Agustín Pániker

The Sikhs

Original title:

Los sikhs. Historia, identidad y religión

About the book:

The Sikhs

History, Identity and Religion

The Sikhs are a social and religious community with a very strong sense of identity. Not for nothing, in its five centuries of history, the Sikh religion has been successful in remaining differentiated from Hinduism and  Islam. Everyone recognises the male Sikh with his full beard and prominent turban. And who has not heard of Sikh extremism? which not so long ago was bent on establishing an independent nation within the Panjab. Currently, the Sikhs form an essential part of the complex entity that is the India of the 20th and 21st centuries. However, to  be able to understand the present situation of some 20 million Sikhs it is essential to know their history and the most important features of their religion.

With the rigour that we have come to expect of him, but also with the fluency typical of this writer, Agustín Pániker takes us first to look at the dynamic history of the Sikhs: from its first stirrings and the deeds of  Gur¥ Nånak (16th century), moving on to the expansion of the community, the  establishment of the military order of the Khålså of the tenth Gur¥, the reform movements of the last decades of the 19th century and first decades of the  the 20th century, and current isues and problems. The author looks at the essential points of the Sikh religion, and the centrality of the Sacred Words of r¥ Granth Såhib in the Sikh Religion.

Additionally, the writer looks at the burning issue of society and the castes. The question of the castes provides us definitively with an entering wedge into the rich universe of the Sikhs, courtesy of one of the great connoisseurs of the traditions of India.

About the author:

Agustín Pániker is a publisher and writer. He is an expert in matters relating to South Asia. He has also published (in Spanish with Kairós) El Jainismo: Historia, sociedad, filosofía y práctica (Jainism: history, society, philosophy and practice) and Índika: Una descolonización intelectual (Indika, an intelectual decolonisation).