THE FORGOTTEN 'SHE'ROES

And just like our society... Unfortunately History took our women, their valour, their courage...FOR GRANTED. There is no doubt that their sacrifices and their pain has been glorified time and again, undermining their heroic deeds, their tales of bravery and their participation which changed the course of history. On this International Women's Day, lets celebrate these 'she'roes and their courage...which gradually got hidden within the test of time.

Rani Abbakka Chowta was the first Tuluva Queen of Ullal who fought the Portuguese in the latter half of the 16th century. For her bravery, she came to be known as Abhaya Rani (The fearless queen). She was also one of the earliest Indians to fight colonialism and is sometimes regarded as the 'first woman freedom fighter of India'. Abbakka is portrayed as dark and good looking, always dressed in simple clothes like a commoner. She is portrayed as a caring queen who worked late into the night dispensing justice. Legends also claim that Abbakka was the last known person to have used the Agnivana (fire-arrow) in her fight against the Portuguese. Some accounts also claim that she had two equally valiant daughters who fought alongside her in her wars against the Portuguese.

Rani Velu Nachiyar (3 January 1730 – 25 December 1796) was a queen of Sivaganga estate .She was the first Indian queen to wage war with the East India Company in India.She is known by Tamils as Veeramangai ("brave woman").

On 25 June 1772 Velu Nachiyars husband was killed by British Forces. Velu Nachiyar ran away from Sivagangai as a fugitive and sought the help of Haider Ali. Haider Ali helped her with 5000 soldiers and modern arms.  After eight years of planning along with support of many feudal lords, Tipu Sultan, Marudhu brothers and Thandavarayan Pillai she fought the British.

               THE 2008 STAMP OF RANI VELU NACHIYAR

When Velu Nachiyar found the place where the EIC stored some their ammunition, A dalit commander Kuyili  made a suicide attack on the ammunition depot, blowing it up.Nachiyar reinherited the kingdom of her husband, and ruled it for ten more years.Velu Nachiyar died a few years later, on 25 December 1796.

Maharani Khem Kaur was a Sikh queen and the second wife of Maharaja Kharak Singh (oldest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Maharani Datar Kaur), the second Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. Along with her brothers, Gurdit Singh and Chanda Singh she aided the Khalsa Army in the rebellion in Second-Anglo Sikh War 1848 in Multan. Due to her role, the British punished her by seizing a substantial amount of her land and declared her an enemy of the state.

Bibi Dalair Kaur, the daring Sikh woman who organised an army of 100 sikh women against the Mughal army, when the Sikh fort of Anandpur Sahib was under an extended seige by the allied forces of Mughals. She gave a tough fight against the allies and defended the fort. The Sikh women army under her leadership fought bravely till death.

Kittur Chennamma (14 November 1778 – 21 February 1829) was the Indian Queen of Kittur, a princely state in Karnataka. She led an armed resistance against the British East India Company  in 1824 in defiance of the doctrine of lapse in an attempt to maintain Indian control over the region, in which she defeated them, but she was dead in the imprisonment of second rebellion by the British East India Company. One of the first female rulers to rebel against British rule, she became a folk hero in Karnataka and symbol of the independence movement in India.

                                      Kittur Chenamma

Belawadi Mallamma was an Indian warrior queen born into Bailhongal, Belagavi District, Karnataka, India. Belvadi Mallamma is the first woman to form a women's army to fight against Shivaji Maharaja. She is also credited with being the first queen in the history the Indian subcontinent who built and trained a women's army in the 17th century.

Onake Obavva was a Hindu warrior who fought the forces of Hyder Ali single-handedly with a pestle (Onake) in the kingdom of Chitradurga of Karnataka. 

During the reign of Madakari Nayaka, the city of Chitradurga was besieged by the troops of Hyder Ali (1754-1779). A chance sighting of a man entering the Chitradurga fort through a hole in the rocks led to a plan by Hyder Ali to send his soldiers through that hole. The Guard (Kahale Mudda Hanuma, who was on duty near that hole) had gone home to have his lunch. During his meal he needed some water to drink, so his wife Obavva went to collect water in a pot from a pond which was near the hole in the rocks, halfway up the hill. She noticed the army trying to enter the fort through the hole. She used the Onake or pestle (a wooden long club meant for pounding paddy grains) to kill the soldiers one by one by hitting them on the head and then quietly moving the dead without raising the suspicions of the rest of the troops. Mudda Hanuma, Obavva's husband, returned from lunch, was shocked to see Obavva standing with a blood stained Onake and several of the enemies' dead bodies around her. Later, the same day, she was found dead either due to shock or having been killed by the enemy soldiers.Though her brave attempt saved the fort this time, Madakari could not resist the attack by Hyder Ali during 1779, when the fort of Chitradurga was lost to him.

These 'she'roes not only gave a tough fight to their allies, but gave a praise-worthy evidence of their bravery and power. Unfortunately, History as always biased, allowed the tales of sacrifice and compromise of women within its pages, sidelining their role in changing the course of history. On this International Women's Day, lets pay a heartfelt tribute to these 'Mardanis' and remember their role and efforts, which even History failed to recognise it.

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