From the Editor’s Desk False Pride
When Jauhar is treated as “bravery” of a woman and “prestige” of a community By Meena Yeggina
tween them. In addition, any ro- mance between them would be, ac- cording to the protesting Hindutva group, a “distortion” of history. There are, however, two indis- putable facts contradicting the above disputable misguided narrative:
Can celebrating Jauhar (a mass Rajput ritual of self-immolation where in several women and chil- dren kill themselves to save their virtue from conquerors when defeat in an invasion seem imminent) in 21st century as pride, honor and bravery of women be justified as Hindu culture? As a woman, and as a mother of two, I would definitely say no, definitely not in this 21st century nor in any bygone era. When director Sanjay Leela Bhansali (of Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas, RamLeela, Bhajirao Mas- tani fame) got slapped, pushed around and his set in Rajasthan ransacked while shooting a scene for his latest venture Pad- mavati , hell broke lose in both Hindi film industry and outside of it. This assault, led by a local Hindutva group, was based on the assumption that Bhansali was shooting a romantic dream sequence between the charac- ters of Padmavati and the Sul- tan of Delhi, Alauddin Khalji. The problem to themwas that as Padmavati was a “noble and honorable” Rajput queen (she is actually from Sri Lanka, in the poem) who preferred to commit Jauhar than succumbing to Khalji, it would be dishonoring her sacrifice and courage if such a romantic song, even as a dream, is shot be-
paign of 1303. This fiction is a tale of the celebration of a Rajput queen’s willingness to die rather than give herself over to a “tyrant (sic),” who coveted her. The fiction, titled Pad- mavat, was told in a long Awadhi- language poem by the 16th century Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi. It has as its central char- acters Padmini or Padmavati the queen of Chittor, her hus- band, Rana Ratansen Singh, and the sultan of Delhi, Alaud- din Khalji (also transcribed as Khilji). While all other charac- ters are imaginary why the poet chose to include Khalji’s name in his poem remains a mystery. There are no contemporary accounts of Alauddin’s siege that mention Padmavati. While there are still some his- torians who believe the story of The Padmavat to be true, al- most everyone agree that Alauddin’s march on Chittor was more an expression of an ambitious ruler’s campaign of relentless military expansion rather than a lovesick man’s quest for a beautiful woman. Two, even if assuming Rani Padmavati is historical and the story really took place, what is wrong if a director sees it through a different prism and reinvents a sce- nario? Shakespearean stories,
Rani Padmavati was a Sri Lankan Princess as depicted in the fictional poem by Malik Muhammad Jayasi
One, Rani Padmavati is a fic- tional character, a heroine in a poem written in 1540 (See boxed item for her storyon pg 67), a solid 237 years after Alauddin Khalji’s Chittor cam-
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