The Sikh Renaissance

A retrospective analysis of the Sikh-Pakistan relationship and how Pakistan betrayed the 1984 Sikh armed struggle on religious grounds in Punjabi.

In an era of divergent and often conflicting identities permeating the Punjabi social sphere, the upholders of Punjabi nationalism are unwilling to answer the question: which community is the true heir to Punjab's sanguinary tradition of standing for one's rights and slaying the imposers of tyranny? For us, the answer is simple; only Sikhs are worthy of being declared the true heirs to Pun...

A brief analysis of our foreign-based western Sikh preachers and their agenda-based preaching.

A wake up call for Punjabi listeners regarding the recent events in an UK Sikh school and the ensuing fallout.

Irfan Habib- a controversial figure in subcontinental historiography. In early 2001, Habib captained the publication of Sikh History From Persian Sources. Though the text was praised by Sikh personalities at the time, its content reflected Habib's long term tendency of misinterpreting historical facts with convenient alterations to cast doubt on the history of non-Muslims. Listen to find out how H...

An analytical episode on what our forefathers exactly fought for and how modernity regresses their sacrifices.

Niccolo Machiavelli, the infamous author of the equally infamous The Prince. Contrary to the popular view of his immorality, Machiavelli argues that power is amoral and only its execution can be bifurcated into immorality or morality. The Prince is highly relevant to the Sikhs today considering their unceasing pursuit of power. What can we learn from Machiavelli as Sikhs and is the man's reput...

The enforced regression of Sikh societal values as a political policy and its adverse impacts on Punjabi culture, overall, are unmissable today. From ludicrous stunts on tractors costing lives unnecessarily to high-handed caveman antics abroad, Sikh youth lack the foundational cornerstone of Sikhi: Responsibility. So then what is the solution if a lack of responsibility is the problem? Listen at y...

Hate it or love it, but it is fast becoming a conspicuous fact that the smarter generation of Sikhs was finished off in the 80's and by some seeming design the incompetent were allowed to escape and spread abroad. These vestiges of a fallen generation now control Gurudwaras and Panthic institutes captaining the Khalsa ship to oblivion due to their lack of guile and an even more atrocious lack...

Would you trust a serpent to repay its dues to you after you save its life? Or would you be realistic enough to acknowledge that the serpent is venomous by nature and strikes both friend and foe alike? If the latter is your answer and not the former, then ask yourself: why would you trust individuals or communities whose beliefs emphasize your eternal damnation in hellfire because you do not confo...

Bhaichara , a term fast devolving into a pejorative for asinine solidarity in which Sikhs suffering from inferiority complexes splurge the community's precious resources on non-Sikhs whose religious ideology emphasizes that we will burn in hell for our non-conformism to their beliefs. We are joined by the legendary historian S. Inderjeet Singh in discussing the fate of Sikhs outside Punjab and...

We are joined once again by the legendary Anmol Singh Rode, Ranneeti Punjab, for another exciting episode. This time we discuss the discipline of historiography, a field bordering on an art form in which academics and intellectuals study how and why history is formed in our minds. We delve deep into the fundamentals of historiography, its relation to Sikh academia and its implications for the futu...

In this brief episode we look at a marvellous incident from the Sri Gur Sobha of the poet Sainapati, a contemporary of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Sainapati was an eyewitness to the Guru's destruction of a village called Alsoon in the vicinity of Anandpur Sahib after the 1691 battle of Nadaun. The Sikhs had triumphed and were returning home when the Guru passed near Alsoon. He immediately ordered it...

This idea for this episode originated after a heated debate between a team member and an evangelical zealot. The zealot in question ,Shahi 1987, adopted the position that death could not be divine and was not brought into existence by God. Such fictional mythologizing runs against the grain of reality that Sikhs accept as being Hukam , divine will. In this episode we distill the gist of what this...

In 1781 the fanatical Mughals attacked the Punjab for the last time. Bested by the maverick general Baghel Singh of the KaroraSinghiyaa Confederacy they were effectively routed and beat a hasty retreat never to return. But the KaroraSinghiyaa was an unique body of Khalsa men who swore to get even and in 1783 launched a massive campaign which resulted in Delhi, the subcontinental capital, being rai...

December, a month of remembrance for the Sikhs who pay tribute to the martyrdom of Guru Gobind Singh Ji's family and four sons while treading the path of Guru Nanak. However, do we still retain their militant spirit?

Bhai Bota Singh and Bhai Garja Singh are two of the most conspicuous Martyrs of 18th century Sikh history. In this episode we explore their lives and the relevance they hold for the Sikh world today.

Professor Audrey Truschke, the Hindu Right and Islamists-these three seemingly disparate entities are united in denying and disparaging the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur the ninth Sikh Guru. In this episode not only do we answer their allegation that no contemporary source exists to evince this martyrdom, but we also cite contemporary Persian sources written by those nearest to Aurangzeb substant...

A Punjabi episode on how disparate gender ideologies and second wave feminism harm the Sikh nuclear family unit.

Life is cruel, so is reality. But what if we make this Cruelty our mentor like Guru Nanak emphasizes?

The Sri Gur Panth Prakash is a 19th century Sikh chronicle delineating the historic ascendance of Khalsa sovereignty in 17th-18th century Punjab. In this episode we explore all the information available on the text; discuss its history and compilation as well as refuting H.S. Chopra's specious allegations (made in 1988) that the polemic Bhai Vir Singh altered it. 

Society overtly favors professional victimhood. The Khalsa opposes this. Listen to how this war plays out today.

We are joined by eminent guest Dr. Joginder Singh Ji Tej Khurana who is the foremost historian of the Afghan Sikhs. An ex-serving member of the Afghan Grand Assembly, medical specialist and unrivalled intellectual-Dr. Tej Khurana charts the past, present and potential future of Afghanistan and its Sikh populace. Since the seeding of Sikhi among the Afghans, Sikhs have confronted hostility and sang...

Sikhi is universal. Its moralistic aspect transcends borders, nations and territories. The Sikh faith was seeded beyond Punjab by its progenitor Guru Nanak. One of the fecund regions of the subcontinent which even today has a strong and growing Sikh population which Guru Nanak graced is this very same East India. The rich history of East Indian Sikhs has only now been revealed by eminent authority...

Misl Shahid was an 18th century Khalsa political Confederacy which was a precursor to the likes of the SGPC today. Its rise and fall encapsulates the internal strife which plagued the Misls after their heyday. By understanding the history of Shahid Misl we can unlock many enigmas of the Sikh past, particularly those of the modern Akali-Nihangs.