Book Review: The Sikh Heritage Beyond Borders
Author: Dalvir S. Pannu
Book Review by: Gurmeet Singh Sandhu, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Introduction
The author of the book, Dr. Pannu has produced a scholarly masterpiece by documenting the history of Eighty Four Sikh shrines and heritage sites spread across four districts of Pakistan, which were left behind by our ancestors due to the tragic events of partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947. More than seventy five percent of Sikh cultural and religious monuments are present in Pakistan and when the Sikhs had to evict their ancestral abode, the sites lay abandoned, neglected for decades till pioneering enthusiasts such as Dr. Pannu and others travelled back to their land of forefathers and re-discovered the forgotten, disintegrating landmarks, which once were an epitome of Sikh community’s glorious past.
The author has passionately visited assorted sites, punctiliously studied their art/architecture, taken professional quality pictures and along with his team of professionals, has spent considerable amount of time and effort in researching their past history and has written an erudite account in this book for posterity. This book has comprehensive information, based on historical records, scriptures, books, memoires and gazettes. His book covers history of prominent Sikh personalities and sites in an unbiased manner, based on academic research and historical accounts. Dr. Pannu has provided a logical and critical analysis on contentious topics based on documented evidence and research by prominent scholars, from diverse communities in order for the readers to make an objective understanding of the Sikh history in a non-judgemental manner, by taking into account facts as opposed to fiction.
Sikh Shrines
The author has documented historical shrines related to Sikh history at four districts of Pakistan, including famous sites at Nankana Sahib, the birth place of Guru Nanak and based on traditional Janamsakhis by: Bala, Meharban, Mani Singh, Vars of Bhai Gurdas, and Puratan Janamaskhi, has provided the historical significance of these sacred places as related to our Sikh Gurus and other personalities. The author has provided erudite information on how these sites were discovered, their nascent origins as simple edifices and over the course of time, due to patronage of Sikh chiefs, magnificent monuments were erected and revenue free lands was attached for their maintenance. The book provides first-hand narratives of the shrines, as recorded by visitors from the period, it mentions their prevailing condition and over the course of time, how they were managed by caretakers, the rituals practiced by the populace and the fairs/gatherings held during socio-religious festivals. Based on the description, the readers can visualize the simplicity, elegance and divinity of these shrines over the decades, until they had to be abandoned by the community. The book also provides account of the current state of these buildings and how some of these have been saved by raising awareness of their history and religious significance. Some shrines have fortunately been renovated by the Pakistani Government and the Sikh community across the world; unfortunately, majority of them are in the last stage of their life and will be obliterated from face of the Earth. Some structures are no more extant and only signs indicating their past existence are left, which have been documented in the book.
Art and Architecture
The book has beautiful, premium quality pictures of the unique Sikh art and architecture, which is a harmonious synthesis of Muslim and Hindu style of construction, with its distinctive features, such as the opulent domes, windows, arches, and doors. The Sikh religious monuments are unique, as they have doors on all four sides and welcome people from all religions, irrespective of their cast and creed. The buildings are usually large, built on spacious land and have a large sarovar (pool) attached to them for religious ablution. The readers will be able to witness the unique frescos, paintings and art-work at these historical shrines, which is a fusion of cultures, syncretic, and exhibits harmony amongst various religions. The author has described the unique frescos depicting our Gurus, stories form Janamsakhis, scenes of battels, social and cultural themes, portrayal of nature. Intricate artwork on ceilings and domes of some of the shrines are displayed in assorted pictures, along with fine woodwork, ornate glass, mosaic art-work has been shown and explained throughout the book. This type of artwork is now almost extinct at Sikh shrines in India. The beautiful frescos and artwork has been replaced by marble and gold overlays. With passage of time, these magnificent paintings at shrines in Pakistan are gradually abating and will soon obliterate, only to be seen through books like the current one.
Historical Personalities
The book has considerable information on Sikh historical personalities and their relevance/relationship to the shrines as mentioned throughout the book. It provides details of their significant contribution to the Sikh religion and its propagation amongst the masses. The readers will be able to learn about Nawab Kapur Singh, his ancestral village, how he organized disparate Sikh jathas into coherent confederacies. The ancestral village of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia has been described in one of the chapters and how this brilliant person laid the foundation of Sikh rule in Punjab. It also has brief information on other Misl chiefs such as Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s ancestors, the Bhangi, Khanhiya and Ramgarhia misls and their role in liberating Punjab from tyranny. The book also describes the martyrs of Sikh religion: Guru Arjan Dev, the prince among martyrs, the shrine associated with his martyrdom, Dera Sahib. It has objective analysis and details of circumstances that led to his martyrdom. There is information from historical documents on Bhai Taru Singh, Bhai Mani Singh, Subegh Singh, and description of Gurdwara Shahid Ganj Singh Singhanian, were countless Sikhs were persecuted and slaughtered. Also, throughout the book, the author has mentioned the contribution of Diwan Kaura Mal, who was Sehajdari Sikh and who saved countless Sikhs during the period of religious intolerance and repression. He played a major role in construction of Sikh religious sites, while the Sikhs were being persecuted by Mughal authorities.
Management of Shrines and Singh Sabha Movement
The books describes how the Sikh shrines were managed by various sects, such as Udasis, Nirmalas, Minas, and Ram Rais. When the Sikhs were being persecuted, the religious sites were maintained by Udasis and how their subsequent generation became corrupt and profligate. The book describes the strenuous undertaking of Singh Sabha movement in gaining control of our historical shrines and the tedious litigation process involved in securing them from mismanagement of corrupt mahants. The book, throughout its chapters, provides a significant account of struggles and sacrifices made by the Sikh community in liberation of our religious monuments.
Conclusion
This is an encyclopedic book with detailed information on Sikh shrines left behind in Pakistan, their history and on Sikh religion, which has been condensed in a single volume. The book makes references to contemporary historical documents, literature, prominent historians and authentic sources. It provides information on the sites by heterogeneous scholars from varied religions backgrounds, it presents their views and at times corrects their biased information based on critical analysis and rational reasoning. The book has been written in an unbiased, objective and non-judgemental style, which is unique as most of the books on history have subjective agenda and ulterior motives.
The book provides end notes on information shared in its chapters for authenticity and validity of its statements. It has been meticulously researched, well written and the author has acknowledged various experts who have provided their advice and input in creation of this treasure. Readers, who want to augment their knowledge can refer to books available in English, Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu/Persian, as indicated in the ‘Further Reading’ section of this book. There are links to web sites, gazetteers, janamsakhis, and journals to further enhance the reader’s knowledge. The book has a well-defined layout, with maps and Index to quickly refer to a specific topic. The quality of paper is excellent, binding, production of the book has been done by professional, world-class publication house.
Since it is difficult to find any shortcomings in this amazing book, I would like to offer minor suggestions to the author for future publications. For the convenience of non-Sikh readers, it would be beneficial to include a chapter on introduction to Sikh religion, summary of the major events starting from the Guru period till the sunset of Sikh empire. This may be a brief synopsis and will help people in understanding the chronological order of the Sikh history. Although, most of the information on major milestones has been covered in the book; however, it is in non-linear order, as the focus of the book is on Sikh shrines and heritage. Also, a short glossary of terms used in the book will be helpful to the readers in order to understand the terminology used by Sikhs. The book provides comprehensive information, which may be overwhelming to some readers, who may be unfamiliar with the Sikh religion; however, this book is a one stop shop and has most of the knowledge and resources required to start a journey to learn about Sikh history, heritage, and culture. I personally commend Dr. Pannu for his hard work and altruistic effort in writing this book and sharing his wisdom with rest of the world. I hope his work is recognized by readers all across the globe and with Almighty’s blessing, he will author more books on Sikh history in the coming future.
