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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sikh Theology" data-source="post: 226344" data-attributes="member: 27410">From: <a href="https://bhagauti.substack.com" target="_blank">Bhagauti’s Substack | Bhagauti Consciousness | Substack</a>Besides Guru Sahibaan themselves, there is no greater example of Gurmat masculinity in Sikh history than Amar Shaheed, Baba Deep Singh Ji.Baba Deep Singh Ji was the leader of one of several Sikh “misls”, small militant groups that were created in the wake of violent conquests by foreign powers.These foreign invaders were responsible for kidnapping hundreds of thousands of Hindu and Muslim women as sex slaves, and faced little to no resistance in doing so. It seemed that in Indian society, no one was interested in protecting women.No one except for the Khalsa.It was the Sikh misls who became the only defense of Indian women during those decades. Baba Deep Singh Ji began to lead their misls on suicidal raids to rescue these enslaved women, risking their own lives for what they considered to be their duty as Singhs to protect women.It was a completely non-contractual exchange. These women were not Sikhs, nor were they expected to convert (although many did of their own choice). They were not rescued under any condition that they must listen to/obey the Singhs.This historical fact reveals an incredible insight: Gurmat masculinity does not expect the servitude of others. A true Singh is a protector of women’s autonomy, even when it does not serve him.This stands in stark contrast to other traditions such as Christianity and Islam, in which men are called to exert control and ownership over women. In certain scriptures, this ideology is pushed to the extent of allowing domestic violence in order to procure women’s obedience.But for Sikh men, masculinity does not hinge on women’s obedience. It hinges, instead, on an uncompromising commitment to the principles of the Sikh Dharam.We see this powerful, Gurmat masculinity manifest itself in the uncountable sacrifices of both Singhs and Singhnis who refused to give up their Sikhi in the face of torture and death. In historical narratives, we can see this masculinity called into question in events when individuals have compromised their Sikhi. But we never see it linked to men’s dominance over women, nor to any neediness for women to mold themselves into ideological counterparts of men.Ultimately, true Gurmat masculinity is characterized in precisely the same way as Gurmat femininity: as an unrelenting adherence to the principles and practices of Sikhi.</blockquote>

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