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Connecting the Dots
in Sikh History
The author first hit upon the idea of "dot" from the findings of the 9/11 inquiry, which concluded that had the FBI been able to connect the critical information lying strewn in the files of various intelligence agencies, regarding each file as a dot, it might have prevented the attack. The dot in the title, therefore, represents fresh data that either adds a new dimension to the current memory or subtracts an untenable element from it. Only a knowledgeable reader is in a position to weigh up the merits of the modified perspective, even though there are chapters that offer no new perspective. The prose is crisp and distinct, in spite of some publishing oversights. In his otherwise excellent introduction, Dr Kharak Singh mistakenly views the book as an anthology; and, therefore, incorrectly concludes that the book "is not a systematic account of any particular period of Sikh history". Rather, the book is an abstract of events that the author believes were chronicled on the basis of incomplete data. Born in a devout Sikh family, Harbans Singh Noor, now a septuagenarian, retired in 1984, after serving for 26 years as Cultural Affairs Specialist with the United States Information Service in New Delhi. The author begins with a fairly grim portrayal of Europe during the times of Guru Nanak. It was an ecclesiastical Europe under the religious dominion of a corrupt papacy, the author concludes. However, Europe was emerging from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance, a truly golden period. The execution of the young Brahmin Yodhan on the judgment of the Ulema in 1499 for his advocacy of sameness of religions may have so troubled Nanak that on emerging from the river after remaining missing for three days, he uttered: "Na Ko Hindu, Na Ko Musalman." This incident is the first of the author’s "connecting dots". The author refutes the version of a few notable events in the life of Guru Gobind Singh as given by some historians. He challenges the prevailing view reporting the despatch of a squad of soldiers by Guruji to help Bahadur Shah in his campaign for succession. According to the writer, the 200-300 strong Sikh cavalry would have made no difference to Bahadur Shah, as he "deployed 1,52,000 horsemen and 1,78,000 foot soldiers" at the battleground of Jajau. Guru Gobind Singh’s complaints against Wazir Khan for the brutal killing of his infant sons and imperial armies "joining the hill Rajahs without any justification" in forcing him to vacate the fort at Anandpur fell on deaf ears of the Emperor. He says this was because Bahadur Shah was beholden to Wazir Khan for latter’s help during the war of succession. Sada Kaur continued to maintain her own army even during her relationship as mother-in-law to Ranjit Singh and even flirted with the idea of an alliance with the British to unseat Ranjit Singh. Though some will point to her notoriety, the author says her behaviour was typical of misl leader mentality, leaders who thought nothing of sleeping with the enemy to exact vengeance from a confederate. The author makes an erroneous claim that at the time of accession to the throne of his father, Ranjit Singh, was only 10. No kingdom had yet been established. The author punctures the myth of the death of Prince Nau Nihal Singh being an accident and provides a fairly compelling evidence suggesting that the young Prince Duleep Singh was brainwashed to embrace the Christian faith by his tutor and his guardian. The author includes a homage paid by Qazi Nur Muhammad in his Jangnamah (1765), that draws a quintessential portrait of the Sikh soldier as a noble warrior and his narrative of the 1857 mutiny is enthralling. He discounts the notion of Sikh betrayal and, instead, blames the Sikh Rajahs and Poorbias for the failure of the campaign. The book is the product of
painstaking research through a wide range of historical documents to
build a for modifying our views on the Sikh history. |
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