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Based on original Punjabi, Persian, Marathi and English sources related to Punjab and parts of South India, this book presents a collection of some of the articles on the crucial phase of the history of Punjab and the Khalsa presented by the author in various seminars.

In these articles the author has made a critical appraisal of : (i) the activities of Sikh Sardars/misls during the 18th century, and an assessment of the motivations of the contemporary and near-contemporary English writers and their understanding of the events and that of the Khalsa institutions with the help of the archival sources; (ii) events related to the period of Maharaja Ranjit Singh who had given the Khalsa 'a state', and the author has tried to make out that though punctilious in worship, his own religion was scarcely more than a form in regard to the actual working of the state; (iii) a comparative study of the polity during the early British rule; and (iv) the ups and downs faced by the Khalsa during the nineteenth century.

With its multiple perspectives, this book should be of interest to those concerned with the study of Sikh traditions, the misls, Sikh state and the Khalsa.