the sikhsby patwant singh
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The Sikhs by Patwant SinghReview by: Lucian W. PyeForeign Affairs, Vol. 79, No. 4 (Jul. - Aug., 2000), p. 163Published by: Council on Foreign RelationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20049867 .
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The Sikhs, by patwant singh.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000,
276 pp. $27.50. Disturbed by rising anti-Sikh sentiment
after Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguard in 1984, Singh set out to enlighten readers about Sikhs by
telling their history. The resulting book
argues that Sikhism's opposition to caste
divisions and defense of gender equality
explain why both Hindus and Muslims have such intense hostility toward the
brotherhood. At its outset in the fifteenth
century, Sikhism was more compassionate and humane than other religions of the
day. Nevertheless, the perpetual need to
defend its adherents against foes on all
sides turned the Sikhs into a martial
community with a warrior culture. Singh also recounts the rise of the Sikh empire in the Punjab in the early nineteenth
century and the two subsequent wars
against the British. His final plea is for the rest of India to appreciate the Sikhs
and welcome their outstanding qualities in the building of a stronger India.
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FOREIGN AFFAIRS July/August 2000 [163]
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