Bhai Vir Singh (1872–1957)

<p>This volume brings together works by established and emerging scholars to consider the work and impact of Bhai Vir Singh. Bhai Vir Singh (1872-1957) was a major force in the shaping of modern Sikh and Punjabi culture, language, and politics in the undivided colonial Punjab, prior to the Partition of the province in 1947, and in the post-colonial state of India. The chapters in this book explore how he both reflected and shaped his time and context and address some of the ongoing legacy of his work in the lives of contemporary Sikhs. The contributors analyze the varied genres, literary, and historical that were adopted and adapted by Bhai Vir Singh to foreground and enhance Sikh religiosity and identity. These include his novels, didactic pamphlets, journalistic writing, prefatory and exegetical work on spiritual and secular historical documents, and his poems and lyrics, among others. This book will be of particular interest to those working in Sikh studies, South Asian studies, and post-colonial studies.</p> <p>1 Introduction: Bhai Vir Singh as author, scholar, and reformist </p><p>Anshu Malhotra and Anne Murphy</p><p>2 Innovation in Punjabi Literature: Considerations on the Advent of Literary Modernity </p><p>Farina Mir</p><p>3 Print publics, literary experiments, and community formation in the work of Bhai Vir Singh <i>Arti Minocha</i></p><p>4 The Conversion Loop: Gender, Identity, and Storytelling in Bhai Vir Singh’s <i>Sundarī</i> </p><p>Anshu Malhotra</p><p>5 Revisiting <i>Khalsa Samachar</i> (1899-1900): Women Issues and Concerns </p><p>Parneet Kaur Dhillon and Jaspal Kaur Dhanju</p><p>6 Didacticism and Punjabi Theatre: Bhai Vir Singh's experimental <i>Raja Lakhdata Singh</i> </p><p>Gunjeet Aurora</p><p>7 Beyond the Past: Poetry as a Notation the Present </p><p>Anne Murphy</p><p>8 Intertextuality and Reception History: Connecting Bhai Vir Singh’s <i>Srī Kalgīdhar Camatkār </i>to <i>gurbilās </i>literature </p><p>Julie Vig</p><p>9 Vir Singh’s Publication of the <i>Gurpratāp Sūraj Granth </i></p><p>Jvala Singh</p><p>10 Bhai Vir Singh’s Puratan Janamsakhi: Sikh Book Culture and the Historical Turn </p><p>Harjeet Singh Grewal</p><p>11 Transcendence and the Modern Sikh Subject: Analyzing Bhai Vir Singh’s Theology <i>Arvind-Pal S. Mandair</i></p><p>12 The manifold lives of Bhai Vir Singh’s <i>Sundri </i></p><p>Doris R. Jakobsh</p>