• ISBN13: 9788126915163
• Binding: Hardcover
• Subject: History
• Publisher: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Ltd
• Publisher Imprint: N/A
• Publication Date: June 22, 2011
• Pages: 344
• Original Price: INR 695.0
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 350 grams

Punjab Under the Great Mughals brings out the peculiarities of the concepts and strategies followed by the Mughal emperors and their impact on governance. Mughal sovereignty as well as governance assumed colours different from the ones identifiable during Sultanate. The Mughal sovereignty was not of Sunni variety. It was Changezian, Timurian, Persianate, and Sultanian—all rolled into one. The anchor of the governance was not Shariat; it was sovereign-specific. The Mughal emperor was considered himself as exalted as divine and thus worthy of magnificence, deserving to be displayed through progression in architecture, calligraphy, painting and court glamour. This was true by and large, until Aurangzeb possessed baton and altered the nature of the governance to make it Sunni Muslims-specific and anti-non-Muslims with significant consequences.
The politics which the Mughal emperors embraced from time to time has been amply taken care of in this study. Whereas Punjab developed economically and in terms of stability, certain cracks appeared. There emerged a need for opening or identifying avenues for industrial surplus to be invested fruitfully. Bureaucratic structure needed overhaul because Mansabdari system was not amenable to improvement, owing to the shrinkage of crown lands. Aurangzeb, despite his personal qualities of integrity, honesty and perseverance, was too obsessed with Islamic unitarianism to forge a right type of approach to the looming problems. The ultimate upshot was that Suba of Lahore, instead of presenting an example of stable, harmonious and prosperous society, skidded fast into the vortex of instability, inter-communitarian strife and economic erosion.
The book shall be useful to students and academics of History, especially those interested in the history of the Sikhs, the Punjab and the Great Mughals.

Surjit Singh Gandhi is a known authority on the History of the Sikhs. Besides the present study, his other outstanding works are Struggle of the Sikhs for Sovereignty; History of the Sikh Gurus; Perspectives on Sikh Gurdwaras Legislation; Sikhs in the Eighteenth Century; History of the Great Mughals; Kishan Singh Gargaj; and History of Sikh Gurus Retold. He has several research papers to his credit which were published in journals of repute. He wrote for the Encyclopaedia of Sikhism and for the Sikh History Project sponsored by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). He addressed the Convention of the North American Sikhs in New Jersey (USA) during the year of the Birth Tercentenary of the Khalsa. He was the Syndic of Guru Nanak Dev University during 1988-1990. He is Secretary, Akal Degree College for Women, Sangrur, Trustee of General Gurnam Singh Educational Trust, Trustee of Bhai Mani Singh Education Trust, Secretary of Sant Attar Singh Vocational Education Trust, and Secretary of Akal College of Education for Women, Fatehgarh Chhanna (Sangrur).
He served the Punjab Education Department for thirty-four years, first as a Senior Lecturer and then as a Principal. After superannuation, he worked as Director, Sikh Itihas Research Board and Sikh Reference Library, SGPC, Amritsar. At present, he is engaged in writing History of SGPC and of the Sikhs in the twentieth century.