India’s history is rife with instances of courageous women taking the lead in battles and driving away invading forces. Women in our nation have traditionally distinguished themselves as exceptional all-rounders. They fought up for their motherland while simultaneously defending their families, giving everything they had and some of their tales are yet untold.
Rani Laxmi Bai, the Queen of Jhansi, is arguably the only name that comes to mind when you think of fierce women warriors. However, she was not only the one. On the occasion of the 75th Independence Day, let’s shed some light on this subject and look at the tales of 5 such women.
Rani Durgavati
Gondwanan royalty was ruled by Rani Durgavati. She possessed a lot of boldness, power and courage. The queen began governing the country in her son’s name after her husband’s death.
She did not flee when the Mughal General Khwaja Abdul Majid Asaf Khan invaded her kingdom. She entered the fighting zone and fought against the force of the Mughal general. Until her final breath, she remained committed to guarding her people and the country. Even today, we commemorate her death anniversary as Balidan Divas.
Bibi Dalair Kaur
Her victory came in a conflict with the Governor of Sirhind and Mughal Empire general Wajir Khan (now Fatehgarh Sahib, a town and sacred pilgrimage site for Sikhs).
With Bibi Dalair and her 100 armed female warriors standing in their way, Wajir Khan and his army breached the fort walls and entered Sirhind. Khan reportedly started insulting the women after being startled by this sight in a typical paternalistic power tactic. Khan yelled at his soldiers, ‘Cowards, are you afraid of women? They are gifts for you, capture them and do what you want with the rewards of your hunt’. To which Bibi Dalair Kaur responded, ‘We are the hunters, not the hunted. Come forward and find out for yourself!’ Khan’s warriors moved forward, but Kaur and her army were able to kill many of them, forcing the remaining soldiers to escape.
Sadly, cannon fire ultimately claimed the lives of Kaur and her troops. In any case, Bibi Dalair Kaur is revered as a martyr by the Sikh community and is unquestionably a magnificent source of inspiration for women.
Lakshmi Sahgal
Laxmi Sahgal, an officer in Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army, was another outstanding woman. She also went by the name Captain Lakshmi and organised the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, a women’s division of the army. She then actively battled against the British in India and was eventually detained in Burma. She inspired generations of women across the nation with her bravery and patriotism.
Onake Obavva
Onake Obavva wasn’t a princess or a queen, but she was unquestionably a formidable fighter. She was the wife of the guard at Chitradurga Fort. The fort was under attack by Hyder Ali, the Sultan of Mysore. One day, the Sultan gave his soldiers the command to travel through a hidden channel that they had seen Obavva using. When she became aware of this, she fought and killed more than 100 intruders. She remained calm and took matters into her own hands to secure her fort while her husband was out for lunch.
Mata Bhag Kaur
Mata Bhag Kaur was the daughter of a landlord in Amritsar, Punjab. In the 1705 Battle of Muktsar, she commanded a 40-strong Sikh army against 10,000 Mughals.
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