Anglo-Sikh Relations: Setting the Record Straight

-         Colonial wrongs, restitution & closure

Due to centuries of Anglo-Sikh relations, the Sikhs and the British people share part of their history as well as their future in the UK. An accurate record of Anglo-Sikh heritage, which also acknowledges colonial mistakes, can strengthen the future of Anglo-Sikh relations. 

There are episodes in Anglo-Sikh history which continue to hurt the Sikhs.

Giani Sohan Singh Seetal’s Panjabi book, “Sikh Raj kivayn gyia” (How the Sikh Kingdom was lost) made a deep impression on the psyche of a whole Sikh generation in the 20^th Century. Combining prose and poetry, Sohan Singh Seetal, better known as a charismatic  kaveeshar/dhadi (singer of poetic compositions about events in the Sikh tradition.), would recite this tragic story of colonial treachery and Dogra betrayal of trust, after Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death in 1839;  of how the Khalsa Raj was lost to the British colonial power in 1849.

The legality of British invasion and annexation of Punjab remains in doubt to this day.  

Of all colonial people under British rule, some of the wrongs inflicted on the Sikhs remain unique in Britain’s tainted colonial past, because the British rulers saw the defiant Sikhs as both, powerful allies as well as formidable foes. They had experienced the Sikh prowess in the battlefield during the two Anglo-Sikh Wars in 1846 and 1849.  These were freedom loving people empowered by the egalitarian ideology of Guru Nanak-Gobind Singh.  Subjugating the Sikhs was the biggest colonial challenge the British rulers had ever faced with any people and they used all sorts of devious and cruel tactics to do that. Yet, the British did admire and reward Sikh invincibility in the battlefield.

One study of such colonial cruelty is the tragic story of Maharaja Duleep Singh and the injustices he suffered throughout his life and even after his death on 22 October 1893!  The last Maharaja of Lahore, the son of the Lion of Punjab, Mahaja Ranjit Singh, lies buried “according to Christian rites, under the supervision of the India Office in Elveden Church beside the grave of his wife Maharani Bamba, and his son Prince Edward Albert Duleep Singh.” (Wikipedia) 

Yet, it was known to the British that the Maharaja had converted back to Sikhism at Aden in 1886. The religious and symbolic  insult felt by the Sikh community is a running sore. 

Only admission by the British establishment of such injustices, so that the record is set straight with some form of restitution would bring about closure to the hurt felt by the collective Sikh psyche. In this respect, the unveiling of Maharaja Duleep Singh’s statue by Prince Charles on Butten Island in Thetford on 29 July, 1999 was a welcome gesture. A Sikh cremation of the Maharaja’s mortal remains would be the next step to assuage Sikh pain.

A Sikh World War 1 memorial at a prominent location in Central London to remember the great Sikh sacrifices for the freedom of humankind in the World Wars is an issue also raised in The Sikh Manifesto,

 There are ongoing efforts to identify and catalogue Sikh heritage items, including those linked with Guru Gobind Singh. Many known items are still missing and need to be traced with the support of British museums and authorities. 

These are some of the steps for restitution and closure of the wrongs suffered by the Sikhs during the colonial period.

Gurmukh Singh 

(Principal UK Civil Servant ret’d)

E-mail: sewauk2005@yahoo.co.uk

© Copyright Gurmukh Singh (U.K.)

Please acknowledge quotations from this article. 
Articles may be published with acknowledgement.

Common Faith in Our Future

(Note: The following article is based on the author's presentation as the Sikh participant in the Interfaith Panel on environmental ethics at Windsor Castle on Tuesday 14 November, 2006.)

I welcome this opportunity to give the Sikh view in answering the question before us: How can we support each other in the work that we must do with reference to the Earth Charter. The ecological changes due to pollution and overuse of earth's resources are causing much concern. They may not be reversible and threaten life in many parts of the world.  

“Our common future” to which the Earth Charter refers, is only possible with common faith in our future. That means that world faiths need to establish a common understanding based on shared values. Science and technology gives us knowledge of the physical world around us; only faith can change our habits and attitudes. The Charter refers to this conversion as “a change of mind and heart”.

Humanity can be converted to a more caring life-style, if the ecological message coming from Governments and agencies, and the message from religious teachers and preachers to religious congregations, is the same.

(Point 1): Let us accept that religion has an important role to play in cultivating a more caring attitude towards our environment.

I shall now turn briefly to Sikh teachings. Sikhism has a powerful message for humankind regarding ecological issues. 

We are taught by the Sikh holy Scriptures, Guru Granth Sahib, that: The Creator Being created the air and the environment, which created water and brought life on earth. Nights, days, seasons, wind, water, fire and nether worlds, therein he created limitless diverse species with interdependent modes of life. In the midst of these He established the earth as His temple.  The stability of the earth in the universe and the survival of life on earth depend on the practice of dharam.

In Sikhism, dharam is also the word for faith or religion. Dharam places a duty on all to ensure that diversity is preserved and interdependence of creation is maintained; that the dependence of one on another – and that includes human relationships - is not betrayed. That our neighbours’ rights are respected. Dharam also teaches us to understand God’s law, Hukam or Rzaa.

The Earth is the sacred place where we practise dharam to achieve the ultimate purpose of this life, which is nearness to the Creator Being. We must not desecrate this temple of God. Regrettably, due to self-centred materialism, dharam is something the New Age humankind seems to be moving away from.

(Point 2): Relates to the first point above. There is greater need to practise dharam today; call it religion if you like, and not less.

The Earth Charter provides us with a common framework. It covers a wide range of interrelated topics and not just bionomics and environmental issues. It appears to be a collation of the values shared by all religions. It can be interpreted to accord with the core values of the world religions. There is a need to interpret ancient religious texts (idiom and allegory) in terms of 21st-century issues.

(Point 3): Religious texts should be continually  researched and their idiom and allegory interpreted so that every religion has an ecological message.

(Point 4 is a question for discussion): Can we make the Earth Charter the meeting point of world religions?

Religious teachers and preachers need to place greater stress on human values shared by all religions. Let them actively seek converts to those values.

Sikhism opposes aggressive evangelism in the name of religion because that causes friction between religions.

(Point 5): In order to promote interfaith harmony and common approach to the global challenges, religions need to respect different paths to the same common human goals.

Human equality is taken for granted in today’s society. However, equality of women is a very important aspect of Sikh teachings. The Sikh Gurus appointed women preachers in their own time. Also, equality of and respect for women, may have a direct bearing on population control. I leave that as a thought for further discussion.

Religion teaches us to live simple lives. Regardless of one’s economic position, all have the same right to earth’s resources and to be fed; and the same duty to serve creation without distinction and in humility. Wealth itself does not give any individual, group or country, a superior right to earth’s resources. Affordability alone does not give us the right to use up more than our fair share of scarce resources.

(Point 6): Religion can give guidance to humankind. There is a need for global understanding, that no individual, group or nation has the God given right to use up more than their fair share of earth’s resources.

We also need to examine Western institutions and the main economic drivers more critically in relation to the Earth Charter and religious teaching.

Democracy, by its very nature, concentrates on winning elections. That often means pursuance of short term policies and projects, regardless of the environmental consequences in the longer term.

Economic models and financial institutions take little account of ecological and environmental factors. The stress is on consumerism, larger markets for increased production of luxury goods and services with little regard for the damage being done to the environment and global resources.

(Point 7): Religion needs to make up for some of the shortcomings of our current political, administrative and economic systems. Alternatively, or in parallel, the political and economic systems need to continue evolving to secure the future of the earth.

Sikhism welcomes scientific research and developments which benefit life on earth.  However, it is also the Sikh belief  that God has no equal, nor can God’s creation be emulated. It is human arrogance which leads us to believe that we can emulate what nature has produced over millions of years; that we can restore nature’s fine balance for sustaining life while we continue to use up natural resources at an ever accelerating pace.  

(Point 8): All religions should continue to caution science and technology about new discoveries in various fields and their applications.  The results may be unpredictable, damaging and may not be reversible.

According to Sikh teachings, human beings are at the head of all species. That position makes every human being responsible for looking after the environment which sustains life on earth. In His diverse creation resides the Creator Being, watching over all with joy and satisfaction. 

To serve creation is to serve the Creator.

Gurmukh Singh 

(Principal UK Civil Servant ret’d)

E-mail: sewauk2005@yahoo.co.uk

© Copyright Gurmukh Singh (U.K.)

Please acknowledge quotations from this article. 
Articles may be published with acknowledgement.

The Khalsa: It’s relevance and responsibility in today’s world

(Note: Article commissioned for Akash Newspaper Vaisakhi Magazine 2016.)

Guru Nanak Sahib (1469-1539) meditated on the human condition and the future of humankind. According to Bhai Gurdas[i], the Guru saw a “burning world”. Like the authors of the Earth Charter, five centuries later, Guru Nanak also saw the need for “a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace.” (Earth Charter[ii])

He revealed his vision and mission for the New Age. His mission, as it unfolded over the next two centuries guided by the same Guru Jyot (Guiding Light) in 10 Guru-persons to 1708, laid the foundation for the Order of the Khalsa, the Khalsa Panth.

There were three stages of Guru Nanak’s mission: firstly to contemplate on the qualities of the Creator Being; secondly to interpret these qualities to reveal a God-centred being, the Khalsa[iii]; and thirdly, to show the temporal-spiritual (miri-piri) path of social activism for the Khalsa to follow.

Guru Nanak meditated on the qualities of the Creator Being and described them as: The ONE, all-pervasive  Creator of all universes, with eternal virtues, who does not fear or favor any one/thing, is not against any one, is the embodiment of timeless-ness and deathless-ness, does not take physical life form/does not incarnate, is self-existent; may be known with the guru’s grace/guidance.[iv]

Khalsa is a manifestation of certain God qualities through God-centred beings. The Khalsa is revealed when the illusion between the Creator Being, His creation and His true devotee is removed. The Guru and His Sikh as the Khalsa, become one and the same. Serving God and His creation becomes the pre-condition for reaching God’s holy presence[v].

Thus, like the sculptor who reveals the beautifully proportioned statue from a solid block by chipping away the bits which conceal it, the Khalsa was finally revealed (pragteo Khalsa) by Guru Nanak in His tenth human form as Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) on the Vaisakhi Day in 1699. (The day is celebrated on 14 April each year.). The Sikh Sangat (congregation) of Guru Nanak, had reached institutional maturity.

Guru Nanak set out to create a benign regime of love, humility and justice, the halemi raj, in which no one inflicted pain on another.  The path shown was that of  Khalsa Panth[vi]. The sacrifice demanded for treading the path of God-love and truthful conduct was to accept death while living: complete surrender of ego-centric self [vii].

As a corollary to fearless and truthful behaviour expected of the Khalsa, the Guru prescribed a disciplining and distinct identity for the Sikhs, as well as principles and a code of conduct as constants in a changing world, to provide spiritual stability.

The Khalsa keeps unshorn hair (kesh) symbolising a saintly disposition and completeness of the human body and soul (hair to be covered by a dastar - Sikh turban); wooden comb (kangha) to keep the hair tidy; a steel bangle (kara) representing the God quality of infinity and symbolising discipline and allegiance to the Guru; a sword (kirpan) reminding a Sikh of his duty to  defend the weak, human dignity and honour; and a pair of shorts (Kaccha)  to cover human nakedness, to allow agile movement and symbolising chastity.

The Khalsa provides for all, promotes equality and sharing, sees the human race as one, defends the human rights of all, and defends diversity in a spirit of global unity[viii].  Thus the responsibility of the Khalsa as the  “Army of the Timeless Being” (Khalsa Akal Purakh ki Fauj) was clearly and laid down by the Guru. The Khalsa is taught that: “The Creator Being created the air and the environment, which created water and brought life on earth. Nights, days, seasons, wind, water, fire and nether worlds, therein he created limitless diverse species with interdependent modes of life. In the midst of these He established the earth as His temple. The Earth is the sacred place where we practise righteous conduct (dharma) to achieve the ultimate purpose of this life, which is nearness to the Creator Being. We must not desecrate this temple of God." (Quote from the author’s interfaith presentation at Windsor Castle, “Common faith in our future” on 14 November, 2006.)

The same concepts have a peculiarly modern ring when we read the UN Charter, The Earth Charter and international human rights treaties and instruments.

The Khalsa responsibility to face today’s challenges faced by humankind derives from the egalitarian Khalsa tradition of sharing and serving enshrined in Sri Guru Granth Sahib and evolved over many centuries.

Gurmukh Singh 

(Principal UK Civil Servant ret’d)

E-mail: sewauk2005@yahoo.co.uk

© Copyright Gurmukh Singh (U.K.)

Please acknowledge quotations from this article. 
Articles may be published with acknowledgement.

---

[i] Bhai Gurdas (1551 – 1636) Highly respected scholar and first scribe of Guru Granth Sahib.

[ii] http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/mods/theme_a/img/02_earthcharter.pdf

[iii] Khalsa: Literally, the word means either “King’s own land”, or “pure”. In the Sikh tradition the word means Sikhs (singular or plural usage) directly linked to the Enlightener, the Guru.  Thus, the first part of the Sikh salutation Waheguru ji ka Khalsa  means “Khalsa of the Wondrous Enlightener”. From the earliest Hukamnamas (orders) of the Guru’s, it is clear that the word was used mostly in the proprietary sense; while purity of thought and deed,  truthful and fearless conduct and constant God focus, are the main qualities of the Khalsa. Khalsa is a being with direct bond of love with the Creator Being and needs no mediator.  That is also the sense in which Bhagat Kabir first used the word in Gurbani in Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

[iv] Edited from http://www.sadhsangat.com/

[v] Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ang 26 (Vich duniya sev….)

[vi] Panth stands for order or sect, as well as for a path followed by adherents of a specific ideology.

[vii] Guru Granth Sahib Ang 1412 (Jao tao prem….)

[viii] Khalsa “Degh Tegh Fateh” maxim refers.

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About Awards & Honours

[Note:  Some thoughts below on accepting the Queen’s New Year Honours 2016 award of  OBE.]

There are many good reasons why any award or honour for community service (seva) is a humbling and spiritual experience.

The Creator Being, Waheguru,  gave us human birth, body, mind and wealth (tann, mann and dhan).  In gratitude, we should be serving Waheguru by serving His creation, including fellow human beings and the environment – this temple of God called the earth - with humility and without expectation of any reward or honour.  However, regrettably, human nature is such that despite protestations to the contrary, hao-mai (ego-centricity) creates a desire for recognition.

It is that realisation that makes one humble when honoured in any way for what is supposed to be nishkam seva (selfless service without expectation of any reward).  

An award or honour for seva detracts from one’s spiritual credit.

One other reason for humility when receiving an award for community service is fact based in view of the charitable work being done by volunteers in diverse fields. Sometimes, it is not readily understood what exactly is “charity work” or a “charitable organisation”. These organisations do not make profit and work for public benefit. 

There are hundreds of truly dedicated sevadars working through charitable organisations, doing seva in the field, outside Gurdwaras where most needed.  They work for common good, undertaking activities in many areas such as education including missionary work, heritage, art and cultural education, health, welfare, medical care, enabling the disabled, racial and interfaith harmony, and environmental issues. 

I would also add education of citizenship responsibilities to next generations as an increasingly important aspect of charitable work.

In the Sikh tradition feeding the hungry through the non-discriminatory Sikhi institution of “langar” was started by Guru Nanak Dev ji.  In this sense, true to Sikhi tradition, all Gurdwaras are doing charity work, even though, not all would be registered as charitable organisations. 

In recent years, Sikh charities have become active outside Gurdwaras providing relief from disasters – natural or man-made – and relief for victims of human rights abuses and injustice. I have followed the progress of some Sikh charities providing relief in disaster areas around the world e.g. the UK based Khalsa Aid since 1999, and have also been aware of the great seva being done in diverse fields by others.

Sometimes the relief work done by some charities is politicised by perpetrators of state injustice. For that reason, transparency of charitable work abroad in liaison with other world charities is important to counter trumped up charges of support for anti-state activities.

I also have a keen interest in Anglo-Sikh heritage. World War 1 related events in the last two years, and Anglo-Sikh relations and heritage projects and exhibitions over the years have raised the Sikh identity profile. 

From own association with many Sikh organisations since my arrival in the UK in 1960, whether or not registered as charities, I am only too well aware that as the Sikh population has grown, so has the need for charity work in many fields to serve the needs of the community. Overall, Sikh British have responded  well and also integrated successfully in a multi-cultural British society.

Returning to the main topic of awards and honours, all those sevadars in the field  are much more deserving than some pen pusher like me, who happens to come to the notice of the establishment. So, any award or honour is really received not for self but on behalf of these unsung Khalsa heroes.

I have always focussed on the two aspects of Sikh British identity: how to be a good Sikh and how to be a responsible British citizen. Both parts of that identity are complementary.  For interfacing with the Government departments effectively, I have always promoted the idea of a "round-table" of UK Gurdwaras and organisations, first as the open British Sikh Consultative Forum started in 2002 - not to be confused with a membership forum set up later by the same name - and more recently the Sikh Council UK. Sikh charity work outside Gurdwaras is essential for promoting Sikhi ideals and identity.

It is a matter of great satisfaction personally for me, that the concept of “Sikh Education Welfare & Advancement (SEWA)”, was first conceived at the family farm in Riverland, South Australia in March 1999,  on the tricentennial anniversary of the Khalsa Panth. S. Raghbir Singh Bains of Canada was visiting and I wrote the long essay, “Vaisakhi: the high point of Sikh tradition” (available  on Sikh Missionary Society’s website*) for circulation to Australian politicians and others. The concept has worked well: that individuals with experience and special skills should serve existing Sikh organisations and not set up own organisations to promote themselves or to compete with other organisations.

It was with above thoughts in mind that I accepted the Queen’s New Year 2016 award of  OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire).

*Vaisakhi 1699:

 http://www.sikhmissionarysociety.org/sms/smspublications/Vaisakhi1699GurmukhSinghSEWAUK.pdf

Gurmukh Singh

(Principal UK Civil Servant ret’d)

E-mail: sewauk2005@yahoo.co.uk 

© Copyright Gurmukh Singh (U.K.)

Please acknowledge quotations from this article. 
Articles may be published with acknowledgement.

Role of Sikh Women in 18th Century Khalsa Struggle - Lessons for Today[i]

[Article published in the Sikh Review in 2010 - probably August 2010 issue - is partly based on the author’s essay first published as souvenir  booklet “Gurdwara Shahid Ganj Singh Singhania, Lahore” There are lessons for today.]

“All differences which arise between man and man in time of peace were effaced beneath the terrible levelling of the oppressor; all men had become brothers and all women sisters.”  (Hari Ram Gupta )[ii]

The pivotal role of a house-wife in the human family[iii] and the gender equality principle enshrined in Gurbani and Sikh tradition, empowered women in early Sikh history to contribute to the achievement of Khalsa temporal and ideological (miri-piri) objectives.  In the last two centuries, that role has diminished due to Brahmanic influence on Sikh thought and institutions.  There is an urgent need to reverse this negative trend.

Guru sakhis (anecdotes) and the history of the 18^th century people’s revolution to overthrow tyrannical nawabs and rajas under the Mogul empire, continually refer to the strong influence and contribution of women from Bebay Nanaki and Bibi Bhani to Mata Sundri ji.  Sikh women are remembered for their great sacrifices during this period.  Later, during the golden period of the Khalsa raj, they continued to play a leading role in Sikh affairs.

There are lessons to be learnt from that period to promote gender equality in the 21^st century Sikh institutions and households.

Before returning to the main topic, it is important to be clear about the Gurmat basis for  gender equality, which cannot be denied under any excuse.  The general equality principle in Sikhi  derives from the spiritual sisterhood of humankind.  All are soul-brides of the One Timeless Lord (Akal Purakh) seeking union by aspiring to the status of “sohagan” i.e. one who is beloved of her husband and is respected in the family.  A woman who becomes the “sohagan” has been referred to as “batees sulakhani” in Gurbani i.e. one blessed with the proverbial 32 qualities[iv].  All men and women can be “sohagan” if they have the qualities necessary to please the Lord. Therefore, man-woman division is a mere technicality in this respect.  It matters not whether one has the body of a man or a woman. The path to achieve blissful union with the Timeless Reality (Akal Purakh) is the same for all.

The oft quoted Shabad concluding, “Why call her bad, who gives birth to kings”[v]  to prove gender equality,  has less relevance.  Not calling a woman “bad” is not the same as unconditional acceptance of man-woman equality under the general Gurbani-based human equality principle above.  In fact, as implied by Prof Prabhjot Kaur elsewhere, by stressing the need to develop feminine qualities, Gurbani gives women a head start in achieving the ultimate goal of this human life![vi]

Guru Amardas (1479 – 1574 Guruship from 1552) carried out major reforms in ensuring that women enjoyed equal congregational (sangat, pangat and sewa ) status with men.  The name of Guru ji’s daughter,  Bibi Bhani, dedicated to Guru seva, is mentioned in connection with Gurgadhi succession.  Mata Sundari and Mata Sahib Deva(n) gave guidance and issued Hukamnamas to the Khalsa during a most challenging period in Sikh history after Baba Banda Singh’s exemplary martyrdom in true Sikhi spirit at Delhi in 1716.  Clearly, much progress had been made by that time regarding the participative role of women in Panthic affairs since the first women missionary appointees by Guru Amardas ji.  Both Mata ji’s Hukamnamas were obeyed by Khalsa.Panth.  (Those against bibia(n) doing religious or Kirtan seva at Darbar Sahib need to open their eyes to these historical facts. )

The above is the ideological and traditional background to the Sikh women’s immense contribution to the 18^th century people’s war of independence from tyrannical rule, led by the Khalsa.  Mai Bhago (Bhag Kaur) had wielded the sword and the spear alongside Guru Gobind Singh ji, dispelling all doubts that women may not be able to stand by their brother warriors in the battlefield.

The egalitarian Gurbani ideology empowered Sikh women to run households during the prologed absence of men freedom fighters, and thus added vastly to the strength of the armed struggle, otherwise denied to their adversaries.  It is significant that “Singh-Singhania” (Sikh men and women) are mentioned together in the daily Ardaas (supplication)  - a historical milestone record in progress - agreed by the Khalsa Panth after Guru Gobind Singh (1666 – 1708), which remembers the martyrdoms (Jinna dharam het sis dittay), and the pain and hardships endured.  It is a reminder of gender equality enshrined in Gurbani and actually earned by Sikh women fighting dharam-yudh alongside men in the field.

Supported by the people of Punjab, Baba Banda Singh Bahadur showed that Guru Gobind Singh’s Khalsa was more than a match for the oppressive local rulers and the waning Mogul empire, and capable of realising Guru Gobind Singh’s political mission  of in gareeb Sikhan ko dio(n) patshahi (I shall make these poor Sikhs rulers) and Raj karega Khalsa (the Khalsa shall rule), by establishing a just regime. This was a decisive phase in the people’s war against tyrannical rule in Panjab comprising most of the area north of Delhi with Lahore as the capital. The cruelty inflicted on the ordinary people had no bounds.

Lahore marks the site where, according to historians, over 250,000 men and women lost their lives in the 18th Century. This was the period from 1716, when Banda Singh Bahadur was executed at Delhi in June that year, to 1753, the year when Muin-ul-Mulk, known as Mir Mannu, died.

 Rulers of Punjab during this period[vii]

The power of the local rulers was absolute; more so due to the power struggle between Delhi and the invasions from north-west led by Nadir Shah (January to May 1739) and later by Ahmad Shah Durani (also known as Abdali). Delhi emperors Farrukh Siyar, Muhammad Shah (1719 – 1748) and later Alamgir II were weak while the same Turani family, loyal neither to Delhi nor to the invaders, ruled Panjab: Abdus Samad Khan (1713 – 26) who led the capture of Banda Singh Bahadur, his son Zakariya Khan (1726- 45), and grandson Yahia Khan (1745-47), and Mir Mannu (1748-53) son of Delhi Wazir Qamr-ud-din Khan (who was brother-in-law of Zakariya Khan).

In March 1752 when Mir Mannu was left on his own, he surrendered Lahore to Ahmad Shah Abdali. Later recovery of Panjab by the Moghuls was only symbolic. Complete chaos with no civil government continued with no respite for the people. It was during this period that the “rakhi system” or protectorates under which people paid money to mercenary bands became common. In this power vacuum, with people’s support, Khalsa “jathas” (groups), which formed into larger misls, gained in strength. Later, with the total defeat of the invaders by 1767, the foundation of a popular regime, the Khalsa Raj in which all were equal partners, was laid.

Those like Mir Mannu, used their absolute power to wreak havoc on the ordinary people. Despite hundreds brought in chains, tortured and slaughtered at Lahore daily, the spirit and resolve of the people seeking freedom from tyrannical rule grew stronger each day. These tortures and killings took place in public. Such was the cruelty inflicted by Mannu that his name passed into folklore, “Mannu is our sickle and we are his grass blades; as he cuts us, we grow many times more”.

Even a casual study of the history of Panjab during this critical period shows that the real sufferers behind the scenes were women. Backing the Khalsa warriors were the Sikh women who walked in the footsteps of Mai Bhag Kaur.  Historians are unanimous in confirming that in terms of human endurance, this was one of the most remarkable periods in the history of humankind when men, women, young and old refused to give up their struggle for freedom despite extreme forms of torture in captivity.  (Yet, India is still confused by the start of the war of “independence” !)

There are hardly any finer examples of courage and determination shown, especially by women.

Sikhs prevailed due, in no small measure, to the added human-power of their determined mothers, sisters and wives, who, in addition to their domestic roles, became equally good at the plough and the sword in the absence of their men freedom fighters in the battlefield. Sikh, Hindu and even Muslim women were also in danger for another reason. Heads of women – even Muslim women - with long hair were cut without discrimination by bounty hunters and presented as heads of “young Sikhs” to seek rewards!  All suffer under evil and tyrannical regimes, regardless of religion or the guise of the rulers.

Sikh women in captivity with their young children, toiled and suffered.  According to Giani Gian Singh[viii], “They were put to grind corn in gaol. Many were given merciless lashings....Each one of detenus was given a maund-and-a-quarter grain to grind in a day.  Exhausted from thirst and hunger they [Sikh women] plied their stonemills....and they sang their Gurus’ hymns.....As their children, hungry and thirsty, wailed and writhed on the ground for a morsel the helpless prisoners in the clutches of the tyrants could do but little except solace them with their affection. Wearied from crying the children would at last go to sleep…”  Children were sometimes “hacked to pieces in front of their mothers.  The bits of flesh hung on strings were thrown around their necks like garlands.   Wherever the Sikhs pray, the fortitude and heroism of those brave women is recalled with reverence.”  Gurdwara Shahid Ganj Singhania (opposite Shahid Ganj Bhai Taru Singh) is in remembrance of the Khalsa women and children martyrs.

This was a people’s struggle for freedom from tyrannical rule.  It was inspired by Guru Nanak’s egalitarian ideology, which treats all men and women, all religions and castes, as equal before One Creator Being. With their fighting power so enhanced, both, in numbers and in spirit, such an invincible people’s army, led by the Khalsa, was bound to be victorious over the forces of tyranny in the end.  The more challenges they faced, the stronger they became. They resisted local oppression and they relieved the marauders from the north-west of their loot each time the latter returned with their spoils from Indian towns and countryside. They freed women and children from these raiders, otherwise to be sold as slaves in own countries.

Gender equality: lesson for 21^st Century

For over 500 years before Guru Nanak Sahib, Islam had been the dominant influence. People copied the Islamic practice and women were hidden behind the “parda”, which the Guru rejected.  Guru Amardas encouraged women to play an increasing role in the man dominated world, including full participation in religious matters. Women preachers were appointed by Guru ji.

There are many lessons to be learnt from the blood stained pages of 18^th century Sikh history regarding organisational and gender equality issues.  Today’s Sikh institutions  in the hands of sant samaj deras (religious cults led by individuals) have not escaped the strong influence of Brahmanic social and gender biases in the Indian system.  Chola wearing self proclaimed sants spread superstitious anti-Gurmat practices and attract large numbers of gullible women followers, otherwise denied equality in gurdwaras and in running Sikh affairs.  Sikh women are sometimes excluded from doing religious seva in gurdwaras. There has been much controversy about Sikh women doing Kirtan (Gurbani singing) at Darbar Sahib.  Yet, according to Bhai Ratan Singh Bhangu, young Jassa Singh Ahluwalia accompanied his Gursikh mother when she performed Kirtan Chaunki at Darbar Sahib during the period of Nawab Kapur Singh (about mid 18^th  century)[ix]. 

According to Prof Prabhjot Kaur, today’s woman is demanding equality with man under the mistaken belief that men are superior to women; while Gurbani says that it is the woman who is “the best of the best” (“Sabh parvare mahe sresht”). So, “it is the man who is expected to follow the footsteps of the woman”! The qualities found in a “sohagan” need to be cultivated by all to win the Lord’s attention (Nadar),.regardless of the men/women bodies they occupy.

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[i]  Partly based on the author’s essay first published as souvenir  booklet “Gurdwara Shahid Ganj Singh Singhania, Lahore”

[ii] Hari Ram Gupta, “History of the Sikhs” Vol II, Delhi 1978,  p.62

[iii]  Sabh parwaaray mahe saresht SGGS 371

[iv] A “sohagan” has thirty-two qualities, which according to Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha’s “Mahan Kosh” are: beauty, cleanliness, modesty, humility, concord, observance of religion, intelligence, knowledge, service, compassion, truth, dedicated love of spouse, purity of mind, patience, frugality, beneficence, sobriety, chivalry, active habits, house decoration, respect of elders, proficiency in music, poetry, painting, domestic science and embroidery, respectful attention to guests, and bringing up children.

[v] Vaar Asa SGGS p 473

[vi] An excellent article by Prof. Prabhjot Kaur in the Abstract of Sikh Studies reproduced on a cyber forum some years ago gave the impression that women are likely to have even greater advantage over men in the new age of science and technology which makes the masculine attributes less relevant to the question of gender equality.

[vii] Sources mainly Hari Ram Gupta, Harbans Singh, Satbir Singh and The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism PU.

[viii] Giani Gian Singh quoted by Harbans Singh, The heritage of The Sikh, Manohar, New Delhi, 1994,  p 122

[ix] “Sun Khalsay Amrisar aayo,tin bhi darshan Pantheh paayo. Keeti chaunki premeh lai

Suni Khalsay baho shaant bartai.”  Ratan Singh Bhangu's SGPC publication "Sri Guru Panth Parkash" 1994 p. 290