The book was released on Monday by Principal Secretary and Convener of the Buddha Nallah Development Committee, P Ram, along with Parliamentary Secretary Harish Rai Dhanda and noted thinker and critic Amarjit Grewal.

Political Scientist Dr Prithipal Singh Sohi, who also conducted the stage, introduced the social and environmental concerns taken up by the author in his essays. Zafar, said Dr Sohi, is becoming a movement in himself.

Concurring with the statement, Amarjit Grewal said Zafar had dared to take up the challenge posed by the inflexible and the intolerant. There are two types of Gurus, the human and textual, he said. With religions like Sikhism that believe in text Guru, the problem is how to reinterpret things with time. This poses a challenge that the inflexible and intolerant shy away from, unlike Zafar, highlighted Grewal.

Talking of the communal concerns taken up by the essayist, Grewal said Sikhs sometimes fail as a community, even though excelling individually. While Sikhs have reached the pinnacles of their careers in their respective fields, when it comes to community issues they are sometimes found lacking, Grewal said. He credited Zafar with shaking the community on its hypocrisies and empty ritualism.

Swarnjit Savi recalled his personal association with the essayist, calling his journey from what he called ‘a reactionary to a thinker’.

Others who spoke on the occasion included Prof Santokh Singh, Karamjit Singh Aujla and Prof Jagmohan Singh.