Are Women Being Indoctrinated into Committing Jauhar?

Some women belonging to a particular sect in Rajasthan have threatened to commit Jauhar, if the film Padmavat is released. As frightening as the said film’s struggle to see the light of the day has been, one does feel worried about the trend this might set for forthcoming films.

It seems the easiest thing in India to do these days is to get offended. We have witnessed outrages over irrelevant issues. Or so it seems to the person who merely watches the chaos unfold from the comfort of her house.

Why else, would men and women be willing to put their lives on hold and take to the streets? Certainly, it must be an important issue for them, if the women are threatening to immolate themselves to protect the honour of a fabled queen.

This is my exact question.

What can a work of fiction probably showcase, to beseech such an extreme reaction?

The culture, the heritage and the proud ideology has survived for a thousand years. And yet why do people feel threatened by a mere film in two-and-half hours can tarnish it?

It is indeed sad that women, who are nature’s most giving and loving creation, are willing to kill themselves, while those who fuel their hatred have already put down their swords, and quietly said that they are willing to watch the film.

Have these women been indoctrinated into committing Jauhar? Or is it out of their own free will that they want to set themselves ablaze? The former, if I dare say so, seems to be more probable. Pride and heritage are always used as weapons by the mongers of chaos to lure in seemingly docile people of our country. And eventually, the responsibility of upholding honour and dignity falls on women's shoulders.

It is not a surprise then, that while men merely scream at the top of their lungs, twirling their moustaches and displaying their swords and “valour”, it is the women who will be sacrificing their lives by committing jauhar.

The glorification of the act of taking one’s life to protect honour is debatable. The temerity to display the navel of a fabled queen, in times of ultra-sensitivity is debatable as well. But men watching in glee as women threaten to burn themselves to ashes, is either taking a threat too far, or a mere propaganda.

Either way, it is disheartening to see women willing to jump into the fires, to oppose a mere work of fiction, which has already been cut open, slaughtered, and then covered up with VFX, like Deepika Padukone's midriff.

PC: Times Now

Also Read : Padmavati-Padmavat : What is the Big Difference?

Yamini Pustake Bhalerao is a writer with the SheThePeople team, in the Opinions section. The views expressed are the author’s own