(1888PressRelease)
November 20, 2007 - BEYOND IDENTITY is a novel that explores the different facets of Identity. Preminder Singh Sandhawalia defines identity as an amalgam of religion, language, culture, rituals, symbols, tradition and legends unique to a people.
His characters include a Sikh young man who flees the militancy in Punjab to survive in London with a false identity, a Punjabi small-town girl who abandons her ethnic identity to assimilate into the modem Canadian society, a barrister who attempts to change his identity but fails, and a Jewish lady who loses her life to terrorism because of her identity. How the significance and substance of identity is debated amongst them as events and years roll by makes the book a riveting read.
Sandhawalia does not limit himself to just individual identity. He writes about the identity of the Sikh people, the fear of dissolution that the community faces and the threat of unfair and unwarranted politicization of minorities. Innovatively he also brings in a major Sikh think-tank in London which feels that if their people are to survive they must have a vision. The author's vision is pursuit of excellence and role models to instill a sense of pride in their Sikh identity and a coordinated and meritocratic way of handling all Sikh affairs globally.
This is a book set in a historical frame which very realistically pottays the political situation in Punjab in the 1980s. Those who are familiar with this history will find a true recount of those happenings. Those who are not will get a great lesson about a period of turmoil in that region. It is also a hugely topical book. Against a background of terrorism, genocide and civil disorder, Society is now constantly breaking-up and syncretic cultures like the Sindhis are vanishing. Sandhawalias' book suggests a peaceful way for a people to prevail.
Unlike the many serious Sikh studies penned by academics for debate by academics, this book is possibly the first popular novel about a crucial subject.
This is Preminder Singh Sandhawalias' second book. The first, Noblemen and Kinsmen was published in 1999. BEYOND IDENTITY has been published in October 2007.
For further information, please visit the web site www.beyond-identity.org
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