Anupam- The Dreamer

A historical perspective of Johar

If you haven’t been totally cut-off from the history of India, then you must have heard about the practice of “Johar” or “जौहर प्रथा” practiced in the medieval times by women of some communities, particularly in the Mewar region (now a part of Rajasthan). It was a practice of self-immolation by the wives of the Rajput warriors when the latter achieved martyrdom in the battlefield. Today, such practise does not exist and rightly so. Some can even argue that such practice couldn’t be justified ever. Here I will offer you a different perspective. This is not a justification or non-justification of Johar pratha, rather analysis of morality in the context of societal circumstances and facts at that point of time.

Morality of a society is not cast in stone. It changes with changes in circumstances and with time. For example, at some point of time slavery was justified by the landlords because the concept of human rights had not evolved till that time. But, now it is outlawed after the concept of human rights came into prominence. Similarly, let’s analyse the practice of Johar pratha in the context of circumstances of 15^th and 16^th century India.

It is a matter of fact that the foreign rulers (most of them) plundered and looted India of its wealth. Some like Nadir Shah came only for their wealth and some to spread their religion. The means used were force, coercion, wars and what not! Some invaders plundered the treasuries, mowed down standing crops, destroyed cities and monuments, and took away the spoils of war. On the other hand, the Rajput rulers were sons of the soil, who fought for the honour of their land from the foreign invaders. They did not shy away from sacrificing their lives for the honour of their motherland. The best examples among them were the likes of Rawal Ratan Singh, Maharana Pratap, etc.

The invaders were also infamous for torturing, capturing, maiming, raping and forcing the young girls and women into their ‘harams’ after winning the wars. So, when the war was imminent, the women folk came up with the practice of Johar, wherein instead of falling into the hands of the enemy, they chose their honour over their life by jumping into a burning pyre. That way, they were saved from the injustice that was perpetrated to them by the invaders after the war. One could argue that there were other means to save their lives, but I am afraid there was virtually none. They didn’t want the invaders to touch them or do any sort of crime even to their dead bodies, therefore they sought to perish completely by embracing fire. Rani Padmini did Johar alongwith hundreds of other women folk of their kingdom, when the defeat became imminent at the hands of Alauddin Khilji.

Johar practice, although inadvertently, had a consequential ripple effect on the men folk or the warriors. Because before going to the war, they knew that in case they lose, their women folk would be protected from the evil eye of the invaders, so they fought without any fear. They wrapped “kesariya” around their heads and poured out of the fort gates to crackdown on the enemy army like fearless warriors. And when the warriors fought without any iota of fear, they were more effective in their crackdown. The legends of Gora Singh and his nephew Badal Singh are still sung with great glory in the Mewar region. They were the warriors whose bodies fought even with a severed head. Pandit Narendra Mishra, the royal poet of Mewar has immortalized their bravery in the following lines:

“जब उनके शीश समर भूमि में उतरते थे, वे ऐसे वीर थे जिनके कबंध लड़ते थे“

(when their heads went out into the battlefield, such were the warriors that even their headless torsos fought with the enemies)

You have got to visit the legendary sites to know the actual import of such legendary tales of bravery, courage and honour.

I am leaving you with a song on one of the tales…