ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>KISHAN KAUR M&#256&#298 (1860-1952)</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="KISHAN,KAUR,M*,Person,Person"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279KISHAN KAUR, M&#256&#298 (1860-1952), known for her fearless role in the Jaito agitation, was the daughter of S&#363b&#257 Si&#7749gh and M&#257&#299 Sobh&#257&#7749 of the village of Lohga&#7771h in Ludhi&#257&#7751&#257 district of the Punjab. The family, goldsmith by profession, later migrated to Daudhar in Mog&#257 <i>tahs&#299l</i> of present-day Far&#299dko&#7789 district. Kishan Kaur was married to Harn&#257m Si&#7749gh of K&#257o&#7749ke village, near Jagr&#257o&#7749, in Ludhi&#257&#7751&#257 district. He was a <i>daf&#257d&#257r</i> or sergeant in cavalry who later resigned from the army and migrated to Burma, where he died at the young age of 33. Three children, two sons and a daughter, were born to Kishan Kaur but all of them predeceased their father. Kishan Kaur, now a childless widow, came back to live at K&#257o&#7749ke. She took the <i>p&#257hul</i> or rites of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 in 1907 and decided to devote the rest of her life to the service of the Gur&#363. She took a leading part, in 1912, in the construction of historical Gurdw&#257r&#257 Gur&#363sar, dedicated to Gur&#363 Hargobind, near her village. Already over 60, she took active part in the Jaito agitation of 1923-24. The Government of India had forced Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ripudaman Si&#7749gh, the ruler of N&#257bh&#257 state known for his independent attitude, to abdicate. The Sikhs of Jaito, which fell within his territory, planned to hold prayers for his well-being and restoration. By order of the British-controlled state administration, a posse of armed police entered Gurdw&#257r&#257 Ga&#7749gsar, where an <i>akha&#7751&#7693 p&#257&#7789h</i> or non-stop recital of Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib was in progress, and not only interrupted the service but also virtually imprisoned the entire <i>sa&#7749gat</i> gathered there denying them exit and permitting no provisions from outside to reach them. Jathed&#257r Dull&#257 Si&#7749gh and Suchch&#257 Si&#7749gh of the village of Ro&#7693e organized a band of volunteers, popularly known as &#7692url&#299 Jath&#257, who collected the required rations and managed through feint and force to unload them inside the Gurdw&#257r&#257 compound. M&#257&#299 Kishan Kaur was a member of this band which later arranged rations for the Shah&#299d&#299 Jath&#257s and the huge crowds that accompanied them.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The first Shah&#299d&#299 Jath&#257, lit. band of martyrs, 500 strong and vowed to non-violence, was to reach Jaito on 21 February 1924 in a bid to enter Gurdw&#257r&#257 Ga&#7749gsar at any cost and recommence the <i>akha&#7751&#7693 p&#257&#7789h</i>. The state government was equally determined not to let them do so and had deployed armed police and military contingents with orders to open fire, if necessary. M&#257&#299 Kishan Kaur and her companion, B&#299b&#299 Tej Kaur, went to Jaito disguised as ladies of the Hindu trading class, collected intelligence about government's plans and preparations, and re-joined the <i>jath&#257</i> to convey the information. The <i>jath&#257</i> accordingly rescheduled their march and instead of going straight to Gurdw&#257r&#257 Ga&#7749gsar, changed course suddenly and headed for Gurdw&#257r&#257 &#7788ibb&#299 S&#257hib, half a kilometre to the north. State troops, however, barred entry even to that shrine and opened fire on the <i>jath&#257</i>. M&#257&#299 Kishan Kaur, with her small band of volunteers, at once busied herself attending the wounded. She along with 21 others was arrested and prosecuted. The trial commenced at N&#257bh&#257 on 17 May 1924. Kishan Kaur was sentenced to four years rigorous imprisonment. Released on 30 June 1928, she was accorded a warm welcome the following day at Amritsar, where a <i>siropa</i> or robe of honour was bestowed on her from the Ak&#257l Ta<u>kh</u>t. The Sikhs everywhere acclaimed her courage and sacrifice.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; M&#257&#299 Kishan Kaur continued to serve Gurdw&#257r&#257 Gur&#363sar at K&#257o&#7749ke till her last day. She died there on 10 August 1952.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1">Prat&#257p Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Gurdw&#257r&#257 Sudh&#257r arth&#257t Ak&#257l&#299 Lahir</i>. Amritsar, 1975<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Gurcharan Si&#7749gh Gi&#257n&#299<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>