The Road to Empire

The Political Education of Khalsa Sikhs in the Late 1600s
1. Auflage 2024
ISBN: 978-0-520-39937-2
Verlag: University of California Press

Buch, Englisch, 346 Seiten, Cloth Over Boards, Format (B × H): 164 mm x 238 mm, Gewicht: 696 g

From the late seventeenth century to the late eighteenth century, the Sikh community transformed from a relatively insignificant religious minority to an elevated position of kingship and empire. Under the leadership of Guru Gobind Singh (1661–1708), Sikh elites and peasants began to align themselves with discourses of power and authority, and within a few decades Khalsa Sikh warriors conquered some of the wealthiest provinces of the Mughal and Afghan empires.
 
In this book, Satnam Singh argues that the Sikhs’ increasing self-assertion was not simply a reaction to Mughal persecution but also a result of an active program initiated by the Guru to pursue larger visions of scholarship, conquest, and political sovereignty. Using a vast trove of understudied court literature, Singh shows how Sikhs grappled with Indo-Islamic traditions to forge their own unique ideas of governance and kingship with the aim to establish an independent Sikh polity. The Road to Empire offers an impressive intellectual history of the early modern Sikh world.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Singh, Satnam

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Sonstige Religionen Östliche Religionen Sikhismus
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Weltgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Naher & Mittlerer Osten

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Contents

Preface 
Acknowledgments 
Significant Events 

Introduction: Power, Literature, and Political Ideas 

PART I. INTELLECTUAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXTS

1. Sikh Tradition and Rajniti 
2. The Anandpur Library 
3. Oceans of Knowledge 
4. Institutional Context of the Dasam Granth Sahib 

PART II. POLITICIZATION OF THE SIKH CHARACTER 

5. Teaching Statesmanship through Fables and Erotic Stories 
6. Balancing Lofty Ideals and Pragmatism 
7. The Guru’s Political Objectives 

PART III. POLITICAL SOVEREIGNTY OF THE KHALSA 

8. Combining Rajniti and Rahit 
9. From Translators to Political Thinkers 

PART IV. ROAD TO KINGSHIP AND EMPIRE

10. The Sikh Raj of Anandpur (ca. 1684–1704) 
11. The Khalsa’s Raj around Mukhlispur (ca. 1710–1716) 
12. Punjab under the Rule of Khalsa Rajas (1765–1799) 

Conclusion: The Political Education of Khalsa Sikhs 

Appendix: Literature in the Anandpur Library 
Notes 
Glossary 
References
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Satnam Singh is a senior consultant to Danish authorities and has worked professionally for more than a decade to prevent political extremism and honor-related violence against women.