Babarvani and the call for gender justice^†

† The emperor Babur is referred to with this spelling, whereas the Babarvani in the Guru Granth Sahib is spelt as Babar. For an earlier version, see my “Text and Praxis: Sikh Manifesto and the End of Discord,” In Research in Human Social Conflict, edited by Joseph Gittler (Greenwich, CT: Jai, 1999), 279–314.

Abstract

Guru Nanak composed four hymns on Emperor Babur's conquest of India that have collectively come down in the Guru Granth Sahib as Babarvani (Babur hymns). There are very few historical allusions in the 1430 pages of the Sikh scared text, so this description of a tragic historical event is noteworthy. But the hymns are also poetically charged with a powerful social meaning. They appear in the musical measures of Asa and Tilang. This paper delves into their poignant aesthetics to retrieve the message of gender justice.

Notes

† The emperor Babur is referred to with this spelling, whereas the Babarvani in the Guru Granth Sahib is spelt as Babar. For an earlier version, see my “Text and Praxis: Sikh Manifesto and the End of Discord,” In Research in Human Social Conflict, edited by Joseph Gittler (Greenwich, CT: Jai, 1999), 279–314.

1 In Abu-Lughod's (2002) excellent article.

2 Yama, the god of Death in the Indic world.

3 Vermilion in the parting of the hair is a symbol of a married woman whose husband is still alive.

4 At some subconscious level, these poignant descriptions may have inspired the Tenth Sikh Guru to require uncut hair as a symbol of faith for his Khalsa. For more discussion, see ‘The Five K-S and the Accoutrement of the Khalsa' in Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh (2005, Chapter 4).

5 The title of the hymns is derived from this verse.

6 Grewal (1990). See also, Ira Lapidus, A History of Islamic Society, chapter 18, 454.

7 The Baburnama, 311–312.

8 The four sacred books of the Semitic tradition: the Torah, Psalms, Gospel, and the Qur'an.

9 Discussed in Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh (1993).

10 Guru Granth Sahib, 157.

11 Guru Granth Sahib, 1286.

12 Meredith Bothwick is quoted by Engels (1996). See also Ursula Sharma, ‘Purdah and Public Space' in de Souza (1989).

13 Waris Shah's poem ‘Burn the Veil' translated by Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh (2012). Waris Shah uses the Punjabi word ghunghat for purdah.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh

Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh. Address: Colby College, Waterville, ME, USA. [Email: [email protected]]