Scholarly yet accessible, Volume 2 focuses on the Sikh struggle for survival as a separate community post-1839 till the years after Independence, amrked by the demand for a distinct Sikh State. The second edition is updated with a preface and an epilogue that analyses events following the end of terrorism in Punjab and the achievement of the community's aspirations.
First published in 1963, this remains the most comprehensive and authoritative book on the Sikhs. The new edition updated to the present recounts the return of the community to the mainstream of national life. Written in Khushwant Singh's trademark style to be accessible to a general, non-scholarly audience, the book is based on scholarly archival research.