not for their sterling journalistic values or anything. They routinely do articles that are impossible to find in regular papers. For instance, read this one about 7 badass women in history
That got me thinking, were there any badass women in Indian history? We’ve had women rulers, philosophers, doctors, spies even. Here’s my list of Indian women that I think we should teach our daughters to emulate. Chime in with the ones that you think inspire you the most. Better yet, add to my list.
Please note, I am not adding the world-famous ones here. Enough has been written about these women, I am trying to find women who haven’t received their due in terms of recognition. So here goes
Bibi Dalair Kaur: Wikipedia has a mere 2 lines on her. I found some anecdotal evidence of her heroic death but no details. Any woman capable of rallying a 100 other women to war is a hero in my books. If you have information on her, I would love to know more.
Ramabai Ranade: She advocated education for women and supported woman’s suffrage. What’s not to love? I understand she is well-known but my reason for including her on this list is every thing that’s been written about her casts her in her husband’s shadow. I believe, she deserves her place in the sun. She was as big a social reformist if not bigger than her well-known husband
Noor Inayat Khan - A spy in the second World War, she was born in Russia and died in Dachau. While imprisoned, she attempted to escape twice. She never did reveal anything about her activities during interrogation, unfortunately she had documented all the messages she had sent out and that fell int the hands of the Nazis. On her arrest, doubts were cast about her being a spy at all due to her gentle demeanor. However, she fought the guards with such fierceness that she was classified “Dangerous”
Onake Obbava: The wife of a watchtower guard she killed hundreds of enemy soldiers (as they entered Chitradurga fort through a hole in the wall) with a stick used to pound paddy and quietly moved them so the troops outside did not suspect anything. This woman, I love for sheer efficiency and style. Needless to say, her husband was surprised, not pleasantly when he came back from lunch 
Mai Bhago: A fierce Sikh, she brought deserting Sikh followers of Guru Gobind Singh back into the fold and then fought off Aurangzeb’s troops that were in pursuit of the Guru. She survived the battle and went onto become Guru Gobind Singh’s bodyguard.
I have given you 5, now it’s your turn. Please respond in the comments section about badass Indian women and I will do another post and add your contributions in there with due credit given to the source.
Homai Vyarawala, India’s first woman photojournalist. She may not be bad ass in the sense that you have mentioned in the post, but as she was a pioneer in every sense of the word and as a woman in a man’s world like photography, her work assumes even more importance. Fiesty and graceful at the same time, I had the privilege of meeting her last year. You can read more about her here http://thatandthisinmumbai.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/homai-vyarawalla/
She passed away on 15 January 2012.