Lady Of Courage

Someone asked me long back who is your Ideal? Your inspiration... I always pondered and gave fitting answers. Since then this question like my shadow keeps following me with age and time. It refuses to leave me. My answer always changed with time.... when I was young, it was to be like my mom or my favorite teacher. Then it was to be like mother Theresa or Abraham Lincoln or Mahatma Gandhi or Margaret Thatcher or Indira Gandhi or so on and so forth!!..... To be like someone I’ve never met or seen or spoke to. Someone I read about!

Sometimes in life we never think about little things, some things are always there but we never question its existence. It sticks on. Stays with us-forever.

One fine day I sat and thought deeply- “who really inspired me??!!”I was perplexed and shocked with the answer I discovered. At times when you seldom tend to meet yourself and have conversation with your inner self, you come with unexpected answers.Yes! The people who inspired me were ordinary people with extraordinary grit and determination.

That particular old woman I see begging in scorching sun and damn cold winters with torn cloths with gangrene on her left feet who still lives on with minimum food and no shelter. Her will to live puts me to shame.

Likewise, recently this particular young girl who showed such guts and courage deserves everyone’s applause.Meet Rukhsana. The Lady of Courage.Rukhsana, who gave up her studies two years ago after failing class tenth, was in her house in Shadhara village in Thana Mandi area of the district, about 190 km north-east of Jammu, when three militants barged in late Sunday night. The militants demanded Rukhsana be handed over to them, which her father Noor Hussain, mother Rashida and brother Ejaz tried to resist. At this, the militants started hitting the family members with rifle butts. This angered Rukhsana and she picked up an axe and hit one of the militants, killing him. He was later identified as Abu Osama of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).A violent scuffle ensued, in which another militant was injured and he and the third soon fled.Police officials have commended Rukhsana’s courage, while state Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda has sent a special message for Rukhsana and said she would soon be rewarded.

I was so overwhelmed to read this. This show Indian woman would not take any nonsense.Her docile demure should not be confused for submissive attitude. I believe Indian woman have such courage, be it Janshi ki Rani, Lakshmi bai,Chennama, Razia Sultan,Kasturbha bai, Sharadha Devi and all those countless woman who keep the family cycle going in spite of their drunken husbands or a woman we meet everyday who saves every penny or a woman who keep her family together even without their man’s love. It’s as close as ‘my mother’ and ‘your mother’ who is ready to feed us as long as she can (even though we are old enough to be thrown out of the house to make a living of our own)

Let’s applaud and encourage all such women who deserve much more than they have got so far.Our everyday woman who looks simple and plain but has mammoth strength and determination and courage when situation demands.

Let’s salute Women of our Country.