Misl, Sikh State and The Institution of Khalsa

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Based on original Punjabi, Persian, Marathi and English sources related to Punjab and parts of South India, this book presents a collection of some the articles on the crucial phase of the history of Punjab and the Khalsa presented by the author in various seminars.

In these articles the author has made a critical appraisal of: (i) the activities of Sikh Sardars/misls during the 18th century, and an assessment of the motivations of the contemporary and near-contemporary English writers and their understanding of the events and that of the Khalsa institutions with the help of the archival sources; (ii) events related to the period of Maharaja Ranjit Singh who had give the Khalsa 'a state', and the author has tried to make out that though punctilious in worship, his own religion was scarcely more than a form in regard to the actual working of the state; (iii) a comparative study of the polity during the early British rule; and (iv) the ups and downs faced by the Khalsa during the nineteenth century.

With its multiple perspectives, this book should be of interest to those concerned with the study of Sikh traditions, the misls, Sikh state and the Khalsa.

Dr. J.C. Dua, Reader, Department of History and Tourism and Travel Management and formerly Principal, NBGSM College (M.D. University), Sohna, is an eminent historian who has extensively contributed on the history of Punjab and South India. Apart from contributed a large number of research papers in the national and international seminars, he already has several books to his credit. His works include Agrarian System of South India: Some Aspects (1990), British Historiography Eighteenth Century Punjab: Their Understanding of the Sikh Struggle for Power and Role of Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (1992), British In'am Policy and Palegar Resistance in the Ceded Districts: Select Documents relating Narasimha Reddy's Resistance 1846-47 (1994), Palegars of South India: Forms and Contents of the Resistance in Ceded Districts (1996), Glossary of Revenue and Allied Terms of South India (1998), Illustrated Encyclopedia & Who's Who of Princely States in Indian Sub-Continent (2000 & 2002). He is also one of the Editors of the Collected Works of Professor B.R. Grover.

Dr. J.C. Dua's book entitled Mist, Sikh State and Institution of Khalsa is a collection of articles on 18-19th century Punjab history presented at various seminars. The subjects of these articles range from the working of the misls during the second half of the 18th century, British historiography, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the village system and above the position of the institution of Khalsa during the 19th century.

In fact, the Creation of the Khalsa on the Baisakhi Day of 1699 A.D. has been a great event in the history of Sikhism. A new social order of Saint-Soldiers infused with the spirit of unique devotion and rare bravery was borne with a strong urge to defend the weak and downtrodden and to destroy the armies of the wicked.

History is a witness that many a poor class people who had long been deprived and considered the dreg of the society became leaders of people and suddenly found power in their hands and a respectability to their names that they could never dream of. A lowly man, say even a common scavenger, had only to join to ranks of Khalsa Panth and return to his village some times later to a grand reception from the wealthy and high born, the same people who had earlier abused and kicked him about.

This transformation of a lowly man, an creature of poor and oppressed society into a high dignitary, was nothing short of a miracle but this had exactly what the Sikh Gurus had predicted and diligently worked for. For Guru Gobind Singh it was the sacred mission to raise the status of the teeming millions of the poor classes, the downtrodden, to a point where they were masters of their own destiny and not the helpless vassals of tyrannical social and political system, as had been the case till then. In fact, the Guru made commitment to the downtrodden to establish new society based on social justice and commitment to bring about a social change by which the people who had been exploited socially, economically and politically for centuries get their share in decision making and a decisive role in political process.

The book entitled Misl, Sikh State and Institution of Khalsa is a collection of articles on 18-19 century Punjab history presented at various seminars. The subjects of these articles range from the working of the misls during the second half of the 18 century, British historiography, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the village system, and above all the position of the institution of Khalsa during the 19 century.

The Khalsa that had been fighting for a cause right since its inception found its job partially accomplished in the 19 century. The sacrifices of the Sikh Gurus, the longstanding tradition of the Khalsa created by Guru Gobind Singh, and the 'heroic' 18 century 'of the Khalsa' were all precursor to the ultimate establishment of the Khalsa Raj under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Though the Maharaja never allowed the religion to intervene in his polity, the Khalsa 'prefix' determined the nomenclature of the state as Sarkar Khalsa, its court as Khalsa Darbar and the war cry of the Khalsa Fauj as 'Wah! Guruji Ka Khalsa! Wah! Guruji Ki Fateh!

Since all the Sikhs had not become the Khalsa, the ideological differences could be marked especially during the early 19th century. The Mazhabi Sikhs, Sehajdaari Sikhs, and the Udasi version of Sikhism all flourished during the 19 century. Moreover, some sort of tension continued to exist between the Akali and the Nihang ideologues of the Khalsa and Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

**Contents and Sample Pages**