The Sikhs and Sikhism: A Basic Bibliography
Patrick S. O’Donnell (2022)
The Golden Temple (Amritsar, Punjab, India)
This compilation, like most of my bibliographies, has two constraints: books, in English. It is not
intended to be even remotely exhaustive but there should be enough titles to be useful for most
purposes, be it mere curiosity, leisurely reading, or serious research. I am happy to learn of
works one believes are conspicuous by their absence, which I will consider adding to later
iterations.
Ahluwalia, M.M. Kukas: The Freedom Fighters of the Punjab ([Bombay] Allied Publishers,
1965).
Anand, B.S. Guru Nanak: His Life was His Message (Guru Nanak Foundation, 1983).
Archer, John Clark. The Sikhs in Relation to Hindus, Moslems, Christians, and Ahmadiyya: A
Study in Comparative Religion (Princeton University Press, 1946).
Arshi, Pardeep Singh. Sikh Architecture (Intellectual, 1986).
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Arshi, Pardeep Singh. The Golden Temple: History, Art, and Architecture (Harman
Publishing House, 1989)
Bains, Tara Singh and Hugh J.M. Johnston. The Four Quarters of the Night: The Life-Journey
of an Emigrant Sikh (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1995).
Ballantyne, Tony. Between Colonialism and Diaspora: Sikh Cultural Formations in an Imperial
World (Duke University Press, 2006).
Banerjee, A.C. Guru Nanak and His Times (Punjabi University 1971).
Banerjee, A.C. The Sikh Gurus and the Sikh Religion (Munshiram Manoharlal, 1983).
Barrier, N. Gerald and Verne A. Dusenbery, eds. The Sikh Diaspora: Migration and the
Experience Beyond Punjab (South Asia Publications, 1989).
Basham, A. L., ed. A Cultural History of India (Oxford University Press, 1975).
Bilimoria, Purushottama. The Hindus and Sikhs in Australia (Australian Government
Publishing Service, 1996).
Briggs, G.W. Gorakhnath and the Kanpatha Yogis (Motilal Banarsidass, 1938).
Brown, Kerry, ed. Sikh Art & Literature (Routledge, in collaboration with the Sikh
Foundation, 1999).
Chima, Jugdep S. The Sikh Separatist Insurgency in India: Political Leadership and
Ethnonationalist Movements (Sage Publications, 2010).
Cole, W. Owen. Understanding Sikhism (Dunedin Academic Press, 2004).
Cole, W. Owen and Piara Singh Sambhi. The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices
(Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978).
Cole, W. Owen and Piara Singh Sambhi. Sikhism and Christianity: A Comparative Study
(Palgrave Macmillan, 1993).
Cole, William Owen and Piara Singh Sambhi. The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and
Practices (Sussex Academic Press, 1995).
Cole, W. Owen and Piara Singh Sambhi. A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism
(RoutledgeCurzon, revised ed., 1997).
Cunningham, Joseph Davey (H.L.O. Garrett, ed.) A History of the Sikhs (Oxford
University Press, 1918 [1st ed., 1849]).
Dhavan, Purnima. When Sparrows became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition,
1699-1799 (Oxford University Press, 2011).
Dilgeer, Harjinder Singh. Sikh History, 10 vols. (Sikh University Press/Singh Brothers
Amritsar, 2010–2012).
Dogra, R.C. and G.S. Manusukhani. Encyclopedia of Sikh Religion and Culture (Vikas,
1995).
Duggal, K.S. The Sikh Gurus: Their Lives and Teachings (Vikas, 1980).
Duggal, K.S. Philosophy and Faith of Sikhism (Himalayan Institute Press, 1988).
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Fenech, Louis E. Martyrdom in the Sikh Tradition: Playing the ‘Game of Love’ (Oxford
University Press, 2000).
Fenech, Louis E. and W.H. McLeod. Historical Dictionary of Sikhism (Rowman &
Littlefield, 3rd ed., 2014).
Fox, Richard G. Lions of the Punjab: Culture in the Making (University of California Press,
1985).
Gandhi, S.S. Struggle of the Sikhs for Sovereignty (Gur Das Kapur, 1980).
Gandhi, Surjit Singh. History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1469-1606 C.E. (Atlantic Publishers,
2007).
Goswamy, B.N. Piety and Splendour: Sikh Heritage in Art (National Museum, 2000).
Grewal, J.S. Guru Nanak in History (Punjab University, 1969).
Grewal, J.S. From Guru Nanak to Maharaja Ranjit Singh (Guru Nanak University, 1972).
Grewal, J.S. The Sikhs of the Punjab (Cambridge University Press, 1998).
Grewal, J.S., ed. The New Cambridge History of India, Vol. II.3: The Sikhs of the Punjab
(Cambridge University Press, 1990).
Grewal, J.S. and S.S. Bal. Guru Gobind Singh: A Biographical Study (Punjab University, 2nd
ed., 1987).
Gupta, Dipankar. The Context of Ethnicity: Sikh Identity in a Comparative Perspective
(Oxford University Press, 1996).
Gupta, Hari Ram. History of the Sikh Gurus (U.C. Kapur & Sons, 1973).
Hans, Surjit. Reconstruction of Sikh History from Sikh Literature (ABS Publication, 1988).
Hawley, John Stratton and Gurinder Singh Mann, eds. Studying the Sikhs: Issues for North
America (State University of New York Press, 1993).
Hawley, Michael, ed. The Sikh Diaspora: Theory, Agency and Experience (Brill, 2013).
Hershman, Paul. Punjabi Kinship and Marriage (Hindustan Publishing Corporation, 1981).
Holroyde, P. Indian Music (Allen & Unwin, 1972).
Iyengar, K.R. Srinivasar, ed. Guru Nanak: A Homage (Sahitya Akadami, 1973).
Jacobsen, Knut A. and Kristina Myrvold, eds. Sikhs in Europe: Migration, Identities and
Representation (Ashgate, 2011).
Jacobsen, Knut A. and Kristina Myrvold, eds. Sikhs across Borders: Transnational European
Sikhs (Bloomsbury Academic, 2012).
Jacobsen, Knut A. and Kristina Myrvold, eds. Young Sikhs in a Global World: Negotiating
Traditions, Identities and Authorities (Routledge, 2016 [Ashgate, 2015]).
Jacobsen, Knut A., et al., eds. Brill’s Encyclopedia of Sikhism, Vol. 1: History, Literature,
Society—Beyond Punjab (Brill, 2017).
Jakobsh, Doris R. Relocating Gender in Sikh History: Transformation, Meaning and Identity
(Oxford University Press, 2003).
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Jakobsh, Doris R. Sikhism and Women: History, Texts, and Experience (Oxford University
Press, 2010).
Jakobsh, Doris R. Sikhism (University of Hawai᾽i Press, 2011).
James, Alan G. Sikh Children in Britain (Oxford University Press, 1974).
Jolly, Surjit Kaur. Sikh Revivalist Movements: The Nirankari and Namdhari Movements in
Punjab in the Nineteenth Century (Gitanjali, 1988).
Kalsi, Sewa Singh. The Evolution of a Sikh Community in Britain (Department of Theology
and Religious Studies, University of Leeds, 1992).
Kalsi, Sewa Singh. Sikhism (Chelsea House Publishers, 2005).
Kapur, Rajiv A. Sikh Separatism: The Politics of Faith (Allen & Unwin, 1986).
Kaur, Madanjit. Golden Temple: Past and Present (Guru Nanak Dev University, 1983).
Kohli, S.S. Outlines of Sikh Thought (Punjabi Prakashak, 1966).
Kohli, S.S. Philosophy of Guru Nanak (Punjab University, 1969).
Kohli, S.S. Sikh Ethics (Munshiram Manoharlal, 1975).
Macauliffe, M.A. The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings, and Authors, 6 Vols. (Oxford
University Press, 1909, with reprint editions by S. Chand [3 vols.] since 1963 and later
other publishers).
Mandair, Arvind-Pal Singh. Religion and the Specter of the West: Sikhism, India,
Postcoloniality, and the Politics of Translation (Columbia University Press, 2009).
Mandair, Arvind-Pal Singh. Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed (Bloomsbury Academic,
2013).
Mandair, Arvind-Pal Singh. Sikh Philosophy: Exploring gurmat Concepts in a Decolonizing
World (Bloomsbury Academic, 2022).
Mann, Gurinder Singh. The Goindval Pothis: The Earliest Extant Source of the Sikh Canon
(Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University, 1996).
Mann, Gurinder Singh. The Making of Sikh Scripture (Oxford University Press, 2001).
Mayled, Jon. Sikhism (Heinemann, 2002).
McLeod, W.H. Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion (Oxford University Press, 1968).
McLeod, W.H. The Evolution of the Sikh Community: Five Essays (Oxford University Press,
1976).
McLeod, W. Hew. The B40 Janam-Sakhi (Guru Nanak Dev University, 1980).
McLeod, W. Hew. Early Sikh Tradition: A Study of the Janam-sakhis (Clarendon Press,
1980).
McLeod, W.H. Punjabis in New Zealand (Guru Nanak Dev University, 1986).
McLeod, W.H. Who is Sikh? The Problem of Sikh Identity (Clarendon Press, 1989).
McLeod Hew. Sikhism (Penguin Books, 1997).
McLeod, W. Hew. Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism (University of Chicago Press,
1990).
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Mcleod, W. Hew. Popular Sikh Art (Oxford University Press, 1991).
McLeod, W. Hew. Historical Dictionary of Sikhism (The Scarecrow Press, 1995).
McLeod, W. Hew. Sikhs and Sikhism (Oxford University Press, 1999).
McLeod, W. Hew. Sikhs of the Khalsa: A History of the Khalsa Rahit (Oxford University
Press, 2003).
McLeod, W.H. The A to Z of Sikhism (Scarecrow Press, 2009).
Narang, Gokul Chand. Transformation of Sikhism (Tribune Press, revised ed., 1945 (1914]).
Nayar, Kamala Elizabeth and Jaswinder Singh Sandhu. The Socially Involved Renunciate:
Guru Nānak’s Discourse to the Nāth Yogis (State University of New York Press, 2007).
Nayyar, G.S. Sikh Polity and Political Institutions (Oriental, 1979).
Nesbitt, Eleanor. Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2nd ed.,
2016).
Oberoi, Harjot. The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in
the Sikh Tradition (University of Chicago Press, 1994).
O’Connell, Joseph T., et al., eds. Sikh History and Religion in the Twentieth Century
(Manohar, 1990).
Pettigrew, Joyce. Robber Noblemen: A Study of the Political System of the Sikh Jats
(Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1975).
Rait, S.K. Sikh Women in England: Religious, Social and Cultural Beliefs (Trentham Books,
2005).
Ray, Niharranjan. The Sikh Gurus and the Sikh Society (Punjabi University, 1970).
Schomer, Karine and W.H. McLeod, eds. The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of
India (Berkeley Religious Studies and Motilal Banarsidass, 1987).
Sekhon, Sant Singh, trans. Unique Drama: Translation of Benati Chaupai, Bachitra Natak and
Akal Ustati (Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, 1968).
Shackle, Christopher. An Introduction to the Sacred Language of the Sikhs (School of
Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1983).
Shackle, Christopher and Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair, eds. Teachings of the Sikh Gurus:
Selections from the Sikh Scriptures (Routledge, 2005).
Shani, Giorgio. Sikh Nationalism and Identity in a Global Age (Routledge, 2008).
Singh, Avtar. Ethics of the Sikhs (Punjabi University, 1970).
Singh, Bhagat. Sikh Polity in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (Oriental, 1978).
Singh, Bhagat. History of the Sikh Misals (Punjabi University, 1993).
Singh, Darshan. Indian Bhakti Tradition and the Sikh Gurus (Lyall Book Depot, 1968).
Singh, Darshan. Western Perspective on the Sikh Religion (Sehgal, 1991).
Singh, Dewan. Guru Nanak’s Message in Japji (Faqir Singh & Sons, 1970).
Singh, Fauja. Guru Amar Das: Life and Teachings (Sterling, 1979).
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Singh, Fauja and Gurubachan Singh Talib. Guru Tegh Bahadur: Martyr and Teacher
(Punjabi University, 1975).
Singh, Fauja and R.S. Jaggi, eds. Perspectives on Guru Amar Das (Punjabi University,
1982).
Singh, Ganda. Guru Gobind Singh’s Death at Nanded: An Examination of Succession Theories
(Guru Nanak Foundation, 1972).
Singh, Gobinder. Religion and Politics in the Punjab (Deep & Deep, 1986).
Singh, Gopal. A History of the Sikh People (World Sikh University Press, 1979).
Singh, Gopal, trans. Sri Guru Granth Sahib, 4 Vols. (Gurdas Kapur & Sons, 1960-62).
Singh, Gurharpal and Darshan Singh Tatla. Sikhs in Britain: The Making of a Community
(Zed Books, 2006).
Singh, Gurumukh Nihal, ed. Guru Nanak: His Life, Times, and Teachings (National
Publishing House, 1969).
Singh, Harbans. Guru Gobind Singh (Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, 1966).
Singh, Harbans. Guru Nanak and Origins of the Sikh Faith (Asia Publishing House, 1969).
Singh, Harbans. Berkeley Lectures on Sikhism (Guru Nanak Foundation, 1983).
Singh, Harbans. The Heritage of the Sikhs (Manohar, 1994 [1st ed., Asia Publishing House,
1964]).
Singh, Harbans, ed. Perspectives on Guru Nanak (Punjabi University 1975).
Singh, Harbans, ed. The Encyclopedia of Sikhism, 4 Vols. (Punjabi University, 1992).
Singh, Harman. The Japji (S. Surinder Singh, 1957).
Singh, Jodh. Varan Bhai Gurdas: Text, Transliteration and Translation, Vols. 1 and 2 (Vision
and Venture, 1998).
Singh, Jodh and Dharam Singh. Sri Dasam Granth Sahib: Text and Translation, Vols. 1 and
2 (Heritage Publications, 1999).
Singh, Jogendra. Sikh Ceremonies (International Book House, 1941).
Singh, Kapur. Parasharprasna (Hind Publishers, 1959).
Singh, Kapur. Parasharprasna or the Baisakhi of Guru Gobind Singh (Guru Nanak Dev
University, revised ed., 1989).
Singh, Kapur. Guru Nanak’s Life and Thought (Guru Nanak Dev University, 1991).
Singh, Kartar. Life of Guru Nanak (Lahore Book Shop, 1937, revised ed., 1958).
Singh, Kashmir. Law of Religious Institutions: Sikh Gurdwaras (Guru Nanak Dev
University, 1989.
Singh, Kashmir. Sikh Gurdwaras Legislation (Singh Brothers, 1991).
Singh, Khushwant. Ranjit Singh: Maharajah of the Punjab, 1780-1839 (George Allen &
Unwin, 1962).
Singh, Khushwant. History of the Sikhs, 2 Vols. (Oxford University Press, 1999 [1966]).
Singh, Khushwant. The Sikhs Today (Orient Longmans, revised ed., 1967 [1959]).
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Singh, Khushwant. Hymns of Guru Nanak (Orient Longmans, 1969).
Singh, Khushwant. History of the Sikhs, 2 Vols. (Oxford University Press, 1999 [1966]).
Singh, Khushwant. The Illustrated History of the Sikhs (Oxford University Press, 2006).
Singh, Manmohan, trans. Sri Guru Granth Sahib, 8 Vols. (Shiromani Gurdwara
Parbandhak Committee, 1969).
Singh, Mohinder. The Akali Struggle: A Retrospect (Atlantic, 1988).
Singh, Nikky-Guninder Kaur. The Feminine Principle in the Sikh Vision of the Transcendent
(Cambridge University Press, 1993).
Singh, Nikky-Guninder Kaur. The Name of My Beloved: Verses of the Sikh Gurus (Harper
San Francisco, 1996).
Singh, Nikky-Guninder Kaur. Sikhism: An Introduction (I.B. Tauris & Co., 2011).
Singh, Nirbhai. Philosophy and Sikhism: Reality and Its Manifestations (Atlantic Publishers,
1990).
Singh, Nripinder. The Sikh Moral Tradition (South Asia Publications, 1990).
Singh, Parkash. The Sikh Gurus and the Temple of Bread (Dharam Parchar Committee
SGPC, 2nd ed., 1971).
Singh, Pashaura. The Guru Granth Sahib: Canon, Meaning and Authority (Oxford
University Press, 2000).
Singh, Pashaura. The Bhagats of the Guru Granth Sahib: Sikh Self-Definition and the Bhagat
Bani (Oxford University Press, 2003).
Singh, Pashaura and N. Gerald Barrier, eds. The Transmission of the Sikh Heritage in the
Diaspora (Manohar, 1996).
Singh, Pashaura and Louis E. Fenech, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies (Oxford
University Press, 2014).
Singh, Patwant. The Golden Temple (Time Books International, 1988).
Singh, Patwant. Gurdwaras in India and Around the World (Himalayan Books, 1992).
Singh, Patwant. The Sikhs (Alfred A. Knopf, 2000).
Singh, Sher. Philosophy of Sikhism (Sterling Publishers, 1966).
Singh, Sir Joginder. Sikh Ceremonies (Religious Book Society, 1968).
Singh, Taran. Guru Nanak: His Mind and Art (Bahri, 1992).
Singh, Taran, ed. Guru Nanak and Indian Religious Thought (Punjabi University, 1966).
Singh, Teja. The Japji (Khalsa Brothers, 1964).
Singh, Teja. Sikhism: Its Ideals and Institutions (Orient Longmans, 1964).
Singh, Trilochan. Guru Tegh Bahadur (Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, 1967).
Singh, Trilochan. Guru Nanak: Founder of Sikhism—A Biography (Gurdwara Parbandhak
Committee, 1969).
Singh, Trilochan, et al., trans. Selections from the Sacred Writings of the Sikhs (Allen &
Unwin, 1960).
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Takhar, Opinderjit Kaur. Sikh Identity (Routledge, 2016 [Ashgate, 2005]).
Talib, G.S. The Impact of Guru Gobind Singh on Indian Society (Guru Gobind Foundation,
1966).
Talib, G.S. Guru Nanak: His Personality and Vision (Gur Das Kapur & Sons, 1969).
Talib, Gurbachan Singh, trans. Sri Guru Grangh Sahib, 4 Vols. (Punjabi University, 1984-
1990).
Tatla, Darshan Singh. The Sikh Diaspora: The Search for Statehood (UCL Press, 1999).
Thursby, Gene R. The Sikhs (Brill, 1992).
Trumpp, Ernest. Adi Granath or the Holy Scriptures of the Sikhs (Allen & Tribner, 1877;
reprinted by Munshiram Manoharlal, 1970). [‘The British administration was anxious to
learn more about the Sikhs, and for this reason Trumpp was commissioned to translate
the Adi Granth, a task he completed only in part and very imperfectly. Trumpp’s work
contains some discerning observations, but unfortunately they were mixed with some
highly insulting remarks. To this day Trumpp has not been forgiven by the Sikhs.’—
Hew Mcleod in Sikhism (1997)].
Uberoi, J.P.S. Religion, Civil Society and the State: A Study of Sikhism (Oxford University
Press, 1996).
Varma, S.C. Guru Nanak and the Logos of Divine Manifestation (Gurdwara Parbandhak
Committee, 1969).
Vaudeville, Charlotte. A Weaver Named Kabir: Selected Verses with a Detailed Biographical
and Historical Introduction (Motilal Banarsidass, 2nd ed., 2017).
Wallace, Paul and Surendra Chopra, eds. Political Dynamics of Punjab (Guru Nanak Dev
University, revised ed., 1988).
Watson, James L., ed. Between Two Cultures: Migrants and Minorities in Britain (Blackwell,
1977).
Webster, John C.B. The Nirankari Sikhs (Macmillan, 1979).
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Sikh Temple (San Jose, California)