Banadi Shehak ( Balochi:) was a

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

and female warrior of the 16th century from modern-day

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

. She was ''Mirzadi'' (Princess) of Rind tribe and sister of

Mir Chakar Rind Chakar Khan Rind (1468–1565) ( Balochi: میر چاکَر خان رِند) was a Baloch chieftain who founded the Second Baloch Confederacy (1487–1512). He is considered a folk hero of the Baloch people and an important figure in the B ...

. She participated in the

battle of Chausa The Battle of Chausa was a notable military engagement between the Mughal Emperor, Humayun, and the Afghan ruler, Sher Shah Suri. It was fought on 26 June 1539 at Chausa, 10 miles southwest of Buxar in modern-day Bihar, India. Sher Shah Suri was ...

, which was a battle between

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...

and

Afghans Afghans (; ) are the citizens and nationals of Afghanistan, as well as their descendants in the Afghan diaspora. The country is made up of various ethnic groups, of which Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks are the largest. The three main lan ...

in which Rind tribe was supporting Mughals. After a fierce battle, Mughals and Rind tribe started retreating from the battlefield, seeing which Shehak broke her bangles by hitting her arms with her knees and came into the battlefield herself with a sword in her hand. She killed many men, until she came in direct combat with Afghan general

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri (born Farid al-Din Khan; 1472 or 1486 – 22 May 1545), also known by his title Sultan Adil (), was the ruler of Bihar from 1530 to 1540, and Sultan of Hindustan from 1540 until his death in 1545. He defeated the Mughal Empire, ...

. Afghan general told her, "''you, being a women, keep aside from my way''", to which Shehak replied, "''You might think that women are the ones who sit at homes, are busy in adornment and in engaging their husbands, but it is not so!".'' Rind tribal forces, seeing their ''Mirzadi'' (Princess) fighting in the battlefield, stopped retreating and charged once again on the enemy killing 30,000 enemy troops. However, Mughals and Rind tribe ultimately lost the battle. Banadi Shehak died on the same battlefield.

References

{{reflist Baloch people 16th-century Indian military personnel