Since the dawn of Indian history, Punjab has always been in turmoil as it was the northern land gateway to the Indo-Gangetic plains and had borne the brunt of the attacks of the invading hordes from the Asian heartlands for many centuries. The twentieth century has witnessed the cataclysmic shrinkage in size of the once sprawling Punjab that extended from river Indus in the west to the outskirts of Delhi before 1947. The present state of Punjab is surrounded by Jammu and Kashmir in the North, Himachal Pradesh in the east, Haryana and Rajasthan in the South and the country of Pakistan in the west. Punjab had seen many a bloodbath, but partition of India in 1947 rocked it with human blood, and the period from 1980 to 1992 saw the spectre of terrorism hitting the state. In the name of religion, pacifists turned fanatics and human life became one of the cheapest commodities. The author has felt harrowed by the virulence of communal frenzy and violence as he has worked in Punjab as its Director General of Police during 1980s, and stayed very close to the seat of power. The present book is an indepth study of the land and people of Punjab, freedom movement and bloodbath in Punjab, Sikh religion, Sikh identity, Khalistan movement, fundamentalism, operation blue star, terrorism and its failure, political opportunism, Assassination of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and its aftermath, etc. etc. The book also discloses many known personalities who fashioned the era, and the policies which spelt disaster. It shows the admixture of religion and politics putting the verdant land of Punjab on fire. The author has suggested that a multi-dimensional effort embracing competence and probability, political sagacity and the ambience of Punjabi culture can heal the outrage Punjab has suffered.
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