"Sicques, Tigers, or Thieves":: Eyewitness Accounts of the Sikhs (1606-1809) By Amandeep Singh Madra, Parmjit Singh
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Product Description
In 1812, Sir John Malcom, a Lieutenant General in the British Army wrote "A Sketch of the Sikhs," commonly believed to be the first account of the Sikhs written by a non-Sikh. In truth, soldiers, travelers, diplomats, missionaries, and scholars had provided accounts for many years before that. Drawing on this difficult-to-find material, the editors of this volume have compiled a unique source that offers a fascinating insight into the early developments in Sikh history. From the first ever written accounts of the Sikhs by Persian chroniclers of the Moghul Emperor to the travel diary of an Englishwoman, this volume contains material invaluable to those studying the evolution of the Sikh religion.
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<hr> Editorial Reviews
Review
"A fascinating account of the Sikhs as seen by foreign travellers in the land which was to become their kingdom. They give us an insight into the macho self-image that Sikhs have to this day - anything you can do I can do better. This spirit of upmanship has sustained the community miniscule in numbers but grand in achievements."--Khushwant Singh, author, A History of the Sikhs
"Better than time travel... a richly-peopled, intimate journey through the dawn of Sikh history."--Christy Campbell, author of The Maharajah's and Fenian Fire: The British Government Plot to Assassinate Queen Victoria "This is a splendid compilation of documents which should have an appeal beyond the narrowly academic to a range of readers, including many with general interests in the expansion of British rule in northern India as well as those particularly interested in early Sikh history at whom the book is most directly targeted."--Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
From the Inside Flap
"A fascinating account of the Sikhs as seen by foreign travellers in the land which was to become their kingdom. They give us an insight into the macho self-image that Sikhs have to this day - anything you can do I can do better. This spirit of upmanship has sustained the community miniscule in numbers but grand in achievements." --Khushwant Singh, author, A History of the Sikhs"Better than time travel... a richly-peopled, intimate journey through the dawn of Sikh history." --Christy Campbell, author of The Maharajah's and Fenian Fire: The British Government Plot to Assassinate Queen Victoria
About the Author
Amandeep Singh Madra is an independent researcher based in London. He co-authored Warrior Saints for IB Tauris and is currently contributing to Oxford's New Dictionary of National Biography. Parmjit Singh co-authored Warrior Saints with Madra.
<hr> Customer Reviews
An outsiders mine of informations on the early sikhs /khalsa.
This book is specialy interesting and instructive to be read by the sikhs
and those who have allready some knowledge of Sikhism.
Step into the Past
I bought this book expecting to read articles with a bigoted, mis-informed view of the Sikh culture and people from an anti-Sikh western viewpoint, or worse, pure ignorance. I was pleasantly surprised by the detailed and fascinating detail on the circumstances of Sikh people and life during the periods covered. I appreciate that there are gaps in coverage, but that adds to the authencity of the accounts and helps you formulate a view in your mind how the Sikh's could've changed from a small band of warriors under Bhanda Singh to the organised armies under Ranjit Singh. What I liked were the commentaries by the narrators who put the writer's circumstances into context before putting the writer's actual account before the reader. This helps the reader appreciate the limitations of the writer's perspective, and appreciate the actual gems of insight where they are to be found. The book also gives a glimpse into the past when it wasn't necessary to be 'man with turban' to be sikh, but there were other ways to be spiritually sikh without donning the appearance of a Khalsa sikh.
Overall, a gr8 read. Now onto Patwant Singh's book...
A must for Sikh History researchers
This book has got all that you need to avoid reinventing the wheel. A must for Sikh history researchers.
Click Here to Buy from SPN Book Store
Click Here to Buy from SPN Book Store
Product Description
In 1812, Sir John Malcom, a Lieutenant General in the British Army wrote "A Sketch of the Sikhs," commonly believed to be the first account of the Sikhs written by a non-Sikh. In truth, soldiers, travelers, diplomats, missionaries, and scholars had provided accounts for many years before that. Drawing on this difficult-to-find material, the editors of this volume have compiled a unique source that offers a fascinating insight into the early developments in Sikh history. From the first ever written accounts of the Sikhs by Persian chroniclers of the Moghul Emperor to the travel diary of an Englishwoman, this volume contains material invaluable to those studying the evolution of the Sikh religion.
<script type="text/javascript"> function registerNamespace(ns) { var parts = ns.split("."); var root = window; for(var i = 0; i < parts.length; i++) { if(!root[parts]) { root[parts] = new Object(); } root = root[parts]; } } registerNamespace('Associates.Util'); Associates.Util.getElementsByTagAndClass = function(tag, class_name, parent_element) { if(!parent_element){ parent_element = document; } var tags = parent_element.getElementsByTagName(tag); var class_tags = new Array(); var class_regex = new RegExp("\\b" + class_name + "\\b"); for (var i = 0; i < tags.length; i++) { if(tags.className.match(class_regex)) { class_tags.push(tags); } } return class_tags; } Associates.Util.findAncestor = function(child, test) { var test_func; if(typeof test == 'object') { test_func = function(obj){ return obj == test }; } else if (typeof test == 'string') { test_func = function(obj){ return obj.nodeName == test }; } else { test_func = test; } while(child && !test_func(child)) { child = child.parentNode; } return child; } Associates.Util.getSelectedRadio = function(form, radioName) { if (typeof form == 'string') { form = document.forms[form]; } for (var i = 0; i < form[radioName].length; i++) { if (form[radioName].checked) { return form[radioName].value; } } return undefined; } function AttachEventListener(object, event, handler, useCapture) { if( !useCapture ) { useCapture = false; } if( object.addEventListener ) { object.addEventListener(event, handler, useCapture); } else { object.attachEvent('on' + event, handler); } } registerNamespace('Assoc.DOMEvent'); Assoc.DOMEvent.AddHandler = function(object, event, handler, context) { var event_handler; if(context) event_handler = function(event){ handler.call(context, event) }; else event_handler = handler; AttachEventListener(object, event, event_handler); } function GetEventTarget(event) { return (event.target)? event.target : event.srcElement; } //borrowed from quirksmode. Stops event bubbling. function StopEventPropagation(event) { if(!event) { event = window.event; } //MSIE event.cancelBubble = true; //w3c if(event.stopPropagation) { event.stopPropagation(); } } function StopEventDefault(event) { if(!event) { event = window.event; } //MSIE event.returnValue = false; //w3c if(event.preventDefault) { event.preventDefault() }; } //does both StopEventPropogation and StopEventDefault function StopEvent(event) { StopEventDefault(event); StopEventPropagation(event); } function mouseOverFromElement(event) { return (event.relatedTarget)? event.relatedTarget : event.fromTarget; } function mouseOutToElement(event) { return (event.relatedTarget)? event.relatedTarget : event.toTarget; } var wImages; var link = document.getElementById('imageViewerLink'); function openImageViewer(event) { if (wImages == null || wImages.closed) { wImages = window.open(link.href, 'ImageView', 'width=625,height=700,scrollbars,resizable'); } else { wImages.location = link.href; } wImages.focus(); return false; } AttachEventListener(link, 'click', openImageViewer); </script> <hr> Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1026101 in Books
- Published on: 2005-01-05
- Released on: 2004-12-23
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 448 pages
<hr> Editorial Reviews
Review
"A fascinating account of the Sikhs as seen by foreign travellers in the land which was to become their kingdom. They give us an insight into the macho self-image that Sikhs have to this day - anything you can do I can do better. This spirit of upmanship has sustained the community miniscule in numbers but grand in achievements."--Khushwant Singh, author, A History of the Sikhs
"Better than time travel... a richly-peopled, intimate journey through the dawn of Sikh history."--Christy Campbell, author of The Maharajah's and Fenian Fire: The British Government Plot to Assassinate Queen Victoria "This is a splendid compilation of documents which should have an appeal beyond the narrowly academic to a range of readers, including many with general interests in the expansion of British rule in northern India as well as those particularly interested in early Sikh history at whom the book is most directly targeted."--Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
From the Inside Flap
"A fascinating account of the Sikhs as seen by foreign travellers in the land which was to become their kingdom. They give us an insight into the macho self-image that Sikhs have to this day - anything you can do I can do better. This spirit of upmanship has sustained the community miniscule in numbers but grand in achievements." --Khushwant Singh, author, A History of the Sikhs"Better than time travel... a richly-peopled, intimate journey through the dawn of Sikh history." --Christy Campbell, author of The Maharajah's and Fenian Fire: The British Government Plot to Assassinate Queen Victoria
About the Author
Amandeep Singh Madra is an independent researcher based in London. He co-authored Warrior Saints for IB Tauris and is currently contributing to Oxford's New Dictionary of National Biography. Parmjit Singh co-authored Warrior Saints with Madra.
<hr> Customer Reviews
An outsiders mine of informations on the early sikhs /khalsa.
This book is specialy interesting and instructive to be read by the sikhs
and those who have allready some knowledge of Sikhism.
Step into the Past
I bought this book expecting to read articles with a bigoted, mis-informed view of the Sikh culture and people from an anti-Sikh western viewpoint, or worse, pure ignorance. I was pleasantly surprised by the detailed and fascinating detail on the circumstances of Sikh people and life during the periods covered. I appreciate that there are gaps in coverage, but that adds to the authencity of the accounts and helps you formulate a view in your mind how the Sikh's could've changed from a small band of warriors under Bhanda Singh to the organised armies under Ranjit Singh. What I liked were the commentaries by the narrators who put the writer's circumstances into context before putting the writer's actual account before the reader. This helps the reader appreciate the limitations of the writer's perspective, and appreciate the actual gems of insight where they are to be found. The book also gives a glimpse into the past when it wasn't necessary to be 'man with turban' to be sikh, but there were other ways to be spiritually sikh without donning the appearance of a Khalsa sikh.
Overall, a gr8 read. Now onto Patwant Singh's book...
A must for Sikh History researchers
This book has got all that you need to avoid reinventing the wheel. A must for Sikh history researchers.
Click Here to Buy from SPN Book Store
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