A HISTORY OF THE SIKHS VOL 2(2ED EDITION) (OIP)

Khushwant Singh's ''A History of the Sikhs''. It's in two volumes - this is a review of volume 2. Vol 1 was reviewed separately.Vol 2 covers a period from the time of the fall of the Sikh Empire to the mid-eighties (signature on the Rajiv-Longowal accord). It is the larger of the two volumes - it is extensively footnoted and I've not finished reading the Epilogue or the extensive notes towards the end. While it dwells more on issues that would have qualified as current affairs when i was very young or for those growing up in India post independence, it has a better sense of conveying history.Pros -1. Very thorough research and brings out not just the political side, but also economic and social aspects of major events such as development of canal colonies, the khalistan movement, bluestar and the anti-sikh riots of 1984.2. One gets to know in fair depth about Sikh leaders including Master Tara Singh, Sant Jarnail Singh, Swaran Singh, Giani Zail Singh, Tohra, Badal, longowal, etc.3. One gets a good sense of the sikh feeling of betrayal at the hands of the british, and later by Congress and how as a community they relied on a collective dream being the ruling or at least the dominant community in their homeland.Cons1. Both the Partition and the Bluestar events themselves are a complete anti-climax. The author spends a significant time on the build up, and then almost skips over the actual event itself. It is as if he doesn't want to deal with the reality of the savagery that occurred - it is quite a let down.2. Some minor figures in the Punjab politics all get the same size description as the major figures. To someone who is a Sikh and well connected with the Punjab these details may be of interest but to most readers it is not very appealing.3. The cultural achievements of the Sikhs and notable Sikh artists such as Sobha Singh, Amrita Pritam, Amrita Shergil, are given lip service. There is almost no thought given to the uniqueness of the Sikh architecture, music, etc.4. There is a clear pro-gandhi family bias - the author's personal deference to Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi etc comes across.Despite these flaws - this is the better of the two volumes with a blow-by-blow account of many decades as seen from a Sikh perspective. It furthers the reader's understanding of a people and is rightfully a reference text published by the OUP.

An unbiased source of Sikh history. Well written and researched. Enjoyed reading it. Good collection for history buffs..

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It is an important chapter of Indian history and surprisingly it is missing from most of the history textbooks. Those books which have a chapter or two on sikh history, they bearly scratch the surface. This book is a great literature for entry into the glorious history of Punjab and the sikhs.

I went through the entire book. It gives a wonderful account of Sikhs history. I strongly recommend this book to everyone who is a serious reader of Indian history.

1. The book came very promptly in good packing2. Excellent book written by Mr Khushwant Singh.

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I got all the information about Sikhs in this book in short

A must read.

East test and writing style to read, my dad said he could not put it down. Difficult to get authority on this subject therefore I was confident in getting an Oxford Publication. My dad prompted me to order the other volume as a result of his pleasure and curiosity.

the truly beloved author passed away in march 2014, Age of 99y

As described

Very good