Volume 2 takes up the thread at the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839, focusing on the continuing Sikh struggle for survival as a separate community. The author chronicles the years following Indian independence, marked by the demand for a distinct Sikh state, and presents the events leading up to, and following,.

First published in 1963, this remains the most comprehensive and authoritative book on the Sikhs. The new edition updated to the present recounts the return of the community to the mainstream of national life. Written in Khushwant Singh's trademark style to be accessible to a general, non-scholarly audience, the book is based on scholarly archival research.