If history is to be relevant, it has to mirror and reflect and expand
our consciousness. Rajmohan Gandhi’s Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to
Mountbatten is the first book in 125 years to chronicle the undivided
Punjab from Attock to Delhi. The region was seven times the size of the
Punjab in India. The book evokes both feelings: a sigh of relief and a
sense of vacantness. The relief is that such a bloody history is behind
us and we have moved on to becoming a democracy, moved away from
monarchies, and hopefully such bloodshed will not happen again. The
vacantness is that, like in our long history, in a year of parliamentary
elections, in a nation as populous and diverse as ours, we still have
not built a culture in which political parties groom their next
generation of leaders.
Part of the book’s charm lies in bringing places like Sirhind, Sarai
Rohilla, Ferozepur, Multan, Kangara Hills and many more to life while
portraying the intrigues in the power circles.
http://newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/books/Ancient-land-of-survivors/2013/09/29/article1805238.ece
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