Introductory - Global Sikh Studies

In India, on the other hand, the plebian ideals of the Sikh
Revolution did not catch the imagination of the people to the extent
it should' have done, because their outlook was warped by the caste
ideology and their freedom of action curtailed by the caste structure.
It is significant that the egalitarian character of the Sikh Revolution
drew more appreciative comments from early European historians or
travellers than from medieval non-Sikh Indian historians, who either
ignored it or referred to it in derisive language.
Another possible reason is that the appreciation of the
revolutionary character of the Sikh movement is screened by prejudices
derived from, opposite directions. On the one extreme is the viewpoint
that regards re1igion as an unmixed evil. It cannot even entertain the
idea that religion could be a vehicle for the promotion of values of
human freedom and equality under any set of circumstances. On the
other extreme is the viewpoint which swears by religion but to which
the use of revolutionary means for howsoever a noble cause, is an
anathema. Historiography has little in common with an approach that
would stick to absolute theoretical stands at the cost of human welfare
and progress, or with an a priori approach that would try to fit in
history into preconceived hypotheses born out of concepts
impracticable in human affairs. Toynbee has deprecated the Islamic
and Sikh revolutions for their use of revolutionary means for achieving
their political missions. It is true that the progress towards human
goals has not been linear. Counter-revolution has followed
Revolution like its own shadow. But this is not characteristic of
revolutionary movements alone. The ups and downs are common to
all human movements because of the inherent limitations of human
nature and environmental factors. The Inquisition and the Crusades
were launched in the name of Christianity. Buddhism was no less a
universal religion, and its adherence to the doctrine of Ahmisa bas
not been matched by the followers of any other creed. But, it did not
usher in the El Dorado of Toynbee's concept. Rather, its adherence to
the doctrine of Ahimsa because one of the major factors responsible
for its banishment from the land of its birth and, along with the caste,
for its enslavement, of the country for about one thousand years. The
ideology of the Radical Bhaktas was akin to the Sikh ideology and
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