No comments about The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices.

5 comments about The Sikhs of the Punjab: Unheard Voices of State and Guerilla Violence (Politics in Contemporary Asia).

1. Violence is a matter of human nature. In Sikhs of the Punjab: Unheard Voices of the State and Guerrilla Violence, by Joyce Pettigrew, there is an interesting take on a much talked about world affair, national self determination. For the Punjab and its Sikhs, it is solely due to lack of respect on human rights issues. In this book, the message is clearly manifested through its gut wrenching details and any reader must prepare to wrap their minds around unbelievable concepts of war and violence. On occasion the terminology is hard to understand but it does not stand in the way of a magnificent hold on a revolutionary idea.



2. I am a Punjabi with a Sikh background and lived through the years of troubled times in Punjab in 1980s. Joyce Pettigrew's work is patently dishonest and can be taken seriously only by people who have never lived in Punjab, or by those who jump into the world of academics with a loaded political agenda.
   
   Calling TERRORISTS, who were segregating the people out of buses and shooting them down in cold blood just on the basis of their religion, as "guerillas" is a crude attempt by the author to rationalize the cult of violence. Probably, she never lived in Punjab as a commoner and never lost a friend or relative in vigilante violence. This could be the only reason for the superficial discourse that is offered to us as serious scholarship.
   
   It is true that the government of India mismanaged the crisis but this still does not justify the cult of hate and violence unleashed by fanatical "Sikh" preachers in name of fighting for Sikhism, which teaches compassion and forgiveness as its foremost values.
   
   Most scandalous is Joyce's failure to call Bhinderanwale a terrorist and differentiate him from the likes of Osama Bin Laden. On the contrary, she has words of sympathy for this megalomaniac whose name had become synonym for terror for mintority Hindus and liberal Sikhs in the state of Punjab.
   
   Pettigrew is exceedingly popular with violent groups operating from West some of which have been officially designated as terrorist organizations by American and British governments after 9-11 (examples: Babbar Khalsa, ISYF). It is little surprise why this is so. One of the reason could be that most of the academic positions in Western univerisites dealing with Sikh studies depend on these terror lobbies for their funding and thus go out of the way to write apologies for their clients. Cynthia Mahmood is another example of a non-Indian author who never set foot on Punjab and claims to be some sort of authority on its problems. This kind careerist scholarship can only invite scoff from the people who lived through those troubled and painful time in Punjab.
   
   People wanting to know more about the issue should read the British author Mark Tully or Khuswant Singh both of whom give a very neutral and informed perspectives from all sides. [...]



3. Joyce Pettigrew has done a terrific job. In an unbiased and a lucid manner she presents the affairs that rocked the state. I am a Sikh and lived in Punjab through the days of violence up until 2002. This topic has been written about by others who have either held a biased "state view" or biased "militant view". Sadly, none serves the purpose of truth.
   I read the review of this gentleman Truth Seeker who sounds very hurt by what Dr. Pettigrew has written. His hurt results from his non-agreement with Dr. Pettigrew's view. He says "she never lived in Punjab as a commoner and never lost a friend or relative in vigilante violence", right he is and I hope that he understands, that this is what gives her an ability to have an unbiased view.
   So hurt is the gentleman that he goes to the extreme of using strong words like "dishonest", "crude", for the writer and "dastardly" for the people that she writes about etc. etc. He goes on to question the moral reasons behind the stance of the writer and sees the funding from the "terror lobbies" as a reason for that stance. His annoyance has taken away reasonable intellectual argument and has replaced it with an emotional character assassination. The gentleman digresses from the task at hand; he writes his views about the struggle rather than write a book review, probably not the place to do so. This gentleman, who happens to stand on the "other side" of the line, is not qualitatively different from the people who stand on the other side. Such emotional thinkers, will serve the purpose of perpetuation of the differences at best.



4. Dr. Joyce has done a remarkable job of documenting BOTH sides on a "as is" basis. Having migrated to East Punjaab in Nov 1984 as a refugee myself, I can relate to some of the passages in the book as if I was there when it all happened. I agree with Pettigrew when she summarises that the Sikh Natioanlist Movement was over in late 80's when the Indian State has infiltered all oragisations and the senseles killings that ensued in early 90's were a result of the policies framed in the South Block.
   
   Kudos to a Western writer!!



5. Author have done really a great job portraying the unbiased situation in punjab during gurilla war days. i myself have witnessed that era. Truthseeker is holding a biased view agiasnt the sikh youth gurillas, they took the arms because state was oprreesive agianst them. author have done really a great job fearlessely as it is hard to do because u still can come under fire from indian government for writting agianst the government. I wanaa cooment to truth seeeker that westren scholars go to punjab to study the great injustice done by government of india to its oepole(500,000 killed or disappeared), not just go there to get scholarships from sikh organizations. moreover no westerner would accept monet from an organization , which as been declared terrorist organization by the great united states government.

No comments about The Wedding Planner Sikh Edition: Record all your information for easy reference in this essential guide suitable for all.

5 comments about Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism (Textual Sources for the Study of Religion).

1. "Sikhism" is an excellent, objective history and overview of the Sikh religion. It is written from an academic's perspective; as such, some observations may not sit well with a devoted follower of the religion--the same as a Christian might be uneasy with an academic treatise on Christianity. But, as another reviewer points out, the author is not disrespectful toward the Sikhs; to the contrary, I get the impression he has a certain fascination with the religion; and that feeling comes through the book. I could hardly put it down.

   Examples of subject matter: the author explains the origin of the Langer, or free kitchen--and why they generally serve only vegetarian food even though most Sikhs are not vegetarian. Also, the history and meaning of the beard, turban, and other outward symbols of the Sikh, are thoroughly explained. I found particularly interesting the discussion of the 10 Sikh gurus. Since they lived not so far in the past (16th-18th century?) there is actually some recorded history of their lives.

   The author's style is concise and easy to read. The only difficulty for this Western reader was dealing with the many unfamiliar Sikh terms. But they were necessary for understanding and not too difficult.

   For anyone with a serious interest in learning about the Sikhs, I highly recommend this book.




2. This book provieds a clear and concise summary of Sikh history and factions. It caused something of controversy with the Sikh community when released, as it takes a critical view of religous subjects. Very well researched. A good place to start if you want to gain an overview of Sikh history and trends.



3. McLeod, a Christian Missionary, in another attack Sikhism seeks to provide a more of an anthropological work colored in bias that seeks to diminish the stature of the Sikh religion. He does not refer to the Sikh scripture for authority. Can you imagine a general book on Christianity without the mention of the Holy Bible? McLeod rather define the Sikhs according to his bigoted viewpoint of a missionary than refer to the Sikh scripture and historic Sikh tradition. Please save your money and instead buy a more balanced and definitive work, The Sikhs, by Patwant Singh, which is available in both paperback and hardcover editions. You will thoroughly enjoy the riveting style of Patwant Singh. McLeod is not worth your time and money.



4. This is a history of Sikhism. It covers the history, the religion, and the society, as well as covers the questions involved in determining authoritative information.

   The history covers the Ten Gurus and the Panth. The religion section covers the doctrine, the Khalsa and its code of honor, worship, sacred writings, and different sects. The society section discusses what defines a Sikh and discusses the Sikh diaspora.

   Included in the appendix are excerpts from Sikh scripture. This and the list of references were very helpful in expanding understanding of this religion.

   I would recommend this to anyone wanting to learn more about the Sikh religion from outside the religion. The tone of the book is that of a non-practitioner.




5. This book gives you the basic overview of Sikh history. Unfortunately, at times the author seems more concerned with his opinion that no reasonable person could believe in any of this than he is with actually recording the facts. It's becoming a little too cliche to talk about a religion and to label its followers as blind to the realities of the world. This books seems more concerned with discounting Sikhism than exploring its dogma.

No comments about The First Sikh Spiritual Master: Timeless Wisdom from the Life and Techniques of Guru Nanak.

2 comments about An Indian Attachment.

1. I read it about 12 years ago so I'm kind of rusty about it but I recall it was a super book. The true story of an amazing gutsy British lady who gets involved with a Sikh Nihang (temple guard) in India and their subsequent adventures. This book is a real sleeper for those of us who enjoy cross-cultural and travel writing. Highly recommended. I wonder what the author is doing now?



2. This was one of the most fascinating books I have ever read, and I've read thousands. The author wrote beautifully, with such vibrant descriptions it was almost like being there. I've often wondered what it would be like to have lived in a village in Punjab during that period of time. I would strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in rural Indian lifestyles.

No comments about At Them with the Bayonet: the First Anglo-Sikh War 1845 - 1846.

No comments about The Sikhs: History, Religion, and Society.

No comments about Venerated Teachers of the Jains, Sikhs and Parsis (Adepts in the Eastern Esoteric Tradition, Vol 5).

No comments about Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion (Oxford India Paperbacks).