Soul Sisters

History repeats itself, because some struggles, like the one for equality, are as old as the world. As another International Women’s Day rolls in, we travel back in time to salute women of steel and substance—and find that their spirit endures today in new avatars. Like the heroines of history, our contemporary achievers too braved all odds to stand their ground, disrupt patriarchal systems and lead from the front. Kiran Bedi has fought with the courage of Jhansi ki Rani; Irom Sharmila mirrors the gumption of Sarojini Naidu; and Radhika Apte calls to mind the luminosity of Smita Patil. Meet the modern-day inheritors of an undying flame

- Neeti Jaychander

RANI LAKSHMI BAI

A leading figure of the revolt of 1857

KIRAN BEDI

First woman IPS officer, currently Lt Governor of Puducherry

REBELS WITH A CAUSE

No rendition of India’s struggle for independence is ever complete without mention of the queen of Jhansi. Fiesty and undaunted, she took on the force of the British administration during the rebellion of 1857. Her sojourn in the battlefield, where she wore a cavalryman’s uniform, finds an echo in Kiran Bedi’s story. The only woman aspirant in her batch, Bedi became India’s first woman IPS officer and went on to introduce many police and prison reforms, and won the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry in 1980. Just like the warrior queen, Bedi too commandeered a battalion of men—she created history by becoming the first woman to lead the all-male contingent of the Delhi Police at the Republic Day parade in 1975. Lakshmi Bai was trained in shooting, horse-riding and fencing, Bedi was an NCC cadet and a prolific tennis player—skills uncommon to women of their times. Challenging the power structure and showing courage under pressure, both the queen of Jhansi and Bedi have been people’s leaders, winning the confidence of the masses by standing up for what is right.

SAROJINI NAIDU

Freedom fighter, poet and politician

IROM SHARMILA

Human rights activist, poet and political greenhorn

SYMBOLS OF RESISTANCE