Didda

Book excerpt: A girl abandoned by her parents. A disabled princess who fights all odds to become the most feared warrior queen. A woman almost forced into sati by her trusted prime minister. A mother whose son brands her as a witch. This is the story of Rani Didda, the forgotten Hindu queen of undivided Kashmir. History is often unkind and cruel to women, especially women who wield power. Trampled by wars and religious crusades, lies hidden the story of a glorious woman who was considered a harbinger of bad times when she was born but went on to become a legendary warriorthe saviour of Srinagaram, the capital city of Kashmir. Didda: The Warrior Queen of Kashmir is the untold story of a womans rise to power during the tenth century. The legend of Didda is entwined with a life of solitary struggles against prejudice and patriarchy. She eventually went on to rule the unified Kashmir encompassing the Lohar Kingdom and Kashmir for a period of forty-four years, taking it to glorious heights and making it the most powerful kingdom in mediaeval Asia. The foundation laid by Didda helped Kashmir defeat the dreaded warlord Mahmud of Ghaznavi twice.