Sharan Kaur Pabla

Sharan Kaur Pabla

Sharan Kaur Pabla was a Sikh martyr who was slain in 1705 by Mughal soldiers while cremating the bodies two older sons of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh Guru, after the Battle of Chamkaur. She was from the village Raipur Rani which is 2 km from the famous town of Chamkaur.

Guru Gobind Singh escaped the fort of Chamkaur on the night of December 22, 1705. He briefly stopped at Raipur on his way to Machhiwara. Here he asked a lady by the name of Bibi Sharan Kaur Pabla to perform the last rites of the martyred Sikhs, which included two of Guru Gobind Singh's own sons, Sahibzada Ajit Singh and Sahibzada Jujhar Singh . Bibi Sharan Kaur Pabla performed the last rites of the two elder Sahibzadas and other Sikh warriors who had laid down their lives in the battle. According to one account, Bibi Sharan Kaur Pabla was so grief-stricken that she herself jumped in the funeral pyre and ended her life. According to another view she did not self-immolate but was slain by Moghul soldiers and thrown in the funeral pyre of Sahibzadas, when she and her other accomplices from Raipur, were caught cremating the bodies of Sahibzadas.

A third account says that she indeed jump into funeral pyre in a Jauhar style self-immolation. Her own husband Bhai Pritam Singh, who was one of Guru Gobind Singh's warriors, was with the 10th Guru inside the Chamkaur fort resisting the Moghul attack. She discovered her husband among the dead. In total she is said to have collected bodies of thirty two stormtroopers of the Guru, including two Sahibzadas. She tried to cremate them in a single funeral pyre. As soon as the funeral pyre was lit she was discovered by Moghul and Ranghar soldiers who wanted the bodies of the soldiers - martyrs according to Sikh tradition- to rot in open air in order to terrorise non-Muslim population who refused to apostasize or give out the whereabouts of Guru Gobind Singh. It is said that understanding the intentions of the Moghul soldiers to outrage her modesty, she jumped into the funeral pyre of Sikh warriors, which included her own husband, to save her honour.   

Sharan Kaur was a Saini and Raipur has considerable Saini population. She is also sometimes linked as a possible ancestor with Sikh nobleman of Phulkiyan, Sardar Nanu Singh Saini, whose family later owned sizeable land in the village Raipur. This village also has the funerary shrines or 'smadhs' of the following Sikh martyrs: Jathedar Naunihal Singh, Mastan Singh, Santokh Singh and Malkiat Singh. In 1945 a Gurudwara was built in village Raipur to commemorate Bibi Sharan Kaur Pabla.

Jamrud and Lahore Espionage

Once she was sent to find out the strength of the Pathan forces that were conspiring to ambush Jamrud. She kept a concealed identity. She had some very secret information regarding the attack for the Pathan chief and was arranging a meeting in which she explained him the conspiracy and her brother brutal killing. The chief thanked her and assured her against the Sikhs. She managed to use her handkerchief to press it to his nose. She killed him with dagger very silently and managed to escape from the sword of soldiers.

Hari Singh Nalwa, the Sikh ruler, became serious due to ailment at Jamrud. Pathans took advantage of the situation and revolted and surrounded the fort to attack. It was pretended that he was healing and taken to fort top where he was shown walking to demoralise the rebels. But on 30 April 1837, he died. His demise was still a secret. Sharan Kaur showed her bravery by disguising herself as a Pathan woman and got to Pashawar to inform Maharaja Ranjit Singh about this incident.

By her such information Maharaja Ranjit Singh took hold of the situation and squelched the rebel with his large force. She saved the fort. Sharan Kaur was later awarded and thanked for her bravery. She will always be remembered for her selfless service and excellent espionage in the pages of history......................VIPUL KOUL