-Akshayaram Viswanathan
September 30, 1983, Swami Vivekananda in an interview to Boston Evening Transcript quoted that "the day India started neglecting their women, the downfall of the nation started". It fills my heart with a mixed feeling of extreme emotions in writing this topic, Proud to belong to a nation and religion which thought the world gender equality and power of women, Sad seeing history taking it course in an unpleasant manner and witnessing the plight of 48.14% of my nation biggest power.
Bharat is a holy homeland for the religion which has three million forms of gods in which more than half of them are portrayed as matha(Mother) or Sakthi(Power). Portraying women as a symbol of power or mother found in numerous instances in the sacred land of ours. "Bharat Matha Ki Jai" is a holy mantra which gives extreme courage and hopes in fighting evil to our jawans and a sense of pride to our fellow citizens.
Nachiyar's courage in the 18th century travelled all the way to north India and made Mangal Pandey and Jhansi rani to fight British in the revolt of 1857. If it is not for the courage and determination of this great lady of Tamil Nadu, there would have been no story of Marudu brothers, Verra Pandiyan, Kapalotiya Chidambaram Pillai in Tamil Nadu.
Velu Nachiyar is a stunning example of a woman who explained the ideal womanhood of India is motherhood— marvellous, unselfish, all suffering, ever-forgiving mother. It is sad that this story of the great lady which should be the inspirational story of every woman is largely forgotten in our holy land.
India is considered sacred only because of her holiness, it is the duty of every citizen of this holy land to respect and maintain the holiness, woman in this generation needs to understand her glorious past and have pride in her ancestors of this land. It is from woman holiness is born and woman needs to know the power of her holiness.
Akshayaram Viswanathan
September 30, 1983, Swami Vivekananda in an interview to Boston Evening Transcript quoted that "the day India started neglecting their women, the downfall of the nation started". It fills my heart with a mixed feeling of extreme emotions in writing this topic, Proud to belong to a nation and religion which thought the world gender equality and power of women, Sad seeing history taking it course in an unpleasant manner and witnessing the plight of 48.14% of my nation biggest power.
Bharat is a holy homeland for the religion which has three million forms of gods in which more than half of them are portrayed as matha(Mother) or Sakthi(Power). Portraying women as a symbol of power or mother found in numerous instances in the sacred land of ours. "Bharat Matha Ki Jai" is a holy mantra which gives extreme courage and hopes in fighting evil to our jawans and a sense of pride to our fellow citizens.
Let's look at one instance which each one of us needs to know to understand the power of a woman in this sacred land of ours.
The 20th century marked the golden era for the freedom movement not just in Bharat, but around the globe. India is the largest country that was set independent in the previous century with the birth of a new country named Pakistan. This may seem irrelevant in this context, but it is not. The very thought of freedom was from a Sakthi(Women).
Velu Nachiyar was the first person to fight the British in a battle and win them, Nachiyar a queen of Ramanathapuram who lost her husband, father, and her crown in a battle against British spent almost eight years in exile forming an alliance and sketching her attack against the British at the right time. Nachiyar's army was the woman's army, the army of Nachiyar's also had a separate suicide squad for carrying out a suicidal attack against the British.
Nachiyar's own daughter, Udaiyaal who lead the army from the front lost her life to British in Nachiyar's second big encounter against British, the second encounter cost heavily for Nachiyar's leaving her daughter and trustworthy fighters to god's hands.
With help of Gopala Nayakar and HyderAli Nachiyar did her third successful third encounter against British in 1780 which resulted in Nachiyar being a first ever person to fight British back in the colonial era and have her power re-installed to herself.
Nachiyar proved and defined woman to the British and western world who considered and called the woman as "weaker sex".
The 20th century marked the golden era for the freedom movement not just in Bharat, but around the globe. India is the largest country that was set independent in the previous century with the birth of a new country named Pakistan. This may seem irrelevant in this context, but it is not. The very thought of freedom was from a Sakthi(Women).
Velu Nachiyar was the first person to fight the British in a battle and win them, Nachiyar a queen of Ramanathapuram who lost her husband, father, and her crown in a battle against British spent almost eight years in exile forming an alliance and sketching her attack against the British at the right time. Nachiyar's army was the woman's army, the army of Nachiyar's also had a separate suicide squad for carrying out a suicidal attack against the British.
Nachiyar's own daughter, Udaiyaal who lead the army from the front lost her life to British in Nachiyar's second big encounter against British, the second encounter cost heavily for Nachiyar's leaving her daughter and trustworthy fighters to god's hands.
With help of Gopala Nayakar and HyderAli Nachiyar did her third successful third encounter against British in 1780 which resulted in Nachiyar being a first ever person to fight British back in the colonial era and have her power re-installed to herself.
Nachiyar proved and defined woman to the British and western world who considered and called the woman as "weaker sex".
Nachiyar's courage in the 18th century travelled all the way to north India and made Mangal Pandey and Jhansi rani to fight British in the revolt of 1857. If it is not for the courage and determination of this great lady of Tamil Nadu, there would have been no story of Marudu brothers, Verra Pandiyan, Kapalotiya Chidambaram Pillai in Tamil Nadu.
Velu Nachiyar is a stunning example of a woman who explained the ideal womanhood of India is motherhood— marvellous, unselfish, all suffering, ever-forgiving mother. It is sad that this story of the great lady which should be the inspirational story of every woman is largely forgotten in our holy land.
India is considered sacred only because of her holiness, it is the duty of every citizen of this holy land to respect and maintain the holiness, woman in this generation needs to understand her glorious past and have pride in her ancestors of this land. It is from woman holiness is born and woman needs to know the power of her holiness.
Akshayaram Viswanathan
