The Pahalgam terror attacks gave sleepless nights not only to the victims of the horrific attack but also to every Indian, for whom it was very difficult to accept what happened to the innocent tourists visiting the beautiful Jammu and Kashmir. Government of India launched the Operation Sindoor to avenge the attack and to strike the terror infrastructure in Pakistan and in PoK. Now if we may try to analyse the name of the operation as “Sindoor” and relate the same with the traditional and historical aspect connected with it. “Sindoor” has been associated with India’s civilizational heritage and it acts as an inseparable element of our societal value system.  As per Indian traditions Sindoor has been applied by both men and women at the centre of the forehead, which is known as the Third Eye Chakra, the chakra which regulates the power of concentration and emotions. But Sindoor certainly has a special place in Indian traditions as married women are concerned. From historical accounts and from the oral history it is evident that married women in India have been applying Sindoor on the forehead and at the parting of hair from ancient times.  Sometimes it is also said that application of Sindoor by women is an imposition by the patriarchal society as widowed women do not apply Sindoor or they are not allowed to do that.  However, it may be said that matters related to traditions and history should be analysed based on traditional and historical facts only.

Sindoor and its red colour is regarded as symbols of strength and womanhood. It is true that the Indian society has largely been a patriarchal one but here women on many occasions got superior positions. And, as far as application of Sindoor is concerned, it may be said that it is not imposed by the male dominated society, rather the women has adopted it to celebrate feminism in Indian traditional way. For example imagine the image of Mother Kali who is wearing a garland of sever heads is having her feet on the chest of Lord Shiva, her consort or husband. This image certainly breaks the shackles of the traditional patriarchal society but importantly, the mother here also is seen having Sindoor at the parting of her hair. Here, Sindoor signifies strength as the garland of sever heads signifies the same. Then, from very old times married women in Bengal celebrate Sindoor Khela on the last day of Durga Puja, where they colour the faces of each other with the red colour of Sindoor and bid farewell to Goddess Durga. This ritual is also not imposed on the women and it is adopted by them as their very own and core ritual to celebrate their womanhood.  

 The horrible incident in Pahalgam cannot be seen as any other terror strike, here the tourists were identified and separated from each other on the basis of their religion. Hindu men were killed in front of their children and wives. The family was spared by the terrorists so that the woman may remain as the witness of this incident. The entire Indian nation and the world cannot forget the picture of the wife of a newly married couple sitting helplessly near her husband’s dead body at Pahalgam. No nation having self-respect can swallow this insult and government of India launched Operation Sindoor to punish the perpetrators. Here, Sindoor neither denotes a symbol of a patriarchal society nor a religious symbol but it is an answer from the nation to the perpetrators for insulting womanhood and also display of strength. The aspect of display of strength and womanhood became more evident in this context, as after India’s strikes  in the terror installations in Pakistan and PoK on May 7, along with the Foreign Secretary two senior woman officers of the Indian armed forces briefed the press about the success of the operation.  Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Colonel Sofiya Qureshi - took the lead, sharing details of the military's precision strikes on terror targets in Pakistan in response to the April 22 Pahalagam terror attack in which 26 people died.

Importantly, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh is a distinguished helicopter pilot in the Indian Air Force (IAF). She joined the National Cadet Corps (NCC) and later completed her engineering studies. Wing Commander Singh received a permanent commission in the flying branch on December 18, 2019. She has operated helicopters such as the 'Chetak' and 'Cheetah' in some of India's most challenging terrains, including high-altitude areas like Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast. Colonel Sophia Qureshi is a decorated officer of the Indian Army's Corps of Signals. She is the first woman officer to lead an Indian Army contingent in a multinational military exercise in Pune - one of the largest foreign military exercises ever conducted on Indian soil. The presence of these two women officers at the briefing sent a fitting message to the terror masterminds and also displayed the mood of the entire nation.

We must remember that Indian women have a history active participation in warfare.  We may name Jijabai, mother of Shivaji Maharaj, who became the queen regent due to her ability as a warrior and an administrator, the brave queen Bhabashakari of Bengal who successfully resisted the Pathans and saved her state, Kittur Chennamma, the queen of Kittur, who led an armed force against the British East India Company in 1824, Rani Velu Nachiyar, queen who fought against the British East India Company, one of the earliest Indian queens to wage war against British colonial power. Most prominently, we all know about the leading figure of the first war of independence in 1857, Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi and how bravely she gave her life fighting the British East India Company. We cannot forget women revolutionary freedom fighters like Pritilata Waddedar, Kalpana Datta, Bina Das who did not care for their lives before taking arms against the colonial British for the liberation of their motherland.

The Indian women living in southeast Asia during the WW II, joined the Indian National Army following the call by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose to fight for Indian independence. This was significant because most of the women who joined, never been to India before but they became ready to fight the colonial British to free their motherland which they had never seen. It is on record that the women who were willing to join the INA jointly wrote a letter to Netaji to take them as warriors and they signed the letter with their blood. Netaji simply rejected the objection of the Japanese, who were allies of the Azad Hind Govt, stating that India has a history of woman warriors and this fight is for India’s liberation, so Indian women will fight along with the men. And, then the all-women regiment in the name of the queen of Jhansi, Lakshmibai was formed, the first of its kind in the history of the world. Netaji Bose called them as ‘Ranis’ and the Azad Hind Govt arranged the funds for maintenance of the regiment and Japanese assistance was not taken.

The cowardly terror attack at Pahalgam had challenged self-esteem of womanhood and of the Indian nation. Through Operation Sindoor, our armed forces have avenged the attack by destroying the terror camps acting as the universities of global terrorism and the aspect of Sindoor here emerged as the symbol of strength and pride of womanhood.

 

Writer: Boddhisatya Tarafdar is a Banker, History Researcher & a Blogger. He usually writes on Indian history & on International Relations

(Note: The OPINION section of The Views Express presents the articles or columns by individuals, where the writer exclusively writes on the matters of History, International Relations, Politics, Economy, Literature etc. on the basis of his or her opinion, knowledge, research & observations on the subject matter)