No comments about My Journey with the Gospel: Embracing the Qur'an, Holy Bible, Holy Books of Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Sikh, and all other Holy Books, Denominations and Doctrines.: Book 4.

2 comments about The Nation's Tortured Body: Violence, Representation, and the Formation of a Sikh "Diaspora".

1. In this brilliantly conceived study the author tried to parse through Sikh history, memory and identity especially in relation to space and homeland. The view is towards examining the Sikh diaspora and its connection and use of pictures and imagined identitites to create the need for 'Khalistan' and the representation of Sikhs, from the last Sikh rulers to the tortured bodies fo Sikhs who were victims of the Indian police during the troubles in Punjab leading up to Operation Blue Star and desecration of the Golden Temple.
   
   This is a very interesting and original book and that is why it deserves not only to be read but to be praised. However it lacks many things that although not pertinent to the subject could have been finally brought out here. THere does not exist one book in all the world in English that deals witht he millions of refugees caused by Pakistani ethnic cleansing in 1948, not one book on their fate and what that means to the Sikh nation, which was torn in half and had all its people cleansed and depopulated from Pakistan.
   
   This is an understudied phenomenon, and becuase the Sikhs are not considered 'white' by the western-european world they get no attention the way the Palestinians do. However this book could have delved deeper into this important issue.
   
   Seth J. Frantzman



2. Good try by a Western writer but not as good as Dr. Joyce Pettigrew who has given a in-dept analysis of the causes and the problem of the Sikh nation's struggle for Independence.

No comments about Percussions of History: The Sikh Revolution & in the Caravan of Revolutions.

No comments about A Sikh Wedding (The Way We Live Series).

No comments about Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth.

1 comments about In My Own Name: An Autobiography.

1. This story is a moving account of a woman's 'forbidden' love affair with a contemporary student which survives their subsequent marriages and international relocation. The author describes the pressures placed upon her by her family to forego both career and partner for the sake of keeping 'family honour'. She is 'persuaded' to marry into a traditional Indian arranged marriage and eventually emigrates to Britain. Despite the incompatibility of this relationship, Shan establishes herself as a mother and teacher. But her loss remains and she continues to search for her former lover. There is a moving account of her re-acquaintance with the former lover (by now an established doctor) and the realisation that life moves on.

   This is a sincere and touching story which must have been difficult for the author to write. The description of life in India and Britain is vivid and adds both interest and contrast for the reader. In particular, the difference in cultures and personal values is highlighted and leaves the reader with much to ponder upon well after finishing the book.

No comments about Lions of the Punjab: Culture in the Making.

No comments about The Birth of the Khalsa: A Feminist Re-Memory of Sikh Identity (SUNY Series in Religious Studies).

3 comments about The Feminine Principle in the Sikh Vision of the Transcendent (Cambridge Studies in Religious Traditions).

1. The book by Nikky is both innovative and intrepretative of Sikh literature from an often totally ignored but essential perspective. Her ability to knit together her perspectives on the philosophy, ethics, mythology, romance, mystical, ethical, scriptural and historical of Sikh vision.

   This book is essential meant for those Western scholars and activists for whom, the concepts of human rights, justice, and gender equality are reserved for their native culture and civilization, and rest everything elsewhere in the world is trash. Also the quality of research and her unique style, has shown the academic world that indigenous scholars do have capacities to undertake and accompalish such missions, as Nikky demonstrated. Further, her book will somehow, put a stop, albeit temporarily to the ongoing campaign of distortion and misinformation about the Sikhism.

   Nikky will be remebered for her contribution in the arena of relgious studies, feminist scholarship and her service to the ordinary Sikhs.




2. This is a great book, everybody should read this. Shows the great tradition of Sikh/Non Sikh women.

   Gur Fateh!




3. I think nikky should practice what she preaches. She professes to be true sikh, but deep inside she is a hypocrit!! She just puts on a show. If you really examine her carefully, she is full of fraud, deciet and greed.

1 comments about Hindu and Sikh Faiths in America (Faith in America Series).

1. This well-produced volume offers a fine overview of how India's many indigenous religious faiths have integrated with the landscape that is America, 'perhaps the most religiously diverse nation in the history of the world.'
   
   Those curious about yoga, turbans, bindis, and the Hare Krishnas will find thought-provoking answers to their questions in the form of biographical sketches, descriptions of key historical events, heaps of captivating black-and-white photographs, and background information pertaining to the origin, beliefs, culture, society, politics, and future of the Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Zoroastrians in America. Included is a chronology of events, glossary, index, and a list of paper-based and Web-based resources.
   
   Particularly riveting are the discussions on the racial barriers faced and overcome by pioneering immigrants and the short biographies of those responsible for interpreting Hindu philosophy for American audiences, including Jiddu Krishnamurti, Osho Rajneesh, Deepak Chopra, Satya Sai Baba, Mahesh Yogi, Sri Chinmoy, Ram Dass, Alice Coltrane, Joyce Green, and many others. Surprisingly, however, Harbhajan Singh Puri (better known as Yogi Bhajan), the enormously successful and controversial leader of American converts to Sikhism, merits just one short paragraph.
   
   Whereas the book's coverage of Hinduism and Hindus in America is quite comprehensive, one cannot help but wonder if 'Sikh' was added to the book's title as an afterthought in response to the post-9/11 milieu. The treatment accorded to the Sikhs in this volume may seem in proportion to their tiny numbers in India but doesn't do justice to their significant profile in America. For example, the list of festivals fails to mention Vaisakhi, which celebrates the onset of the harvest season in Punjab and commemorates Guru Gobind Singh's innauguration of the Khalsa, the orthodox order within Sikhism.
   
   Furthermore, the book commits grievous errors in its portrayal of Sikhism, which is referred to as the 'Sikh Dharma,' a term employed by American converts to Sikhism but largely unacceptable to the wider Sikh community. The only commonality acknowledged with Islam is monotheism. Readers aren't told that both Sikhism and Islam condemn idol worship and are religions of the book. Also, there is no mention of some of Sikhism's most honored traditions such as langar, the free community kitchens at gurdwaras (Sikh places of congregation and worship) open to people of all faiths.
   
   The author, Gail M. Harley, who teaches religious studies at the University of South Florida, also omits a discussion of Buddhism in the context of a religious faith that was born in India and has gained significant popularity in America today.
   
   The glossary entry for 'Singh' states, 'The name taken by male Sikhs. This is also the last name of some Hindus who are not Sikhs.' Perhaps accordingly, though incorrectly, the chronology at the end of the book lists 'Dalip Saund Singh' as the 'first Indian American elected to Congress.' Within the book's pages, however, he is referred to by his correct name (Dalip Singh Saund) but as a 'Hindu.' In his autobiography, Congressman from India (Amritsar: Satvic Books, 1960), Saund is explicit about his Sikh heritage. Saund's grandson, Eric, told The Sikh Times, 'My grandfather Dalip Singh Saund was a Sikh' (private email correspondence with the author, February 3, 2003).
   
   Sanjiv Singh Sidhu, the billionaire C.E.O. of i2 Technologies and a Sikh, is also erroneously referred to as a 'Hindu.' A luminary such as like Narinder Singh Kapany, widely regarded as the father of fiber optics, receives no mention. Also unacknowledged is the strong pro-Khalistan sentiment prevalent among many Sikhs in America.
   
   There are several typos. But more serious are errors such as the reference to Nehru as the 'first president' of India, which, according to another error in the book, attained its freedom from Britain 'in 1948.'
   
   Despite its shortcomings, Harley's volume is an irresistable read that is sure to delight its readers with numerous gems of little-known facts about an extraordinarily dynamic section of the American mosaic.
   
   http://sikhtimes.com/books_030505a.html