Emperor of the Five Rivers
Emperor of the Five Rivers

Author: Mohamed Sheikh

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2017-03-17

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1786730952

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In 1801, at the age of just 20 years old, Ranjit Singh became the Maharaja of the Punjab Empire and subsequently became one of the greatest figures in the history of India. He was a fiercely brave leader, capturing the city of Lahore before becoming Maharaja and overcoming a variety of challenges during his 40-year rule, such as harsh terrain, an ethnically and religiously diverse population and strong aggressors including the British and the Afghans. Despite such challenges, Ranjit Singh was able to unite Punjab's various factions yet rule a nation that was strictly secular; the Maharaja was benevolent to his subjects no matter their ethnicity or religion and sought to promote interfaith unity through policies of equality and non-discrimination. Aside from building his own nation, Ranjit built solid strategic relations with his most challenging aggressor - the British. Through stamina and political will, he managed to establish a formal treaty between the two and secured from 1809 Britain's protection against third party attempts to conquer the Punjab. Following Ranjit Singh's death in 1839, the Empire fell into decline. Just six years later, the Punjabis attacked the British, and in 1845 they were beaten and forced to sign the Treaty of Lahore, essentially conceding control to the British.Ranjit Singh's personal characteristics and leadership skills were what held the Punjab nation together in a tumultuous period in history. Mohamed Sheikh's new account of Singh's life illustrates these characteristics and skills and illuminates the man who singlehandedly created and sustained the Empire.

Punjabi Century, 1857-1947
Punjabi Century, 1857-1947

Author: Prakash Tandon

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 1968

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13:

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An important document in the social history of India, this volume presents the autobiography of a Punjabi family over the three tumultuous generations that spanned years from the Mutiny to Independence. The book provides an absorbing view, from within, of what British rule meant for the educated elite of the province. In its descriptions of the changing customs and values of the educated Indian in the early twentieth century, the book affords a memorable account of a critical period in modern Indian history.

Phulkari from Punjab
Phulkari from Punjab

Author: Anu H. Gupta

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789389136340

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- This meticulously researched book traces the history of Phulkari through the ages, with over 350 pictures that bring to life the nearly lost craft - It shares instances of revival and innovation, and narrates the robustness with which Phulkari has re-entered the imagination of designers - The book is a source of inspiration for enterprising students of craft, institutions teaching art, craft, culture and history, as also a befitting tribute to a distinct cultural tradition. To a connoisseur of Phulkari embroidery, it is a mystique! Every stitch once placed on the fabric tells a story, a story that comes crafted in emotions taking the form of motifs. Phulkari from Punjab: Embroidery in Transition is the outcome of the authors' quest in search of these stories, their sojourns to the villages and by lanes of Punjab that are home to this form of craft. Meticulously researched, with text and pictures that bring to life the nearly lost craft, the book traces the history of Phulkari through the ages: the craft, the decline, the revival. It highlights the agonies of lost finesse and compulsions of commoditization that the practitioners of the art shared with the authors. And on a positive note, it shares instances of revival and innovation, narrates the robustness with which Phulkari has re-entered the imagination of designers. The book is not a mere chronicle of Phulkari embroidery but a lived experience that spanned over seven years. Stitch craft and its depiction is only one aspect of the narratives; while the canvas inter alia encapsulates rituals that sustain traditions, markets that process the craft, connoisseurs eager to conserve and institutions responsible for its sustenance. The book is a source of inspiration for enterprising students of craft, institutions teaching art, craft, culture and history as also a befitting tribute to a distinct cultural tradition. It offers glimpses of India's heritage and diverse treasure trove in the field of textile craft.

The Unraveling
The Unraveling

Author: John R. Schmidt

Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

Published: 2011-09-13

Total Pages: 355

ISBN-13: 1429969075

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How did a nation founded as a homeland for South Asian Muslims, most of whom follow a tolerant nonthreatening form of Islam, become a haven for Al Qaeda and a rogue's gallery of domestic jihadist and sectarian groups? In this groundbreaking history of Pakistan's involvement with radical Islam, John R. Schmidt, the senior U.S political analyst in Pakistan in the years before 9/11, places the blame squarely on the rulers of the country, who thought they could use Islamic radicals to advance their foreign policy goals without having to pay a steep price. This strategy worked well at first--in Afghanistan during the anti-Soviet jihad, in Kashmir in support of a local uprising against Indian rule, and again in Afghanistan in backing the Taliban in the Afghan civil war. But the government's plans would begin to unravel in the wake of 9/11, when the rulers' support for the U.S. war on terror caused many of their jihadist allies to turn against them. Today the army generals and feudal politicians who run Pakistan are by turns fearful of the consequences of going after these groups and hopeful that they can still be used to advance the state's interests. The Unraveling is the clearest account yet of the complex, dangerous relationship between the leaders of Pakistan and jihadist groups—and how the rulers' decisions have led their nation to the brink of disaster and put other nations at great risk. Can they save their country or will we one day find ourselves confronting the first nuclear-armed jihadist state?

The Fall of the Kingdom of Punjab
The Fall of the Kingdom of Punjab

Author: Khushwant Singh

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2014-07-15

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13: 9351187969

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A forgotten classic from India’s favourite storyteller This riveting historical narrative is more full of drama than any fiction. With the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the great Punjab empire he had built was riven by intrigues, betrayals, assassinations and wars until the British finally annexed it, seizing the Kohinoor diamond and sending the young Maharaja Duleep Singh into exile in Britain. Khushwant Singh brings this turbulent period to vivid life in this page-turning account of the collapse of a once-mighty kingdom.

Making Ethnic Choices
Making Ethnic Choices

Author: Karen Leonard

Publisher: Temple University Press

Published: 2010-08-17

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 1439903646

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Defining and changing perceptions of ethnic identity.

Empire of the Sikhs
Empire of the Sikhs

Author: Patwant Singh

Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers

Published: 2013-08-01

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 0720615240

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The definitive biography of Ranjit Singh, contemporary of Napoleon and one of the most powerful and charismatic Indian rulers of his ageRanjit Singh has been largely written out of accounts of the subcontinent's past by recent Western historians, yet he had an impact that lasts to this day. He unified the warring chiefdoms of the Punjab into an extraordinary northern Empire of the Sikhs, built up a formidable modern army, kept the British in check to the south of his realm, and closed the Khyber Pass through which plunderers had for centuries poured into India. Unique among empire builders, he was humane and just, gave employment to defeated foes, honored religious faiths other than his own, and included Hindus and Muslims among his ministers. In person he was a colorful character whose his court was renowned for its splendor; he had 20 wives, kept a regiment of "Amazons," and possessed a stable of thousands of horses. The authors make use of a variety of eyewitness accounts from Indian and European sources, from reports of Maratha spies at the Lahore Durbar to British parliamentary papers and travel accounts. The story includes the range of the maharaja's military achievements and ends with an account of the controversial period of the Anglo-Sikh Wars following his death, which saw the fall of his empire while in the hands of his successors.