A forgotten message of dignity
Harpreet Singh
As the world celebrates the 349th birth anniversary of the 10th Guru of the Sikhs, Gobind Singh, it is appropriate to reflect on one of the fundamental values he taught his followers: recognising the dignity of women and never violating it even in the face of extreme conflict and aggression.
Born in December 1666 in Patna, Guru Gobind Singh later transformed the Sikhs into a martial race of saintly soldiers who picked up the sword as the last resort in the face of tyranny. Unlike many conventional armies, they never fought for wealth or territory.
People with knowledge of Sikh history are well aware of the role played by the Guru and the Khalsa that he created, in protecting the oppressed from forced religious conversion and for freeing those who joined the fraternity from the stranglehold of the caste system. These themes remain relevant even today.
What is even more relevant to these troubled times is that the Guru upheld the dignity of women and forbade Sikhs from sexually assaulting the women of their enemies even in retaliation. It is a testimony to the highest level of moral character and thinking that he wanted to inculcate in his army which was up in arms against tyrants who never thought twice before abducting and assaulting women. It is admirable that an army, almost always vastly outnumbered by its enemies and facing extreme persecution, imbibed this value with pride and maintained its character.
Even modern armies including those supposedly fighting on the side of 'good' to liberate people from the 'forces of evil' have not been able to steer clear of this evil. For instance, over 2 million German women were reportedly sexually assaulted by vindictive soldiers of the Soviet Red Army at the end of World War II. The reason for such behaviour since times immemorial is that sexual violence is an instrument of terror, subjugation and revenge. Perpetrators also have the least probability of being punished in such circumstances.
It is ironical that whereas the Guru disallowed sexual misconduct even in war nearly three-and-a-half centuries ago, today we offer evidence nearly every day of the "progress" we had made since then. Women in India, particularly those residing in cities like Delhi and Bengaluru, seem to have become involuntary players of a modified version of Russian Roulette. For the unacquainted, Russian Roulette is a game which originated in Tsarist Russia in the early twentieth century. Players of the game take turns to pick up a revolver loaded with just one round, spin the cylinder and pull the trigger after pressing the muzzle against their own temple. Needless to say, losers pay with their lives.
In the modified version that Indian women are being forced to play, stepping out of home is equivalent to pulling the trigger. Being sexually assaulted is equivalent to getting a bullet through the head. Worse still, these atrocities being committed on women in India are not the work of invaders. We are in self destruct mode.
Guru Gobind Singh's efforts to ensure a life of dignity and egalitarianism for women went beyond the practice of his army confining itself to defending the innocent and not targeting the enemy's womenfolk. The Guru forbade the practice of female infanticide and sati. "He who kills his daughter, the Khalsa shall not deal with him," said the Tenth Master.
One half of humanity is paying a heavy price for living in a society which is fast losing its heritage and where golden values like strength of character, honesty and sacrifice are considered by many 'pragmatic' and 'successful' beings as attributes of evolutionary losers.
'Make in India' may push GDP northwards. Though this is welcome, it will not help us become a more powerful nation unless we can ensure for our women the basic human right of freedom and security at all places and at all times. It does not matter what your religion is or for that matter, whether you are a believer or an atheist. The birth anniversary of the Tenth Guru of the Sikhs serves as an occasion to rekindle the flame of justice that he lit and stamp out the tyranny of sexual predators. It's a duty that everyone who considers himself a man has towards the better half of humanity.
The writer is a Delhi-based contributor
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