PrinceRey4 at 08:57, 1 May 2026

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{{Short description|Sikh writer and historian}}
[[File:Portrait photograph of the Sikh author Khazan Singh, published on the cover of his book 'Light of Universe' (1950).jpg|thumb|Portrait photograph of the Sikh author Khazan Singh, published on the cover of his book 'Light of Universe' (1950)]]
{{Sikh literature}}

'''Khazan Singh''' (1865–1953) was a [[Sikhs|Sikh]] [[Sikh literature|writer]] and [[History of Sikhism|historian]] active during the [[Singh Sabha Movement|Singh Sabha]] and [[Akali movement|Gurdwara Reform]] movements.<ref>Barrier, Norman Gerald. The Sikhs and Their Literature: (A Guide to Tracts, Books and Periodicals, 1849-1919). India, Manohar Book Service, 1970. Page 23.</ref> He served as the Extra Assistant Commissioner at Delhi. He authored the work ''History and Philosophy of the Sikh Religion'', published in 1914 in two volumes, one of the first comprehensive English accounts on the history and philosophy of the Sikhs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History and Philosophy of the Sikh Religion: In two parts. By Khazan Singh |url=https://philpapers.org/rec/SINHAP-2 |access-date=17 April 2026 |website=PhilPapers}}</ref><ref>McLeod, W. H.. Early Sikh tradition: a study of the janam-sākhīs. United Kingdom, Clarendon Press, 1980. Page 115.</ref>

Khazan Singh, alongside [[Bhagat Lakshman Singh]] and [[Sewaram Singh Thapar]], were part of a group of nascent, middle-class Sikhs in the early 20th century seeking to author a more sympathetic Sikh version of their history to correct what they perceived as misrepresentations by Western writers before them, such as by [[Ernest Trumpp]]. Khazan Singh considered the [[Guru Granth Sahib]] and ''[[Varan Bhai Gurdas|Vaaran]]'' by [[Bhai Gurdas]] to be the foundation for any works on Sikhism to be based upon.<ref>Banga, Indu. “J.S. Grewal on Sikh History, Historiography and Recent Debates.” ''Journal of Punjab Studies'', vol. 20, no. 1/2, Mar. 2013, p. 306. ''EBSCOhost'', search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=102850516&site=eds-live&scope=site.</ref> Khazan Singh considered Guru Nanak to have been a divine teacher and focused on the originality of his teachings. He viewed all the works of the Sikh gurus as a lead-up to the culmination of the founding of the [[Khalsa]] and believed in both the concept of the ''[[Guru Granth Sahib|Guru Granth]]'' and ''Guru Panth'' as being the form of the Sikh guru.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Banga|first=Indu|title=Different Types of History|last2=Grewal|first2=Jagtar Singh|publisher=Pearson Longman|year=2009|isbn=9788131718186|editor-last=Ray|editor-first=Bharati|pages=207|chapter=11: The Study of Regional History}}</ref>

70 manuscripts authored by Khazan Singh were in the [[Sikh Reference Library]] in [[Amritsar]] and lost during [[Operation Blue Star]] in 1984.<ref>Tatla, D. S. (2020). The loss of Sikh heritage: The missing manuscripts of Sikh Reference Library since June 1984. ''Sikh Formations'', ''16''(4), 392–393. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1080/17448727.2020.1804200</nowiki></ref> Khazan Singh was also involved in the legal dispute regarding Sikh ''[[kirpan]]s'' with the British government.

== Bibliography ==
[[File:Title-page of 'History and Philosophy of the Sikh Religion' (Lahore; "Newal Kishore" Press, 1914, Part I) by Khazan Singh.jpg|thumb|Title-page of 'History and Philosophy of the Sikh Religion' (Lahore: "Newal Kishore" Press, 1914, Part I) by Khazan Singh]]
Some works authored by Khazan Singh include:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Khazan Singh |url=http://webopac.puchd.ac.in/W27/Result/w27AcptRslt.aspx?AID=220641&xF=T&xD=0&nS=2 |access-date=17 April 2026 |website=Panjab University Chandigarh}}</ref>

* ''Akali Movement: Correspondence with late S.B. Mehtab Singh, a Leader of the Movement''
* ''Brief Review of the Gurdwara Reform Movement''
* ''Colourization of Vanaspati Ghee and Corruption: A Correspondence with Government''
* ''Correspondence on Akali Movement''
* ''Correspondence on Indian Freedom Movement''
* ''Correspondence with Lord Hailey, Former Governor of Punjab and U.P.''
* ''Gleanings from the Indian history and Morchas at Guru-Ka-Bagh and Jaito''
* ''History and'' ''Philosophy of the Sikh religion'' (Lahore: Newal Kishore Press, 1914)
* ''Quit India in Peace: Advice to the English in 1922''
* ''Role in the Kirpan Struggle''
* ''Warning to the Panth''
* ''Message of the Sikhs'' (Lahore: Model Electric Press)
* ''Miracles of the Sikh Gurus'' (Sialkot: self-published, 1932)
* ''Gurdwara Handbook'' (Lahore: Model Electric Press, 1934)
* ''Light of Universe'' (1950)

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:1865 births]]
[[Category:1953 deaths]]
[[Category:Sikh writers]]

Khazan Singh - Revision history

PrinceRey4 at 08:57, 1 May 2026