Preface

“Do you have any particular reason for writing this book?” a friend asked me when I started work on it. I told him I had a compelling desire to tell the stirring story of a people and a faith to which I belong myself, and which has been the source of lifelong inspiration to me. The full story of the Sikhs, I felt, needed telling, from the emergence of Sikhism just over 500 years ago up to the present time. It was necessary, I felt, for people to know something of the conditions in which Sikhism originated and everything Sikhs have experienced since then: the invasions and inquisitions, triumphs and tragedies, piety and sense of divine purpose, devotion and depravities, loyalties and betrayals, courage and convictions. I saw a clear need to chronicle all these. But why at this particular time?

Because the systematic disinformation campaign about current events crafted by successive Indian administrations from the 1970s onwards really ought to be placed in perspective. Although the mandarins of modern India precipitated the most dangerous crisis the Republic has faced in the first fifty years of its existence, which was largely due to their short-sighted and unstatesmanlike moves with regard to Sikh sensibilities, the Sikhs were held responsible. This distortion needs to be corrected. Since Sikhs now live in the farthest corners of the world, a need also exists for people of those countries to know something of the history, traditions and beliefs of the new arrivals in their midst.

Prone as it is to religious chauvinism, Indian society has to realize that it is an incomparably rich though fragile mosaic of cultures, creeds and customs. An appreciation of its own fragility is essential if this society is not to fragment. I am sad to see little such realization at the present time. A country of huge size and wealth of human talent and natural resources is still bedevilled by religious and caste rivalries which continue to impede its progress and stability. For this reason alone, India’s future will remain uncertain so long as its political leaderships keep fuelling religious hate and using caste divisions to dominate each other.

It has been suggested—all too frequently—that the caste system’s “integrative” and ideological dimensions have enabled Hindu society to survive and respond to many challenges. Possibly. On the other hand, caste distinctions have also created debilitating divisions which work against a collective sense of national purpose. To illustrate this point I have provided, in the Prologue to this book, a backdrop against which the evolution of Sikh thought should be viewed. Nothing happens in isolation from preceding events, and there is a recognizable historical pattern in the drama unfolding in India today, especially in relation to the “ethos of separateness” that is reflected in segments of Indian society.

I have always admired the range, depth and quality of Brahminical scholarship, and its contribution to philosophical and metaphysical understanding. If I sound critical of Brahmins at times, it is with regard to their role in keeping large segments of India’s population out of their own exclusive domain of privilege and power. I have at no time experienced such exclusion myself, but I have never aspired to political power or public position. As an observer of India’s social and political scene, however, who has also read a great deal about his country and its people, I am convinced that it is not the quality of our people but the lack of vision and political wisdom of their leaders that has been responsible for humiliations past and present.

By refusing to learn from the past—or the present—we Indians continue to injure ourselves grievously. This is especially regrettable at a time when large new power blocs, driven by an acute awareness of their own self-interest, are emerging around the globe. It will be a monumental tragedy if a myopic India continues to follow its divisive policies and practices, and falls behind in the international contest for prestige, power and influence.

If an energetic and vital community like that of the Sikhs is irretrievably estranged, modern India as a whole—and not merely a handful of politicians in power who are causing the damage—will suffer. India will be pushed back into the medieval times from which it is still trying to extricate itself.

This book is written in the hope that those who lead India will be able to avoid past follies, and adopt less self-destructive and more pragmatic policies in the future. Only then will they be able to honour the social contract with Indians of every background and persuasion. There is, in fact, no other option open.