By: Harleena Kaur Gulati

Guru Nanak Dev Ji challenged the idea of the inferiority of a woman compared to a man, at a time when her meager status was not an issue nor controversy, but rather a norm. As one of Guru Nanak’s shabads teaches:

“We are conceived in woman,
We are born to woman.
It is to woman we get engaged, and then get married.
Woman is our lifelong companion, and supporter of our survival.
It is through woman, that we establish social relationships.
Why should we denounce her,
When even kinds and great men are born from Her?”
The regards and equal status given to women by Guru Nanak and his successors allowed Sikh women to rise and become great saints and warriors, thereby setting glorious examples and providing a source of inspiration to all Sikhs today. The majority of these women have left their anonymous mark on Sikhism. However, a number of them can be named, remembered and their stories, be told.

It was the time when the Khalsa was under great pressure from the Turks and Mughals, attempting to destroy this spiritual force. Here are the stories of a few of the strong Sikh women who contributed to the fight for the Khalsa.
Bibi Ranjit Kaur had been ordered to get important papers regarding the Turkish battle plan from the Sarpanch of a nearby village. She left the army camp at the orders of the Jathedar in search of the information. In twilight, she discreetly made her way to the village, undeterred by small bands of Turkish soldiers wandering around Kahnuwaan Lake, and obtained the papers from the Sarpanch. On her trek back, two Turkish soldiers confronted her in an attempt to arrest. Fearlessly, she fought and defeated them with her sword, and although wounded, returned to her camp with the classified information.

As Bibi Ranjit Kaur single handedly faced the Turkish soldiers in a mission for information, Bibi Deep Kaur did the same to meet her Guru and Jatha. Bibi Deep Kaur became excited with a desire to greet the Sikh Jatha arriving in Anandpur Sahib. Being a resident of Talban, a village three miles from the road leading to Anandpur Sahib, she had a ways to go. As the only woman fearless enough in her village to venture through active Turkish patrol, she set out on her mission alone. She became seriously wounded on fighting several soldiers on her away until she saw the sight of her Sikh brothers. She suffered so much blood loss that she fell unconscious. The Jatha took her to Anandpur Sahib. Upon her arrival, Guru Gobind Singh hugged and kissed her forehead saying “This is my daughter, Deep Kaur. Because of her, my Panth shall remain in Chardi Kala.”

Like Bibi Deep Kaur, another great Sikh woman who served Guru Gobind Singh was Mai Bhago Ji. Mai Bhago Ji was distressed to hear that some forty Sikhs set out to Anandpur to fight for Guru Gobind Singh had cowardly deserted him under adverse conditions. She persuaded these men to meet the Guru, apologize to him, and return bravely to the fight. Mai Bhago and the men she was leading fought courageously against an imperial army in pursuit of Guru Gobind Singh. All forty Sikhs attained martyrdom in this pitched battle; Mai Bhago and the Guru were the sole survivors.

As some women fought for the Khalsa and Guru Ji, others such as Sardarni Dharam Kaur fought for their beloved husbands. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was becoming uncomfortable with Sardar Dal Singh’s powerful rule and the overtures of self-independence as the ruler of Akalgadh. He deceitfully imprisoned him in Lahore. Sardarni Dharam Kaur, wife of Sardar Dal Singh, was enraged on hearing this news. She vowed to avenge this disgrace to her husband. She gathered the army and journeyed to Lahore where she fought the Maharaja’s royal forces. Maharaja Ranjit Singh had never imagined that a woman could be capable of this. He immediately released Sardar Dal Singh.

The strength of Sikh women in history does not lie only in their courage and bravery in the battlefield. Thousands of Sikh women lost their husbands, children and families in the fight for the Khalsa. They were forced to accept the loss with courage and faith in God. Mata Gujar Kaur Ji, mother of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, lost her four grandsons and eventually attained martyrdom herself. Her strength and teachings helped her younger grandsons, aged six and eight, accept their destiny as martyrs of the Sikh religion.

“Daughters of the Khalsa, In your strength our future lies, Give our children fearless minds, to see the world through the Guru’s eyes.”

These are just a few of the great Sikh women (warriors) of the past. Hopefully, the stories and examples can remind all Sikh women of their strength, sensitivity, grace, and potential. For Sikh women to be able to live and achieve the equality that our Gurus set out for us, we must first realize our strengths.

This is not an idealistic world. It would be illusionary to think that what Guru Nanak Dev Ji and his successors taught regarding the worth of women and equality between both genders exists in totality. The merging of religion and culture makes thei value and teaching even more difficult to uphold within Punjabi Sikhs. However, the combination of intuition, stamina, persistence and sensitivity in women is a powerful one, with all the ingredients for a soldier-saint. Never forget.

“I could not help looking; her presence was divine,
The definition of beauty had changed in my mind,
Then a sharp reflection hit me in my eyes,
It was the steel dagger that she wore by her side.”