Baba Teja Singh was a Sikh revolutionary who was inspired by the Lahore Singh-Sabha revivalism of the late 19th to early 20th century to war for Punjabi liberty from the British. He was a dedicated humanist alongside as well as a judicial researcher of the Sikh past. Dr. Ganda Singh retains the distinction of being India's first and possibly only encyclopaedist-cum-historian who provided a comprehensive and detailed methodology of sifting fact from fiction to adjudge history in a simple and truthful light. Both the revolutionary and the historian teamed up in post-British India to defend Sikh heritage and history from Hindu ethnonationalists while lending new dimensions to the Sikh understanding of history.

'A Short History of the Sikhs' is indeed short. It deals with essential facts of Sikh history from 1469-1765 ending with the Dal Khalsa's twilight in late 18th century Punjab. Yet this should not detract from the fact that it is quite detailed and easy to understand; even for laymen. A timeless classic which will continue to inspire future generations of Sikhs to study their glorious albeit sanguinary past. ( )