Preface To 'Tales Of Truth ( Sikh Martyrs )' By Santokh Singh Jagdev

The spirit and future of any nation lies in its history. Nations which forget their history, vanish and are forgotten. Hitherto, Sikhs have been creating their history, but only now have they begun writing and reading it. Tales of Truth is the English translation of the author, Sardar Santokh Singh Jagdev's book in Punjabi Sach Sunaisi Sach ki Bela published in 1989 which is completely sold out. Most of the Sikh history has been written by non-Sikhs and there has been no attempt to bring out any view point of the Sikh religion through these writings. Such a link was missing, especially for the younger generation, not quite conversant with the Punjabi language. The author, in translating his book into English has taken an invaluable step to build up this missing dimension. Sardar Santokh Singh Jagdev has a firm belief in God and has the conviction that it is His wish that is manifested through his work. He is not looking for any returns other than the service to the community, and uses his tithe, one tenth of his earnings, for his work. His confidence and faith in God has never failed him.

This book is a collection of small incidents from the biographies of some of the Gurus, leading Sikhs and historic movements of the Sikhs. All these illustrations bring out the salient features of the Sikh religion, namely Seuia, Simran and Kirat (meaning Service to humanity, Meditation and Truthful occupation). The author has analysed the history with great objectivity, yet not losing the faith of a devotee. The language used is simple, appropriate and fluent. The citations from Gurbani indicate the deep study and research of the history by the author.