Dr. W. Hew Mcleod

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May his soul rest in peace


Dr. W.H Mcleod

Dr. W. Hew Mcleod(1932 - 2009), was a prolific scholar, professor and author, belong to New Zeland. The son of a sheep-farmer had come to Punjab, the north Indian border province that has a Sikh majority population, as a Christian missionary in 1958. He then settled down in Batala town, 40 km from Amritsar, Mcleod found his interest in Christianity waning and was drawn to Sikh history.

Mcleod played a major role in establishing and popularising the academic study of Sikhism outside India. He leaves behind a body of work on Sikhism which will be a source of reference to the coming generations of Sikh scholars

Life

HEW MCLEOD is a New Zealander who taught in Punjab for nine years and there developed a life-long interest in the Sikhs. In 1971 he returned to the History Department of the University of Otago in Dunedin, where he remained until his retirement in 1998. His first book was Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion, published in 1968. Since then he has produced another fifteen books on Sikh history and religion. These include critical studies, translations, and a dictionary

Mcleod wrote several books, including "Guru Nanak and Sikh Religion" (translated into Punjabi by Amritsar's Guru Nanak Dev University), "The Evolution of Sikh Community", "The Sikhs - History, Religion and Society", "Sikhs of the Khalsa" and many others. He did his PhD on Sikh history from the University of London.

  • 1955: MA University of New Zealand
  • 1965: PhD University of London
  • 1990: DLit University of London
  • 1999: FRSNZ

Described by many as an "unsung success story" who acquired "global repute" with his work as a historian, Mcleod left New Zealand in 1958 to work as a missionary in northern Punjab. He taught Punjab history at Baring College in Batala town before his interest as a missionary started to fade. Unimpressed with the existing studies at that time on the 10 Sikh Gurus, Mcleod got immersed in Sikh history and religion and even Punjabi, a language he learnt to speak with ease. He lost all interest and contact with the church as he pursued Sikh history.

Criticism

Some of his books and research came in for criticism from Sikh scholars but there were many who admired his tireless work on Sikhism.

W.H. Mcleod ,the man from faraway New Zealand who came to Punjab in the 1950s as a Christian missionary but ended up being a globally-reputed historian on Sikhs has passed away. He was dedicated over four decades of his life in researching Sikh history, died in Dunedin on Monday night.

Hew McLeod came to Punjab half a century earlier as a missionary. His mission was to convert people to Christianity. Last Monday, when he died, had he not proclaimed himself largely an agnostic, many would have rushed to dub him almost a Sehajdhari Sikh.

Much did McLeod for Sikhism, and much gave Sikhism to McLeod. His life time’s work was the study of the Sikhs, and McLeod opened the window of the world to Sikhism. He lived a rich life, full of pursuit of truth, his fair share of controversies, an impressive body of writing and a commitment to the cause he found that lasted a lifetime.

To say that McLeod was an important name in Sikhism’s scholarship will be an understatement. As I.J. Singh wrote in a brilliant piece meant as a tribute to McLeod, he was “gentleman and a scholar” who was an “ex-missionary … not left untouched by the richness of Sikh teaching and faith” but most importantly “who has done more to introduce Sikhism to the world outside India than anyone else.”

That there was immense criticism of his work is a measure of the man as a scholar, and the special articles that this edition carries on inside pages about him reflect a diversity of opinion about McLeod’s approach and methodology.

Often, McLeod’s interpretations ran contrary to more accepted and acceptable interpretations of Prof Sahib Singh or even Macauliffe and never really answered the charge of misinterpreting Gurbani but wanted his readers to judge him for that. There are many who will find his tagging of the Institute of Sikh Studies as ‘traditionalist’ and many scholars’ work as ‘conservative’, problematic, but we must remember that while all historians may honestly try (Few do, of course), complete objectivity may be an ideal that may still not be within grasp. Further proof that historians are humans, too.

We have heard suggestions that McLeod’s approach was historical and the others’ based on belief. This is somewhat specious. There is an argument that having being taught in western tradition, McLeod’s way was to cast all aside and only accept what was backed by facts. This is tantamount to saying that all who preceded him or differed were guilty of having wrong facts. A historian’s truth is often relative, just like everyone’s else. Thankfully, in his autobiography, McLeod concedes that his work has all the limitations that the Western historical methods impose.

Death

W. Hew McLeod died at 11.00 pm, Monday, July 20, 2009 (New Zealand time) in Dunedin, New Zealand, after a lengthy illness. He was 77. The World Sikh News mourns his death and also holds that the best way to pay tribute to a scholar who has lived a life so extraordinarily rich is to try and re-engage with his work.

It is a sign of the times that in Punjab, virtually no newspaper carried even the news of the death of Hew McLeod even on Wednesday, except a local edition of the Hindustan Times. In the dumbed down times, McLeod’s work and its criticism assume all the more importance.

Books by McLeod

  1. Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion. Oxford: the Clarendon Press (1968). First Indian ed., rev. Delhi: OUP (1976). Third impression 1988. Oxford India Paperbacks 1996, 1998, 2001. xii, 259p. Reprinted as a part of the omnibus volume Sikhs and Sikhism (New Delhi: OUP, 2000).
  2. The Evolution of the Sikh Community. Delhi: OUP (1975). Oxford: the Clarendon Press (1976). viii, 119p. Oxford India Paperbacks 1996, 1998. xi, 127p. Reprinted as a part of the omnibus volume Sikhs and Sikhism (New Delhi: OUP, 2000). ).
  3. Early Sikh Tradition. A study of the janam-sakhis. Oxford: the Clarendon Press (1980). xiv, 317p. Reprinted as a part of the omnibus volume Sikhs and Sikhism (New Delhi: OUP, 2000).
  4. Punjabis in New Zealand: A history of Punjabi migration, 1890-1940. Amritsar: Guru Nanak Dev University (1986). Illus, maps. iv, 199p.
  5. The Sikhs: history, religion, and society. New York: Columbia University Press (1989). ix, 161p.
  6. Who is a Sikh? The problem of Sikh identity. Oxford: the Clarendon Press (1989). New Delhi: OUP (1989). New Delhi: OUP (Oxford India Paperbacks 2002). x, 140p. Reprinted as a part of the omnibus volume Sikhs and Sikhism (New Delhi: OUP, 2000).
  7. Popular Sikh Art. A selection of bazaar posters with accompanying text. Delhi: OUP (1991). Illustrated. xi, 139p.
  8. Punjab to Aotearoa: migration and settlement of Punjabis in New Zealand 1890-1990. With S. S. Bhullar. Hamilton: New Zealand Indian Association Country Section (Inc.) (1992). Illustrated. 177p.
  9. Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. Lanham, Md., and London: Scarecrow Press (1995). 323p. Reprinted for South Asia by the Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2002, with Addendum to the Bibliography. 349p. Second edition revised and enlarged published by the Scarecrow Press, 2005.
  10. Sikhism. London: Penguin Books (1997). 334p.
  11. Gandhi and Indian Independence. With Richard Webb. Auckland: Macmillans (1998). 108p.
  12. Sikhs and Sikhism. Omnibus volume containing reprints of Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion, Early Sikh Tradition , The Evolution of the Sikh Community , and Who is a Sikh? , all originally published by the Clarendon Press, Oxford, and Oxford University Press, New Delhi. New Delhi: Oxford University Press (1999). 259+317+127+140p.
  13. Exploring Sikhism: aspects of Sikh identity, culture, and thought. Collected articles. New Delhi: Oxford University Press (2000). 288p.
  14. Sikhs of the Khalsa: a history of the Khalsa Rahit. New Delhi: Oxford University Press (2003). xvi, 482p.
  15. Discovering the Sikhs: autobiography of a historian. Delhi: Permanent Black (2004). xii, 245p.
  16. The B40 Janam-sakhi. An English translation with introduction and annotations of the India Office Library Gurmukhi manuscript Panj. B40 , a janam-sakhi of Guru Nanak compiled in A.D. 1733 by Daya Ram Abrol. Amritsar: Guru Nanak Dev University (1980). xiv, 32, 271p.
  17. Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism. Manchester: Manchester University Press (1984). Chicago: University of Chicago Press (1990). x, 166p.
  18. The Chaupa Singh Rahit-nama. The rahit-nama attributed to Chaupa Singh Chhibbar and the associated prose rahit-nama attributed to Nand Lal. Gurmukhi text and English translation with introduction and notes. Dunedin: University of Otago Press (1987). 260p.
  19. Prem Suma´rag: the testimony of a Sanatan Sikh. An eighteenth-century rahit-nama with introduction. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2006. 129p.
  20. Part 2 of Sikhs of the Khalsa comprises translations of 21 works consisting of proto-rahit compositions, rahit-namas, and other Rahit material. Accepted for publication by OUP, New Delhi. Translation from Punjabi of Prem Sumarag , an eighteenth-century rahit-nama. The Punjabi printed edition is 151p in length.
  21. Published work edited: Henry Steinbach, The Punjaub (1st ed. London, 1846). 2nd edition, with introduction by W. H. McLeod. Karachi: Oxford University Press (Oxford in Asia Historical Reprints) (1976). xxxiv, 183p.
  22. Guru´ Na´nak de udesh. Punjabi translation of Part V of Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion. Translator: Mohan Jit Singh. Amritsar: Guru Nanak Dev University (1974). 115p.
  23. The Sants: studies in a devotional tradition of India. Ed. Karine Schomer and W. H. McLeod. Berkeley: Berkeley Religious Studies Series; Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass (1987).
  24. Sikh History and Religion in the Twentieth Century. Ed. Joseph T. O'Connell, Milton Israel, Willard G. Oxtoby, W. H. McLeod, and J. S. Grewal. Toronto: University of Toronto Centre for South Asian Studies (1988).
  25. The Sikhs of the Punjab. A text for use in secondary schools. First N.Z. edition published by Graphic Educational Publications, Auckland (1968). Second N.Z. edition by Whitcombe & Tombs, Auckland (1970). Indian edition by Lyall, Ludhiana (1969). U.K. edition by Oriel Press, Newcastle-on-Tyne (1970). 32p.
  26. The Way of the Sikh. For children 10-12 years. Amersham, U.K.: Hulton Educational Publications (1975 and four reprints). 60p.
  27. A List of Punjabi Immigrants in New Zealand 1890-1939. Hamilton, Country Section of the Central Indian Association (1984). Illustrated. 82p.
  28. The Life of Guru Nanak according to Bhai Gurdas. Trans. with brief introduction and notes of Bhai Gurdas's Var 1, stanzas 23-45, and Var 11, stanzas 13-14. The Panjab Past and Present III.1 and 2 (1969), 32-44.
  29. The Mahima Prakas Varatak: a History of the Ten Gurus. Trans. with introduction and notes of the portion dealing with Guru Nanak. The Panjab Past and Present III.1 and 2 (1969), 54-87.
  30. Essays in Sikh History, Tradition, and Society. To be published by Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

Views on Mcleod

W.H. McLeod: A Pioneer in Sikh Studies

  • Kushwant singh stated him pioneer of sikh studies Khushwant Singh fails to appreciate that the true measure of the Singh Sabha movement's success at distilling the Sikh rahit tradition will continue to escape us unless we gain access to tools that allow us to contrast the current rahit with its flawed predecessors. McLeod's book Sikhs of the Khalsa: A History of the Khalsa Rahit is one such essential tool. It is critical that the blemishes present in the current edition of the Sikh Rahit Maryada be viewed not in isolation but in context with earlier textual versions of the rahit. However, the intellectual lethargy Khushwant displays here is not new. Other notable instances include blatant support (until much after it's conclusion) for Indira Gandhi's fascist Emergency rule (1975-1977) and the failure to denounce (again, until well after its conclusion; Jun. 20, 2003) state-sponsored terrorism in the Punjab (1984-1995).
  • I.J. Singh, an academic said "He became an international authority on the religion, perhaps the best known outside Punjab and India, and the man who has done more to introduce Sikhism to the world outside India than anyone else," said . "It is because of a few writers, and Hew McLeod above all, that the world has any inkling of Sikhism as an independent religion, with a unique, universal and timeless world view. He brought Sikhism to Western academia," Singh wrote Tuesday on an international website on Sikhs.
  • "It (his death) is a huge loss to the Sikh community. He always added a fresh perspective to the development and history of the Sikhs as opposed to the traditional view of romanticising it overly," said Punjab-based author of the book "Sikhs Unlimited" Khushwant Singh.

It will be fair to conclude that McLeod’s work helped the western world in trying to understand Sikhism in terms that the west was familiar with, while the Sikhs already knew only too well what to believe. Their notion of religion flows from Guru Nanak Dev ji to Guru Gobind Singh ji and from Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

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