The Making of Medieval Panjab

The Making of Medieval Panjab
Author: Surinder Singh
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 485
Release: 2019-09-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000760685

This book seeks to reconstruct the past of undivided Panjab during five medieval centuries. It opens with a narrative of the efforts of Turkish warlords to achieve control in the face of tribal resistance, internal dissensions and external invasions. It examines the linkages of the ruling class with Zamindars and Sufis, paving the way for canal irrigation and agrarian expansion, thus strengthening the roots of the state in the region. While focusing on the post-Timur phase, it tries to make sense of the new ways of acquiring political power. This work uncovers the perpetual attempts of Zamindars to achieve local dominance, particularly in the context of declining presence of the state in the countryside. In this ambitious enterprise, they resorted to the support of their clans, adherence to hallowed customs and recurrent use of violence, all applied through a system of collective and participatory decision-making. The volume traces the growth of Sufi lineages built on training disciples, writing books, composing poetry and claiming miraculous powers. Besides delving into the relations of the Sufis with the state and different sections of the society, it offers an account of the rituals at a prominent shrine. Paying equal attention to the southeastern region, it deals with engagement of the Sabiris, among other exemplars, with the Islamic spirituality. Inclusive in approach and lucid in expression, the work relies on a wide range of evidence from Persian chronicles, Sufi literature and folklore, some of which have been used for the first time. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

Medieval Panjab in Transition

Medieval Panjab in Transition
Author: Surinder Singh
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2022-06-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000609448

This book reconstructs the historical transition in the undivided Panjab during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It shows that the assertion of Mughal and Afghan suzerainty faced sustained resistance from local elements, particularly the autonomous tribes and hill chiefdoms. In central plains, Dulla Bhatti mobilized the toilers of his ancestral domain and, leading a relentless fight against the Mughal oppression, became an abiding symbol of resistance in the collective memory. The multicultural legacy of Panjab evolved through diverse strands of spirituality. The jogis, wedded to monastic discipline, supernatural abilities and land grants, gained acceptance through their exertions for social betterment. The Sabiri and Qadiri silsilas channelized mystical urges towards the technique of prime recitation. The popular verses of Shah Husain, Baba Lal and Sultan Bahu proposed a loving relation with God. The legendary lovers, perishing in the struggles against patriarchal forces, promoted a merger of dissent with spirituality. In the city of Lahore, the material pursuits and cultural life were visible in a mosaic of descriptions, including episodes of social tension. The book understands the upliftment of depressed castes as a defining feature of Sikhism. It places egalitarian concern of the Sikh Gurus alongside the anti-caste protests of Namdev, Kabir and Ravidas. Owing to scriptural authority and congregational equality, the members of depressed castes attained a numerical majority in the Sikh warrior bands that shook the foundations of the Mughal state. The work relies on evidence from the Persian chronicles, Mughal newsletters, Sufi writings, Sikh literature and Punjabi folklore. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Sufism in Punjab

Sufism in Punjab
Author: Surinder Singh
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 523
Release: 2023-12-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1003834140

This anthology is a collective endeavor of scholars from India and Pakistan devoted to Sufi mystics, literature and shrines with a detailed introduction. The essays explore the methods adopted by the Punjab Sufis to popularize the mystic ideology and praxis in the medieval socio-cultural milieu. These writings also delve into the different genres of Sufi literature, both in the elite and vernacular languages, intending to appreciate the nuances of Punjab Sufism. Apart from the architectural features of the Sufi shrines, the anthology attempts to illumine the organic linkages between these institutions and the Punjabis and, thus, underscore the Sufi non-communitarian devotion as a primary ingredient of the Punjabi cultural fusion. This title is co-published with Aakar Books. Print editions not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)

Medieval Panjab in Transition

Medieval Panjab in Transition
Author: Surinder Singh
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 556
Release: 2022
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781003302452

"This book reconstructs the historical transition in the undivided Panjab during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It shows that the assertion of Mughal and Afghan suzerainty faced sustained resistance from local elements, particularly the autonomous tribes and hill chiefdoms. In central plains, Dulla Bhatti mobilized the toilers of his ancestral domain and, leading a relentless fight against the Mughal oppression, became an abiding symbol of resistance in the collective memory. The multicultural legacy of Panjab evolved through diverse strands of spirituality. The jogis, wedded to monastic discipline, supernatural abilities and land grants, gained acceptance through their exertions for social betterment. The Sabiri and Qadiri silsilas channelized mystical urges towards the technique of prime recitation. The popular verses of Shah Husain, Baba Lal and Sultan Bahu proposed a loving relation with God. The legendary lovers, perishing in the struggles against patriarchal forces, promoted a merger of dissent with spirituality. In the city of Lahore, the material pursuits and cultural life were visible in a mosaic of descriptions, including episodes of social tension. The book understands the upliftment of depressed castes as a defining feature of Sikhism. It places egalitarian concern of the Sikh Gurus alongside the anti-caste protests of Namdev, Kabir and Ravidas. Owing to scriptural authority and congregational equality, the members of depressed castes attained a numerical majority in the Sikh warrior bands that shook the foundations of the Mughal state. The work relies on evidence from the Persian chronicles, Mughal newsletters, Sufi writings, Sikh literature and Punjabi folklore"--

Encyclopaedia of Untouchables Ancient, Medieval and Modern

Encyclopaedia of Untouchables Ancient, Medieval and Modern
Author: Raj Kumar
Publisher: Gyan Publishing House
Total Pages: 510
Release: 2008
Genre: Dalits
ISBN: 9788178356648

The book entitled Encyclopaedia of Untouchables, Ancient, Medieval and Modern compiled in 2 volumes witnesses to the fact that how the Brahminical ideology used to behave with the poor people of the Father which is totally unbearable to a normal person, even though they used to clean the cities, latrines, skin of the dead animals which were owned by the Brahmans. Hence, the Dalit literature is not a simple literature, it is associated with a movement to bring about a change in the society by working personally to realize the basic facts of the life, but Brahmans are only the philosophers of their literature, working for their personal benefit not for others. It has established its own strong tradition with anti-caste or untouchables thinker like Buddha, Ved Vyash, Valmiki, Qutab-ud-Din Aebik, Balban, Balban, Firoz Shah Tuglaq, Barani the great writer, Amir Timur, Sultan Sikandar of Kashmir, Zain-ul- Abidin, Mirza Haidar Dughlat, Babar, Ravidas, Akbar, Guru Nanak, Kabir, Phule, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, many more as its sign posts.

Music in Colonial Punjab

Music in Colonial Punjab
Author: Radha Kapuria
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2023-04-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 0192692925

This book offers the first social history of music in undivided Punjab (1800-1947), beginning at the Lahore court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and concluding at the Patiala royal darbar. It unearths new evidence for the centrality of female performers and classical music in a region primarily viewed as a folk music centre, featuring a range of musicians and dancers -from 'mirasis' (bards) and 'kalawants' (elite musicians), to 'kanjris' (subaltern female performers) and 'tawaifs' (courtesans). A central theme is the rise of new musical publics shaped by the anglicized Punjabi middle classes, and British colonialists' response to Punjab's performing communities. The book reveals a diverse connoisseurship for music with insights from history, ethnomusicology, and geography on an activity that still unites a region now divided between India and Pakistan.

Critical Discourse in Punjabi

Critical Discourse in Punjabi
Author: Rana Nayar
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 410
Release: 2023-09-29
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1000963616

This volume forms a part of the Critical Discourses in South Asia series which deals with schools, movements and discursive practices in major South Asian languages. It offers crucial insights into the making of the Punjabi language and literature, and its critical tradition across a century. The book brings together English translation of major writings of influential figures dealing with literary criticism and theory, aesthetic and performative traditions and re-interpretations of primary concepts and categories in Punjabi. It presents 30 key texts in literary and cultural studies from Punjab from the beginning of development of Punjabi language to its present form, with most of them translated for the first time into English. These seminal essays cover interconnections with socio-historical events in the medieval, colonial and post-independence period in Punjab. They discuss themes such as spiritual and aesthetic visions, poetic and literary forms, modernism, progressivism, feminism, Dalit literature, power structures and social struggles, ideological values, cultural renovations, and humanism. Comprehensive and authoritative, this volume offers an overview of the history of critical thought in Punjabi literature in South Asia. It will be essential for scholars and researchers of Punjabi language and literature, literary criticism, literary theory, comparative literature, Indian literature, cultural studies, art and aesthetics, performance studies, history, sociology, regional studies and South Asian studies. It will also interest the Punjabi-speaking diaspora and those working on the intellectual history of Punjab and conservation of languages and culture.