This book has got all that you need to avoid reinventing the wheel. A must for Sikh history researchers.

Well done to the authors and all who supported them in this long overdue project.

Amandeep and Paramjeet have attempted to write this book in an unbiased fashion, and I must say, have succeeded. This is a rare acheivement for authors of history and historians, as the biased historical accounts of the early Europeans in India show.

The accounts (some apparently eye witness) of Banda Bahadur are particulary informative as to the culture, opinions, attitudes and politics of the rulers and the Sikhs in the early eighteenth century.

It's a shame that there is still a gap in mid eighteenth century Sikh history, although there are accounts of this, they are still very limited in content and historians rely heavily on the hearsay of the time.

Maybe a project on the Sikh Misls could be a possibilty, using all known sources!! There is a lot of misinformation about this period and the Sardaars. A comprehensive and historical records based study is much needed!

There is some very interesting information as to the practices of Sikhs which I never knew of before e.g. stirring amrit with a boars tooth, which is very believable if looked at in the context of the problems faced by the Sikhs of the time.

Unsuprisingly, there are comprehensive reports of Ranjit Singhs darbaar.

In all, this is an eye opening, inspiring and educational book.

Harcharan