CRISIS OF THE 1980S AND CHANGING AGENDA OF PUNJAB STUDIES - A SURVEY OF SOME RECENT RESEARCH

Despite it having occupied the front page of Indian newspapers for mor e than a decade, the movement for an independent state of Khalistan ha s ended without achieving anything in political terms. However, the 'c risis' of the 1980s has had far-reaching implications, both for the pe ople of Punjab and for the Indian polity at large. At another level, i t has led to the institutionalisation of 'Punjab Studies' in the globa l academy. Based on a review of some of the recent researches on the m ovement and the Sikh history, this paper tries to identify emerging tr ends in 'Punjab Studies' and understand the nature of the shift being experienced in the way Punjab/Sikhs are represented in academic writin gs.