My living Padmavati

Gender inequality is her calling, destined by being born a girl child in India; where, according to government figures, in 2011, three million girls were missing, leading to a skewered sex ratio of 928 females against 1,000 males. Yet, the various "senas" (militias) and politicos, purporting to uphold the honour of the Rajput community in north and central India, are not threatening to behead, kill or rise in protest against those responsible for such shameful statistics. The righteous saviours of women's honour are not ashamed of the way society continues to treat its women. They feel no humiliation when an unborn child is killed because it is an unwanted daughter, or when she has to expose herself because she has no toilet to access, or even when she is denied school and remains subjugated to her husband and in-laws through the course of her life.

Instead, they are breathing fire and brimstone, and are in the throes of epileptic spasms over the yet-to-be-released Bollywood film on the 13th-century queen of Chittor, in the Mewar region of Rajasthan, who may or may not even have existed but lives larger than life in legend. The film allegedly distorts history by showing her dancing publicly and filming her in close proximity with a Muslim conqueror. This is unacceptable to the protesting angry Indian valorous men, as Padmavati has, over centuries, been sold by them as an ideal of Indian womanhood.

According to legend, the Muslim ruler of Delhi, Alauddin Khilji, smitten by the beauty of Queen Padmavati or Padmini, waged war on Chittor and demanded her in return for the captured king. The queen committed "jauhar" (throwing herself in the fire to prevent falling into the hands of a lustful enemy), while her brave soldiers went hidden in palanquins and took on Khilji's army, securing the release of her husband.

Interestingly, there is no mention of Padmini in history. Amir Khusrau, who accompanied Khilji during the 1303 CE Chittor siege, does not mention Rani Padmini in his "Khaza'in ul-Futuh" recordings. This is held as one of the earliest descriptions of the Chittor battle. Historian SC Chandra states that none of Khusrau's contemporaries make any reference to Padmini. She is, in fact, mentioned almost 300 years later (early 16th century) in a poem by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi of Jayas in Uttar Pradesh, about 100 km from Lucknow.

The point that needs to be highlighted and debated in today's India is not if Padmini is a myth or a historical figure, but the plight of India's socially and economically disadvantaged women. Women in power and authority in politics, government agencies or the corporate world remain mere symbols of what our girls can achieve if they are allowed the means to shatter glass ceilings. Escalating crimes against women, denial of equal opportunity to be born, live, study, make her own choices, become her own person and, above all, not be considered a lesser human being should be the battle for all – instead of waging war against the director and actors of the film 'Padmavati' to save the honour of a fabled queen.

The shame of such men should be some statistics (2011 census) from Rajasthan, the land of Rani Padmavati:

4 Rajasthan has the lowest female literacy rate in India. It stands at 52.66 per cent against 80.51 per cent for males

4 The child sex ratio is 888 females per 1,000 males, between 0-6 years of age

4 The sex ratio stands at 943 females per 1,000 males

415.88 per cent of girls between 15 and 17 years are married off

4 Child nutrition coverage is at a meagre 33.4 per cent

4 The prevalence of open defecation in rural areas is 62.7 per cent

This, when Rajasthan already has a woman Chief Minister!IANS

(The author is a veteran journalist. The article

is in special arrangement

with South Asia Monitor. The views expressed are personal.)