Women Who Shaped Indian History
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Surya Pratap SinghWomen Who Shaped Indian History
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Surya Pratap SinghWomen who have changed the course of history
Hurling through the pages of my history book, I begun to think what was the role of
the fairer gender in the making of the past of our country. How did women affect the
making of history? Why is the present we see today the way it is? How much
contribution have they made to history? These were some of the questions which
started clouding my mind as I closed my eyes
When I opened my eyes, I saw something I had never seen. Thousands of people, all
dressed in queer robes, were strolling through the market-sorts-of-place. It seemed
as if I was looking at an animated clip of ancient India. There were no buses, no
roads, and no traffic! All I could hear was the soft feeble voice of some cuckoos!
Deer, cows, peacocks and dogs were looking content and they sat quietly at one
place. Everyone had a feeling of self-complacence. I thought my dream would break
any moment now but it did not! As I moved to enjoy that pious environment, I saw a
little gathering of people. As it is natural for the inquisitive mind, I made my way
through the crowd of the people to the center of attraction. What I saw was
incredulous! I saw few women sitting in an assembly and vehemently debating with
men of intellect. I could make out nothing of what they said in ancient lyrical Vedic
language but it seemed that they were discussing some religious issue. At last, the
women were declared the winner of the debate. It was evident from their gestures.
After a lot of mental exercise, I came to the conclusion that it was some shastrartha
going on in the Vedic period! I was amazed to see women doing all kinds of jobs in
this extreme primitive age! They were free, enjoyed equal rights as their male
counterparts and there was nothing called male chauvinism in the society. This was
the age of Gargi, Maitryi, Vijja etc. They had marked the presence of women in this
era, I thought, moving a reminiscent finger over my eyes.
When I opened my eyes this time, the scenery had changed completely! Gone was
the age of female liberty! I saw women in veils or purdah. They were hardly visible
on streets and most of them were confined to the four walls of their houses. With
Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent, women were rendered second
citizens. I was not moving but the scenes of different parts of India passed in front
of my eyes. I saw Rajput princesses embracing the flames in order to protect
themselves from the treacherous claws of the Mughals. The women were subdued
and discriminated. But this subjugation did not go unquestioned. Beginning from
Razia Sultana, the first woman ruler of the Delhi sultanate to the Gond queen
Durgavati , Chand Bibi of Ahmednagar to the Mughal Empress Nur Jahan, the actual
power holder during Jahangirs reign , women broke the laws that the newly found
patriarchal society was enforcing on them. Other changers of the course of history
during this era included female saint poets- Mirabai , Akka Mahadevi, Janabai to just
name a few.
My third weird teleportation was to the modern period. During the colonial rule, I
saw that atrocities on women had increased substantially. Queen Chennamma of
Kittur , Rani Laxmi Bai of Jhansi and Begum Hazrat Mahal of Lucknow were some of
the ferocious ladies who led an armed rebellion against the colonial British rule. And
with changing times, there came change in the minds of the people, thanks to social
reformers like Raja Ram Mohun Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. Sati practice
and child marriage was banned. Widow Remarriage was gaining acceptability. These
were the signs of a new era. As women realized their potential, women like Rokeya
Sakhawat Hossain, Pandita Ramabai and Rashsundari Debi were born. Rashsundari
Debi is considered the first woman novelist of India. Pandita Ramabai urged women,
especially widows, to become self-independent. Rokeya Hossain opened a school for
girls in Calcutta. Some famous freedom fighters included Bhikaji Cama, Dr. Annie
Besant, Pritilata Waddedar, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Aruna Asaf Ali, Sucheta
Kriplani and Kasturba Gandhi. I saw Captain Laxmi Sehgal marching in the Rani Jhansi regiment of
Subhash Chandra Bose. As I was pondering what a weird dream it was, Sarojini Naidu
was elected the first woman President of the Congress. Had it not been the efforts
of millions of women, independence would have become a distant dream, I realized.
With the coming of independence, the stories of great women changing the course
of history became a common phenomenon. Ranging from the first woman chief
minister, Sucheta Kriplani to the first woman Prime minister Indira Gandhi to the
first woman IPS recruit, Kiran Bedi to the first woman judge of the Supreme Court,
Fatima Beevi; women have went on setting new records in each and every field. The
list is endless! As I approached the present era, I thought that my dream world
would end soon but the Almighty willed otherwise. I found myself in a completely
new place once again.
This place looked ultra modern and hi-tech. I picked up a newspaper dated 8 th
March, 2075 and threw a glance at the main headlines. I was astonished to find no
cases of sexual assault, no eve teasing, and no gender bias reports. It seemed as if
a miracle had come true. In this future World, women had actually achieved what
they deserved and were in no way less than any man. I felt that it was the World of
feminist euphoria! I was going to explore this new world when I was startled by the
voice of my History teacher, Get up Vijay! I suppose you have seen a wonderful
dream! I said, It is the bulliest dream I have ever seen, rubbing my eyes.
