The dark side of Holi

India’s festival of colour has become a day when women brace for harassment.

His name was Hiranyakashipu, and he claimed to be equal to Lord Vishnu, the Preserver of the Universe. Tragically for him, his own son, Prince Prahlad, was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. The king threatened his son with snakes and elephants, but the child remained faithful. After much thought, the king summoned his sister, Holika, the kind of woman who only appears as a narrative tool in Hindu mythology and does the bidding of male protagonists. The demoness had been given a boon, immunity from fire, provided she entered it alone. So the king covered her in a magic, invisible blanket and, when the young prince sat on his aunt’s lap, set it on fire. The prince prayed to Lord Vishnu, who burned the evil, fire-proof aunt but saved the young, virtuous prince who kept faith.

Holika’s story is a classic example of how Hindu women are cast as enforcers of patriarchy and punished for it, too. Holika’s brother burned her on a pyre, and we celebrate this annually by ritually re-enacting her burning. It is easy to cast Holika as the villain of the fire, but she is closer to a modern feminist hero than a child-burning demon, especially in Modi’s India.