LEARNING INDIAN HISTORY
Chand,Rukhma,Cornelia,Rudrama and the other Trailblazers of pre-independence India — Part 2
A list of India’s great women — warriors, rulers, educators, reformers and other pioneers most of us don’t know about
This is part 2 of the list. Click to read part 1.
Dr. Rukhmabai: Physician and Feminist (1864–1955)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rukhmabai
Dr. Rukhmabai was an Indian doctor and a feminist. She was one of the first women to practice medicine in India after receiving her degree from the London School of Medicine for Women.
She was also part of a high-profile court case after refusing to move in with her future husband’s family at the tender age of 12 (her step-father supported her decision). The judge ruled in favor of her prospective husband, but she still refused. Her defiance brought about a discussion of the practice of child brides and consent. In 1891, legislation was enacted that changed the age of consent from 10 to 12 years across British India.
It was only an additional two years and the age limit was still an insult but it was a landmark moment in the struggle of Indian woman for social upliftment and equality.
Chand Bibi: Warrior Monarch of Bijapur and Ahmednagar (1550–1599)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chand_Bibi
Chand Bibi was a Deccan queen who ruled both Bijapur and Ahmednagar as Regent. Inspite of constant mutinies from her generals, she pioneered a Deccan confederation and successfully defended her kingdom against the Mughal army twice.
When Chand Bibi was Regent of Bijapur, her general Ikhlas Khan revolted and declared himself Sultan. But when the neighbouring states of Ahmadnagar and Golconda attacked. Ikhlas Khan couldn’t fend off this joint attack and returned the leadership to Chand. With her knack for creating alliances and military strategy, she called on the Maratha forces to cut of the enemy’s supply lines, forcing the Ahmadabad-Golconda forces to retreat. She successfully staved off Akbar’s forces twice. She was unfortunately killed in the third battle by her own companions as a rumors spread that she was joining hands with the Mughals.
Chand Bibi is completely forgotten in Indian history.Her strategic thinking and military acumen was exceptional. Better than most male rulers. Sadly, no one knows about it. It is testimony to her capabilities, that in a few months after her death the sultanates were captured and integrated into the Mughal empire.
Muthulakshmi Reddy: Physician and Social Reformer (1886–1968)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muthulakshmi_Reddy
Muthulakshmi Reddy was a physician, a feminist, a social reformer and a women’s activist. She was the prime mover behind the legislation that abolished the Devadasi system (her mother was a Devadasi) and played a keen role in raising the minimum marriage age for women in India.
She was the first female student to be admitted into a men’s college, the first woman Legislator in British India and the first woman Deputy President of the Legislative Council.Her nomination to the Madras Legislative Council in 1926 marked the beginning of her lifelong effort to “correct the balance for women by removing social abuses and working for equality in moral standards″.
Her two outstanding monumental gifts for India remain the Avvai Home (for children) and the Adyar Cancer Institute.
Rudrama Devi: Monarch Ruler of Kakatiya Dynasty (13th Century)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudrama_Devi
Rudrama Devi was a monarch of the Kakatiya dynasty in the Deccan in the 13th century. She was one of the very few women to rule as monarchs in India and promoted a male image in order to do so.
She was one of the most powerful rulers of the Kakatiya dynasty and saved her kingdom from many invasion attempts. She also expanded her kingdom by defeating some of the neighbouring kingdoms. She promoted meritocracy and recruited many warriors from people who were not part of the aristocracy, granting them rights over land tax revenue in return for their support. This was a significant change from existing Kakatiya startegy and and one that was followed by her successor and also by the later Vijaynagar Empire.
History remembers Rudrama Devi as powerful and astute ruler with many exceptional qualities.
Cornelia Sorabji: First Female Lawyer (1866–1954)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelia_Sorabji
Cornelia Sorabji was a trail blazer for Indian women in the legal profession. She was the first woman to study law at Oxford University, the first female advocate in India and the first woman to practice law in India and Britain.
On returning to India in 1894, Sorabji started helping the Purdanashins. These women were forbidden to communicate with the outside male world. In many cases, they owned considerable property, yet had no access to the necessary legal expertise to defend it.Sorabji was given special permission to enter pleas on their behalf but she was unable to defend them in court since, as a woman, she did not hold professional standing in the Indian legal system. To remedy this, Sorabji appeared for the LLB examination of Bombay University in 1897. Yet, despite her successes, she would not be recognised as a barrister until the law which barred women from practising was changed in 1923.
A Google Doodle celebrated her 151st birthday on 15 November 2017
Rani Abbakka Chowta: Tuluva Queen (1525–1570s)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbakka_Chowta
Rani Abbakka Chowta was the Tuluva queen of Ullal who fought the Portuguese in the latter half of the 16th century.
Before the British came to India as the East India company, it was the Portuguese who came to capture several parts of India.They made several attempts to capture Ullal as it was strategically placed on the western coast of India. But Abbakka repulsed each of their attacks for over four decades. For her bravery, she came to be known as Abhaya Rani (The fearless queen).
Rani Abbakka is regarded as the first female freedom fighter of India.
Madam Bhikaiji Cama: Freedom Fighter (1861–1936)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhikaiji_Cama
Bhikaiji Rustom Cama was a prominent revolutionary in the Indian independence movement who had the unique distinction of unfurling the first version of the Indian national flag — a tricolour of green, saffron, and red stripes — at the International Socialist Congress held at Stuttgart, Germany in 1907.
Madam Cama played a big role in spreading the Indian Freedom Movement abroad. Together with Dadabhai Naoroji and Singh Rewabhai Rana, Cama supported the founding of The Indian Home Rule Society in London in 1905. In London, she was warned to stop her nationalist activities but she refused. When rumours began that she would be deported from England, she moved to Paris , where she co-founded the Paris Indian Society. For three years, the French authorities interned her for her anti-British activities.
Together with other revolutionaries in exile, Cama wrote, published and distributed revolutionary literature for the movement, including Bande Mataram (founded in response to the ban on the poem Vande Mataram) and later Madan’s Talwar (in response to the execution of Madan Lal Dhingra)
Rani Durgavati: Queen of Gondwana (1524–1564)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rani_Durgavati
Rani Durgavati was the Queen of Gondwana. She was an excellent ruler who is remembered for her courage and capable administration.
.After her husband died, Rani Durgavati took control of Gondwana since her son was just five years old at the time. She was a brave warrior who fought and won many battles to extend her territory and accomplished the political unification of Gondwana, She had a good team of ministers who helped her in running an effective administration and carrying out many useful public work. It is believed that trade flourished during her rule and her people were happy and prosperous.
Rani Durgavati’s rule came to end when her kingdom was invaded by the Mughal forces. Her small army was no match for the mighty Mughals and defeat was imminent. But rather than escaping from the battle with her life, she decided to kill herself on June 24, 1564. The day is celebrated today as Balidan Diwas.
Matangini Hazra: Revolutionary Leader (1870–1942)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matangini_Hazra
Matangini Hazra was an Indian revolutionary who participated in the Indian independence movement until she was shot dead by the British Indian Police. She was affectionately known as Gandhi buri, Bengali for old lady Gandhi
Born to an impoverished farmer, she was married at 12 and widowed at 18. From then on, her entire life was dedicated to the Indian Freedom struggle. She was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and committed her life to living by his ideals. Like Gandhiji, she relentlessly campaigned in nonviolent ways against the British rule and inspired many others to take up the struggle. She was beaten, tortured and jailed many times but she never gave. It took a bullet to bring her down.
Luckily, Matangini Hazra was not forgotten by the country for whose freedom she devoted her entire life. In 1977, the first statue in the Kolkata Maidan dedicated to a woman revolutionary was that of Matangini Hazra.Across Bengal, several schools, neighbourhoods and streets have been named after Hazra for her contributions to the freedom struggle.
Rani Avantibai: Queen of Lodhi and a Freedom Fighter (1800–1858)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avantibai
Rani Avantibai was the queen of Ramgarh who fought the British in India’s First War of Independence in 1857. Among the grittiest women in Indian history, her unflagging courage and indomitable spirit are at par with the like Rani Laxmi Bai, Chand Bibi and Kittur Chenamma.
Upon the death of her husband in 1851, Avantibai attempted to act as regent for her son, who was a minor. The British authorities did not accept this and tried to annex her kingdom using the “Doctrine of Lapse”. Avantibai rejected this and declared war against the British. She passionately recruited her neighbouring states to come together as one in the war for the motherland and managed to raise an army of 4000. She defeated the British forces in the first encounter, but they came back with a bigger army and attacked her kingdom. Avantibai took to the hills and resorted to guerilla warfare to fend of the British army. Finally, when all was lost and facing almost certain defeat, she committed suicide with her own sword.
Very little is written about Avantibai in the history books and all the information about her comes from folktales and songs. She is very fondly remembered and celebrated as an icon for Dalit women.
