Jagtar Singh Grewal
Description
Jagtar Singh Grewal, a well known writer, historian, scholar and a former Vice Chancellor of Guru
Nanak Dev University was born in 1926. After securing his Ph.D and B.Litt. from London, he joined Guru
Nanak Dev University where he founded the department of History. He was the first Dean of the Academic
Affairs of the University and is a former member of faculty at Punjab University, Chandigarh. After his
superannuation from GNDU in 1984, he joined the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla as its
Director.
When Tony Blair launched Tony Blair Faith Foundation in May 2008 in Newyork, S. J.S. Grewal became
a member of the Religious Advisory Council of the said organization which aims at educating, informing
and developing understanding about various faiths and the relationship between them. The Foundation
has an international religious advisory council made up of members from six major religions including
Sikh religion. S. Grewal is also the head of Institute of Punjab Studies, Chandigarh. He has published
several articles and books on Sikh history and is considered by many as a scholar on the subject. Contesting
Interpretations of the Sikh Tradition, The Sikhs of the Punjab, Sikh Ideology, Polity and Social Order, Social
and Cultural History of the Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Polity, Economy and Society, Kinship and State
Formation, The Sikhs: Ideology, Institutions and Identity, Guru Nanak in History and Historical Writings
on the Sikhs (1784-2011) are some of his notable works and his researches have been subjected to studies
on academic level. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma
Shri in 2005 for his contributions to Indian literature. Even now, whenever there is a any seminar on Sikh
history, S. Grewal is invited and his views are given importance. Thus, being one the great historians on Sikh
history in the present times, he is a superb role model of his field.
