Scan barcode
amarj33t_5ingh's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.0
Panjab is Amandeep Sandhu's exegesis of Punjab, the Indian subcontinent's most catastrophic state; its bloodied history exemplified by its current sundering into the Indo-Pak Border today.
But Panjab is also replete with Sandhu's own bias. His inability to conform to Sikh norms sees him wrongly eviscerate and divide Guru Nanak who he believes to be an ultra-lite Sufi from the militaristic Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
He references the 2004 Gurleen Kaur vs. State of Punjab but conveniently omits its judgement in regards to the usage of the Guru Granth Sahib in a political context as notified by Gurtej Singh.
We see him brandish a ludicrous historiography to argue that before Guru Gobind Singh Ji the Gurus were probably shavers. And the classic reiteration of the long proven false myth, that Banda Singh betrayed the Sikhs.
So what else does Sandhu furnish? A cataclysmic tale of a region once celebrated for its perseverance. But other than woe and the usual jaundiced cry for human oneness, Sandhu leaves only feel good platitudes in his wake.
Because the ultimate tragedy of Punjab is its myopic reading of its own history. Where one aspect is epitomized over another and where "oneness" becomes the serpent which smothers the innocent while enemies of the past stab them in the rear.
But Panjab is also replete with Sandhu's own bias. His inability to conform to Sikh norms sees him wrongly eviscerate and divide Guru Nanak who he believes to be an ultra-lite Sufi from the militaristic Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
He references the 2004 Gurleen Kaur vs. State of Punjab but conveniently omits its judgement in regards to the usage of the Guru Granth Sahib in a political context as notified by Gurtej Singh.
We see him brandish a ludicrous historiography to argue that before Guru Gobind Singh Ji the Gurus were probably shavers. And the classic reiteration of the long proven false myth, that Banda Singh betrayed the Sikhs.
So what else does Sandhu furnish? A cataclysmic tale of a region once celebrated for its perseverance. But other than woe and the usual jaundiced cry for human oneness, Sandhu leaves only feel good platitudes in his wake.
Because the ultimate tragedy of Punjab is its myopic reading of its own history. Where one aspect is epitomized over another and where "oneness" becomes the serpent which smothers the innocent while enemies of the past stab them in the rear.
More...