Panjab Under Siege: June 1984, Resistance and Sikh Sovereignty

A major work of Sikh history now available in English

Khalis House is proud to publish Panjab Under Siege, the English translation of Malkeet Singh Bhawanigarh’s ਘੱਲੂਘਾਰਾ ਜੂਨ ੧੯੮੪, originally published in Panjabi by Bibekgarh Prakashan.

Translated by Ranveer Singh, the book examines June 1984 and the wider assault upon the Sikh nation, its institutions and its sovereign consciousness.

Beyond a conventional account of June 1984

The events of June 1984 are often reduced to the Indian state’s attack on Sri Darbar Sahib and Sri Akal Takht Sahib. Panjab Under Siege places that attack within the broader operation carried out across Panjab, during which scores of other gurdwaras were also targeted.

Bringing together eyewitness perspectives, historical reflection and political analysis, the book challenges statist narratives that frame 1984 solely as a security operation or human-rights failure. Instead, it approaches the period through Sikh sovereignty, resistance and the continuing relationship between the Guru Khalsa Panth and the modern state.

Bringing this work to an English readership

This translation makes an important Panjabi account available to readers across the diaspora and beyond. It contributes to the preservation of Sikh historical memory while creating space for the Panth to understand June 1984 through its own concepts, experiences and political vocabulary.

Panjab Under Siege was published by Khalis House on 6 June 2026.

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