The history of the Sikhs cannot be told without a discussion of the caste system and it is as well that Patwant Singh starts his with an analysis of Brahminical control over Indian society. The advent of Sikhism in the 15th century—the word Sikh deriving from the Sanskrit shishya, or disciple—with Nanak, the first guru, was essentially a revolt against caste, idol worship and gender inequality. Yet, if at the very outset Pat-want Singh points out that even after 2,000 years of Indian history "the Brahminical order has not only survived but spread with unerring purpose" he is also honest enough to deplore at the end of the book "the ersatz attitudes (among Sikhs) that threaten to form a casteless faith into a caste-ridden one." As examples he quotes the growing distinction between Jat and non-Jat Sikhs, regional divisions in the community and, worse of all, prejudice against Mazhabi Sikhs—the lower castes who converted to Sikhism. With outspoken candour, he places part of the blame at the doorstep of the two main Sikh bodies of political control, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Prab-andhak Committee (SPGC) which have persistently promoted the interest of the Jat Sikhs against non-Jat Sikhs. What he does not explicitly point out—although it's clear from a close reading of the text—is that throughout history the dharma of the Sikh brotherhood has been shiningly upheld when under attack. This is as true of the survival of Sikhism under the early Afghan raiders, the Mughals, the British, all the way down to the brutal machinations of Congress politics that resulted in Operation Bluestar and, later, the killings of the Sikhs in the wake of Indira Gandhi's assassination. But in times of peace Sikh society tends to show signs of reverting to pre-Sikh configurations. And when in power Sikh politicians are just as venal as any other.