New-Delhi based Kamla Bhasin was a true feminist, and she was not anti-men. She was against gender-based violence and disparity and all forms of internalized discrimination and prejudice. All her life, Kamla worked for girls’ education and to end violence against women. She was the cheerful soul and prolific poet who conveyed the importance of girl education and gender rights through her well-acclaimed poem, Kyunki main ladki hoon, mujhe padhna hai, (Because I am a girl, I must get an education).

Kamla did many things at the front of feminism in South Asia. Most importantly, she defined feminism in a manner no one could do. “Feminism is not anti-men,” she explained this in a keynote speech at the International Seminar Interpreting Feminism vis-à-vis Activism.

Kamla was one of those activists who dared to say ‘enough is enough,’ to violence against girls and women in a patriarchal society. She often defended Indian roots of feminism and rejected the idea that feminism was a western construct.

She was born in a village in Shaheedanwali, near Mandi Bahauddin, a year before the partition on April 24, 1946. Her family moved to India after the partition, and she received her early education and later attended college as well in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Bhasin was dubbed motorcycle-wali because of her ‘not-so-feminine’ ride. She dared to do what women in many parts of India and Pakistan find hard to date. Kamla Bhasin did everything which others thought forbade. From street activism to New Delhi’s full-time participation, she persevered, and rather than simply chanting the mantra of the movement, Kamla lived feminism.

She found Sangat after leaving her job at the United Nations in 2002.

Many factors and critical historical events in Indian history left a mark on the activist and urged her to do more for others. Those events were the 1984 Sikh riots in New Delhi after Operation Blue Star in Indira Gandhi premiership, the anti-sati movement of 1987, and the demolition of Babri masjid in 1992, which only increased hatred among communities. Several others, too, added to her resolve to raise her voice for the just causes.

Kamla Bhasin and feminism are two sides of the same coin. She went for those untold stories of the women’s partition narratives. Kamla was among the first generation who made foreign contacts with feminists from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka to bridge the feminist movement in South Asia.

One of the peace initiatives close to her heart was the annual Wagah-Attari border event attended by Kuldip Nayar and other activists on August 14 to light candles on the Indian and Pakistani sides of the border.

Devika Mittal, convenor of Aaghaz-e-Dosti, an Indo-Pak peace initiative and assistant Professor at Bharati College, Delhi University, told TNS exclusively, “what adds to the greatness of Kamla Bhasin is the way she weaved feminism with peacebuilding.” Devika said that Kamla worked for women’s solidarity at the South Asian level.

Kamla Bhasin did everything which others thought forbade. From street activism to New Delhi’s full-time participation, she persevered, and rather than simply chanting the mantra of the movement, Kamla lived feminism.

“As I think of her, I recall her smiling, strong face as she sang, Jana Wagah Border Jana, gaana geet pyar ka gaana. Jana shehr Lahore jana, gaana geet pyar ka gaana,” recounting the memory Devika tells.

Mittal says, “Kamla Ji lives in my heart and will continue to do so.”

Kamla believed in community sensitization instead of hollow sloganeering.

Tehreem Azeem, a PhD scholar in Beijing, speaking with this scribe about her experiences and interactions with Kamla Bhasin in Lahore and Thailand, says, “Like many others, I first saw Kamla Bhasin in her viral video from Aamir Khan’s show. Her explanation of patriarchy and its functioning in the show was probably my first lesson in feminism.”

“Years later, I saw her name as a guest speaker at Asma Jahangir’s conference that happened in Lahore in which she corrected a male speaker for using the phrase ‘masaail ki maa’ in his speech. I was amazed and impressed,” remembers Azeem. “Later, Kamla arrived at Shirkat Gah office in Lahore with her big laughter. We sang songs, laughed, and talked about feminism. She asked female students to celebrate feminist ideology rather than living in the grief of not having equal opportunities.”

“The second time I met her was again in a two-day conference in Thailand. She was full of life. During sessions, she would turn serious discussions into light conversations with her jokes and laughter,” Tehreem tells.

It is pertinent to note that Kamla visited Pakistan for the first time in 1983 at the invitation of the then State Minister for Population Welfare, Dr Attiya Inayatullah and later made regular visits.

Looking closely at her contribution to the modern feminist movement, Kamla Bhasin tried to bridge the gap between communities, countries, tribes, and people of different religions. As part of her effort, she penned her famous poetry Azadi - a poem which calls for the due rights for girls, women, labourers, downtrodden, underprivileged, adivadis (tribes in India)—meaning freedom from all kinds of violence.

Azadi, a slogan she proudly imbibed from the Pakistani feminists who resisted against the Zia regime, which she believed was ever-evolving, ever-relevant. With much fervour Kamla would proclaim freedom from all forms of helpless silences - azadi for talking freely, dancing madly, singing loudly, and walking freely.

Kamla breathed her last on September 25, 2021. Her clearheaded approach spearheaded debate to reclaim women’s public space in society and end all kinds of violence against women. Kamla’s lifelong efforts for feminism and girls’ education inspired many across the border. Her legacy of resistance, perseverance and unmatched resolve to be azad - free from shackles of social constructs and unjust pressures will live on.

The writer is a journalist based in Lahore