Piran Ditti (Piro Preman): The first female poet of Punjab

Piro Preman, a female poet who challenged male-dominated traditions and expressed her defiance and love through her poetry was born in the early 19th century, sometime between the 1810s and 1830s, in Gujranwala, Punjab, during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

This was a time when Punjab was a diverse region, home to people of different religions, and structured by a rigid caste hierarchy, with higher-status groups such as Jats and Rajputs holding social and economic dominance.

Piro faced harsh criticism from traditionalists for her work, but remained bold and outspoken.

Her life story is drawn from a combination of oral traditions and her own poetic reflections. Her works include Ik Sau Sath Kafiyan (translating to “160 verses”), along with several Siharfian, barah Mahas, Dohras, Shabds, and Horis, traditional forms of Punjabi poetry as well as compositions written in collaboration with Gulab Das.

These remain among the earliest surviving poetic expressions attributed to Piro.

Early Life

Born into a low-caste Muslim family, her parents had remained childless for many years, and after continuous prayers and frequent visits to Sufi pirs, they were blessed with a daughter. They named her Piranditti, meaning Piran … Ditti, “gift of the Pir,” though she became widely known as Piro and later as Mata Piro.

Piro was only five years old when her mother passed away. Her father was a deeply religious man, an ascetic, wandering fakir who travelled extensively across Punjab to Sufi shrines, often taking her along on his journeys.

Piro received religious education and was taught the Kalima, Shariah, and Namaz. She also fasted and recited the names of the Prophet.

However, while she was still in her teens, her father also passed away. She was then handed over to her uncle, who later sold her into a brothel in Heera Mandi, Lahore, where she worked as a singer and dancer amid a harsh life. During this period, Piro once eloped with a fakir, but he soon passed away, and fate brought her back to Heera Mandi once again.

Piro’s spiritual and poetic pursuits

In the early 19th century, Gulab Das, the founder of the Gulabdasia sect, came to Lahore and spoke at Moti Bazar, expressing his rejection of orthodox religion and rigid social norms.

There, Piro was captivated by his teachings, and the experience ignited within her a longing for spirituality.

Deeply inspired by Gulab Das, Piro decided to abandon her profession and prior life.

She wrote a letter to him, expressing her desire to be accepted into his path.

Despite resistance from his followers due to her Muslim heritage and background in prostitution, Gulab Das offered her a place at his dera in Chattianwala, in the Kasur district.

There, Piro devoted herself to him as a spiritual partner.

However, her association with Gulab Das provoked strong opposition. When the Muslims of Lahore learned of Piro becoming his disciple, they reacted with anger. As a result, Ilahi Baksh, a former patron of Piro and the head of artillery in Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army, forcibly took her to Gujranwala, where Qazis pressured her to return to Islam.

When Piro refused, she was taken to Wazirabad and imprisoned in a haveli. There, with the help of two women, Rahmati and Janu, she managed to send a message to Gulab Das, asking for help to rescue her. In response, he sent Gulab Singh and Chattar Singh to free her.

During her escape, Piro confronted Ilahi Baksh, who was waiting with his army, while she was accompanied only by the two disciples. The situation escalated until Maharaja Ranjit Singh intervened and granted her safe passage.

After returning to Chattianwala, Piro devoted herself fully to Gulab Das and to her spiritual and poetic pursuits. She composed Punjabi poetry, both independently and in collaboration with him.

Piro was regarded as the first woman to compose poetry in Punjab. A poet not afraid to challenge the patriarchy, religious institutions, and societal hypocrisy.

Through her poetry, Piro strongly criticised both Hindu and Muslim religious orthodoxy as well, particularly for their failure to accommodate women.

In 1872, Piro died at Dera Chattianwala, known as Mata Piro. Eight months later, in 1873, Gulab Das passed away, and they were buried near each other.

Gulab Das

Gulab Das was born in 1809 into a Jat family in Tarn Taran. He had once served as a Sikh chief military officer. However, early in his life, influenced by Sikh sects such as the Udasis and Nirmalas, he renounced worldly life and adopted an ascetic path. He initially joined the Udasis before eventually founding the Gulabdasi sect, which rejected caste distinctions and rigid social norms. His unconventional approach angered orthodox Sikh traditionalists, who criticised him and even labelled him an atheist.

Disregarding social norms and religious pressure, he supported Piranditti.

Gulab Das died in 1873 and was buried next to Piro. The ruins of their shared tomb still stand in the Kasur district of Punjab, Pakistan.