Ahilyabai Holkar

The women behind Kashi Vishwanath and numerous more.

The woman who embraced the culture of crushing the boundaries since the day she was born, Ahilyabai Holkar stands to be the epitome of woman empowerment and a proud Hindu, flourishing her culture wherever her feet touch the ground. This 18th-century queen stands out as the strong ruler, spreading the message of dharma, rejuvenating Hinduism, and promoting the relatively modern virtues of small-scale industrialisation.
  She ruled the province of Malwa for 28 years before she died, and established a robust local administration, overcoming that century's disadvantage of gender and elevated manhood pride. She took off the throne of Malwa after all the male claimants to the throne died.
Born in a family of shepherds in 1725, in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, our queen belonged to the Dhangar community. She was among the few girls who learnt to read and write in that era. The family had no relations on any level with the royals, but as they say, destiny follows its course, Malhar Rao Holkar, the then Holkar ruler of Indore, got her married at the age of eight to his son Khanderao, after a chance meeting.
Khanderao sacrificed his life in the 1754 battle in Rajasthan. The following occurrences leading up to the legendary 1761 Battle of Panipat. Malhar Rao himself passed away in 1765 followed by the death of Khanderao’s son in 1767 who assumed the throne for a couple of years, with Ahilyabai as the regent. Ahilyabai then became the queen of Indore in 1767.

The goddess of administration and industrialisation

Being a resident of Indore, she made Maheshwar the seat of power and Indore the centre for all economic activity. Under her rule, Indore prospered into a major trading hub from being a small town.
She offered the military power to Tukoji Holkar, a confidante of her father-in-law though not related. She took care of the administrative functions herself after assuming the throne.
Later on, she separated the state’s revenue from the personal use of the ruling family. Her personal expenditures were met from inherited wealth and the land holdings she had. The British regent John Malcolm has documented these administrative improvements in his memoirs Central India which were published, in 1880, long after his death.

The woman behind Kashi Vishwanath and many more.

The most crucial contribution of Ahilyabai will always remain the preservation, reconstruction and refurbishment of a host of Hindu sites which she carried out during her 30-year rule. During her reign, she spent money on the Reconstruction of Hindu sites destroyed under the Mughal era.
From Gangotri to Rameshwaram, and from Dwarka to Gaya, the list of the temple architectural interventions by Ahilyabai is endless. She even refurbished the Dashashwamedh Ghat, the site of the famous Ganga Aarti, built originally by Nanasaheb Peshwa and the Manikarnika Ghat, the main cremation site in Varanasi. She provided construction to many such ghats for easy access to almost all major rivers in Bharatvarsha.
The most significant one, however, is the current Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi. Destroyed by the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb to build the Gyaanvapi mosque, the temple was restored in its current form by Ahilyabai in the year 1780, 111 years after its destruction.
Ahilyabai was responsible for the construction of the Vishnupad Temple in Gaya in 1787. it is said that this is the site of Lord Vishnu crushing the demon Gayasura, and his footprint is etched in rocks. The temple is built on these rocks bearing a 40 cm long footprint of Lord Vishnu.
To add to her temple reconstruction spree Ramachandra temple in Puri, Hanuman temple in Rameshwaram, Shri Vaidyanath temple in Parli Vaijnath and the Sharayu Ghat in Ayodhya all bear her contributions.

The mysterious redeemer of Hindu heritage

If in today's world a Hindu can witness and appreciate the centres of cultural and religious heritage carrying immensely glorious and integral Dharma, a significant fraction of the credit goes to Ahliyabai Holkar.
Unfortunately, most of these places do not bear notations in her name, but it was perhaps her operative style and a glimpse of her giving character too— the architectural restoration work was carried out of an intrinsic sense of religiosity, and was not linked to politics or gaudy display wealth.
It wouldn't be inaccurate to mention that no other individual of the Modern era has worked towards the renovation and overhauling of Hindu holy sites as Ahilyabai.
Ahilyabai was a Shivbhakt since childhood and it was proved from time to time in her journey as a ruler and a spiritual being.

A lost legend

The queen's estate is not enshrined in her name despite her contributions in all the fields, all over India. But, more sadly, her legacy is not recorded in a structured way in history textbooks or popular references either. Part of the problem is the general absence of any non-Mughal, non-British narratives in contemporary Indian history books.
But Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra not doing their little in celebrating this gutsy queen is the huger question. At least at the local level, there should be attempts to correct broad New Delhi driven historical exclusions.

Joanna Baillie, a Scottish poet and dramatist, said this of Ahilyabai in 1849 (published 1904):

“For thirty years her reign of peace,

The land in blessing did increase;

And she was blessed by every tongue,

By stern and gentle, old and young.

Yea, even the children at their mother’s feet

Are taught such homely rhyming to repeat

“In latter days from Brahma came,

To rule our land, a noble Dame,

Kind was her heart, and bright her fame,

And Ahlya was her honoured name.”

Purdah : why, when and where?

Purdah (veil)

Purdah’ is a Persian word translated as curtain, veil, attire worn by women to signify their social and physical segregation from the rest of society (which probably comprises of men) by covering their bodies and/or face. Purdah takes different forms and shapes depending on the origin, location and community.
A yashmak, yashmac or yasmak (from Turkish yaşmak, "a veil"[1]) is a Turkish type of veil or niqab worn by some Muslim women to cover their faces in public.
A woman's withdrawal into purdah usually restricts her personal, social and economic activities outside her home.
These dictated domains virtually eliminate women’s opportunities to assume roles more than that of a wife and mother. Not arguing on how women's accomplishments have been immeasurable even when restricted by many such shallow practices.

The usual purdah garment worn is a burqa, which may or may not include a yashmak, a veil to conceal the face. The eyes may or may not be exposed.
Purdah was rigorously observed under the Taliban in Afghanistan, where women had to observe complete purdah at all times when they were in public.

Islamic citations

Although purdah is generally correlated with Islam, many intellectuals argue that veiling and secluding women pre-dates Islam; the origin is old and scattered. These practices were commonly found among various groups in the Middle East such as Druze, Christian, and Jewish communities.

However, it should be highlighted that the purdah system’s historical roots can be traced to Persian culture, which was later adopted by the Muslims in the 7th century AD. Additionally, scholars like Satish Chandra have stated that this practice was introduced in India by the Delhi Sultanate, way before the Mughals set foot in the Indian mainland.
Numerous other texts narrate that women from Arabia were accustomed to veiling themselves with a cloth to protect themselves from harsh climatic conditions.

Strict purdah originated with Amir Timur when he conquered India and entered this country with his army and womenfolk. He made the proclamation, ‘As they were now in the land of idolatry and amongst strange people, the women of their families should be strictly concealed from the view of a stranger’. He even obliterated hundreds of buildings and temples just to loot the wealth after which India was at the peak of economic catastrophe. Not to mention, Babur, who is recognised as the outstanding ruler was Timur's great-grandson, this is where Indian history stands brainwashing the liberal sect.

Monserrate, mentioning about harem ladies of Akbar’s time, wrote that they ‘are kept rigorously secluded from the sight of men’. Manucci, writing during the time of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, documented, ‘[T]he Mahomedans are very touchy in the matter of allowing their women to be seen, or even touched by hand….’ At other place, he writes that amongst them, ‘it was a great dishonour for a family when a wife is compelled to uncover herself’.

Ouran says

From the book : A brief history of India

Hindu literature's void on Purdah

Whatever the status of women at that time, there was no purdah during the Vedic age nor later, not till knocked at our doors by the Islamic invaders which can also be considered as episodic rapists and woman authoritarians. In all ancient art, epics, sculptures you don't see women in purdah (of course some exceptions where the artist has used his creativity and improvised). They did not even cover their heads.
 In ancient India, minimum clothes were worn by both men or women. The philosophy used was to keep all your requirements to the bare minimum. The more religious a person was, the less he wore. Some sages remained bare-chested through the winter. Not because they were showing off but because they were training their bodies to learn to adapt.

Overdressing - A well observed culture

Overdressing is very typical Islamic tradition. Even their nautch girls came covered from head to toe. The women wore burka, aba, Monto or a chador while going out. Men too wore more clothes than weather demanded. More religious a person was the more layers of clothing he will have.
 No doubt purdah came to India before Mughal rule but then Islam too came to India much before them. A good proof that purdah is due to Islamic influence is the fact that the tradition of purdah is followed more in the states bordering Pakistan like Punjab and Rajasthan or in states with Islamic influence. Pakistani women are highly downtrodden and the thoughts of liberalism are just hallucinations to them. In South India, Maharashtra etc. the bride does not cover her head even on her wedding day.
In Hinduism great value was put on virginity (at least till now ) so a married woman was not coveted by another man. The women were supposed to be virgins before getting married and then only was she approachable and worthy. Not so in Islam. If they fancied a married woman they kidnapped her and were ready to marry her too. And they practised this in India as well which resulted in Rani Padmawati and thousands of that sort performing Jauhar.

Womanhood and restrictions

The purdah has not been restricted to any particular religion; it has manifested across various sects of humanity only to control/ protect/ prohibit womenfolk further. Some started it, some followed it and some were forced into following it.

Farmers' protest

There's more than what meets the eye.

If this bill is really a threat then I couldn't help but ask that where are the farmers from UP, MP, Bihar,Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Odisha? There are 20× more farmers who are far poorer, marginalized than these so called farmers from Punjab, creating unnecessary ruckus.
Particularly in Maharashtra with the Maha Vinash Agadi (MVA) at the helm of affairs, the farmers have all the right to protest and yet we don't hear anything from there side or see them gate crashing within Maharashtra.

The Southern states are least bothered about the so called agitation, having barred the Tamil separatists like Stalin. Moreover, in TN, they have a different pinnacle of misery to deal with, having been hit by the cyclone.

Till now there were no protests in WB, but Didi's endless efforts to add fuel to the fire along with these protesters at NCR borders, can add to these riots. Rajasthan, when compared to UP or AP has negligible farmers.

The Himalayan States have less than 15% of their geographical area in each of their states as non-forest area, thus they have no significant strength of farming communities.

Farm bill~ not the soul reason for these protests.

Let's see why:
• The communism and the communist party in Punjab being on it's death bed still feels there's some hope by setting the fire or sort of a false alarm in these farmers. This protest can be a source of oxygen for their almost dead agenda. Neither is this new nor we are aloof of the fact that the help provided for the major killing of Bhindrenwale was supported by the bosses of communism in India with the help of the bosses in Russia. The fear that the concept of Khalistan will wipeout Communism forever from the face of punjab, will make them do anything and everything to save their ideology.

•When everyone is enjoying the heat by this fire against BJP, how can Congress just sit back and watch. It's time for them to put up a show which can provide a brave face to it's party workers who have been dormant for quite a long time. The party is trying to prove itself active by being a part, moreover it is trying to show people that it still has the capability to oppose the strongest party of India, particularly with Ahmed Patel being gone.

•To push the narrative that "Indian government is oppressive to it's farmers" seems to be one of the top reasons for these riots. China, Pakistan,Turkey and these Khalistani extremists are being continuously supported by the Congress to make the major media houses (which are anyway controlled by the left/communist mafias) target the Indian government, first for it's so called evil agendas against the minority and now the farmers.

•The successful scrapping of 370 and president Trump's unwavering commitment to India's decision had already left them uneasy. The massive unprecedented riots that were brilliantly engineered but not more brilliant than the solid stands taken by our home minister, were unable to shake it. President Trump, while summing up the press conference in India, clearly stated that , "this is India's internal issue". One should remember that Potus was accompanied by top intelligence experts of US, they knew exactly what was cooking in Delhi on those ghastly days of February by the same anti-Indian forces. Thus, Biden knows what to stand for. US is going to remain behind India on Kashmir issues for a few more upcoming years,allowing India to consolidate it's terrain quite ruthlessly. Having said this, the section of the society governed by the communists, congress and terrorists has little or no chance to internationalize issues within India, leaving this farmer bill as a last option.

The trendies

Centrists, very frequently claim to be nuanced/balanced/reasonable while calling others extreme. They genuinely believe that what they define as "Centrism" is an objectively superior political ideology than all others. The middle way out is not always the apt way.
These are, as they love to be, the Trendies, merely another alternative to belong to a more mainstream ideology. The thing that they fail to understand is that one can support the right without sugarcoating their views for the left. Hence are considered less reliable by either sides.

Where is the Centre?

The major problem with Centrists is , they barely know where the centre lies. Ones unwillingness to reveal which particular side their inclination is, doesn't make them a centrist. The false manifestation of Centrism and seeking the shelter in the centre when one thing seems clearly more accurate than the other is cowardly and quite problematic. People say that Centrist are more free to make choices while I feel it's contradictory. They are bound to not bend to one side, the only thing they are free to, is being ignorant. From somewhat of an outsider’s perspective, centrists are at least occasionally guilty of looking at two people who are arguing, enjoying the debate.

Perks of being a Centrist.

Centrism seems quite lazy to me. If you do not wish to get much involved or things really don't bother you to the core and you don't want to put efforts in any direction, the centre is the good place be. Some issues obviously are plain right or wrong, here when we don't need the centrist perspective, the middle ground can still be morally repugnant place to be.

Nowadays, Centrism just tends be the fashionable point of view, especially for the people who don't care or know much about politics. That doesn't mean that there aren't enough individuals who are passionate and knowledgeable about their Centrist ideologies. But still it can be considered an easy escape. Most people in the centre have just tuned out of politics so you're less likely to face them in any head on arguments.

All my sympathies to the millenial struggle to "get ahead" of everyone but I can surely not be sympathetic to their blame games and victims cards. That " poor me " attitude that blames literally everyone, from the past to the future generations, is the most disturbing part of the centre. If Centrism is just being an inactive lot and targeting one or the other side when barely awake, then it's better to be either on left or right.

Sati Pratha

The Obscured Truth!

"Who was Sati? "
The very first question which needs to be attended to get the exact idea of how the whole grand design of relating this practice of Women Self Immolation with one particular community is not only baseless but blasphemous.
According to Shiv Puran, Sati was born to Daksha, Bhrahma's son. When Daksha, to humiliate Shiva(his son in law) didn't invite him to the grand sacrificial punctilio, outraged by the insult of her husband, Sati invoked a fire and was reduced to ashes. Points to keep in mind are that, Shiva was alive at this time and Sati self immolated herself to make Daksha regret his egoistic and arrogant disposition (Sati was Adishakti ~ cannot die)

Rise in figures!

Incidents of sati were first recorded in Nepal in 464CE, and later on in Madhya Pradesh in 510CE. In this practice, a widow sacrifices herself by sitting atop her deceased husband's funeral pyre. Sati was practiced very sporadically but became evident during the Mughal Period. Whenever a king died locking horns, their widows preferred to die rather than being captured alive and dishonored by muslim soldiers. Jauhar , yet another sacrifice commomly performed by Rajputana women to save their dignity from being crushed by mughal soldiers. Unlike sati, jauhar involved mass self immolation to avoid capture, enslavement and rape by the islamic invaders. It was only witnessed during hindu-muslim wars.

Nothing to do with Hindutva.

There is no mention of Sati whatsoever in either vedic literature or any of the early Dharmasutras or Dharmasastras. Not only there is no reference to sati in hindu literature and granths, Satapatha Brahmana explains that suicide, if committed by anyone is a sin.
"Therefore, one should not depart before one's actual lifespan" ~ Satapatha Brahmana
There is no conclusive evidence of sati practice in Ramayana. Neither Dashratha's nor any of Ravan's wives committed sati after their demise.
According to 14th century Ranganatha Ramayana, Sulochana, wife to Indrajeet, gave her life on his funeral pyre in grieve.
In Mahabharatha, one of Pandu's wife , Madri burnt herself to death not due to the sati pratha but because of the regret. She felt that she was responsible for her husband's death. These two incidents are quite frequently put forward to create a ruckuss and make hindus question their believes, but to no extent they are of any relevance since the reasons behind them are totally off topic. And if it really was a ritual then why didn't Kunti (Pandu's another wife) took part in it?

Misinterpreted Religious Texts ~ Misguided followers.

Palpable falsification and misinterpretation of Vedas has been a favorite idling of hindu bashers since time immemorial. Origin of sati being attributed to the Vedas is the biggest misconception and a mere tactic to broadcast the whole religion, a faulty one. There is no mention of authoritative widow burning in Vedas. Few mantras which are misunderstood are as follows:
Atharva Veda 18.3.1 : This women chose her husband's world . Today she is sitting besides his dead body. Bestow upon her both wealth and offsprings.
( husband's world is misinterpreted as death but it actually means the life he has left for her,behind him)
In the very next mantra, it is said,
Atharva veda18.3.2 : "Rise and come unto the life of world O Women:
He is lifeless by whose side thou liest."
It's quite explicit by this mantra that women is adviced to rejoin the worldly bailiwick after the death of her husband.
One can also find instances of widow remarriage in Vedas.

Max muller condemned this fraud widely. To quote ,“ This is perhaps the most flagrant instance of what can be done by an unscrupulous priesthood. Here have thousands of life been sacrificed, and a practical rebellion threatened on the authority of a passage which was mangled, mistranslated and misapplied.” although for his own shifty exigencies, we cannot disagree that he condemned the act of misinterpretation of hindu scriptures by ignorant commentators.
Nevertheless, committing sati was always the independent decision of the woman herself and the woman in question was always discouraged from carrying it out.

The man who sold the soul of India

Thanks to the hell bent efforts of people like Ram Mohan Roy, hindutva is still viewed (by few blind folded spectators) as an evil culture which believes in burning it's widows down. Ram Mohan worked in east india company as an employee for writing service and was totally under the grip of the people in power. No wonder why when India was looted and drowned in poverty and misery, Ram Mohan managed to earn so much money in two centuries that he bacame the very money lender in Calcutta to the unemployed britishers. Not only he opposed his roots from the core of his potential but also tried different means of defaming it, Ram Mohan made Tantrik Vidyaghish write false hindu dharmashastra - Maha Nirvana Tantra , sponsored by William Carey (a christian missionary). This was used to provide proof and references in the court against hindu culture, by Ram Mohan, for which he was paid highly.
Everyone knows about Macaulay's minute but less are aware that twelve years before Macaulay's minute , Roy wrote to Lord Amherst (the then governor general of India) on Dec 11, 1823 attacking the traditional Sanskrit education system prevalent at that time in India. Roy even alligned with birtishers in opposing Swami Vivekanand and his ways. He was often given titles like - Opium Raja, British Stooge, EIC drug runner and the man who sold the soul of india. He used Sati as his grand weapon to demolish the culture and for giving it an evil outlook. He spent all his life proving that hinduism is cruel and should be shunned at any cost.

Talk logic!

Suprisingly when William Bentinck was debating on Sati in India which was so thin on the grounds , that very time Europe witnessed the burning of 2500 women alive in the name of witch hunting, the least customary sin.

The ones who still fall for this lie of Sati being nothing but an evil hindu norm forget that had it been so frequent a practice, Hindus would have been extict in a few hundred years because 90% of the times women outlives her husband. Women tend to live 5-10 years more than men. So if every women ended her life following the death of the husband, it would be a demographic suicide and hence no one would be left to procreate. No doubt sati was not something to be followed but the attempts to link it with one particular religion were downright profane.

Aanchal Bharadwaaj

Out Loud!

My religious, political and cultural opinions and facts

Hello! Here on Out Loud I try to counter misconceptions, myths and allegations with facts and pointers head on. These are my personal believes which you may disagree with. The aim is expression and awakening. Hindutva is the agenda.
By Anchal Shukla

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