PREFACE
"Encyclopaedias
do not grow on trees," I had read somewhere as I was browsing among
materials in the library. My object was to delve deeper into the mystique of
the genre preparatory to drawing up my own plan of work on an Encyclopaedia of
Sikhism I had been assigned to by the Syndicate of the
The
Sikh Encyclopaedia was the brainchild of Professor Kirpāl
Singh Nāraṅg who was then the
vice-chancellor of the
How
simplistic were the notions I had been nurturing in my mind began soon to dawn
upon me. Also readily began to show up the shortcomings in the scheme I had
devised. I had planned that, since it would not be practicable to collect under
one roof specialists in different fields, most of the articles of the
Encyclopaedia would be written by "outside" experts and that we would
have a small editorial unit at the University to shepherd the manuscripts,
fact-check them, and revise them to ensure some kind of a literary discipline
and symmetry. It seems I was not above exaggerating my own editorial experience
and capacities. Three or four of the scholars whose names were on the top of my
list were too busy and were chary of putting anything additional on their
plate. They declined our invitations. This in fact turned out to be the
principal pitfall. The number of contributors we could call upon fell dismally
short of our needs. Scholars with experience of research in Sikh studies and of
specialized writing were few and far between. Our choice was thus severely
limited. In some cases our invitations for articles got accumulated in a few
pairs of hands and our files were soon bursting at the seams with copies of
reminders we had had to send out chasing after our contributors. We had to wait
for long periods of time before securing manuscripts from them.
Still
we had no choice except to adhere to the plan we had originally prepared.
Then
we had no precedents to go by. On Sikh doctrine no concisely argued work
existed. Even historical fact was far from well sifted. To this may be added
the paucity of reliable and firm documentation. Authorities of whatever vintage
hopelessly contradicted one another. This, despite the fact that most of the
Sikh enterprise had occurred within the full view of history! It seems the
focus has been woefully warped at some point. Efforts at rectification have
remained tentative. It is not easy to restate and repack the entire range of
information and knowledge of a people. An attempt has been made here precisely
to define the ideas and terms of Sikhism. The writing is intended to be simple
and tight, shunning the purple and the loose alike. The aim throughout has been
clarity and precision.
Bypassing
The
chief minister of the
The
next meeting of the Foundation took place in the chandeliered hall of the
palace of the Maharaja of Paṭiālā,
with a large portrait of Mahārājā Ālā Singh, 18th century Sikh hero and founder of
the Paṭiālā dynasty, overlooking the
assembly from one side and the Hungarian painter August Schoeftt's
famous canvas depicting Mahārājā Raṇjīt Singh's court with a replica in gold of
the Amritsar Golden Temple underneath it, from the
other. Past and present thus converged at the time of that small Sikh assembly
on 30 November 1965, refracting history into the current moment. Chaṇḍīgaṛh, the State capital, was
named the headquarters of the Foundation with Giānī
Zail Siṅgh as the
general secretary. One of the several committees appointed was charged with
planning and bringing out literature appropriate to the occasion. From the
offices of the Foundation soon began to flow a steady stream of literature
comprising a commemoration volume, illustrated books for young readers,
annotated editions of Gurū Gobind
Singh 's works, and a biography of Gurū
Gobind Siṅgh in
English which was simultaneously translated into all major Indian languages
such as Saṅskrit, Hindī,
Punjabi, Beṅgālī, Assamese, Marāṭhī, Gujarātī,
Oṛiyā, Sindhī,
Tamil, Telugū, Malayālam,
Kannaḍa, Kashmīrī
and Maithīlī.
In
this spontaneous enthusiasm for anniversary celebration is reflected the Sikhs'
response to the historical memory of the Gurūs
and to the important events of their history. Visible here is also their deep
commitment to their faith, their joyous and urgent participation in their
historical tradition, their cohesion and their love of the spectacular.
The
burgeoning of interest in the study of Sikhism brought to light the grave
paucity of materials on Sikhism, highlighting at the same time the need for
serious academic research and study. The present publication aims at supplying
the gap. The purpose of the undertaking was to prepare in English and Punjabi a
general reference work about Sikh religion. The work was to be comprehensive in
scope and was to cover topics such as Sikh theology, philosophy, history,
ethics, literature, art, ceremonies, customs, personalities, shrines, sects,
etc. The details of the scheme were worked out under the aegis of an advisory
committee consisting of leading scholars of the day — Dr Bhāī Jodh Siṅgh, Dr Gaṇḍā
Siṅgh, Professor Gurbachan
Siṅgh Tālib, Dr Faujā Siṅgh, Dr Tāran Siṅgh and
Professor Gulwant Siṅgh.
The staff originally provided consisted of the Editor (Professor Harbaṅs Siṅgh), two
Assistant Editors (Dr Harkīrat Siṅgh and Professor Harminder
Siṅgh Kohlī; the
former was on his retirement replaced by Dr Jodh Siṅgh), two Senior Research Fellows (Sardār Siṅgh Bhāṭīā and G.S. Nayyar),
one Research Associate (Dharam Siṅgh), two
Research Assistants (Gurnek Siṅgh
and Major Gurmukh Siṅgh),
and Research Scholar (Giānī Gurcharan Siṅgh). Some
initial exploration was made by Himat Siṅgh.
The
first task was to compile a list of subject-titles to be included in the
Encyclopaedia. To this end, the staff, in the first instance, rummaged through
libraries — on the campus, the University Library, Bhāī
Mohan Siṅgh Vaid
collection and Bhāī Kāhn
Siṅgh collection, and off the campus, the Motībāgh
Palace library, and the State Archives, and compiled a list of likely topics. A
list of nearly 4,000 titles thus emerged. At the same time a roster of likely
authors was prepared. This comprised lists in Punjabi and in English. Those who
did not write in English were free to write in Punjabi. We had their work
translated into English.
Having
to work on a long-term project has its own hazards. I passed through several
health crises. At one point, I was incapacitated following an eye-surgery, but
was, thanks to the skill and devoted care of the surgeon, Dr Robert M.
Johnston,
I
must record here my gratitude to the
HARBANS SINGH
Editor-in-Chief
A-l,
12
December 1992