HARNAM KAUR, BIBI (1882-1906), a pioneer in the field of women’s education, was born on 10 April 1882 in a Siddhu Jatt family of Chand Purana, a village in Firozpur district of the Punjab. Her father’s name was Bhagvan Das and her mother’s Ram Dei. Her own original name was Jiuni. Bhagvan Das, a religious-minded person, had become a disciple of an Udasi sadhu, Ram Das, of Firozpur, after whose death he became the head of his dera or seminary.
Here Jiuni and her mother joined him when the former was only an infant. She was a precocious child and had read Panj Granthi, Dasam Granth, and Hanuman Natak before she was six years of age. She then joined the local Arya Pathshala and learnt Hindi, but left after six months because the Pathshala had no facilities to teach Gurmukhi. Later she was sent to the village of Daudhar, now in Faridkot district, where she studied for several years under Bhai Dula Singh.
Meanwhile, Bhai Takht Singh, who had started a Gurmukhi school at Firozpur under the auspices of the local Singh Sabha, offered to open a school exclusively for girls. The Singh Sabha welcomed the proposal but was reluctant to let it be run by a bachelor. To overcome the difficulty, Jiuni’s parents promised Takht Singh the hand of their daughter. The Kanya Pathshala, lit. girls’ school, was opened in Firozpur on 5 November 1892, and Jiuni joined it both to learn and to teach as an employee of the Singh Sabha.
Her betrothal to Takht Singh took place on 11 October 1893 and they were married on 8 May 1894. She received the new name of Harnam Kaur when she was administered the Pahul, the rites of the Khalsa, on 15 July 1901. The couple threw themselves heart and soul into their work. Harnam Kaur’s monthly salary was Rs 6 and her husband’s Rs 8. On 1 September 1900, tired of internal dissensions in the management of the Singh Sabha, they quit service, but continued to teach privately.
Early in 1903, Bibi Harnam Kaur persuaded her husband jointly to open a boarding school for girls at Firozpur. A number of parents offered to send their daughters to the boarding school which was named Sikh Kanya Maha Vidyala and which started functioning from March 1905. Harnam Kaur worked hard to make the Vidyala succeed. In addition to helping her husband with teaching, she looked after catering and lodging arrangements for their wards. She had also set up Istri Satsang, a women’s religious society, which held meetings in the afternoon of every Wednesday, and a parcharak jatha or missionary group. But she did not live long to serve the cause to which she had dedicated herself, and died on 1 October 1906.
References:
- Karam Singh, Jivan Bibi Harnam Kaur. Firozpur, 1907
- Suraj Singh, Bibi Harnam Kaur. Amritsar, 1908
Bibi Harnam Kaur, originally named Jiuni, stands as a luminous figure in Sikh history and a pioneering advocate for women’s education. Born on April 10, 1882, in a Siddhu Jatt family in the Firozpur district of Punjab, her life was marked by remarkable early intellectual achievements. Even as a very young child, she immersed herself in sacred texts—reading the Panj Granths, the Dasam Granth, and the Hanuman Natak before she was six—which foreshadowed her later role as an educator and reformer.
Her early educational journey was not without challenges. After a brief stint at the local Arya Pathshala—where she learned Hindi but soon left due to the absence of Gurmukhi instruction—she continued her studies under Bhai Dula Singh in Daudhar. This formative period honed her passion for learning at a time when educational opportunities for girls were limited. Recognizing her precocious talent and the broader potential of women’s education, community leaders sought to create dedicated spaces for girls. In 1892, the Kanya Pathshala was established in Firozpur under the auspices of the Singh Sabha, and Jiuni both learned and later contributed as a teacher.
A turning point in her life came with her betrothal to Bhai Takht Singh, a union that was strategized not just for familial alliance but also to overcome prevailing social constraints. Married on May 8, 1894—and later ceremonially initiated into the Khalsa on July 15, 1901, when she received the name Harnam Kaur—she and her husband became impassioned advocates for educational reform. Despite modest salaries (with Harnam Kaur receiving Rs 6 a month and her husband Rs 8), they dedicated themselves wholeheartedly to uplifting women’s education and social status.
Not content with traditional roles, Harnam Kaur assumed multiple responsibilities to sustain and expand educational opportunities for girls. In 1903, she played a pivotal role in convincing her husband to open a boarding school for girls in Firozpur. This institution, eventually known as the Sikh Kanya Maha Vidyala, began operations in March 1905. Beyond classroom teaching, she managed logistical aspects such as catering and lodging, thereby ensuring the holistic well-being of her students. Her initiatives extended into forming the Istri Satsang—a women’s religious society that held regular weekly meetings—as well as fostering a missionary group dedicated to spreading educational and religious ideals.
Tragically, her promising contributions were cut short when she passed away on October 1, 1906, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire. Bibi Harnam Kaur’s life journey is a testament to determination, intellect, and the transformative power of education in a time when women’s progress was stifled by societal norms. Her story challenges us to reflect on the importance of academic empowerment and serves as a beacon for further reforms in educational equity.
