All about Onake Obavva: The Karnataka government led by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced today that November 11 from this year and onwards will be celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Onake Obavva. The woman warrior fought Sultan Hyder Ali's forces single-handedly, armed just with a wooden club, which is called onake in the Kannada language, in the 18th century. Onake is a heavy wooden tool with round ends used to crush or grind spices like a mortar.
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The culture department of the Karnataka government announced this special occasion on November 9 and it is going to be a state-sponsored celebration of the warrior.
Even the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi paid his tribute to Onake Obavva today, calling her the symbol of nari shakti (women power). "I bow to the courageous Onake Obavva on the special occasion of her Jayanti. No one can ever forget the courage with which she fought hard to protect her people and culture. She inspires us as a symbol of our Nari Shakti," he said.
I bow to the courageous Onake Obavva on the special occasion of her Jayanti. No one can ever forget the courage with which she fought hard to protect her people and culture. She inspires us as a symbol of our Nari Shakti.
The warrior died fighting the troops of Hyder Ali, who was the ruler of the Mysore Kingdom and father of Tipu Sultan. The fight occurred when Ali's troops tried to invade the Chitradurga Fort, ruled by Madakari Nayaka in the 18th-century. Lying 200 kms Northwest of Bengaluru, the Chitradurga Fort is locally known as Elusuttina Kote, which means fort of seven circles in the Kannada language.
Obavva was the wife of a soldier who used to guard the fort. According to the Kannada folklore, one day when she was fetching water, she heard the sound of the invading troops trying to breach the fort wall. She went back home to report this to her husband but decided to fight against the troop on her own as her husband was eating his lunch.
Obavva took her Onake and clubbed every invading soldier to death as they tried to climb into the fort via a hole, one at a time. She would then drag each of their bodies and hide them, in order to clear the way for the next soldier. After her husband realised what had happened, he raised an alarm to alert Nayaka's troop. Obavva however, died during the ensuing tussle.
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Obavva is known for her "courage and quick thinking" and is remembered by the people of the Chitradurga region, who even named a stadium after her. Not just that, her sculpture is installed by the government near the district commissioner's office at Chitradurga. In 2018, the police from the region started a woman squad after her name which was later sent to different parts of the district to teach self-defence to women and educate people about the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
If one is to recall her and her deeds from history, the famous song sequence available online from the 1972 Kannada film Naagarahaavu can be watched. It was directed by Puttanna Kanagal.
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