Veiled Valour: The Forgotten Women of Warfare

This is the fifth in a 5-part weekly essay series – Veiled Valour: The Forgotten Women of Warfare. Mula Gabharu was born into the Ahom Dynasty of Assam, as the daughter of King Supimphaa. She was married to Phrasenmung Borgohain, the chief general of the Ahom army. Legend has it that Mula Gabharu loved Phrasenmung deeply, with a devotion that becomes central to her story and her legacy. Her strength was born from love, her love for her husband, for her motherland, and for the ideals she refused to surrender. Even in heartbreak, she found bravery.

As the first woman to sit on the throne of the Delhi Sultanate, Razia Sultan had to claw her way through deeply ingrained misogyny. She was constantly under siege, not from foreign invaders, but from within, by those who couldn’t handle the idea of a woman as a Sultan. The glorious story of a women ruler who challenged norms and misogynistic culture remains quietly buried while grand monuments and roads are proudly named after invaders and corrupt statesmen. It speaks volumes about the India we live in, run by patriarchy, which immortalizes the actions of a king but questions the attire of a queen creating a revolution.