Book Review: Punjab Reconsidered: History, Culture, and Practice

Shackle's exploration of Punjab's living literary tradition and its distinct sources--Islamic, Sikh, bhakti, Persian, Avadhi, Arabic, Sant Bhasha, Braj, Punjabi, and, especially, Sindhi--suggests the background for the contemporary power of Punjabi in Pakistan highlighted by Alyssa Ayers. [...]complementing Bigelow's hopeful study of Sufi shrines, the volume concludes with two darker, similarly contemporary pieces. Tony Ballantyne's analysis of Sikh "legibility" (p. 437) in Britain suggests the limitations of what otherwise might be seen as success: governmental recognition of Sikh religious rights has come at the cost of marginalizing non-Khalsa Sikhs and of lost interfaith and cross-cultural connections.