Harjinder Singh Dilgeer (or Harajindara Siṅgha Dilagīra) is a writer on Sikh

Sikh

A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...

 culture

Culture

Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

 and history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

. Dilgeer wrote about the concept and the history of Akal Takht

Akal Takht

The Akal Takht of the Timeless One or Seat of God. It is one of the five seats of temporal authority of the Sikhs equivalent to any parliament of world sovereign country. Akal means The Timeless One - another term for God. Takht means 'seat' or 'throne' in Persian...

 Sahib, Sikh culture, Shiromani Akali Dal

Shiromani Akali Dal

The Shiromani Akali Dal , translation: Supreme Akali Party) is a Sikh nationalist political parties based in Punjab. The current party to be recognized by the Election Commission of India is the one led by Parkash Singh Badal...

, the history of Anandpur Sahib

Anandpur Sahib

Anandpur Sahib is a city in Rupnagar district in the state of Punjab, India. Known as "the holy City of Bliss," it is a holy city of the Sikhs and is one of their most important sacred places, closely linked with their religious traditions and history...

, and Kiratpur Sahib

Kiratpur Sahib

Kiratpur also known as Kiratpur Sahib is a town in Rupnagar district, Punjab, India. The town is the location of the Gurdwara Patal Puri where Sikhs take ashes of their dead.-Kiratpur Sahib Town:...

. The Sikh Reference Book is his magnum opus. He has produced a Sikh Encyclopaedia CD-ROM. His latest works are Encyclopaedia of Jalandhar (English), Dictionary of Sikh Philosophy (English and Punjabi), Banda Singh Bahadur (Punjabi), Makhan Shah Lubana (Punjabi), Sikh Twareekh in five volumes (a complete Sikh history, from 1469 to 2007, in Punjbi), and an English translation of Nitnaym (the Sikh daily prayer).

Early life

Dilgeer was born in the family of Gurbakhsh Singh and Mata Jagtar Kaur, at Jalandhar

Jalandhar

Jalandhar is a city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. It is located 144 km northwest of the state capital, Chandigarh...

, Punjab, India. in a family originally from Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer

Jaysalmer , nicknamed "The Golden City", is a town in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital Jaipur. It was once known as Jaisalmer state. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone, crowned by a fort, which contains the palace and several ornate Jain...

, in Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

, then Mehraj village (now in Bathinda district). He was later based in Jalandhar and Jalalabad

Jalalabad

Jalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...

 (Firozpur

Firozpur

Firozpur is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India, founded by Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq , a Muslim ruler of the Tughlaq Dynasty who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388.The Manj Rajputs say the town was named after their chief, a Rajput of...

), and finally in Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

. He now lives in England as well as in Mohali

Mohali

Mohali is a city adjacent to Chandigarh, 18th District in Punjab, India. It is officially named after the eldest son of Guru Gobind Singh, Sahibzada Ajit Singh . It, along with Chandigarh and Panchkula, form a part of the Chandigarh Tricity...

.

Education

In 1971, Dilgeer passed his M.A.

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and started teaching English language at various colleges in the Punjab.

Awards

In Denmark in 1995, he was presented with the 'Shan-i-Punjab' award; in 2004 he won the 'Giani Garja Singh Award' in Ludhiana; in 2005, he was presented with the 'Kohinoor Award' and 'National Professor of Sikh Studies' award in Birmingham (England); in 2006 he won the 'Bhai Gurdas' award in Amritsar; and in 2009 he was predented with the 'National Professor of Sikh History' award at Chandigarh.

Works

• Bewafaian (1966), a book of romantic poems
• Eskimo Smile (1972), a novelette Kamu Ronda Rahega (1973)
• Ikki Ghante, a book of stories (later published under the title of Yaaran Kahanian Te Ikk Novelette in 1977
• 1960 Ton Baad Di Navin Punjabi Kavita. Edited.

Books

• Emergency Ke Atyachar (1977, Hindi
  Hindi
  Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
  
  )
• Shiromani Akali Dal: A History (1978. Revised and enlarged in 2000, Punjabi)
• The Akal Takht (1980 English, revised and enlarged in 1995)
• Constitution of Khalistan
  Khalistan
  Khalistan refers to a global political secessionist movement to create a separate Sikh state, called Khālistān , carved out of parts mostly consisting of the Punjab region of India, depending on definition....
  
  (1983, English)
• Kesari Kitab (1984, Punjabi)
• Akal Takht Sahib (1986, revised and enlarged in 2000 and 2005, Punjabi)
• Khalistan Di Twarikh (1988, Punjabi)
• Sikh Hijackers (1989, Punjabi)
• Who Are the Sikhs? (mini book, in 1991, English; Danish 1994; Dutch
  Dutch language
  Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
  
  )
• India Kills the Sikhs, with 2450 photographs (1992, reprinted in 1994 and 1996, English)
• The Sikhs' Struggle for Sovereignty (1992, English)
• Khalistan Da Sacho Sach (1992, Punjabi)
• Kharhku Lekh (1992, Punjabi)
• Jujharu Kalam (1992, 2009, Punjabi martial poetry)
• Sikh Jujharvad Te Hor Lekh (1992, Punjabi)
• Sikh Culture (1992, and an enlarged edition in 1994 and 1996, Punjabi; 1994)
• The Sikh Reference book (1996–97, English) [an encyclopaedia]
• Sikh Masley (1998 Punjabi)
• Akali Lehar Da Kalam (edited, 1998, Punjabi)
• Anandpur Sahib (Punjabi 1998, Hindi 2000)
• Sikh Kaun Han (Punjabi edition in 1999, English edition as Who Are the Sikhs? in 2000, French 2002; Spanish 2004. Hindi and Urdu 2004-05)
• 1955 Da Punjabi Suba Morcha, with 400 photographs (1999 Punjabi),
• Anandpur Sahib
  Anandpur Sahib
  Anandpur Sahib is a city in Rupnagar district in the state of Punjab, India. Known as "the holy City of Bliss," it is a holy city of the Sikhs and is one of their most important sacred places, closely linked with their religious traditions and history...
  
   (Light & Sound play, 2000, Punjabi and English). Played daily at Anandgarh fort, Anandpur Sahib.
• Anandpur Sahib, a history (Punjabi 1998 & 2003, and English, 2003)
• Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Kiven Bani (2000, Punjabi)
• Akal Takht Sahib: Falsfa Te Twarikh (2000, Punjabi; it is a revised and enlarged edition of the first edition published in 1986 from Oslo, Norway)
• Shiromani Akali Dal, 1920-2000 (2000, Punjabi; it is an enlarged edition of the first edition of 1978),
• Guru De Sher (2001 Punjabi),
• Sikh Philosophy Ki Hai Te Hor Lekh (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 Punjabi. It is an enlarged edition of Sikh Culture).
• Keeratpur Sahib Da Itihas (2002, Punjabi)
• (The) Sikh Culture (2002, English)
• Anandpur Sahib: A History (2003, fully revised and enlarged, in English and Punjabi)
• Sikh Sabhayachar (2003, Hindi; published by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee)
• Encyclopaedia of Jalandhar (2004, English)
• Dictionary of Sikh Philosophy (English 2004).
• Mata Gujri Char sahibzde Chalih Muktey (Punjabi, 2005)
• Banda Singh Bahadur (Pbi, 2006)
• Sikh Twareekh de Ghallughare (Pbi 2007)
• Dilgeerian (Pbi and Urdu poetry, 2007–08)
• Makhan Shah Lubana (Pbi 2008)
• Loh Garh - banda Singh's Capital (Pbi, 2008)
• Sikh Twareekh in 5 volumes (Pbi 2008)
• Who Are the Sikhs (English, 2000, 2007, 2009; Norwegian 2007; French 2004; Spanish 2007)
• Sikh Philosophy Dictionary (Pbi, 2009)
• Nitnem (English translation, April 2009)
• Sikh Kaun Hain? (Hindi, 2006)
• Sikh Culture (Urdu, 2007)published in Pakistan. Translated by Kalyan Singh Kalyan
• SIKH HISTORY in 10 VOLUMES (English, 2010-11)

1. Ancient Punjab and Guru Period (up to 1708).
2. Banda Singh Bahadur (1708-16)
3. War and Peace (1716-1860)
4. Rising out of Ashes (1860-1925)
5. Betrayal of the Sikhs (1925-47)
6. Struggle for Survival (1947-77)
7. Genocide of the Sikhs (1978-84)
8. Massacre of Sikh Youth (1985-95)
9. Hijacking of Sikh Panth (1994-2011) 10. Sikh History in Pictures

Edited works

• Jaito Morchey De Akhin Ditthe Hal (2000, 2003, Punjabi)
• Sikh Te Sikhi (original by Harinder Singh Roop)
• Jangan (original by Principal Satbir Singh)
• Babar Akali Lehar Te Is De Agu (original by Gurbachan Singh)
• Punjabi Suba Morcha 1955 (original by Mohinder Singh & Karam Singh Zakhmi)
• Master Tara Singh De Lekh, two volumes

Tracts

• Gurdwara Alamgir da Itihas
• Master Tara Singh (Life & Work)
• Anandpur Sahib Ate Keeratpur Sahib De Gurdware (335,000 copies of this work were published in Punjabi, Hindi and English, in 1999 in connection with the tercentenary of Khalsa)
• Guru Granth Sahib
  Guru Granth Sahib
  Sri Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Granth, is the religious text of Sikhism. It is the final and eternal guru of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 angs, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh gurus, from 1469 to 1708...
  
  (English, 2004)