To a certain point, Khushwant Singh's impeccable prose works wonders in keeping his narrative flowing. But his sporadic digressions into "maybe" territory and reliance on "Punjabi nationalism" to mitigate Sikhi's revolutionary sociopolitical aspect does him no credit. But his lack of theological finesse is not surprising given his early association with the Master Tara Singh Akali Dal and then the devaluation of his services during the Sant Fateh Singh regime.

His greatest fault is his sole reliance on Anglophonic translations of the Sikh scripture to form a stunted purview of Sikhi in which Nanak is devolved into an "otherworldly" mystic and the Khalsa made a "reaction" rather than the proactive institution which it is. An impartial analysis of the Sikh scripture substantiates the Faith's oral tradition, that the very microcosm of the Khalsa was seeded by Nanak and his successors worked to grow it.

What emerges in Khushwant's "History" then is a relation of the past rather than an exposition of why certain events transpired. One can be forgiven for thinking that the lack of profound detail and nuance points towards some inherent bias in the author's mind towards his forerunners in the field of Sikh history. Not surprisingly, Khushwant's journalist credentials sell the book and not his scope of research which seems limited to colonial era sketches of the community.

"A History of the Sikhs" is a somewhat laudable effort, but an effort nonetheless. It is poignant not for it's content, but for what it could have been had the author not aimed to cement cliched stereotypes of the Sikhs. In light of his fiction, one is left wondering as to what convinced Khushwant to devaluate his own non-fiction.

For serious students of the Sikh past, "A History" is an example of what Sikh history is not. The book is tragic for being a record of missed opportunities. ( )

I took this book in Chennai, India. I wanted a break from my reading. I took this to read something light to get me back to reading. I grew up in South India. I do not have much contact with Sikh community. They're known for valor and sticking with Sikh traditions.

This book shares about Sikh religion, early Gurus, formation of Khalsa. Region of Punjab having conflicts with Mughals, Afghans, Marathas and English. This book is until 1839, the English consolidated India in 1857.

I would recommend this book to learn about Sikh Community, their religious tradition.

Deus Vult,
Gottfried ( )