What if the Sikh Empire wasn’t born on the battlefield, but in the library? 📚

In this teaser for our Road to Empire podcast with author Satnam Singh, we explore the intellectual and political foundations of the Khalsa before the rise of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. From the Anandpur court of Guru Gobind Singh to the literature of the Mughal and Sanskrit worlds, this conversation reveals how stories, ideas, and philosophies shaped Sikh ideas of sovereignty.

We discuss how the Khalsa balanced rahit (discipline) and rajniti (politics), how translations from Persian and Sanskrit influenced Sikh thought, and why the Sikhs were fighting not just battles — but for an idea of Raj that empires could never destroy.