Bibi Agya Kaur

Bibi AGYA KAUR,(d. 1918), wife of Bhai Takht Singh and his helpmate in
promoting women's education among Sikhs to Which cause he was passionately
devoted, was the daughter of Sardar Nek Singh of the village of Sultanpur, near
Rahim Yar Khan railway station in the princely state of Bahawalpur.
She had been a resident student at the Sikh girls school, at Firozpur, founded in 1892
and nurtured by Bhal Takht Singh. Agya Kaur had studied at the Mahavidyala up to
the high school level. Bhai lakht Singh's first wife Harnam Kaur who was a co-builder
of the school died in 1906. He approached Agya Kaur's father to ask for her hand to
be his ally in the enterprise he had launched upon. The nuptials took place at
Sultanpur on 17 September 1910. On 17 February 1911, Bibi (lady) Agya Kaur left
with her husband on a tour of some South Asian countries to raise funds for the
school. At Sikh gatherings and at divans at the gurdwaras, she recited holy hymns,
kirtan, and made fervent appeals for donations, for their nascent school.
Returning to Punjab on 3 March 1912, she resumed her duties at the Mahavidyala as a
teacher and as a matron of the hostel. She was taken ill with influenza during the
epidemic of 1918, aggravated in her case by an attack of pneumonia. She died on 27
October 1918. She left behind four children, one of her daughters rising to the
position of Director of Public Instruction in Punjab.