About the Book:
This penetrating volume is one of the first to chart the history of gender construction in Sikhism. Focusing specifically on the Singh Sabha reform movement-spearheaded by British-educated Sikhs in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries-in analyses the development of gender ideals under the Sikh gurus, and their adaptation and in some cases transformation by the new intellectual elite.
The Singh Sabha reform movement aimed at resurrecting reform movement aimed at resurrecting the 'purity' of Sikhism as it existed during what was considered the golden age of the guru period. The reformers, armed with western education and the Victorian ideals of the high colonial era, sought to reinterpret tradition according to their own needs and visions. In its analysis of the ideology of gender and identity promoted by thee Singh Sabha reformers, the study looks at both male and female ideals and the ways in which these were informed by notions of gender in Victorian Britain. It also examines the development of novel ritual identities, exploring the educational initiatives meant to produce reformed Sikhs, unadulterated by popular traditions that were integral to the ritual universe of the populace. In the process, the author challenges current understandings of the inclusion of women in the ritual formations of Sikhs.
A major contribution to an uncharted field of research, this wide-ranging study will attract students and scholars of gender studies, the Sikh religion, and Sough Asian colonial history as well as general readers interested in historical understanding of the role of women within Sikhism.
About the Author:
Doris R. Jakobsh is an Instructor in Religion, Renison College, University of Waterloo, Canada.
Acknowledgements | x | |
Introduction | 1 | |
ONE | The Construction of Women in Sikh History and Religion-Attitudes and Assumptions An Overview of Secondary Sources | 7 |
The Principle of Silence | 8 | |
The Principle of Negation | 10 | |
The Principle of Accommodation | 12 | |
The Principle of Idealization | 16 | |
Conclusion: Moving Beyond Description | 18 | |
TWO | The Development of the Early Sikh Tradition A Gender Perspective | 22 |
The Milieu | 22 | |
The Early Guru Period | 23 | |
The Janam-sakhis | 27 | |
The Later Guru Period | 35 | |
Gender and the Theology o Difference | 37 | |
'The Wiles of Women' | 44 | |
The Chaupa Singh Rahit-nama | 46 | |
Conclusion | 47 | |
THREE | Of Colony and Gender The Politics of Difference and Similarity | 50 |
Colonization and the Politics of Difference | 53 | |
Manliness, Morality and the Politics of Similarity | 58 | |
Construction of Womanhood: The British in India | 69 | |
The Politics of Similarity and its discontents | 80 | |
FOUR | Contextualizing Reform in Nineteenth Century Punjab: Continuity and Change | 85 |
Dissension and Control: The Punjab Administration and Kuka Reform | 86 | |
The Genesis of the Punjab Intelligentsia | 89 | |
Indian Reform, the Missionary Undertaking and the 'Women's Question' | 99 | |
Positioning Punjab's Womanhood: Indigenous Politics Principles and the Colonial Milieu | 105 | |
Dissenting Visions of Gender Reform: Guru Ram Singh and the Namdhari Sikhs | 110 | |
Contextualizing Women's Reform in the Nineteenth Century: Contrasting Perspectives | 116 | |
Dayananda's Arya Samaj Movement and Singh Sabha Reforms: Contesting Claims and Rhetoric | 119 | |
FIVE | Education, Gender Codes and Politics | 127 |
The Sikhs and Female Education: The Missionary Endeavour, Sikh Orthodox Tradition and Reform Initiatives: An Overview | 129 | |
The Tat Khalsa and its Educational Ideals | 132 | |
The Politics of Gender: The Home and the World | 134 | |
The Sikh Kanya Mahavidyala | 144 | |
The Politics of Language: A Gendered Perspective | 148 | |
The Sikh Educational Conference: Enlarging Female Space | 150 | |
Sikh Role Models and the Tat Khalsa: Crisis of Authority | 153 | |
Bhai Vir Sing and the Invention of Tradition | 160 | |
The Political Milieu: Agitation and Allegiance | 168 | |
The Rhetoric of Reform, Education and the Politics of Patriotism | 172 | |
SIX | Extending Male Control: | 179 |
The Gentrified Imagination and Popular Female Traditions The Anand Marriage Bill: Gender Politics, Rhetoric, and Reason | 179 | |
Extending Male Control: The 'New Patriarchy' | 194 | |
Popular Female Traditions and the Gentrified Imagination | 203 | |
SEVEN | Redefining the Ritual Drama: The Feminization of Ritual | 210 |
Creation and Revision-The Feminization of Ritual | 210 | |
What's in a Name? Circumscribing Sikh Female Nomenclature | 219 | |
Re-defining the Sikh Code of Conduct in the Twentieth Century | 228 | |
Contemporary Scholars and Rewriting of History | 232 | |
Overview | 238 | |
Women in the Singh Sabha Movement-Agents of Change or Casualties of Reform? | 240 | |
Circumventing Hegemony: Alignment and Resistance | 244 | |
Women's Reform-Laying the Foundation for a New Era | 247 | |
Appendix | 251 | |
References and Selected Bibliography | 255 | |
Index | 283 |
About the Book:
This penetrating volume is one of the first to chart the history of gender construction in Sikhism. Focusing specifically on the Singh Sabha reform movement-spearheaded by British-educated Sikhs in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries-in analyses the development of gender ideals under the Sikh gurus, and their adaptation and in some cases transformation by the new intellectual elite.
The Singh Sabha reform movement aimed at resurrecting reform movement aimed at resurrecting the 'purity' of Sikhism as it existed during what was considered the golden age of the guru period. The reformers, armed with western education and the Victorian ideals of the high colonial era, sought to reinterpret tradition according to their own needs and visions. In its analysis of the ideology of gender and identity promoted by thee Singh Sabha reformers, the study looks at both male and female ideals and the ways in which these were informed by notions of gender in Victorian Britain. It also examines the development of novel ritual identities, exploring the educational initiatives meant to produce reformed Sikhs, unadulterated by popular traditions that were integral to the ritual universe of the populace. In the process, the author challenges current understandings of the inclusion of women in the ritual formations of Sikhs.
A major contribution to an uncharted field of research, this wide-ranging study will attract students and scholars of gender studies, the Sikh religion, and Sough Asian colonial history as well as general readers interested in historical understanding of the role of women within Sikhism.
About the Author:
Doris R. Jakobsh is an Instructor in Religion, Renison College, University of Waterloo, Canada.
Acknowledgements | x | |
Introduction | 1 | |
ONE | The Construction of Women in Sikh History and Religion-Attitudes and Assumptions An Overview of Secondary Sources | 7 |
The Principle of Silence | 8 | |
The Principle of Negation | 10 | |
The Principle of Accommodation | 12 | |
The Principle of Idealization | 16 | |
Conclusion: Moving Beyond Description | 18 | |
TWO | The Development of the Early Sikh Tradition A Gender Perspective | 22 |
The Milieu | 22 | |
The Early Guru Period | 23 | |
The Janam-sakhis | 27 | |
The Later Guru Period | 35 | |
Gender and the Theology o Difference | 37 | |
'The Wiles of Women' | 44 | |
The Chaupa Singh Rahit-nama | 46 | |
Conclusion | 47 | |
THREE | Of Colony and Gender The Politics of Difference and Similarity | 50 |
Colonization and the Politics of Difference | 53 | |
Manliness, Morality and the Politics of Similarity | 58 | |
Construction of Womanhood: The British in India | 69 | |
The Politics of Similarity and its discontents | 80 | |
FOUR | Contextualizing Reform in Nineteenth Century Punjab: Continuity and Change | 85 |
Dissension and Control: The Punjab Administration and Kuka Reform | 86 | |
The Genesis of the Punjab Intelligentsia | 89 | |
Indian Reform, the Missionary Undertaking and the 'Women's Question' | 99 | |
Positioning Punjab's Womanhood: Indigenous Politics Principles and the Colonial Milieu | 105 | |
Dissenting Visions of Gender Reform: Guru Ram Singh and the Namdhari Sikhs | 110 | |
Contextualizing Women's Reform in the Nineteenth Century: Contrasting Perspectives | 116 | |
Dayananda's Arya Samaj Movement and Singh Sabha Reforms: Contesting Claims and Rhetoric | 119 | |
FIVE | Education, Gender Codes and Politics | 127 |
The Sikhs and Female Education: The Missionary Endeavour, Sikh Orthodox Tradition and Reform Initiatives: An Overview | 129 | |
The Tat Khalsa and its Educational Ideals | 132 | |
The Politics of Gender: The Home and the World | 134 | |
The Sikh Kanya Mahavidyala | 144 | |
The Politics of Language: A Gendered Perspective | 148 | |
The Sikh Educational Conference: Enlarging Female Space | 150 | |
Sikh Role Models and the Tat Khalsa: Crisis of Authority | 153 | |
Bhai Vir Sing and the Invention of Tradition | 160 | |
The Political Milieu: Agitation and Allegiance | 168 | |
The Rhetoric of Reform, Education and the Politics of Patriotism | 172 | |
SIX | Extending Male Control: | 179 |
The Gentrified Imagination and Popular Female Traditions The Anand Marriage Bill: Gender Politics, Rhetoric, and Reason | 179 | |
Extending Male Control: The 'New Patriarchy' | 194 | |
Popular Female Traditions and the Gentrified Imagination | 203 | |
SEVEN | Redefining the Ritual Drama: The Feminization of Ritual | 210 |
Creation and Revision-The Feminization of Ritual | 210 | |
What's in a Name? Circumscribing Sikh Female Nomenclature | 219 | |
Re-defining the Sikh Code of Conduct in the Twentieth Century | 228 | |
Contemporary Scholars and Rewriting of History | 232 | |
Overview | 238 | |
Women in the Singh Sabha Movement-Agents of Change or Casualties of Reform? | 240 | |
Circumventing Hegemony: Alignment and Resistance | 244 | |
Women's Reform-Laying the Foundation for a New Era | 247 | |
Appendix | 251 | |
References and Selected Bibliography | 255 | |
Index | 283 |