The Routledge Companion to the Life and Legacy of Guru Hargobind: Sovereignty, Militancy, and Empowerment of the Sikh Panth

This companion studies the life and legacy of Guru Hargobind (1590-1644), the Sixth Guru of the Sikh tradition. It highlights the complex nature of Sikh society and culture in the historical and socio-economic context of Mughal India.

The book reconstructs the life of Guru Hargobind by exploring the ＂divine presence＂ in history and memory. It addresses the questions of why and how militancy became explicit during Guru Hargobind’s spiritual reign and examines the growth of the Sikh community’s self-consciousness, separatism, and militancy as an integral part of the process of empowerment of the Sikh Panth.

A unique contribution, this book provides a multidisciplinary paradigm in the reconstruction of Guru Hargobind’s life and legacy. It will be indispensable for students of Sikh studies, religious studies, history, sociology of religion, anthropology, material culture, literary and textual studies, politics, militancy, and South Asian studies.

Pashaura Singh is Distinguished Professor and Dr. J.S. Saini Endowed Chair in Sikh and Punjabi Studies at the University of California, Riverside, USA. His work on the Sikh scripture and early Sikh history is widely noted. He is the author of four monographs: The Guru Granth Sahib: Canon, Meaning and Authority (2000); The Bhagats of the Guru Granth Sahib: Sikh Self-Definition and the Bhagat Bani (2003), Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory, and Biography in the Sikh Tradition (2006); and A Dictionary of Sikh Studies (2019). His monograph on Guru Arjan, was on the ＂Best Sellers List＂ in India (The Tribune, August 6, 2006) and his A Dictionary of Sikh Studies was launched on April 15, 2019, to commemorate Guru Nanak’s 550th Birth Anniversary. In addition, he has edited or co-edited eleven volumes, including The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies (2014) and the most recent volume The Sikh World (2023) for the Routledge Worlds series.