|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Women
Prabhjot Kaur, a retired professor of English and President of the Institute of Sikh Studies, has deftly handled the contribution of Sikh Gurus in ameliorating the status of women in society in this book under review. After her teaching career, spanning over three decades, she has written extensively on Sikh Studies by focusing on women in the Sikh religion. Written in a lucid style, she has, in this well-produced book, banked upon her experience and deep insight of one of the youngest and most scientific religions. She has also focused on women's issues that were consequential to women's lib. She has brought out surprising and liberating postulates in Sikhism, a religion that had its origin in the undivided India of the 15th century. The Sikh Gurus preached the concept of total gender equality and rights of women on a par with men in all fields of activity, at homes and in society, notwithstanding the rampant male dominance. It is through this book that Prabhjot Kaur introduces the revolutionary Sikh viewpoint in an effort to secure equality and faith in the ability of the women in all walks of life. It may be pertinent to mention that when Sikhism took to its roots in the 15th century, the menace of female foeticide was so widespread that the founder of this new religion, Guru Nanak, remarked "So kiyun manda akhiye jit jamme rajan?" (why condemn those who gave birth to kings?). Prabhjot Kaur says that the Sikh Gurus believed that humans are spiritual beings and not gendered beings as projected by the women movement. They made spirituality the vehicle of change. Dualities of all kinds were demolished in the thought of Guru Granth Sahib that contains compositions by the saints of different faiths and different geographical denominations, carrying the message not only of the unity of the Godhood, but of the whole humankind. She concludes that since Guru Granth Sahib aims at transforming radiant richness of the Creator into sound human morality, through the human experience, the next phase of women’s movement must be worked on the women experience as expressed in Guru Granth Sahib: an experience that is spiritual in essence.
|
||
|
|
||
IT
may be sheer ignorance to give credit to the Western world in general
and the United States in particular and acknowledge them as pioneers
in both the movement for voluntary work as well as women's liberation.
Other than Bhai Khanaiya, who did not discriminate between friends and
foes while providing water and first-aid to the wounded in
battlefields, the Sikhs have pioneered the concept of community
kitchen or "langar" that remains unprecedented in the
annals of voluntarism. Intriguingly, the phenomenon of women's
liberation, as conceived and projected by the United States in the
middle of the 20th century, is considered a frontrunner for providing
gender equality at various forums, including the workplace.