What is Jauhar Culture and How it relates to Feminism?

Credits: All that’s Interesting, Jauhar in India

Consent wasn’t been a part of women lives in India in ancient times, especially in the times of monarchy in India women were treated as a commodity to be won as a prize for conquering a territory or winning a competition or even sometimes king give beautiful women as a gift to other kings.
So let’s discuss what Jauhar ritual is basically

As per this ritual the wives of the warriors would take their children and jump into the fire (commonly called kund) after their husbands were faced with defeat. It is also believed that women would wear their bridal attire before stepping into the flames. Fire is also a symbol associated with purity, which is why these rituals were performed mainly with fire. This ritual was glorified in the Rajput community and women were taught and encouraged to perform this ritual. The main purpose of Jauhar was to save women of a particular region or territory which is now captured by foreign invaders from enslavement and rape by those foreign invaders. Sometimes these women also use other ways to die like swallow poison, drown themselves etc.

Credits: NativePlanet, Jauhar kund

The practice however occurred rarely and was a form of chivalric suicide by Hindu women to counter the Islamic Invaders. Jauhar in most cases happen when there is a fight between Hindus and Muslims. Sati is also little bit similar to Jauhar ritual but there is a big difference between them even though they were both suicidal methods for women in earlier times. In Sati a widow (woman) has to sit on funeral pyre of her dead husband while she is alive, in Jauhar ritual only Rajput Royal women die in case of defeat of their warrior husband’s in the war. Women die by jumping into the area filled with fire with their children. Sati was a necessity in most of the cultures but Jauhar was a choice for Royal Rajput women, it was mostly performed in masses but Sati was performed individually.

What is Saka?

Credits: Sanskriti Magazine Saka ritual

Saka is a ritual happens after Jauhar in which men would ritually march to battlefield expecting certain death, which in the regional tradition is called Saka. This practice shows that any Rajput whether men or women placed their values higher than their lives.

Some instances of Jauhar

According to many scholars, the first Jauhar of Chittorgarh occurred during the 1303 siege of Chittor Fort. This Jauhar became a subject of legendary Rajasthani poems with Rani Padmini the main character, wherein she and other Rajput women commit Jauhar to avoid being captured by Alauddin Khalji of Delhi Sultanate. The historicity of the first Jauhar of Chittorgarh is based on Rajasthani traditional belief as well as Islamic Sufi Literature as well as Padmavat by Malik Muhammad Jayasi. Movie Padmavat is based on this story which was first movie which described Jauhar ritual. Total 1600 women died with Rani Padmini in Jauhar.

Jauhar of Jaisalmer- Bhatnair, Tanot and Jaisalmer territory of Bhati Rajputs, witnessed the scene of Jauhar thrice in the past, the last time they tried committing Jauhar they don’t have enough time to build a pyre and hence slit the throats of women, and that’s why it is considered as half Jauhar. When Maharawal Jait Singh was a king, Alauddin Khalji beseiged the fort of Jaisalmer and after seven months 24000 women committed Jauhar.
In Raisen located in Madhya Pradesh was repeatedly attacked by the Mughal Army in the early 16^th century. In 1528 the first Jauhar was led by Rani Chanderi, after the Mughal Army left the kingdom refused to accept orders from Delhi. After a long siege of Raisen Fort, that exhausted all supplies within the Fort, Rani Durgavati and 700 Raisen women commited the second Jauhar in 1532, the men led by Lakshman Tuar commited Saka. Thus refusal to submit to Mughal rule repeated and in 1543 the third Jauhar was led by Rani Ratnavali.

In other countries too these kind of incidents (Jauhar) happened?

The mass self-immolation by the Agalssoi Tribe of northwest India is mentioned in Book 6 of “The Anabasis of Alexander, Arrian’s 2^nd century CE military history of Alexander the Great between 336 and 323 BCE. Arrian mentions Alexander’s army conquering and enslaving peoples of the northwest Indian subcontinent. During a war that killed many in the Macedonian and Agalssoi Armies, the civilians despaired to defeat. Some 20,000 men, women and children of an Agalssoi town set fire to the town and cast themselves into the flames.

The Malli Tribe also performed a similar act which Pierre Herman, Leonard Eggermont calls Jauhar. Arrian states that they started burning their houses with themselves in it though any Indian captured in them was slaughtered by the Greeks.

In remembrance of Jauhar culture one of the biggest celebrations of the year in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh is the “Jauhar Mela” that take place in February-March. The celebration is held to honour the sacrifice made by Rajput women to uphold their clan’s pride and honour, which means this ritual is extinct but still glorified. Yet it would be very controversial and confusing either put this culture as a wrong step or right. Happy day to all.