editorial articles reviews news & views - Institute of Sikh Studies

68
ABSTRACTS OF SIKH STUDIES : APRIL-JUNE 2005 / 537 NS
earlier, and that McLeod had pawned himself to Hindu chauvinists
much before he published his first work on Sikhism, Guru Nanak’s
Biography, in 1968.
INDIAN COLLABORATORS
Now, we may look into how Dr J S Grewal, a prime collaborator
has sought to cover up this aspect of intellectual dishonesty of the
main actor, McLeod. In his Contesting Interpretations of the Sikh Tradition,
(Delhi, 1998, p 109), Grewal says, “Loehlin’s Appendix on ‘the need
for Textual and Historical Criticism reproduces the short paper he had
presented to the Punjab History Conference in 1965". Readers may
have a look at Appendix I for the actual short paper and Appendix II
for Loehlin’s alleged Appendix. It is simply surprising after publication
of Dr Trilochan Singh’s work exposing the hypocrisy of McLeod and
his collaborators or proteges, Dr Grewal still thinks that the people
have not seen the short paper and the appendix together, to compare
and note down the distortions and discrepancies, and that the two are
not the same. Again, despite Dr Trilochan Singh’s work, which Grewal
quotes, he ignores Loehlin’s work, Christian Attitude to the Sikhs
(Edinburg, 1966), from the canvas of his discussion of Loehlin’s works,
(or even in the bibliography), because the facts stated therein were
inconvenient and glaring.
Shri P K Nijhawan, a leading journalist, who has had the
opportunity to get closer to the Indian Intelligence including the
powerful RAW (Reseach and Analysis Wing) setup, tells us that the
appointment in post 1984 era of Dr S S Bal as Vice Chancellor of
Guru Nanak Dev University and of Dr J S Grewal (who earlier rose to
be Vice Chancellor of GNDU) as Director of the prestigious Indian
Institute of Advanced Studies, Simla, was because of RAW’s
recommendation (Cf P K Nijhawan, Suppression of Intellectual Dissidence
and How left-Nehruvians Destroyed Punjab. (Delhi, 1997, pp 80-81, and
ad passim)
Dr J.S. Grewal and Dr S.S. Bal, two clean shaven members of
History Department, Punjab University, Chandigarh, donned long hair,
with one of them suppressing his cigarette smoking, and both of them