is at present engaged in finalizing for the press his monograph Kabir: A Reformer or Revolutionary.



ISBN  978-81-7304-800-5    2009   290p.   Rs.725/ pounds 45

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Recent Debates in Sikh Studies: An Assessment


Recent Debates in Sikh Studies: An Assessment
By- J.S. Grewal


Sikh studies in recent decades have been marked by a prolonged controversy involving most of the basic issues related to the Sikh tradition: the life of Guru Nanak, and the 
Janamsakhis; the teachings of Guru Nanak, the nature of his faith, and his status in the history of religion; evolution of the Sikh community and its politicization; the Khalsa rahit and the doctrines of Guru Panth and Guru Granth; the history of the Dasam Granth, its status, and its importance in the life of the Sikhs; the Sikh tradition of martyrdom; the Sikh and Khalsa identity; tension between the ideal of equality and the presence of caste and gender distinctions in the Sikh social order; and the making of the Sikh scripture known as Guru Granth Sahib.

The author’s comments and his perspective based on his extensive study of Sikh history and literature, meaningfully moderate between the opposing views held by the Western academia and the Sikh intelligentsia. As a result, this volume becomes an exceptionally insightful introduction to the Sikh tradition. It is indispensable for all readers and scholars interested in Sikh studies.

Padmashree and a renowned historian, J.S. Grewal served the Indian Institute of Advanced Study at Shimla as its Director and Chairman of its Governing Body after serving Guru Nanak Dev University at Amritsar as its Vice-Chancellor and Professor of History. He has written extensively on Historiography, Medieval India, the Punjab and Punjabi Literature, and the Sikhs. His publications include Guru Nanak in History (1969); The Sikhs of the Punjab (1990); Sikh Ideology, Polity and Social Order (2007); A Study of Guru Granth Sahib: Doctrine, Social Content, History, Structure and Status (2009); and The Sikhs: Ideology, Institutions and Identity (2009).

ISBN  978-81-7304-883-8    2011   324p.   Rs.895/ pounds 50

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Sikh Coinage: Symbol of Sikh Sovereignty



Sikh Coinage: Symbol of Sikh Sovereignty
By- Surinder Singh


The Sikh coinage has a number of distinct and unique features vis-à-vis prevailing currencies in India. Almost every Sikh historian, European or Indian who wrote about Sikhs, has commented on Sikh coins, based on earlier accounts with some modification but without any examination of the coins which were readily available. These accounts have spread disinformation and distortions to such an extent that the few numismatists who examined the Sikh coins also succumbed to the historical fiction based on hearsay.

An attempt has been made in this study to correct various disinformations and distortions, e.g. the incorrect translation of the legends, incorrect nomenclature of Sikh currency, coins alleged to having been struck by the Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the name of a courtesan, coins struck by Hari Singh Nalwa in his own name, etc. From the evidence collected from detailed examination of historical accounts and meticulous numismatic investigation, the true perspective has been arrived at about Sikh coinage, in his pristine beauty and as a symbol of Sikh Sovereignty.


Sikh coins were first issued by Banda Bahadur between 1710 and 1713 and after a gap of almost half a century they were again issued from 1765 till 1845. In the field of Indian numismatics, Sikh coins in particular have received scant attention. Scholars and academics have been guilty of neglecting the subject. The present work attempts to fill this gap.



Dr. Surinder Singh, after a short spell as a research scholar in University of Delhi and as a Lecturer in Political Science, Government College, Gurdaspur, was selected to the Indian Defence Accounts Service, where he served from 1956 to 1987.

After retirement, Surinder Singh took up the study of Sikh coinage, of which he had collected over a thousand pieces, during the last few years of his service in Punjab.

He has published over thirty research papers in reputed national and international journals and books.

Dr. Singh is at present working on the ‘Concept of Sikh Sovereignty’ as a Senior Fellow of Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi.


ISBN  978-81-7304-885-2    2010   284p.   Rs.495/ pounds 28


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A Contemporary Look at Sikh Religion: Essays on Scripture, Identity, Creation, Spirituality, Charity and Interfaith Dialogue



A Contemporary Look at Sikh Religion: Essays on Scripture, Identity, Creation, Spirituality, Charity and Interfaith Dialogue
By- James Massey

The ten essays in this volume are divided into four parts. In part one, the first essay deals with the Sikh scriptures, including Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The second essay discusses in detail, the vision and mission of Universal Humanhood of Sri Guru Gobind Singhji. In part two, the essays deal with ‘Sikh Identity’, and show that till today the struggle for identity is continuing. Part three contains four essays dealing with the Sikh concepts of ‘creation’, ‘spirituality’, ‘charity’, and ‘suffering and death’. Part four contains two essays. One dealing with ‘interfaith dialogue’ offered by Sri Guru Nanak Devji and the last essay on the historical development of the same process, with special reference to the contribution of the Sikh community.

This volume will be of great interest to scholars working on Religion in South Asia in general and Sikh Studies in particular.

James Massey is currently the Director of the Centre for Dalit/Subaltern Studies and Community Contextual Communication Centre, New Delhi and Hon. Secretary of the Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College (University), West Bengal. He is Privatdozent, the Faculty of Protestant Theology at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Dr. Massey is the translator of the Punjabi Bible and has authored and edited more than 25 books, which include: Minorities in a Democracy: The Indian Experience (1999); Minorities and Religious Freedom in a Democracy (2003); Dr. B.R. Ambedkar: A Study in Just Society (2003) and Church in Dialogue with the Poor (2005).


ISBN  978-81-7304-857-9    2010   154p.   Rs.450/ pounds 35

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Moral Languages from Colonial Punjab: The Singh Sabha, Arya Samaj and Ahmadiyahs


Moral Languages from Colonial Punjab: The Singh Sabha, Arya Samaj and Ahmadiyahs

After its annexation in 1849, the Punjab became the most important agricultural province of British India. Within a few decades, much changed in the region, including the intellectual horizons of the Punjabi elite. This monograph tells the comparative socio-intellectual history of the Singh Sabha (Sikh), Arya Samaj (Hindu) and Ahmaiyah (Muslim) voluntary reform movements.

As a new contribution to  this field, the term ‘moral languages’ is introduced to discuss the reformers’ redefined traditions that emerged in response to Western reason and Christianity. Underwriting the Singh Sabha, Arya Smaj and Ahmadiyh moral languages was the fundamental process of strengthening doctrine, conduct, and ritual through a dialogic process in which readings of the traditional literature (often as interpreted by European Orientalist scholars) were combined with an understanding that frequently invoked the authority of science.

In particular this volume argues that the secular-religious binary opposition, which has been so dominantly in existence since the European Enlightment, hides more than it shows. Significant to the social consciousness of the Punjabi reformers was the partial overlap with the British civilizing mission’s underlying notion of improvement. The term moral languages emphasizes that since the nineteenth-century religion is nothing more than morally motivated and spread through modern institutions and practices. Hence, he Singh Sabh, Ary Samaj and Ahmdiyah moral languages are discussed in terms of modern traditions based on rational knowledge and practices that became vital to the struggle or authority and status n the context of an emergent liberal public sphere and processed of state formation.

This timely book will be of great interest to scholars of British Punjab, South Asian colonial history and comparative religion.

Bob van der Linden (Ph.D., Amsterdam University, 2004) is a modern South Asia historian. He has recently published on the relationship between music and empire in Britain and Indi.

ISBN  81-7304-759-6    2008   268p.   Rs.670/ pounds 45

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