This article examines the biography of Bibi Harnam Kaur, the young co-founder of the Sikh Kanya Mahavidyalaya, established in 1892 in Ferozepur, Punjab as one of the earliest schools for the education of Sikh girls. The opening of this school by her husband, Bhai Takht Singh, raises questions about the extent to which such initiatives reflected the desire of Sikh men and of the Singh Sabha at that time to ensure that their women should become educated to emerge as ideal wives and mothers. The clearly hagiographical biography presents Bibi Harnam Kaur as an extraordinary young woman destined for greatness, but also raises many tensions, contradictions and conflicts hidden below the surface concerning female education in India, which a feminist reading of this biography against the grain seeks to bring out.
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