Jauhar
Topic: Regional Resistance: Rajputs, Ahoms, Sikhs · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 2 "Reshaping India's Political Map"
Meaning
Jauhar was the mass self-burning of Rajput women when a fort was about to fall to an invading army. The women jumped into large fires so that they would not be captured and enslaved. It is remembered as a heroic, final act of resistance to protect their honour. Today it is also read critically, as a sign of how badly women were treated by invading armies.
Example
At Chittorgarh, jauhar took place in 1303 during Alauddin Khilji's siege and again in 1568, when the fort fell to Akbar. In 1568 hundreds of women, led by their queens, committed jauhar.
Don't confuse with
- Sati: one widow burning herself on her dead husband's pyre. Jauhar was many women acting together during war.
- Saka: the Rajput men's last charge out of the fort to fight to the death, which often followed jauhar.
Related concepts
- Mewar
- Rana Kumbha
- Kumbhalgarh Fort
- Vijay Stambha
- Rana Sanga
- Battle of Khanwa
- Siege of Chittorgarh
- Hill Forts of Rajasthan
- Sawai Jai Singh II
- Jaipur City