Sikhs: Hegemony, Power and Suppression in Khushwant Singh’s A History of The Sikhs

Abstract

Khushwant Singh’sA History of The Sikhs is one of his comprehensive and authoritative research on the Sikhs. The research scrutinized the social, political and religious consequences which gave birth to the new religion Sikhism. Gramsci’s concept of cultural hegemony enhanced the research to categorize role of Sikhs as the subordinate class that resisted the control exercised by the dominant class of Mughals. The research studied the cultural values of Sikhs that further initiated the development and reformation of Punjab during the Mughal Empire. The ideologies of cultural hegemony raised the question that how Sikhs being the subordinate group developed their social and political society in Punjab. Not only they developed their cultural and social values but flourished to the extent that present Punjab still follows the same customs and rituals. The research explored the origin of Sikhism, establishment of socio-political institution and deterioration of cultural components by Mughal Empire. The study expounds the nature of domination through consent and force that exemplified the tussle for power between the Mughal Emperors and Sikh Gurus.