Brave yet unheard Rani Naiki Devi

"History is built on facts, but facts that are interpreted through the lens of social and political power, as well as personal experience." Richard Friedlander

Its the last week of the “ International Women’s month”, so today’s newsletter is dedicated to a brave yet unheard queen from India whose story when I read for the first time gave me goosebumps. Thanks to folklore , her story is alive. So it’s story time with our history. Came across her story in the “Bravehearts of BHARAT- Vignettes from Indian History” by Dr Vikram Sampath, FRHistS Thank you for this amazing read!?

Of the 15 warriors, both men & women, I had heard the names of these brave women warriors below in a few lines in History books, though I learned a lot more reading the book.

Rani Rudramma Devi of Warangal

Rani Abbakka Chowta of UllalDevi?

Ahalya Bai Holkar of Indore

Chand Bibi of Ahmednagar

Begum Hazrat Mahal of Awadh

Velu Nachiyar of Sivaganga

However it is the story of Rani Naiki Devi of Gujarat that surprised me. I had not heard of this queen who had the courage to vanquish Mohammed Ghori in war so much so that he did not look at Gujarat after he ran away from the battlefield. Incidentally he founded the Islamic rule in India in 1175 CE.

Vanraj from the Chapotkata dynasty established Anhilwara Patan which was the capital of the Chaulukya dynasty. The famous Rani ki Vav is located here. This is a subterranean water storage system built by queen Udaymati for her husband 11th-century Chaulukya king Bhima I. Built like an inverted temple this monument highlights the sanctity of water. It has 7 levels of stairs , more than 500 sculptures and more than 1000 minor panelled walls. This architectural marvel has been declared a Monument of National Importance and protected by the ASI. It was added to the list ofUNESCO world heritage sites in India on 22 June 2014. The designis onour new 100 rupee note too. It was named India's "Cleanest Iconic Place" at the 2016 Indian Sanitation Conference. Rani Udayamati is one of the unforgettable queens of the Chaulukya dynasty.

During Rani's Udayamati's husband Bhimadev's reign that parallely the Sabuktigin formed his own dynasty & together with his son Mahmud was dreaming of an Islamic world. Mahmud had pledged to wage a holy war (jihad) against India. This resulted in repeated attacks on India's Mathura & the Sommath temple.Once Ghazni left, Bhimadeva returned to Anahilapatan & then with his son heralded prosperity. According to the Jain chronicler, Merutunga , Ajayapala was a descendent from this dynasty who married Naiki Devi.Based on Chaulukyan inscriptions, Naiki Devi was the daughter of a Chandela King Permadi Varjadeva,? and was trained in sword fighting, cavalry, military strategy, diplomacy and subjects of statecraft right from a very young age. She was married to the Chaulukya Solanki king Ajayapalya. They had two sons and it was a few years into her marriage that she was widowed. The king was murdered by one of his soldiers. As the king had a legal Heir, but he was very young, she became the Rajmata.

While Naiki Devi was coping with her life there was trouble in the Ghaznavid Empire of Mahmud with a rebellionleading to the first rebel Ala ud -din who rose to prominence.he put his brother ,Muhammad bin saam in charge of Indian conquests & that's who history calls Muhammad Ghori, the founder of Islamic rule in India.

With Ghori capturing Multan and Uch he moved towards South Rajputana? and Gujarat. Since it was a widow and her young son in Ajayapalya, he assumed it will be an easy target. After a battle normally the women were taken captive and treasury of the kingdom was looted.? he however was not aware Naiki Devi was adept at military strategy and divided her army into smaller groups, some of them even managing to enter Ghori’s army as his soldiers. Though she reached out to rulers in the neighbourhood, none of them had her foresight. A few Chalukyan kings accepted. She therefore had to plan her strategy very wisely for this battle? clearly , not among equals.The terrain was familiar to her and her troops and? the Battle of Kasahrada was fought in 1178 CE had one of the most unexpected outcomes. ?

The battle was proof of what a mother with her little one on her lap, can bring out when she has her country to defend. With her soldiers from within Mohammed Ghori’s army attacking him unexpectedly, he was was caught off guard. The queen soon was fighting him with her sword so sharply that he was completely wounded & wanted to flee to Malwa without stop. It’s only when he reached Malwa he realised the intensity of the wounds . The battle was fought at a ghat called Gadaraghatta . We know? fortune favours? the brave? & this was visible when unseasonal rains made it more difficult for Ghori’s? army.

It is said the defeat shattered his pride especially because it was against a woman he had vastly underestimated. It is said that he was hit so hard that he never again looked at Gujarat but looked at Punjab post that.Maybe our history would have different had he won that battle!? This epic victory with Naiki Devi’s name however is prominent only in local chronicles. Strangely though most chroniclers mention an infant, a boy etc., some have recorded it as “even a woman could defeat the Hammira during the reign of Bala Mularaja." Interestingly even Muslim Chroniclers too have written about the soldiers returning to Ghazni after a lot of difficulty.This as a defeat that the Turks remembered for a long time.Strange that everyone mentions a little boy could craft a defeat without mentioning the name of this valiant queen.

It is in the 14th century Jain chronicler Merutunga gives details of how Naiki Devi fought the battle & won. Sadly very little little is written on Naiki Devi and hopefully we spread the word on this Brave Forgotten Indian Queen.

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In fact, Vikram Sampath writes,”The thrust here is not on the bravery of the queen, but on the alleged importance of the invading army that could not even stand steadfast in front of “even a woman. Hence it is no surprise that barring this brief mention of her role in the momentous battle , the historiography of India blanks out any future mention of Naiki Devi.”

It's our turn now to find these stories & make ourselves proud of the legacy we have inherited . Especially stories that have got lost in the pages of history and the multiple narratives. Time for us to spread the pride and both HER/HIS story.

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The 143rd episode on the Human Library Audio podcast "U n' I with Rashmi Shetty" is with Distinguished Scientist Smt. T.K. Anuradha who was Director , SATCOM program , ISRO HQ. An appropriate guest for the special episode in this Woman's Month Special! Highly decorated she carries her success so lightly attributing each award & reward to the amazing team members & mentors. She has lead team many a times in different projects & has publications to her credit both nationally & internationally. Her childlike enthiusiam and passion are the reasons for her success. Her journey in discovering her joy is really interesting. She has lead hte teams as Project Director for the successful realisation and launch of GSAT-12 (2011), GSAT -10 (2012)mas the First Woman Project Director from the ISRO Satellite centre.

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