LONDON: The highly anticipated English translation of Panjab Under Siege, a seminal work on the June 1984 Ghallughara, is now available to a global readership. Originally authored in Panjabi by Malkeet Singh Bhawanigarh under the title Ghallughara June 1984 and published by Bibekgarh Prakashan, this new translation by Ranveer Singh brings one of the most vital contemporary Panthic works to a wider international audience.
Combining rigorous historical analysis, deep political insight, eyewitness testimony, and an authentic Panthic perspective, the book offers a profound look into one of the most defining moments in modern Sikh history.
Panjab Under Siege deliberately moves beyond standard historical recounts. It situates the military attack on Sri Darbar Sahib and Sri Akal Takht Sahib within the broader historical continuum of Sikh sovereignty and resistance. The text explores the deep-rooted and continuing struggle between the Guru Khalsa Panth and the apparatus of the modern state.
Importantly, the book meticulously documents the coordinated military assaults carried out across more than 65 Gurdwara Sahiban throughout Panjab during June 1984. By bringing these widespread, simultaneous attacks to the forefront, the publication sheds light on a critical dimension of the Ghallughara that has frequently remained underexamined within mainstream narratives.
Serving as both historical testimony and a significant intellectual intervention, Ranveer Singh’s translation raises urgent, structural questions concerning power, narrative control, identity, and resistance. Decades after the events of 1984, the insights captured in Panjab Under Siege address the foundational questions that continue to shape the political and spiritual existence of Sikhs across the world today.
