CHANDIGARH: Dr Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, who holds the Crawford Family Professor of Religious Studies endowed chair at Colby College in Maine (United States), has come out with her latest book, “The Birth of the Khalsa”. Dr Singh is the daughter of Professor Harbans Singh who has been credited with compiling “Encyclopaedia of Sikhism”. This is the first work to explore the pivotal Baisakhi of 1699 in Sikh history from a feminist perspective, questioning the ways in which Sikh memories have constructed a masculine Sikh identity. “I have argued that Sikh memory needs to acknowledge the vital female dimension grounded in the universal human condition and present at the birth of the Khalsa.

Inspiration came from my father to rediscover the feminine side of the words and actions of the founders of Sikhism,” says Professor Nikky Singh. She looks at the basic texts and tenets of Sikh religion and demonstrates the female aspect in the sacred text, daily prayers, dress code, and rituals of the Sikhs. We are reminded that Guru Gobind Singh’s original vision was an egalitarian one, and are urged to live up to the liberating implications set in motion when he gave birth to the Khalsa. In today’s  dangerously divided and polarized society, Dr Nikky brings out the common human heritage boldly imprinted in the vision of the Sikh Gurus. Through her personal and scholarly engagement, she innovatively explains Sikhism to the general public, and makes a vital contribution towards understanding our own 21st century global reality.

She has published extensively in the field of Sikhism, including The Feminine Principle in the Sikh Vision of the Transcendent (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993). Her book on Sikhism (New York: Facts on File) was translated into Japanese and Croatian. The Sikh Foundation of America invited her to do the translation of Nitnem and other Banis, which was published first by Harper Collins and more recently by Penguin in their Black Classic Series, entitled The Name of My Beloved: Verses of the Sikh Gurus. According to Sardar Khushwant Singh, Dr Nikky’s translation is “A significant contribution to the understanding of the essentials of the Sikhs’ sacred scriptures.” Professor Nikky’s views have been aired on television and radio in America, Canada, England, India, and Australia.