Recently, I
wrote a critical review of a book (about the unmitigated awfulness of the
Mughals) and one of my issues with it among others was the glorification of
Jauhar. Naturally the entire manosphere showed up on my Twitter/X feed to ‘school’
me. My credentials as an author, human being, critic and female of the species were
questioned, I was asked to join a harem in Pakistan as a slave, informed that I
endorse sex slavery, have a boyfriend named Abdul, am a Hinduphobe, and other
things every bit as puke - inducing. Naturally I see no reason to engage with
trolls who grow fat on outrage and can’t be bothered with measured responses,
but I did wish to address some of the more problematic points raised,
especially the passionate defence of Jauhar, by men mostly.
Those seeking
to enlighten me and dispel my profound ignorance, stated that for women (young
or old) and girls Jauhar was the last line of defence against the barbaric
invaders and their armies and they chose death over rape and the defilement of
their dead bodies. That they were not running toward death but away from
degradation and theirs was an act of defiance against conquerors who sought to
force them into concubinage. That they are proud of women who choose death over
dishonour.
Rousing as
such pithy words are, needless to say, forcing women of any age or little girls
to choose between rape and death is hardly a choice and clamouring that women made
the decision (what choice did the little girls have?) to assert their agency this
way is just plain depressing. It is a painful reminder that since the beginning
of time and to this present day a woman’s body is treated as a battlefield for
men to play their games of war and worse. It is a line of problematic, toxic
reasoning that sees women as the property of men with no rights other than what
men feel inclined to grant them and insists that female honour resides between
the legs. This is the reason why a majority of victims of violent crimes like
rape, murder, acid attacks, dowry harassment are women.
Despite
the impassioned outbursts of men on either side of the ideological divide who
are constantly harping about their scholarly credentials and insisting that
every word in their books is backed up by irrefutable evidence and is the
unvarnished truth, the fact remains that it is just plain silly not to mention
presumptuous to claim exact knowledge of what happened hundreds or thousands of
years ago or swear that every single woman in the glorious past freely chose self
– immolation. Common sense dictates that not every woman would have made the
choice to perform Jauhar or its equally ugly sibling, Sati because we come in different
shapes, colours, and personality types. There is evidence that too many were
forced into committing Jauhar or Sati for reasons of political expediency, the
male ego, pressure from relatives, etc.
For those
who would insist that I present a shred of ‘real’ evidence to back my ‘fanciful’
claims it has been suggested (I wasn’t there so I cannot swear it went down
this way and despite what my husband says I don’t think I am always right) that
Alauddin Khalji, one of history’s tyrants for well – documented reasons
actually offered reasonable terms to those he sought to subjugate – oaths of
fealty, tribute and marriage to him or his sons to seal the alliance. Many
Indian Kings including the Rajputs found the terms acceptable. In Jalore and
Siwana, which came under his sway, there is no indication that Jauhar took
place. In Ranthambore and Chittoor, Jauhar supposedly took place, though in the
former instance the Hammiramahakavya (an epic version of the Hammira
Chauhan legend so I cannot attest that it went down this way) as well as other
sources from the time record that Devala Devi, the Princess of Ranthambore rued
her father’s obstinacy for not letting her marry the Shah, ensure peace and
spare their subjects from being slaughtered. As for Chittoor, there is still no
historical consensus about whether Padmavati, who supposedly sacrificed herself
via Jauhar is a real or fictional character (like many things in life, it comes
down to a question of faith). And in Gujarat, which also came under the Shah’s
rule, Kamala Devi did become Alauddin’s wife, though I am sure hardliners on
the right will swear that her hand was forced though a case can be made for her
having chosen the Shah as the lesser of two evils. Who can say for certain? My
point is just like #NotAllMenAre Jerks, good sense suggests that not all women
were pro Jauhar or Sati even back in the day when it was perfectly par for the
course to appease the male ego and the patriarchy’s diktats regarding female
virtue, chastity and dignity.
In conclusion
for those who continue to glorify Jauhar or Sati or any kind of Agni pariksha, I
would like to point out the obvious. There is a reason these practises have
been banned and believe me, it is a good one. It never was and never will be
okay to celebrate a woman going up in flames. Whether she made the choice under
duress. Or not.
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