HistoriCity| Lohri: A mother and son ballad beyond machismo and peasant rebellions

Lohri is popular in Sindh, Rajasthan, Punjab-Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi and has now spread to other areas as well. Since the 16th century, singing ballads of folk hero Rai Abdullah Khan Bhatti or Dulla Bhatti has become a sine qua non for Lohri. Set in today’s west Punjab, in the 16th-century tale, Dulla is immortalised as a hero who fought against emperor Akbar’s forces and humiliated them to the extent that Akbar shifted his base to Lahore.

In this apocryphal story, Dulla is born to Ladhi, a Bhatti woman four months after his father and grandfather were executed by the Mughal state for defying a new tax regime. Later in the story, Ladhi feeds both Dulla and Akbar’s son Shaikhu or Salim, and both of them grow up together as friends. A rebellious child, Dulla is portrayed as a saviour and protector of Brahmin girls Sundri and Mundri as well as of cows. He arranges for the clandestine marriage of the two girls to protect them from being taken away by the local Mughal officer.

Dulla even takes on Bhatti landlords who were colluding with the Mughals in the Ravi-Chenab doab. “All Bhatti zamindars based in the Rachna Doab were not united in their opposition to the Mughal state. There always existed a scope for internecine warfare among rival zamindars, owing to conflicting local interests and an innate desire for local dominance. Dulla was accused by the neighbouring Bhattis of murdering one of their elders and of using his severed head like a ball in the playfield. What would be the attitude of that aggrieved party when Dulla’s family was being taken to Lahore as hostage? The younger elements wanted to stay away, as Dulla had been their enemy. But the old patriarch, Lal Khan Bhatti, argued that they could avenge themselves against Dulla on some other occasion, that the honour of the entire Bhatti clan was at stake and that they were bound to rescue the Bhatti women from the clutches of the Mughals”, wrote Surinder Singh Popular Literature and Pre-modern Societies in South Asia. Most modern accounts have simplistically labelled him as the Robin Hood of Punjab because he distributed among the poor classes his loot from the rich landlords and Mughal officers.

It's a tale that has been interpreted and amplified as one about Punjabi machismo, the rebellion of a peasant hero who refused to kowtow to the great Mughal, a Rajput braveheart who fought for the honour of women and the protection of cows. It’s an Indian David versus Goliath struggle that Dulla lost only after the great Mughal emperor Akbar and his officers resorted to every trick in the book to exterminate him and the threat he posed to Mughal consolidation of the rich fertile plains of the five rivers of Punjab.

Mai Ladhi and other women in the Dulla Ballad

However, overlooked in this depiction are the women in the folklore of Dulla, be it his mother, Mai Ladhi, a force who shaped not only his life, but also took on leadership of the Bhattis when Dulla was away in hiding, or his wife, and other women from so-called lower classes. They are shown as strong and independent, who could speak as an equal to both the emperor and his agent, and not only guide Dulla but also the clan when required. This is in contrast to the stereotype of medieval Indian society which is male-ruled and where women are confined to the kitchen and the purdah, treated in binaries, either as virtual slaves or as goddesses.

But the Dulla ballads of Lohri in contrast show the women of Punjab as strong, bold and intelligent who were aware of the existing political reality as well as military tactics. Singh wrote: “The above characteristics were personified more in Ladhi than in any other woman figuring in the ballad. She was a towering personality, possessing extraordinary qualities. Physically strong, she was reputed to have been built like a male. At a relatively young age, she faced a series of difficulties that appeared to be insurmountable. She experienced the loss of her husband and father-in-law when she was carrying Dulla in her womb. Not only did she bear the tragedy with great fortitude, but she also assumed the headship of the zamindari household…”.

In the ballad, it is Nandi, a Mirasi woman, who chides Dulla to avenge himself against Akbar, who had killed his father and grandfather. “In fact, her fearless remarks transformed Dulla from a mischievous village lad to an anti-state rebel”, Singh argued.

Dulla’s transformation into a folk hero underscores the power of an inclusive story which includes different social groups (Bhatti Rajputs, blacksmiths, carpenters, and Mirasis), both genders and transcends religious divides. The story of Dulla represents the spirit of bonhomie among the different communities of Punjab.

HistoriCity is a column by author Valay Singh that narrates the story of a city in the news by going back to its documented history, mythology, and archaeological digs. The views expressed are personal.