Sikh history is an account of how and why a simple monolithic religion became political in its aims and military in its methods. It is a saga of brutal persecution, suffering, chivalry and vicissitudes of the Sikh people. It is the story of adversity, sacrifices, deprivations, and trials and tribulations during a prolonged life and death struggle against social and political oppression by tyrannical forces, resulting in the rise to power and founding of a kingdom by the Sikhs. Thereafter, it is the fulfillment of aims and aspirations, and then the collapse of Punjabi nationalism in a clash of arms with the British. Subsequent history is a tale of Anglo-Sikh relations; of joy and sorrow and the Sikh contribution in the freedom struggle during British rule. It also recounts the fate of the Sikhs in the partition of their homeland in 1947, and finally their position and status in Independent India, today. The narration is simple, clear and concise.