Historical Analysis of Nanak Prakash

A historical analysis of Bhai Santokh Singh's Nanak Prakash can be useful. Santokh Singh is regarded the greatest Sikh poet whose popularity rests on his voluminous tomes on Sikh Gurus. Because of his believed orthodoxy, the Singh Sabha wished Max Arthur Macauliffe to consult Gur Pratap Suraj for his history of the Gurus. The popularity of Santokh Singh's works can be estimated from the fact that almost all the modern historians of the Sikhs have based their account of the Gurus more or less on his works. "References by modern authors", observes W.H. McLeod, "to incidents in the lives of the Gurus can often be traced no further than statements by Santokh Singh."

But Santokh Singh's popularity among the scholars is not beyond question. McLeod feels that Gur Pratap Suraj contains "a somewhat higher proportion of historical fact but is untrustworthy nonetheless." Similarly, Macauliffe's opinion about the work is highly unfavourable despite the fact that he himself has heavily drawn the material from the work. I.B. Banerjee feels that Macauliffe has been "compelled to make the Suraj Prakash the primary basis of his 'Lives'of the Gurus, particularly of the earlier Gurus." Banerjee suggests to the future historians that the work should be used with 'great caution and restraint.' Nanak Prakash, according to McLeod, is unreliable like its principal source the Bala Janamsakhi. On the one hand these remarks are occasional and general in nature, on the other hand they treat Santokh Singh's work as a source material on the lives of Gurus. Hence, the historical analysis of Santokh Singh's work.

**Contents and Sample Pages**