On a beautiful day in Punjab, India, around the year of 1606, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Arjan Dev, happily sat on a burning hot plate, at the command of the Muslim king in power. The saintly man refused to forcefully convert to Islam. The kings told him, “Oh holy man, if you convert, we will give you many beautiful women, a beautiful mansion, and the world’s riches…” Laughing and not tempted by these transitory, superficial pleasures, Guru Arjan Dev proudly proclaimed that he will willingly become the first martyr of the Sikhs and not convert. He sat in meditation pose on the burning plate, as citizens surrounded the scene in shock, eyes welling up with tears, amazed by this great sacrifice given by such a detached and humble man.

Approximately 308 years later in the month of June, 1984, thousands of Sikhs gathered at the Sikh Golden Temple, in Amritsar, India, to remember Guru Arjan Dev’s sacrifice and to pray for equality, humility and detachment from worldly pleasures. Little did they know that within a few hours of that morning, the holy river that surrounded the temple would be the dark, deep, crimson colour of blood. Prime Minister Indhira Gandhi had ordered thousands of troops to raid the complex of the Golden Temple and kill any Sikh man or woman regardless of who they are. At the order of India’s Hitler, Indhira Gandhi, shameless policemen stormed into the temple, shooting innocent children with bullets, raping young women turn by turn, and urinating on the Sikh holy scriptures – a heartbreaking memory for Sikhs of yesterday, today, and tomorrow to recall.

Why did Indhira do this? Her excuse was that she wanted to capture a terrorist who was in the temple, yet this woman, adorned in her white sari, had failed to justify her evil-mindedness. Thousands of casualties were announced and there was a media-blackout, which is most likely why nobody in the western world knew or knows what happened. A temple that had been standing since the time of Guru Arjan Dev had been completely destroyed by the Hindu-dominated government of India (informally known as “Hindustan”). Every year in June, Sikhs come together in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery for a candle light vigil to remember the disastrous, heartbreaking riots and attack of 1984.

Indhira Gandhi had two bodyguards, and both of them were Sikh men. After devastating thousands of children, alienating Sikhs from society, and creating a “Widow Colony” (a dark alley where alienated Sikh widows of 1984 stay and suffer in poverty), Indhira Gandhi decided to take a walk in her beautiful garden. As she entered her garden, her two bodyguards shot her. The media, covering the truth as usual, weeped and wailed in memories of their Prime Minister, or goddess-like figure’s death. The government has attempted to do their best to keep the controversy of 1984 on the down low. One can approach any Sikh teenager today and ask his or her grandparents how they had to escape from police-men in the 1980s-1990s. They would recall the police banging on their doors asking if they were Sikh, and if so, threatening them with torture, rape, and very frequently, murder. So many innocent Sikhs were raped, tortured, and killed. Too many.

This November 2009, the Sikh youth of Vancouver, BC decided to have an “Amritvela Week.” Amritvela is the time before the sunrise, when devout Sikhs pray, as it is the most peaceful time of the day, when the consciousness is most pure. Sikh youth chose to wake up at 3:00 am, shower, and go to a small Sikh temple in Surrey. Here we would meditate in memory of the 1984 massacre, and we would pray to God to give us the strength and courage that the Sikhs had in order to suffer this injustice. As a young Indo-Canadian Sikh woman, I have decided that it is my job to make the cries for justice of the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots heard to the ears of our western society. This pre-planned, government-sponsored massacre still haunts the hearts of the Sikh youth today in Vancouver, BC.

On the same land of India, Muslim saints, Sikh gurus, and Hindu deities walked, yet people seem to completely ignore the sacrifices of each other’s religions and preach that theirs is the “best”. Where the Sikh Gurus walked and preached universal brotherhood, selfless service, humility, and love – on that land, the government of India said without words, “We are the dominant culture, and once again we will violently, silently and secretively teach your minority society of Sikhs that they are absolutely useless human beings.” Whether this was their intention or not, this is what their actions screamed into the ears of my Sikh nation.

The millions of women “missing” from Asian countries like India, China, South Korea, Pakistan, Taiwan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia are gathering attention as population statistics reveal major ratio imbalances between women and men. Although female infanticide has been commonplace for hundreds of years in India, pre-natal sex selection technologies are becoming increasingly accessible and available, thus leading to increasing trends of abortion based on sex (Oomman & Ganatra, 2002). In cultures where men are the preferred sex, including the Indian or Hindu culture, women are unable to take on certain religious roles, and are seen as burdens rather than blessings, because of social customs like dowry. It is important to examine the trends of sex selection and abortion based on sex, as well as female infanticide and the reasons why such practices occur. The desire and preference for male children is present in many Indo-Canadian families, thus, the intentional abortion of female fetuses, spurring from the East, is of local concern, and should be studied, and avoided.

Although the killing of female babies or fetuses may shock some people in the West, it is a practice woven into the history and culture of India. Research reveals that millions of women are “missing” in India (Klassen & Wink, 2002; Rajan, 1996; Gupta, 2005; Croll, 2001), because of female infanticide, sex selective abortion, or eventual death caused by negligence or abandonment. Men are the preferred sex in several countries because they appear to be more financially secure in the long run and are required to take care of their parents in old age. This gives insight into the increasingly large amounts of female fetuses being aborted, and the countless girls left alone to die.

As the former surgeon general of the United States says, “Statistics are people with their tears wiped dry” (Cohen, 2000). There are several accounts of the imbalanced sex ratios between women and men in India in particular, and Asia in general. According to the last Census of India in 2001, there are significantly less surviving girls than boys, where the total number of surviving boys (raised in regular settings) is 385,154,199, in comparison to 343,089,472 girls (Census of India, 2001). In rural settings during 2001, there are said to be 287,785,399 surviving male children, compared to 257,026,492 female children (Ibid). In addition to these statistics, the Census of India has also revealed that in 2001, there were 10,436,903 male births in comparison to a stark 9,450,152 female births, indicating close to 100,000 “missing” girls, within the span of one year. It is easy to assume what happened to these “missing” girls, and speculate that they were perhaps unwanted. The Indian Census of 2001 also reports that for every 1000 males in India, there are 929 females (Cohen, 2000). Such stark differences appear to be worse than many historical accounts of sex ratios, and the future does not look more promising.

In realizing that India’s sex ratios are quite severely imbalanced, it is important to understand why this is happening, or perhaps, where it all began. Tracing back to the 1930s, there is one account of how a midwife discretely killed a newborn baby girl, later declaring the baby stillborn to the family:

“She gave the girl child a few drops of sap from a poisonous plant called auk, put some gur (molasses) in the baby’s mouth and a pooni (raw cotton used to spin thread on a spinning wheel) in her hand and sang the ritual song gur khain pooni kattee, aap na aai veer to ghatee (eat molasses, spin the cotton, don’t come back, send your brother). She then put the infant into an earthen pot and buried it” (Gill, 1998, 25-6).

When asked why infanticide was kept so private and why the women folk supported it, one interviewee, in discussion with Gill (1998), mentions that “daughters are bigana dhan (other’s wealth) who will be taken away after marriage”, and the desire to have sons is necessary for the preservation of the family name (206). Family pride, without a doubt, is one cause for trends of female infanticide. Gill (1998) describes how men from India always tended to take pride in their sons, as people took pity on families that had only daughters. Essentially, male heirs ensure that the family name is preserved and extended into the future, whereas daughters are an extra expense, given away to another family after marriage, taking a hefty sum with them. In some advertisements for sex selective abortion, people are instructed, “spend Rs.400 now and save Rs.40,000 later” (Gill, 1998, 211). Essentially, many have come to believe that investing in a daughter is overly costly and pointless.

In Punjabi or Hindu families living in Canada, dowry may not be as blatant or serious an issue, but “Westernized dowry” can also be seen in families, where the bride’s family purchases expensive gifts like cars or a new house for the couple or groom’s family. According to the Sikh faith, which many Punjabis follow, dowry and female infanticide are completely banned, although many Punjabis who refer to themselves as Sikhs do not align themselves with their religion’s principles of equality between the sexes (Gill, 1998). It is surprising to see that this group goes clearly against its own religious beliefs, revealing that female infanticide is a practice embedded so deeply in the culture of India, that even religious mores of equality are ignored .

It is clear to see that female infanticide and sex-selective abortion, in the long-run, are causing imbalances in sex ratios throughout India and other countries (“Sex selective abortions: short-term and long-term Perspectives”, 2002 ; “Fight Vs. Female Feticide in India”, 2002). It is vital to examine the consequences of highly imbalanced sex ratios, not just for members of the society in which the feticide is occurring, but also the world-wide, broad implications. Continued abortion of female fetuses will lead to millions of men being unable to find wives, as women become a slowly diminishing species, and this poses serious concerns. Although some argue that women will become more powerful if there are less of them, others feel that the well-being of women will be threatened by this, and that women will have less political power, if there are less of them to vote, for example (“Sex selective abortions: short-term and long-term Perspectives”, 2002). In addition, there are risks of increased violence due to the higher rates of unmarried young men, and possibly even war because of bride shortage (Ibid). Additionally, the pressures and pains involved in sex-selective abortion, female infanticide, and strong desire for male children does not only influence the parents or the child being killed; it can also have influence on other females in the family or community. One well-known example is of two sisters that felt so unwanted and depressed by their mother’s continual abortion of female fetuses until a son was born, that they hung themselves before the birth of their brother (Rajan, 1996).

Technologies used for sex selection vary and have progressed through time and history, where unwanted girls were once killed after birth by midwives (and are still often left to die, as in China’s “dying rooms” ), and are now killed before birth. As an elderly woman mentions in interview with Gill (1998), “…in the olden days they (people) killed them (girls) as they were born…now they kill them even before they are born” (204). Modern day technologies include amniocentesis, or analysis of amniotic fluid to determine the sex of a child, and ultrasound, or the scanning of a fetus to determine its sex, which is more common nowadays (Oomman & Ganatra, 2002). Ultrasound clinics, being quite easily accessible throughout the world, provide quick and easy sex determination, making pre-natal sex selection quite simple. There are, however, certain clinics that particularly specialize in sex selection, and advertise such technology.

A new test causing uproar within the Indo-Canadian community is available on pregnancy store.com and is known as the Baby Gender Mentor kit. The kit affirms that with a prick-drop of the pregnant woman’s blood, which is sent back to a clinic in the United States, researchers can determine the sex of the fetus, and e-mail it to the parents within 48 hours (Oglivie, 2005; Langton, 2005; Lee, 2005). There is widespread fear over this kit being so readily available, and some are concerned about this kit being used by members of the Indo-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian populations, where sex selection and female infanticide are already problematic. According to Singh (2005), “female activists in the Indo-Canadian community believe the new baby gender test kit could be misused for cultural reasons”, and the threat of this kit spreading is also apparent, and worrying. The CEO of pregnancystore.com, Sherry Bonelli, affirms that the Gender Mentor Kit is the highest selling product on their website (Lee, 2005). Although many people do not consider sex selection to be a threat in the West, the given statistics inspire thought and speculation over how much of a local risk this is, based on such readily accessible technology. With reproductive technology available on the Internet, nearly anyone can pay a few hundred dollars and discover the sex of their child, and in communities where baby girls are not desired, sex selective abortion rates can increase. As a result, more baby girls and female fetuses can be killed, and further discrimination can be implemented against girls.

Another issue of concern involves American ultrasound clinics, specializing in sex determination, that Canadians seem to be turning to. For example, in 1993, a clinic in Blaine specializing in sex selective technology directed its advertisements towards the Indo-Canadian community, through two well-known Indian newspapers, The Link and Sangarsh (Lee, 2005). It is apparently well known that many Asian communities prize male birth over female birth, and this is something that sex selection specialists and some geneticists may choose to take advantage of. Todd (1995) actually affirms that John Stephens, the doctor representing the Blaine clinic, “advertised [in the newspaper] that he would help abort females.” The fact that Stephens directed his advertisements to a community already plagued by female infanticide, abortion of female fetuses, and strong male preference, is very frustrating for people not in support of sex selection. Another such clinic is said to exist in Buffalo, New York, suggesting that Asian Canadian women in Toronto may also look to this clinic, where ultrasounds for sex determination can be held as early as 12 weeks (“The Right Sex”, 1996).

Considering that sex related technologies like the Gender Mentor Kit are available online, or clinics designed for sex selection are becoming more popular with Indo-Canadian couples, threats of sex-selective abortion are not restricted to the East. Patricia Baird (1996) notes that “if reproductive technology is left unregulated by the government, it will become commercialized.” Unfortunately, Baird’s predictions are becoming a reality in today’s fast-moving and allegedly evolving world.

Hoping to avoid judgment or concentration on discriminatory practices in only one group, it is vital to understand that sex selection technologies are not only of interest to Asian couples, but are also attracting couples of different nationalities. Additionally, many younger generation Indo-Canadian youth do not support the abortion of female fetuses and female infanticide, and will hopefully attempt to reduce the occurrence of these practices. As Singh (2005) affirms, certain attitudes of the Indo-Canadian community have – to some degree – changed over time, although many are still (sometimes without realizing it) in sync with older values of male preference. Community may also play a large role in sex selection and female infanticide trends. Matrika, an Indian woman interviewed by Saini (2002), reveals that her fellow villagers helped her kill her second baby daughter, when she was unable to do it herself:

“For three days, I give no baby milk…Baby cry. Village woman squeeze water from tree, mix with oil, and force down baby throat.”…“The baby have blood from nose and die”… “Neighbors make small hole near house. Baby go in hole.” (27).

Although Matrika originally describes her second girl child as beautiful and healthy, almost referring to her as a blessing, she explains that her neighbours came to see her, and told her to “let it die”, or somehow kill the baby (Saini, 1998, 26). Matrika, like many other women, was laughed at for her small dowry, and feels that if she does not provide a boy child for her husband, her family will be in shame (Ibid). In such ways, community plays a large part in a woman’s decision to abort or kill her female child, even though many women often purposefully and willingly take part in such actions. There is also a threat that newer generation Indo-Canadian couples, in order to maintain synchrony between younger and older generations and uphold their family or community status, may fall into sex-selective abortion trends. Additionally, Stephenson & Tsui (2002) emphasize the influence of community on reproductive health service use, and explain that individual decisions are frequently based on the community in which an individual lives. Therefore, the concept of community is key in understanding female feticide trends anywhere in the world.

Although the crisis of female infanticide can be examined through several lenses, I choose here to consider it through a philosophical eco-feminist position. In using this approach, it is interesting to consider the basics of what is or is not ethical, and what ethics are rooted in. How much should the human population truly be allowed to control? Should the human population have the power to control what is “natural”, or has the human population gone far beyond its reasonable limits, which is evident, for example, through its highly imbalanced sex ratios?

As Salladay (1997) asserts, “part of responsible ethical thinking involves looking at all sides of any moral dilemma” (22). It is not difficult to understand the pressure that countless women face to abort their female fetuses, and to some of them, the abortion of their fetus may not even appear as an option, but a definite obligation and reality. It is possible that this reality is so commonplace for many women that they become immune to any ethical concerns regarding the abortion of a fetus on the basis of its sex. Many attempt to support their actions or beliefs on the note that “Whatever I believe is right is right for me” (Salladay, 1999, 22), although they may ignore the impact their actions can have on other people (Ibid). Thus, in making ethical considerations on most general issues, it is essential to examine whether one’s own actions influence others in a negative way, or may cause hurt, discomfort, or emotional, mental, or physical pain to any given member of society or the ecosystem. Based on these possible outcomes, one can make their decision and explore whether the end truly justifies the mean, or in this particular case, whether the abortion of female life is worth it, to preserve a family name, social status, or label as a “good” daughter-in-law. Hopefully, many people feel that the preservation of female life is more important in the short and long run, although it is difficult to imagine what one would do in another’s shoes, or in another’s cultural and environmental setting.

In the discussion of deontological and teleological ethics, or the ethics of care versus the ethics of justice (whether one ought to or is willing to act ethically), Schwickert (1999) affirms that both forms of ethics should complement each other. In the exploration of ethical action, Schwickert (1999) essentially believes that if one cannot legitimize his or her actions in the long run, he or she will “fail to succeed in the search for a fulfilled life” (184). This is one reason why ethical consideration is so important, and many women may sadly realize this after having aborted their female babies. Another thought to consider is that many argue about sex selective abortion being a decision to be made by the child’s mother, who should have enough control over her body to be able to abort her child, for any reason. Disregarding the truth or non-truth of this argument, it is important to understand that many women that abort their fetuses based on sex are being pressured to do so from the patriarch in the family, or a society that condemns females (Oomman & Ganatra, 2002, & Verma, 2005). This, quite realistically, does not represent a free choice made by the mother of the deceased fetus – yet, it represents her oppression and the controlling of her body by others.

The American Society of Reproductive Medicine has officially outlined several ethical concerns involved in sex selection, including gender discrimination and oppression, and more seriously, worry over gradual progression towards eugenics (Hollingsworth, 2005). Many theorists are worried that sex selection may lead to parents wanting to control other factors about their children, like intelligence, or physical characteristics, instead of sex alone (Ibid). This returns to the issue of how much control human beings should have over their own bodies, and their own offspring. With the approaching threat of eugenics or living in a world where ideal characteristics are desired and controlled for, it is a good time to consider whether the human race has gone too far in its aiming for perfection, altering what is “natural”, and essentially, getting itself caught in a shrinking net.

In many Indian families, the birth of a boy is celebrated by distributing sweets and congratulating the parents. The birth of a girl, in comparison, is marked by silence in the family, and in my twenty years of existence, I have never seen sweets being distributed on the birth of a girl, nor the fancy celebrations seen on holidays like Lohri, specifically created to celebrate male birth. It is common for mothers to pray for the long lives of their sons, and there are special calendar dates in the Hindu culture to commemorate such auspicious births, although no such celebration is held for female babies. Although many societies have their imperfections, the effects of female infanticide and sex selective abortion are massive and unavoidable. Jaswinder Singh, a spokesperson for the central religious body of the Sikhs admits the high rates of infanticide and abortion in Punjab, and argues, “we don’t have any relations with people who kill girls. The woman is the most precious. She gives life. How can you kill her?” (Fortney, 2005). Female infanticide and preference for male children has long plagued the Indian culture. In a prejudiced society where women are objectified, they are becoming “limited commodities” – and the future will certainly show these trends, without increased education, and efforts towards large, societal reform movements to change the structures of Indian society and attempt to advertise the worth of female babies; the future women of this world.

References

Baird, P. (1996, November 27). Wombs for rent: If Reproductive Technology is left Unregulated by Government, it will Become Commercialized. The Gazette, pg. B.3.

Census of India. (2001). Retrieved November 22nd, 2005, from www.censusindia.net.

Cohen, A. (2000). Excess Female Mortality in India. American Journal of Public Health, 90(9), 1369-72.

Fight Vs. Female Feticide in India (Datamation Foundation issues warning against abortion of female fetuses in India). (2002, January 6th). We!. Isis International.

Gill, G.K. (1998). Female Feticide as a Contemporary Cultural Practice in the Punjab. Dialectical Anthropology, 23(2), 203-14.

Gender, Morality, and Ethics of Responsibility: Complementing Teleological and Deontological Ethics. (2005). Hypatia, 20(2), 164-88.

Gupta, M.D. (2005). Explaining Asia’s “Missing Women”: A New Look at the Data. Population and Development Review, 31(3), 529.

Haney, D. Q. (1998, February 20). Finding eats at mystery of appetite. The Oregonian, pp. A1, A17.

Hollingsworth, L.D. (2005). Ethical Considerations in Prenatal Sex Selection. Health & Social Work, 30(2), 126-34.

Langton, J. (2005, July 10th). New test finds gender of 5-week-old embryos. The Gazette, pg. A.16.

Lee, J. (2004, August 13th). Official slams ’sex selection’ blood test. The Vancouver Sun, pg. A.1.

Oglivie, M. (2005, July 15th). Pinprick reveals sex in controversial test; Toronto clients want boys, Debate rages over sex selection. Toronto Star, pg. D.03.

Oomman N & Ganatra B.R. (2002). Sex Selection: The Systematic Elimination of Girls. Reproductive Health Matters, 10(19), 184.

Rajan, J. (April 1996). Will India’s Ban on Prenatal Sex Determination Slow Abortion of Girls? Hinduism Today, http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1996/4/1996-4-04.shtml

Saini, S. (2002). Born To Die. Humanist, 62(4), 25-7.

Salladay, S.A. (1997). Ethical Problems. Nursing, 27(11), 22-3.

Sex Selective Abortions: Short-Term and Long-Term Perspectives.(2002). Reproductive Health Matters, 10(19), 194.

Stephenson, R. & Tsui, A.O. (2002). Contextual Influences on Reproductive Health Service Use in Uttar Pradesh, India. Studies in Family Planning, 33(4), 309-320.

The Right Sex. (1996, October 20th). The Province, pg. A.14.

Verma, P. (2005). Missing Miss India. Off Our Backs, 35(3/4), 28-31.

Wink, C & Klasen, S. (2002). A Turning Point in Gender Bias in Mortality? An Update on the Number of Missing Women. Population and Development Review, 28(2), 372.

Article By: M. Kaur: Kaurs United Publication
Please do not re-print without permission.

First I will quote from Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Ji says “Saabat Soorat Dastaar Sira” means “Let your total awareness be the turban on your head” (Page 1084). This clearly states that a Sikh is instructed to live a natural life and have unshorn hair and to protect and keep those hair clean he/she must wear a Dastaar on his/her head. This line does not make an exception to women. Sikh Gurus gave women the equal rights. Both men and women are given the same message which means the above line implies to both not only to men. If we are Sikhs of Guru Granth Sahib Ji then we must wear Dastaar doesn’t matter if you are male or female.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji and Rehtname make very clear points about women wearing Dastaar. Guru Gobind Singh Ji said “Jab Lab Khalsa Rahe Niara, Tab Lag Tej Diyoon Mein Saara” which means “As long as Khalsa preserves its uniqueness and follows the path of true Guru I will bless them with all of my powers.” This clearly shows that Khalsa must have its uniqueness which means to have that uniqueness one must have a Dastaar on his/her head. Furthermore, when Bhai Jait Mal Ji presented the head of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji to Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Guru Ji said “I will give my Sikh a distinct and unique appearance which will allow him to be recognized while standing in millions”. This uniqueness comes from following the path of Sikhi which is to have unshorn hair and wearing Dastaar on the head. One can easily recognize a Sikh by looking at his appearance and most of that does come from Dastaar. Guru Ji did not say that he would give uniqueness only to men. When Guru Ji said “Khalsa” he meant men and women both. Men and women both are Khalsa. Guru Ji gave the same Rehat Maryada, same uniqueness, same message, same symbols, same religious Bana (dress) and same rights then how are women excluded from wearing Dastaar. Guru Ji made no distinction and referred to men and women as Khalsa and instructed them to wear Dastaar. In above line the word “Niara” clearly means different from others and it does mean wearing Dastaar. It doesn’t say only men have to be “Niara”.

Furthermore, Guru Gobind Singh Ji said “Khalsa Mero Roop Hai Khaas” which means “Khalsa is my own self image.” Again, Khalsa means men and women both. Guru Ji did not make two different Sikhs or Khalsa. He made one Sikh and there can only be one type or kind of Sikh. There is only one Khalsa. Women make different hair styles, color their hair, and tie them in the back which is prohibited. Those women are nowhere near Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s image. Guru Ji always wore Dastaar. Not only Guru Gobind Singh Ji but all of the other nine Gurus practiced wearing Dastaar. So how are women who dye their hair “Roop” (image) of Guru Gobind Singh Ji? They are not. Guru Ji had one image not two. Guru Ji had unshorn hair and wore Dastaar. Women without Dastaar do not even come close to that image. When those women look in the mirror, do they see Guru Gobind Singh Ji? I don’t think so. Dastaar is a sign of dignity. Men still have their dignity but where is women’s dignity? They have lost it in fashion. Not many Sikh women wear Dastaar but their numbers are growing. Even white Sikhs men and women wear Dastaar. Women must wear turban as instructed by Guru Ji himself because that’s what makes them unique and an image of Guru Ji.

Right up to the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Sikh women had been steadfast in following the edicts of the Satguru in respect to their spiritual inner life as well as dress, including Dastaar. That is what J. D. Cunningham himself saw and wrote in the middle of the Nineteenth Century when he wrote his book, History of the Sikhs. He writes: “The Sikh women are distinguished from Hindus of their sex by some variety of dress but chiefly by a higher top knot of hair.” Even after the Punjab came under the British rule, Dastaar was conspicuously seen in case of Sikh women as well as men right up to the Gurudwara movement and the establishment of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee in 1926. Until then, no one – man as well as woman was allowed to be baptized (by taking Amrit) at Sri Akaal Takhat Sahib without Dastaar. At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the present one, as a result of the Sikh renaissance movement, a number of Khalsa schools for girls were established in Punjab. Small Dastaar was prescribed as an obligatory head dress for students as well as teachers in such schools at Jaspalon, Ferozepur and Sidhwan in Punjab.

Many famous Rehatname also support wearing of Dastaar. Here are some quotes:

“Each candidate for Baptism be made to wear kachhehra, tie hair in a topknot and cover the same with Dastaar; wear Sri Sahib (Kirpan) in Gaatra (shoulder belt). Then he/she should stand with folded hands.” (Rahitnama Bhai Daya Singh Ji)

“…Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa should keep his hair unshorn, have flowing beard and have simple Dastaar which saves him from impiety. Then the Sikhs asked what would happen to those Amritdhari who start cutting their hair or do not keep their hair covered. The Guru replied that they would be stupid and will lose their sensibility It is a blemish to remain bareheaded…Always keep two turbans. When the bigger turban is removed, the smaller be kept. The smaller turban should not be removed.”(Bijai Mukat Dharam Shastra – Sakhi-8)

“(A Sikh) who eats food with turban removed from the head (i.e., bareheaded) is destined for ‘Kumbhi’ hell.” (Rahit Rama Bhai Prahlad Singh Ji)

“One who combs hair twice a day, ties turban fold by fold and cleans teeth everyday will not come to grief.” (Tankhah Naama Bhai Nandlal Ji)

“Whosoever roams about bareheaded, takes food bareheaded and distributes the ‘prasad’ bareheaded is considered punishable.” (Uttar-prashan Bhai Nandlal Ji)

“Women should tie their hair in topknot and should not keep them loose.” (Rahitnama Bhai Daya Singh Ji)

“Keshas be washed. Turban or Dastaar should not be placed on floor but should always be kept with due respect. Food should not be eaten bareheaded.” (Bijai Mukt Dharam Shastra, Sakhi 70)

It is thus, absolutely clear from the above quotations that remaining bareheaded at any time (except when washing, drying, and combing) and keeping hair loose and unknotted are basically against the Sikh Code of Conduct, which is applicable to all, men and women alike. For obvious reasons, therefore, the use of Dastaar is indispensable. There is no other way to keep the head covered all the time. Sikhs women who wear only dupattas, mostly remain bareheaded, at least in the privacy of their own homes, while taking food, etc., and thus are, perhaps unconsciously, infringing the Sikh Code of Conduct in this respect.

A FEW HISTORICAL AND OTHER FACTS IN THIS RESPECT:

1. Well-known Sikh historian Bhai Sahib Bhai Santokh Singh has given a somewhat detailed description concerning Mai Bhaag Kaur (commonly known as Mai Bhago) of Forty Muktas fame in his well known historical work GUR PARTAP SOORAJ. He mentions that Mai Bhaag Kaur had reached the highest stage of enlightenment and had almost lost her body consciousness…so much so that when her clothes became worn to shreds, she did not care to replace them. Sahib Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji called her in His Holy presence and instructed her to always stick to the Gursikh dress as prescribed in the Code of Conduct. In particular, she was ordered to wear Kachhehra and Dastaar. In fact, according to some chroniclers, the Dastaar was tied on her head by the Satguru himself. If this Dastaar was not a part of Sikhi, where was the need to include this item in the instructions given to a lady who had reached almost the Brahmgyan stage? It apparently shows that the Satguru gave very high importance to Dastaar.

2. In the Museum of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s fort at Lahore and Victoria Museum at Calcutta, the pictures of Sikh women of old time can be seen even now, depicting them with Dastaar.

3. Bhai Sahib Veer Singh, in his well known poetical work, RANA SURAT SINGH, depicts Rani Raj Kaur as a Saint Soldier or Rajyogi of the highest order. Her very impressive picture given in the book depicts her with a well-tied Dastaar, on which is also affixed a khanda-chakkar, the emblem of Sikhism. In another of his book “Mata Satwant Kaur” Satwant Kaur is shown as wearing Khalsa dress including Dastaar.

4. The Sikh women belonging to the Jatha of Bhai Sahib (Sant) Teja Singh Ji of Mastuana, have been seen doing Kirtan in congregations wearing Dastaar. He was instrumental in establishing Akaal Academy – a Higher Secondary School at Baru in Himachal Pradesh wherein all students – boys as well as girls – are required to wear Dastaar as a prescribed school uniform.

6.  Jathedar of Damdami Taksaal Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale’s whole family, including his wife, two sons and their wives practiced wearing Dastaar.

7. It is a historical fact that there was a time when a price was put on the head of a male Sikh. Greedy and unprincipled people, both Hindus and Muslims, availed of this opportunity to make money. When they could no longer find male Sikhs in the villages and towns, they started beheading Khalsa women and presenting their heads as the heads of young unbearded teenager Sikh lads. Even in those dark times Sikh women did not stop wearing Dastaar. It was only because of fashion and their misunderstanding of Sikh faith that they stopped wearing Dastaar and started piercing nose and ears.

8. S. Shamsher Singh Ashok who has been an active member of the Singh Sabha movement and an erstwhile Research Scholar of the S.G.P.C., while discussing the prevalence of the use of ‘Dastaar’, states: “…and, consequently in the Amrit-Parchaar at the Akaal Takhat Sahib, this was a precondition even for ladies before they could be baptized there. Any woman who was not prepared to wear Dastaar was not baptized. This practice continued even after the end of the Gurudwara movement. Relaxation was made only when Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafar became the Jathedar of the Akaal Takhat.”

The wearing of Dastaar enables Sikh women to show their distinctiveness of being Sikh or Khalsa like men. The importance of this Khalsa distinctiveness has been clearly emphasized by the Tenth Guru for the Khalsa as a community, both men and women, and not for men only. At the time of the baptismal ceremony, the same Amrit (Khande-Ki-Pahul) is administered to all without any distinction, including that of sex. The title of Khalsa is bestowed on all of them. The same way of life and Code of Conduct is enjoined upon all of them. All of them are forbidden to roam about, take food, etc. bareheaded. How, then, have women become exempt from any of these injunctions? Dastaar is the only answer to this contradiction.

In view of all the aforesaid, it is clear that Dastaar has been traditionally worn by Sikhs, or Khalsa men and women, right from the birth of the Khalsa Nation. This practice has been enunciated and strongly emphasized by the Satguru himself. Akhand Kirtani Jatha, white Sikhs and a few other individuals and organizations are preserving this dignified Khalsa tradition with Guru’s grace. Having become aware of these facts, the Sikh intelligentsia has also started showing a remarkable response in this regard. If the Khalsa is to live in accordance with the Rules of true Gurmat , both Khalsa men and women have to accept it. Dastaar is the crown bestowed by the Satguru for the head of the Khalsa, whether man or woman, who stands bestowed with the special form of the Satguru himself. By refraining from the use of Dastaar, a Sikh becomes a follower of his own ego instead of the Will of the Satguru. Wearing of Dastaar by Sikh women is decried mainly because modern day Sikhs want their women to fall in line with other women with respect to the so called modern way of life, including the modern fashions of dress. Sikhs – both men and women – will continue to be guilty of showing disrespect to the sacred hair by keeping them uncovered. In fact, it is the Dastaar’s non-acceptance (and not its acceptance) that is very unconsciously eviscerating the Rehtname of their “tremendous and literally unlimited potency that operates on the collective subconscious level” of the Sikhs in general. One fails to understand how the use of Dastaar “…destroys the purity of the Khalsa and sabotages the unity of the Khalsa”, as alleged by some. In fact, the shoe is on the other foot. If Dastaar is accepted by all Khalsa men and women, it will help in maintaining the purity and ensuring the unity of the Khalsa, as even women of the Khalsa faith, like the Khalsa men, will be distinguishable.

Submitted by: A. Kaur
Author: Unknown

We were expectant and excited as we started down to the Siri Harimandir Sahib at 12:10 AM on March 10th, 1996. This was the night for which I had prayed for years. Tonight we would be graced with the blessing of doing seva in our Guru’s House in the Amrit Vela. Bibiji Inderjit Kaur, wife of Siri Singh Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji, myself and several other ladies had traveled from America on Singh Sahib Manjit Singh’s invitation to participate in the long awaited opportunity to participate in this holy seva. Together, we walked around the parkarma and made our way in silence to the Darshani Deori. We sat down with the other Gursikhs who had gathered there for seva. Soon we were joined by Bibi Amarjit Kaur, Shaheed Bhai Fauja Singhji, and other ladies from Amritsar. We meditated and read our banis in humble preparation of this blessed Amrit Vela.

Soon most of the men who had been sitting stood and moved away, joining a crowd which had formed by the Nishan Sahib. We stood up to see what was happening, and though we sensed hostility we were felt assured because Singh Sahib Manjit Singh, the Jethadar of the Akal Takhat Sahib, was there speaking to the men. Within minutes, the voices became loud and angry. Suddenly the crowd began to move and swept over to us. We were surrounded and engulfed by a crowd with angry faces and loud voices. The mob argued and screamed at Singh Sahibji and our group of ladies. With pointing fingers and hostile voices they opposed us. Bibi Amarjit Kaur and Bibi Inderjit Kaur, the warriors that they are, held their ground and spoke back with clear words. In anger and frustration, the men pressed against us, trying to push us back. The ladies grabbed onto each other and we firmly held our ground. One of the younger women started crying, and I put my arms around her to comfort her. The men screamed at the top of their lungs and beat their chests yelling “Bole so Nihal” and “Deg Teg Fateh”, as if it were theirs and not ours. We yelled the battle cry along with them, as loudly as they did.

Singh Sahibji motioned to a group of men, moving them away from us over to the small office to the left of the main doors. The group moved with him, but maintained its anger and intensity. It seemed he stood alone against the crowd, and we feared for his safety. Still, he stood his ground and kept up the dialog.

With the crowd away from doors, we were left in somewhat quiet and we sat down to wait. A Gursikh resumed the Sukhmani Sahib which brought some peace to the morning air. But the crowd’s mood remain unchanged.

With a sense of triumph, men from the knot of people around the Jethadar made their way to the small gate in the door and went through to begin cleaning the floors of Harimandir Sahib. In meditation, we sat and waited.

At about 1:20 AM, Singh Sahibji appeared at the door, motioning to us and said in hushed voice, “Come!” We walked down the long causeway, our breath short and anxious. It was the prayer of a lifetime with each step. We came to the door, and bowed our heads low and grateful, and then stood to one side. We waited for a sign of what to do, but we were completed avoided and ignored. Most of the work was already done anyway. Singh Sahibji motioned for us to go outside, and do whatever cleaning needed to be done. There were brooms, and several kind Gursikhs gave of cloths and showed us to wipe the brass and marble.

We put our whole hearts into that cleaning, wiping, and polishing with utmost devotion. Tears blurred our sight, and emotion shook in our hands. I looked up at the clock tower, and saw that it was 1:30 AM. I wondered when it was that a woman last had that same view at that time in the Amrit Vela. I wondered when I would have that blessing again?

A little after 2:00 AM the seva was completed and we sat to the right of the Manji Sahib. Soon, the traditional chanting began in preparation for the opening of the gates, prasad was brought in, and the morning routine continued. The sangat arrived at 2:45 AM. We stayed to listen to the holy Asa Di Var, and then left through the main gates which, by this time, were open to all.

The following night I returned to do evening seva at the Harimandir Sahib. When this was completed and the doors were closed at 11 PM, I sat outside the gates to the right of the line of men sitting and waiting to wash the floors. I brought with me prints of the painting I had made of the woman washing the floors and the poem “Pure Longing” translated into Punjabi. I sat in silence and read Sukhmani Sahib. One by one, the sevadars came over and took the prints until they were all gone.

At 12:50 AM the line of men stood up to go in for seva, and I stood up with them. But tonight, I had decided not to enter unless I was invited. A tall man with a white beard spoke for the group in a respectful voice, “Madam, it is ordered that women no wash the floors”. I nodded my head and continued to wait.

The men presented their passes and one by one they filed pasted the sevadar at the gate. The sevadar was a tall, young man and he very carefully and thorough questioned several of the men. I recognized them as key agitators from the previous night. One of these men was not let in, and he argued fiercely. His right to seva had been revoked because of his actions. Finally, they were all in, the door was closed and we sat to begin Sukhmani Sahib.

As I turned to leave, I was stopped by an old woman. She smiled at me and asked for one of the prints, as did many other people that I encountered on my way around the parkarma. I had accomplished what I had set out to do: to repeat the prayer, in a quiet way by my presence, for the women to wash the floors of Harimandir Sahib. Time will do the rest.

(Posted May 5, 1996 on www.sikhnet.com)

Gatka is a complete martial system which uses spiritual, mental and physical skills in equal portions to help one fully competent in defending themselves and others. It is a system that can only be used in defense as per:

“When all other means have failed, it is proper to take the sword in one’s hand”

Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji had a marvelous foresight; he wanted his Sikhs to have a strong soul, which we achieve by our prayers. He also wanted us to be physically fit and have a disciplined life. To make our self externally and internally strong and not by merely wasting our life and doing the things blindly what others do that bear no fruits. So, let all of us try to be Victorious by overcoming our evils, our own enemies Kaam, Krodh, Lob, Moh & Aanhkar.

“… makes the mind alert and responsive, maintains the body in a near perfect condition and makes soul fearless, compassionate and tranquil…”

The art of Gatka involves a series of integral combat training systems that include several systems of duels armed – unarmed and the use of weapons of defense and offence. It aims at the coordination of mind & body through the meditation of spiritual verses of Gurbani, a holistic system by which the character and moral attitude of a student is shaped.

Disciplined training
A moral philosophy
Dedication and a sense of duty and respect, where a balance and understanding of both cultural and martial ways is established.

“They alone truly and fully live on this earth who remember the Lord and are ready to fight for the righteous cause. Brittle is our body; it does not last long. Let us use it and get into the boat of YASAS (nobly earned repute) and cross the ocean of repeated births and deaths. Let us make this body the residence of forbearance and fortitude and light in it the excellent lamp of wisdom. Let us there-after hold in our hands the sword of knowledge-realisation (Gnana) and bravely destroy with it, the demon of cowardice in us.” – Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji

A insight into the battles that our Mothers, Daughters, and Sisters of the Khalsa were invovled in, shows us how skills from Gatka are significant and a source of empowerment.

“…Dressed like an Akali of Guru Sahib’s time in a Chola and Dumalla and Shastar. What an amazing sight it must have been!”

Mai Bhag Kaur Ji - Her sharp words awakened the souls of numerous men. When forty Sikhs left Guru Gobind Singh Sahib ji during the siege of Anandpur Fort, she inspired them to return to the Guru’s fold and led them to meet the Guru and seek his pardon. Knowing that Wa/ir Khan was advancing to attack the Guru, Mai Bhago took up positions along with forty Sikhs and others at Mukatsar.

Bibi Dalair Kaur stood up in front of her sister’s and spoke with passion, “Sisters, we have given our heads to our Guru-Father at the amrit ceremony. We have lived for Truth, now the time has come to die for it. Sisters, remember that we are all trained warriors and we will die fighting rather than be taken as slaves. Sisters, pick up you guns and get in position; it’s a good day to die ‘BOLAY SO NIHAL SAT SRI AKAL’. Witnessing the events from a distance, Wajir Khan yelled, “Cowards, are you afraid of women? They are gifts for you, capture them and do what you want with the rewards of your hunt.” Bibi Dalair Kaur yelled back, “We are the hunters, not the hunted. Come forward and find out for yourself!”

Sada Kaur described as a first woman commander-in-chief and a leader of unprecedented qualities.

Bibi Harsharan Kaur – Hearing such stern answers from Bibi Harsharan Kaur, the infuriated Mughal soldiers attempted to capture her and attacked. Bibi jee grabbed her kirpaan and fought back with determination. After killing and maiming many soldiers, Bibi Harsharan Kaur was injured and fell to the ground. The soldiers picked Bibi Harsharan Kaur up and threw her into the pyre, burning her alive.

Nirbhai Kaur was a fearless and baptized girl of 22. Her father, Jangbahadar Singh, head of the army of Sodhi Wadbhag Singh, had taught her horse riding and use of arms. She was a true saint soldier of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj. She was armed whenever she left the house. She was in the prime of her youth, about 6 feet tall having a well built body and a bright face.

Bibi Sahib Kaur Phulkian (A Princess of Patiala) – She led armies into many battles and was the only woman in Indian subcontinent to win a battle over a British General.

Bibi Ranjit Kaur Ji moved swiftly, taking two steps backward she drew her sword from under her shawl and reflecting the moonlight it flashed like lightening. She shouted “If you come any closer I wont be responsible for what happens!” The soldiers burst out laughing. Khan Sahib said, “Angel drawing a sword! That’s a first!” The other soldier spoke “Isn’t she beautiful when she’s angry?” This was the first time Khan Sahib had seen a woman protect her honor like a lioness, but she was still only a weak woman so he tried to grab her with his outstretched arms. A flashing sword dazzled him and he screamed in agony as his left hand dropped to the ground. Having been bitten by the lioness the soldiers drew their swords and charged towards her. Ranjit Kaur Ji lunged forward at Khan Sahib again and cut off his sword hand. He retreated squirming in pain.

Bibi Baghel Kaur Ji came forward and cut the sword of the first soldier with her sword. In the meantime, a companion of her injured him with her sword when he was returning to save himself from the second attack. Another soldier attacked Baghel Kaur with his spear, but her friend checked his attack with her sword and injured him.

Kaurs United and Daughters of the Khalsa Blog constructed three questions to ask modern day Kaur Singhnee’s that practice Gatka on a daily basis. Here some of the replies that Sevadars from Kaurs United had to offer:

1) What type of feelings goes through your mind when you are performing Gatka?

-”I guess at that very moment I’m focused on the battle but in the back of my mind I’m always thinking about the past and how what I’m doing at that moment was started hundreds of years ago and how fortunate I am to be performing such an art from the times of our Gurus”
- Aminder Kaur, Calgary, 17

-”It’s really energetic…It feels good to play gatka knowing it has been in Sikhi for a long time, through the Gurus, it makes me feel proud to know how to fight.”
-Perminder Kaur, Toronto, 13

-”First I feel honored to be performing Gatka. It makes me feel like a strong Singhni as I represent the Khalsa. I feel at peace and even more connected to Sikhi.”
-Jaachak Kaur, Calgary, 25

-”When I’m playing first of all I get really nervous but then after you play a lot, you have lots of beer russ in yourself and its pretty fun. But then you’re still scared that what about if I get hurt and can’t play no more, but usually it’s really fun.”
-Simer Kaur, Abbotsford (BC), 15

-”It’s unfortunate that I don’t do Gatka so often anymore, but when I remember back to how it used to feel, I immediately feel like doing my panthra and picking up a shaster. I just want to say, the feeling of partaking in Gatka is beyond any description, I can’t even express in words how it feels to be a warrior in Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s army… I understand that this is who we become by taking Amrit and joining his Fauj, but playing Gatka is just next level. It’s such an amazing rush that comes over your whole body, when you hit someone you realize “it” is in you, and when you get hit, “it” (the bir russ, power, God knows what) just rises to the top and you growl like a lioness… It’s so beautiful. Gatka is amazing. It’s so empowering. Fighting with shasters is a blessing, it feels very divine, as though Guru Ji Himself is blessing you while you fight, as though your body is completely connected to Naam and the divine current of God… There is no other way to describe it, but just that, an unknown power seems to come over me when I play Gatka, and it seems like there is nothing between me and the person I fight, except for my pure warrior power, and I feel my animal senses coming over me, as though I really am a lioness, and just want to pounce on and destroy the enemy…”
-Anonymous Kaur, BC, 20

- “I feel proud. And it’s about courage. It takes courage for people to come out and perform. When I do Gatka I feel great. It builds up energy and you know, it can be used to defend yourself.”
-Poonam Kaur, Richmond (BC), 15

-”I feel power, I feel bir rass, I feel like I’m stepping into a maidaan…I feel like a lioness, it’s beyond words… the strength and power you feel…It’s like so much goes through you at that time, it’s like when you hear that dhol start to play you can’t just sit and watch, you have to jump in and fight. You feel like there’s jaikaarey going inside you…It’s like AKAAALUHH you feel like an akali nihung.”
-Asees Kaur, BC, 19

2) Have you ever used your Gatka skills in a real life situation? Even if you haven’t physically used Gatka skills, in real life, people say it gives you confidence/makes you feel like fighting, and makes you stronger. Would this be true for you or no?

-”I haven’t really used my Gatka skills in real life but I think physically and emotionally Gatka makes you stronger. I think Gatka is as much physical as it is emotional.”
- Aminder Kaur, Calgary, 17

-”I haven’t used Gatka skills in real life…but if I had to it would certainly come handy…It does give me confidence that in case something happens on the streets I can at least defend myself.”
-Perminder Kaur, Toronto, 14

-”The only skills I’ve really ever used in every day like that I learned from Gatka were patience, confidence, and control. You use these skills while performing Gatka as well in every day life.”
-Jaachak Kaur, Calgary, 25

-”I think I have used the confidence and fearlessness Gatka has given me, to protect myself from physical harm. It’s possible that the confidence and fearlessness I kept inside of me because of Gatka, scared off certain people that would have otherwise messed with me…Gatka can help you on the streets or in real life because it isn’t just physical, but also mental and spiritual, and it heightens your awareness and if you respect it and play it with love, for the art of Gatka and for the shasters, then every hair on your body will stand up when you feel like someone may threaten you physically… It’s almost like Guru Ji keeps you awake and aware, when you promise you will learn His form of defense. It helps, in every way, it really does, if you learn it and allow yourself to become without fear”
-A. Kaur, B.C., 20

-”Yeah I have used it and yes it does make a person stronger. I’ve done wrestling and kickboxing before that so it all combines together and makes your stronger.”
-Asees Kaur, BC, 19

3) Is there any other advice you would like to give those bibian that want to learn Gatka but are intimidated or afraid – would you like to say anything else to those bibian that will read this article?

“It’s good to learn gatkha and where it comes from…As you learn more, you would want to learn… So I would definitely encourage bibian to learn gatkha.”
-Perminder Kaur, Toronto, 14

-”Well I just want to say that it seems really scary and hard at the beginning but [bibian] should try it out once and like the first TIME they try it, they know if it’s hard or not but usually it’s not and it’s really fun to join and it helps a lot if you ever get in trouble or something.”
-Simer Kaur, Abbotsford (BC), 15

-”Women are just as strong as the men…And Singhnis should be feeling that strength no matter what. Gatka is about protecting Sikhi. If you Love it…you’ll do it.”
-Jaachak Kaur, Calgary, 25

-”For those of you out there, I was one of you. I was scared to do this because I thought if I learned it people would make fun of me. It took me time, but seriously ladies, there’s nothing more fun than doing Gatka! You learn how to have self-defense and it makes you stronger in every way. Practice makes perfect. So if I were you I’d be up on my feet fighting by now. Please ladies don’t be scared! If I can do it, so can you. And it’s not hard at all, trust me. Anyone can do this. This has been passed on to us from generation to generation and we should be proud to be learning and doing this.”
-Poonam Kaur, Richmond (BC) 15

This is a Bhenji who is describing the first time she won in Gatka Akhara:

“…Gatka is very precious gift from Guruji and it gives great feelings during performing it and Guruji has given me a wonderful experience…. I realize something great, it certainly makes you feel confident, fearless and the love for shaster vidya. While performing it and when your baani goes through your head, then you will see how the movement is and vaar goes so beautifully and energetic…. I am not good in describing my feelings while performing gatka because it is something which comes from your inner self and then rejoins with shaster vidya. The truth is, even I was not sure whether I can fight or not and don’t want to fight with Singhs because they are experienced Singhs in gatka. They have been practicing Gatka for many years and my group just learned in three months.

Guruji is the one who made me involve in last minute and I just go on with one spirit, and that was bharosa in Guruji and Naam. When Guruji gave me my first victory, Penji, the Sangat faces in stadium especially Penjiaa from every Gatka Akhara showed a sense of proud for me and said in future they will take part. It was not Win or Loose game. It was something beyond that, it was the feeling of how you should be tyar bhar tyaar in facing any situation without fear. The main part is our actual battle starts with our own enemies which are Kam,krodh.lobh,moh,ahangkar…”
- Gupt Kaur

This article is created by Singhnees, for Singhnees…

The Holy people are an invincible army of spiritual warriors; their bodies are protected by the armour of humility.
Their weapons are the Glorious Praises of the Lord which they chant; their Shelter and Shield is the Word of the Guru’s Shabad.
The horses, chariots and elephants they ride are their way to realize God’s Path.
They walk fearlessly through the armies of their enemies; they attack them with the Kirtan of God’s Praises.
They conquer the entire world, O Nanak, and overpower the five thieves.

By portraying historical events where our Mothers, Daughters, and Sisters used Gatka to help them in battle, and illustrating the emotions of modern day Singhnees when it comes to Gatka, hopefully, for all of the Singhnees who have read this post you get a sense of assurance that as a Sikh, we should practice Gatka because it will help us gain confidence in the world we live in today.

“Khalsa lived poised in sword’s sharp edge, and he kissed its cold steel. Indeed Iron had gone into his soul at his nativity. But it would be a great mistake to associate the Khalsa with the wanton wars and bloodshed. He took to the sword because of a crisis of conscience.” – Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji

Although Bhai Gurdas Ji remained celibate throughout his life, he greatly appreciated and adored the value that women held in social and religious spheres. Bhai Gurdas Ji had tremendous respect for women, and in his writings, which are referred to as the “key” to Gurbani, he refers to women as “[the] doorway to salvation” (5.16), helping humankind obtain God through her brave and noble characteristics.

“At birth a Sikh girl, in her mother’s home, is fondled and dearly loved by her mother and father.
Later, she becomes admired by her brothers and sisters and favored by her maternal and paternal grandparents.
On attaining to “the bloom of youth” she is wedded with costly gifts and presents.
Now, in her in-law’s house, she is respected and accepted with the title of married wife.
She enjoys with her husband, eating a variety of foods, and remaining bedecked.
From a temporal and spiritual point of view, woman is half man’s body, being regarded as the equal of her spouse in virtue and wisdom. She becomes as a doorway to salvation.
Such is the verbal portrait of a Guru-inspired and blessed, faithful Sikh woman.” (5.16)

During the period that Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s light first emerged, women were being bought, sold, and used like cattle. Common customs during this medieval period in India were Sati (the mandatory burning of living women at their husband’s funeral pyre), Purdah (the mandatory veiling of women’s faces so they would not distract men), along with polygamy, child marriages, and female infanticide. Women had close to no voice in religion, politics, the family circle, business, or education. At this point, other religions also degraded the status of women. The Hindu nation followed laws like Manusimriti, which prevented women from listening to prayer, and identified with a highly divided society, placing women at the end of the spectrum. Menstruating women were also seen as bad, and women were generally seen as cursed for placing lustful thoughts in men’s minds. The Christian faith asserted that Eve was born of Adam’s rib, emphasizing the inferiority of women to man. The Islamic faith prohibited women from leading the congregation in prayer, and also emphasized that the testimony of two women was equal to the testimony of one man. Muslim men were also given the freedom to have sexual rights over women and any slave girls (Hadith, No. 61), and men were allowed to beat their women lightly but never vice versa (Holy Quran, 4:34). In such a misogynistic era, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji came and uplifted the status of women around the world, saying:

From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married.
Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come.
When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound.
So why call her bad? From her, kings are born.
From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all.
O Nanak, only the True Lord is without woman (e.g. not born from a woman). (Ang 473)

Speaking to the common man who likely viewed women as impure, irrational, and cursed, Guru Nanak Dev Ji awoke a new spirit of equality, respect, and benevolence between the sexes. In a society ridden with the belief that women were inadequate and forever inferior to men, Guru Nanak Dev Ji spoke of women’s rights! Throughout Sikh History, several women have lit the path of inspiration and enlightenment, from the times of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s emergence throughout the emergence of all ten Gurus. Mothers like Mata Tripta Ji, who give birth to great souls, are continually praised in Gurbani:

“One who dies in the Shabad and conquers their mind – blessed is the mother who gave birth to them.” (Ang 1286).

Additionally, although various relationships are described in Gurbani (e.g. brother, sister, father, sister-in-law, etc.), the relationship with a Mother is described the most, and God is continually referred to as a female and/or male energy:

“You are my Father, and You are my Mother.” (Ang 103)
“He cherishes all His beings and creatures, as the mother cares for her children.” (Ang 105)
“I have no friend except the Lord; the Lord is my father, my mother, my companion. [Pause]” (Ang 882)
“I am in ecstasy, O my mother, for I have found my True Guru.” (Ang 917)
“Air is the Guru, Water is the Father, and Earth is the Great Mother of all.” (Ang 8 )
“The earth, being tolerant like mothers, is the mother and is the further base of all the creatures.” (Vaars: Bhai Gurdas Ji, 6)
“Because of His benevolence, God is like a mother to the devotees.” (Vaars: Bhai Gurdas Ji, 10).

With the emergence of Guru Angad Dev Ji, the second Sikh Guru, the tradition of Langar was started, where individuals ate together, regardless of caste, class, age, gender, religion, or race. The wife of Guru Angad Dev Ji, Mata Khivi Ji, is one of the rare Sikhs whose names are actually mentioned in Guru Granth Sahib Ji:

“Balwand says that Khivi, the Guru’s wife, is a noble woman, who gives soothing, leafy shade to all.
She distributes the bounty of the Guru’s Langar; the kheer-the rice pudding and ghee-is like sweet ambrosia.” (Ang 967)

Lastly, in Sri Guru Gobind Singh’s writings, he alludes to the warrior spirit (bir-rus) through the example of Chandi, emphasizing that women can not only create and give birth, but they can also destroy and destruct. The Sikh religion thoroughly emphasizes the rights and virtuous strengths of womankind, viewing women as equal to men in every regard. Sikh women may become preachers, warriors, scholars, saints, and they may also partake in recital of all prayers alone or in the congregation. Sikh women themselves must realize the benevolence of the Sikh Gurus and embellish themselves in the beautifully revolutionary teachings of the Sikh Faith – if they desire for the future of the Sikh Nation to be fruitful and blessed.

She who meets the True Guru, lives in the Fear of God; she is a woman of noble birth.
- Guru Amar Das Ji, Ang 516

This article was a Kaurs United publication and can be printed and distributed with permission.

In Praise of Women

“We are born of woman, we are conceived in the womb of woman, we are engaged and married to woman. We make friendship with woman and the lineage continued because of woman. When one woman dies, we take another one, we are bound with the world through woman. Why should we talk ill of her, who gives birth to kings? The woman is born from woman; there is none without her. Only the One True Lord is without woman” (Guru Nanak Dev, Var Asa, Ang 473)

Marriage is an equal partnership of love and sharing between husband and wife.

“They are not said to be husband and wife, who merely sit together. Rather they alone are called husband and wife, who have one soul in two bodies.” (Guru Amar Das, Pauri, Ang 788)

Women have an equal right to participate in the congregation.

“Come my sisters and dear comrades! Clasp me in thine embrace. Meeting together, let us tell the tales of our Omnipotent Spouse (God). In the True Lord are all merits, in us all demerits.” (Guru Nanak Dev, Sri Rag, Ang 17)

God is the husband and we are all his brides.

“The spouse is but One and all others are His brides. The false bride assumes many religious garbs. When the Lord stops her going into another’s home, then is she summoned into her Lord’s mansion without any let and hindrance. She is adorned with the Name and is dear to her True Lord. She alone is the true bride and the Lord lends her His support.” (Guru Nanak Dev, Ramkali, Ang 933)

God is our Mother as well as our Father.

“Thou O Lord, art my Father and Thou my Mother. Thou art the Giver of peace to my soul and very life.” (Guru Arjan Dev, Bhairo, Ang 1144)

Faithfulness to ones spouse is stressed.

“The blind-man abandons the wife of his home, and has an affair with another’s woman. He is like the parrot, who is pleased to see the simbal tree, but at last dies clinging to it.” (Bhagat Nam Dev, Bhairo, Ang 1165)

The rape and brutalities committed against women by the Mughal invader Babar condemned.

“Modesty and righteousness both have vanished and falsehood moves about as the leader, O Lalo. The function of the Qazis and the Brahmins is over and the Satan now reads the marriage rites (rape). The Muslim women read the Quran and in suffering call upon God, O Lalo. The Hindu women of high cast and others of low caste, may also be put in the same account, O Lalo.” (Guru Nanak Dev, Tilang, Ang 722)

The practice of women burning themselves on their husband’s funeral pyre (sati) condemned.

“They cannot be called satis, who burn themselves with their dead husbands. They can only be called satis, if they bear the shock of separation. They may also be known as satis, who live with character and contentment and always show veneration to their husbands by remembering them.” (Guru Amar Das, Var Suhi, Ang 787)

The ritual of dowry so prevalent in Indian society condemned.

“Any other dowry, which the perverse place for show, that is false pride and worthless gilding. O’ my Father! give me the Name of Lord God as a gift and dowry.” (Guru Ram Das, Sri Rag, Ang 79)

NEW DELHI, Aug 2- In a burst of gunfire, arson and rock throwing, angry mobs of Sikhs and Hindus did more than wreck the tranquility of a middle-class neighborhood in western New Delhi last weekend.

They also shattered any remaining complacency that the Sikh-Hindu conflict, perhaps the most serious threat to India’s national unity, was on its way to being eased.

A weeklong curfew in western New Delhi was lifted Wednesday, and tensions have diminished. But the story of how the violence began and spread, leaving six people dead, epitomized the reasons why hostilities between Hindus and Sikhs will be hard to overcome.

Prospering Neighborhoods

Four groups of people in two adjacent neighborhoods had a role in the tensions over the last several months. Each group, seeing itself as an innocent victim, took some form of action that victimized someone else, resulting in an endless cycle of vengeance.

“This place has been like a powder keg for a long time,” a civil defense worker said the other day. “It was bound to blow up.”

Tilak Vihar and Tilak Nagar are tow largely prosperous neighborhoods of Hindus and Sikhs in the capital’s western outskirts. On normal days, their markets bustle with activity and the broad tree-lined streets are filled with pedestrians, cars, scooters, goats and cows…Militant Hindu groups in growing numbers have been calling on their co-religionists to begin arming themselves against Sikhs.

Roots of Nationalism

Some of these groups trace their roots to the 19th century Hindu nationalist and even fanaticism of the kind that led Hindus to assassinate Mohandas K. Gandhi in 1948.

In recent months, Hindu wearing saffron caps and wielding spears have stepped up processions and other protests against the Sikh violence in the Punjab. The main sponsor has been another fast growing group called Shiv Sena, or Shiva’s army. Shiva is one of the principal Hindu gods.

Ignoring warnings that a protest might spark violence, Shiv Sena organized a procession of a few thousand Hindus on Saturday morning in Tilak Nagar to protest the bus massacre. At its head was a group of women beating their bears and wailing emotionally.

The procession quickly spun out of control, and Hindu mobs began attacking Sikh shops, homes, and cars. One group stormed and burned a Sikh temple in the neighborhood.

Widows of Murdered Sikhs

But a third group in this volatile mix where the Sikhs living in nearby Tilak Vihar, a new apartment complex that is mainly the home of several hundred Sikh widows, whose husbands were murdered in the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. Some 2,500 Sikhs died in the 1984 [note to readers, several other reports say the death count was triple this amount, or even higher], which was sparked by the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by the two Sikh security guards. Sikhs of all persuasions regard the riots as a holocaust they can never forget.

“My children still wake up with nightmares in the middle of the night,” said Dhanwant Kaur, a 30-year-old widow whose husband and three brothers-in-law were burned alive in 1984. “The kids say to me: ‘Dad has gone away. Will you be going away, too?’”

NEW DELHI, Sept.3 – Seventy-year-old Sudini Kaur lives in a ghetto of, heartbroken women, haunted by the horrifying, sickening images of that night of carnage five years ago that took her son, three grandsons and her zest for life.

“We hid and hid and hid, until we could hide no more,” she said. “They searched everywhere until they found us.”

The men in Sudini Kaur’s family were among the thousands – officially 2,733 but by some estimates perhaps 5,000 – Sikh men and boys who were bludgeoned, slashed and burned to death by the mobs in the days after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by Sikh bodyguards on Oct. 31st in 1984.

Two Sikh men have been hanged and others are still under investigation in Mrs. Gandhi’s death. Indian officials portray the killing as part of a conspiracy among Sikhs, a religious group that dominates the prosperous state of Punjab and in whose name a separatist war is being fought there.

Only One Prosecution

But except for one case, brought by a woman with pictures of her relatives’ assailants, there have been no prosecutions of the killers of the Sikh men – men from the modest homes in outlying neighborhoods whose possessions were looted and wives molested as the men were killed. Most of the victims were migrants from Rajasthan, poor artisans with no links to the Punjab’s agrarian people.

There have also been no comprehensive official investigations into charges that the attacks were politically motivated, a source of continuing grief and anger among Sikh leaders.

Reporters who visited the looted and devastated neighborhoods before the Government trucked away the charred bodies in the early days of November 1984 were told again and again by stunned survivors that the men who came in organized gangs were being directed by leaders of the ruling Congress Party. In five years, the survivors, and several Indian human rights groups trying to help them get justice, have never wavered in that belief, despite official Government reports that have sought to obscure that issue, Sikhs say.

At least 450 affidavits were collected after the 1984 riots. Three politically prominent names figure in many of the descriptions by witnesses charging incitement. Two of the men, city ward leaders for the ruling party, are now Cabinet members serving Mrs. Gandhi’s son, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The third is a party official.

The issue of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots is in the news again in India because Mr. Gandhi, who was elected to a five-year term as Prime Minister in the wave of sympathy that followed his mother’s assassination, faces a re-election challenge at the end of the year. Images of Mrs.Gandhi’s death being invoked by the Congress Party stir up other memories among the Sikhs.

“I realized for the first time what it was to be a Jew in Nazi Germany,” the writer and Sikh historian Kushwant Singh said in an interview.

When what he calls the “lumpen” mobs came for Mr. Singh – all Sikhs use Singh, meaning lion, as part of their names – he was rescued by the Swedish Ambassador, who took him to the Swedish Embassy compound in a diplomatic car.

“I could understand what the Jews must have felt, to be a refugee in your own home country,” he said.

Mr. Singh said that in the intervening years, a new phenomenon has arisen among Sikhs. Insecure in an environment in which they believe they are regarded as a “race of traitors,” they have begun moving together into “mohallas,” closed communities, often near large Sikh temples called Gurdwaras.

Sudini Kaur, whose home was once in Trilokpuri, across the Jumna River from Delhi proper, now lives in a resettlement site in the West Delhi neighborhood of Tilak Vihar, along with more than a thousand other widows and thoughts of bereaved children, mothers and sisters.

Apartments for the Widows

Nearly all the women who lost their husbands and means of support in the November 1984 killings were given one-room apartments by the Delhi city authorities, along with monetary compensation totaling about $1220 for loss of property. [Note to readers, we suspect this is not the whole truth. It is widely believed that the government itself caused the November riots, and barely compensated for all the lives lost, caring very little about the left over women whose husbands, brothers, and sons were killed].

In addition, Sikhs from around the world sent aid worth up to about $55,000, although an emergency shipment of blankets for the Delhi winter was tied up six months by Indian customs until the matter was raised in Parliament. By then it was summer.

Sikh foundations tried to give aid intended to create income-generating skills. But the women of Tilak Vihar, and an adjoining slum of mud huts housing more displaced families, were unskilled and unaccustomed to holding formal jobs. They also have children to care for, which limits their mobility.

One afternoon last week, a group of them gathered on the two beds that nearly fill Shami Kaur’s one-room home, where she and eight children and one grandchild live, to relive the horror of November 1984. Shami Kaur, 45, spent three days hiding in a forest after an attack by drunken rioters from a nearby community left her father, son and husband dead. She came out only to beg at the roadside for scraps of food for her children. She and the others alternate between cold bitterness and emotional collapse as they talk. They tell how two men’s hair, worn long as part of religious practice, was tied together before they were set ablaze, and the taunts of killers that greeted the dying men’s desperate attempt to douse the flames: “Don’t they dance well!!”

A Cup of Tea for Supper

The women re-enact being told at knifepoint: “We will cut off your breasts and send them to Punjab! You have killed our mother, Indira!”

Saduri Kaur, 60, who saw her three sons killed, leaving her 18 grandchildren, is consumed with anxiety that no one will marry her eight granddaughters because she has no money for dowries. She is barely able to keep them alive.

“They get only a cup of tea for supper,” she said.

“India Gandhi was India’s mother, and our mother too,” Saduri Kaur said, “We were mourning for her when they came for us. We voted for her. But Indira Gandhi has taken our children.”

Today I took a random hukamnama from www.sikhitothemax.com and the shabad that came up is by Bhagat Fareed Ji, a renown and devout Bhagat whose Bani (songs, poems, and/or writings) is included in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. This is the shabad:

(This Shabad is by Bhagat Sheikh Fareed Ji in Salok Fareed Jee on Pannaa 1380)

PrIdwkoTyDukxukyqVwiprnIdVIinvwir ]
fareedhaa kot(h)ae dhhukan kaetharraa pir needharree nivaar ||
Fareed, how long can you run on the rooftop? You are asleep to your Husband Lord – give it up!

joidhlDygwxvygeyivlwiVivlwiV ]56]
jo dhih ladhhae gaanavae geae vilaarr vilaarr ||56||
The days which were allotted to you are numbered, and they are passing, passing away. ||56||

Usually when I take a Hukamnama I expect a shabad about God, or love, or the Guru. This time it was something very serious and I was quite shocked by it. I realized, however, that Guru Sahib shows us these shabads to make us realize that we often take our lives for granted. I recall being reminded recently about how with every passing day, our death is coming closer, and our youth is slowly sliding away. Many people ignore this topic because they consider it to be depressing, but I think it is essential to wake up and realize how quickly our lives are passing, and what we need to do about it.

In the past two years, 2004 and 2005, the sangat in Canada and elsewhere has seen several amazing Gursikhs pass away, for example, Charnjit Singh, Parminder Singh, Rena Kaur, Baba Thakur Singh, Giani Amolak Singh, Gyani Sant Singh Maskeen, Yogi Bhajan, and the list goes on. These people were all jewels of the Khalsa Panth and losing each of them, one by one, should make us realize something. We all expect to live forever, we all expect to get married, have children, age, and live our lives according to worldly standards. We never realize that our fortunes (karam) and God’s plan for us may be different. We are missing out on the key component of Sikhism or the basic element of being a holy person -

pihlwmrxukbUiljIvxkICifAws ]
pehilaa maran kabool jeevan kee shhadd aas ||
First, accept death, and give up any hope of life

hohusBnwkIryxukwqauAwauhmwrYpwis ]1]
hohu sabhanaa kee raenukaa tho aao hamaarai paas ||1||
Become the dust of the feet of all, and then, you may come to me. ||1||

Rather than walking onto the Guru’s Path by following His teachings, keeping our hair, reciting the daily prayers with love and devotion, rising up at Amrit Vela, taking Amrit from the Panj Pyare, and without surrendering ourselves to the Guru’s divine Will, how will we expect to get anywhere in this life? What is the purpose of a life without devotion to one cause, especially for the youth that are given Sikhi as an option to follow? If we can be in peace forever by serving the Guru, why do we choose to surrender to Maya and laziness rather than work hard to be soldiers of God?

I do not know about you, the person reading this short article, but I know that I personally must realize how short my life may be. I know that I must start doing simran and Paat as often as I can. I know that I must hold on to Guru Nanak Dev Ji, hoping that He will always keep me absorbed in His Charan (lotus feet). I know I need to create a home for myself in Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s abode. I know I need to become a true and strong, fearless and beautiful, forever virtuous and pure, independent and humble Warrior Princess Daughter of Guru Gobind Singh Ji – before my time runs out.

What about you?