Page 9 - The Majestic Balochistan

BANADI BALOCH

“ZAHMA CHU CHESTH KA BANADIA JANGAY PEDA NAAM DAR BUBU, BRATHANI TO
HUM KUPAG BUBU”

The Baloch women have a
considerable role in Balochi
literature, especially when it
comes to commitment, protec-
ting the honour of their nation
and their loyalty. The Battle of
Chausa held in 1539 between
the Mughal emperor Humayun
and Sher Shah Suri shows a
clear picture of the commitment
and bravery of Baloch women.
Banadi Baloch has a heroic role
in history, who rose her sword
in the battlefield when the men
stepped back.
The participation of Mir
Chakkar Khan Rind, the famous
baloch warrior, with his 18 sons
and an army of 40 thousand in
the battle was a gesture of
gratitude and loyalty towards
Humayun, paying back for
when the emperor provided
asylum to Mir Chakar in Sahi-
wal after the detrimental thirty
years war of the Baloch tribes.
However, considering the force
of version Sui’s army, the
Baloch army stopped back and
left the battlefield. Stepping
back from a battlefield is consi-
dered a dishonor in the Baloch
culture, hence this is when
Banadi Baloch (sister of Mir
Chakkar Khan Rind) stepped
in. She broke her bangles as a
symbol of striving for the
eternal abode and raised her
sword as she couldn’t bear the
humiliation of Baloch men
stepping back. It was not less
than an illusion for Sher Shah
to see Banadi in front him, with
a blood dripping sword and having killed so many of his men, when she proceeded towards his fort. At
that moment, he warned her to move back as women were not fit for the role of a warrior. However,
Banadi replied boldily. “You might think that women are the ones who sit at homes, are busy in adorn-
ment and in engaging their husbands, but it is not so! The entrance of her into the war fueled the Baloch
army, which stepped back in the battlefield raged with fury and passion to defeat the enemy. The astoun-
ding audacity of Banadi will always serve as a reminder of what wonders women can do, whenever they
are thought of as a weaker gender.