Manu Khajuria
Women’s Day was celebrated across the world recently. The idea behind it, that of women empowerment and gender equality take place globally. In the context of a civilization and a culture which regards women worthy of highest respect and even worships the feminine divine, digging into stories of empowered, enlightened and brave women closer home reveals an ethos of a land and motivates one to live up to that legacy.
Stories of courage, valour and sacrifice transcend geographies and time but heroes and heroines are relatable and become easier to want to emulate, when they look familiar and speak the same tongue. Hence local histories and legends are of immense value for their power to inspire and give us role models. An interesting way to map these stories of courage and sacrifice in Jammu region is through immovable structures and heritage sites both religious and non religious.
These edifice of brick and mortar not just tell stories of ordinary women, extraordinary in their acts but also paint a picture which reflects the nature of the people who saw the divine within and are also Shakti Poojaks, bowing to the feminine divine and seeking her blessings.
This is a region thriving under the shadow of the Trikuta mountains which find mention in the oldest of Vedas, Rig Ved, the abode of Mata Vaishno. Considered one of the most powerful of shaktipeeths, it is not the only one of the many in the region where the divine feminine is worshipped. Sukrala, Sheetla,Cheechi, Bhoomeshwari, Kalka, Sarthal and many more are worshipped as divine mothers. Baawe wali Mata a temple dedicated to Goddess MahaKali is the presiding deity of the city of Jammu. Jammuites believe that it is she, who protects their city from foriegn invaders. The same role of protector is attributed to the deity in the Mahamaya Temple. Kashmir has similar traditions of Devi Upasana and Ragnya, Sharika, Jwala and Bala Tripurasundari of the vale of Kashmir are revered in Jammu region too. The worship of Shakti is considered a must for peace and prosperity and the practice of Kanya Pujan is the recognition of the same within the girl child. The feminine divine has also been acknowledged as a fierce warrior and her blessings sought during battle.The war cry of Jammu Kashmir Rifles which earlier was the State Force of the Dogra kingdom of Jammu Kashmir, is ‘Durge Mata ki Jai’.
Peculiar to the Jammu region are quaint shrines devoted to village deities of whom many are women, worshipped as Daatis or Kuldevis. Their stories are sometimes tragic like that of Bua Amro and Bua Bhukhi who became victims of mistreatment at the hand of their in laws. The precious loss of lives has been acknowledged through eulogies to these women and the status of Devi given to them. The shrines dedicated to them, their regular worship and at times even annual fairs organized in their name pose as reminders of the wrong doings done to them, so they may never be repeated again.
Many of these are also stories of ordinary women rising to do the extraordinary in their fight against injustice. The Daati of Dhabbuj in Samba Tehsil died in her fight against the atrocities committed by Lalpal, a rich businessman from Samba. Bua Bhaga’s samaadhi is in Billawar Tehsil and a testimony to her rebellion against autocracy. She protested against the unfair taxes imposed on the farmers by the Jagirdar of Sumarta on the orders of the Raja of Bhaddu. Bua Bhaga opposed this taxation vehemently. She was a mother to a breast feeding girl child yet that did not stop her from going door to door, urging people not to pay the taxes and unite against tyranny. There was no room for opposition and after being cornered by the Kings soldiers who had come to arrest her, Bua Bhaga died along with her infant daughter in order to protect her honour. Bua Bhaga teaches us lessons in bravery, activism and standing for the rights of the people. She gave up her life for the larger good, a Duggar Veerangna no doubt.
A poignant reminder to the traits of valour, service and supreme sacrifice of the people of Jammu region, are the numerous gates, roadside shrines and statues of martyrs who gave up their lives in the service of their Motherland. Though the names etched on stone are of heroes, they stand testimony to the heroines, the women who bore and raised such men, and then sent them off in the service of the nation.
Dogras are a warrior race, the only one who fought and won battles at unbelievable heights and beyond India, stretching the boundaries upto the Northern frontiers. Behind every General Zorawar Singh and General Baj Singh was a mother, who nurtured the quality of fearlessness and a high sense of duty . When a soldier leaves home to serve his country, the women of his house bravely hold fort. With every soldier martyred, there remains a mother, sister and a wife picking up the pieces and drawing incredible strength to go on. They were self reliant before and they are asked to become even stronger afterwards.
Brigadier Rajinder Singh, of the Jammu Kashmir State Forces, the Saviour of Kashmir and the first one to be awarded the MVC in an Independent India, a Durga devotee himself was a lion, fighting till the last bullet. He was matched in a partner, his wife, Smt Ram Dei, the quintessential Dogra soldier’s wife, who sent her husband to battlefield knowing very well that he may never return. As in the case of Smt Ram Dei, he never did and she was left alone to raise five daughters. It takes an emotionally strong woman to be able bid goodbye to her husband who leaves for distant unfriendly lands, where the enemy awaits him.
Almost every town and village in Jammu region, has men in the armed forces. The land dotted with dedications to Martyrs, reminiscent of not just the bravery of the man alone, but the courage of lionesses who bore and raised such sons and the wives, the brave hearts who supported them. The graam and kul Devis, referred to as Daatis are seen as symbols of power, those who made the supreme sacrifice for the society and became worthy of worship.
Jammu Kashmir being a frontier state has been a silent sentinel, witness to many wars foreign invasions and bloody turmoil. The region has been in conflict for the last seventy years, women and children facing the worst brunt of it. There are many unsung heroines like Ananti Devi, wife of Col Shiv Ram Singh, the Raja of Kaleeth, in Akhnoor in Jammu Region. She became a young widow and not only went on to raise six of her own children but was a mother to all her erstwhile subjects. Her title of Karnalini, a colloquial term that told of her status, that of a wife of a Colonel, was well earned. She would ride her horse, dressed in the traditional Dogra attire of Suthan-kurta and during the wars of 1965, 1971 tour her area with a gun, watching out for her people. She was known for her sense of justice and people came to her to resolve disputes. Displaying qualities of a caring and able administrator, she was also known for her marksmanship.
In a conflict ridden state,there are plenty of stories of women, both a mother and a fighter, brilliant in her courage, kindness and fortitude. Protecting, healing and holding their communities together with qualities innate to them, these women have remained empowered, empowering others even under duress.
The Vedic literature demonstrates women as able rulers, scholars and activists..’Grihe Grihe Gop Vadhu Kadamba’. when Gopis became activists and canvassed door to door in Mathura, taking the Social revolutionary Lord Shri Krishna’s message to the people. The texts also warn of the absence of divinity in places where women are not revered and respected and have said that the son may be wrong but a mother never is, MaatriDevobhav always coming before Pitrudevobhav. ‘kuputro jayet kvachidapi Kumata na bhavati’
Jammu region in its traditions reflects the same principles of reverence for women. Dogra literature shows woman in all her vulnerability and power, human in her emotions and mistakes sometimes and God like in her strength and sacrifice in many other instances. The ethos and culture of the Dogras as reflected in their folk lore urges them to practice the timeless concepts of equality and respect for their women folk. These stories of real women who rose to exalted positions because of their deeds, if truly understood, can inspire generations of women to imbibe what is truly empowering and celebrate their innate qualities of womanhood which tie communities together and nurture. Their lives exemplary of the fact that a woman can can be both a queen and a king maker. Most importantly it reiterates that we don’t have to look far for role models. Women empowerment and its celebrations cannot be stereotyped, they begin from our own homes. All we need to do is look around and within.
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