Padmashree and a renowned historian, J.S. Grewal served the Indian Institute of Advanced Study at Shimla as its Director and Chairman of its Governing Body after serving Guru Nanak Dev University at Amritsar as its Vice-Chancellor and Professor of History. He has written extensively on Historiography, Medieval India, the Punjab and Punjabi Literature, and the Sikhs. His publications include Guru Nanak in History (1969); The Sikhs of the Punjab (1990); Sikh Ideology, Polity and Social Order (2007); A Study of Guru Granth Sahib: Doctrine, Social Content, History, Structure and Status (2009); and The Sikhs: Ideology, Institutions and Identity (2009).
