Amitabh Bachchan unveils 'Didda - The Warrior Queen of Kashmir' by Ashish Kaul

From a legendary woman warrior Queen of Kashmir to the only living legend the world has, life came full circle for Ashish Kaul as the mega star of the millennium Amitabh Bachchan unveiled his bestseller "Didda - The Warrior Queen of Kashmir".

Jan 12, 2020, 3:00 pm ISTNewsIANS

Mumbai: Actor Amitabh Bachchan unveils "Didda - The Warrior Queen of Kashmir" by Ashish Kaul in Mumbai on Jan 12, 2020.

"It was extremely overwhelming to have Amit Ji' do the honours despite his extremely busy schedule and year long prior commitments. Didda - The Warrior Queen of Kashmir is the greatest daughter of India who guarded undivided India for 44 years. It was only natural for me to request time from India's greatest son. History has been unkind to women who yield tremendous power, Didda too was erased from history because men could not accept her genius. Amit ji's support is a milestone in my endeavor of bring forth the forgotten glory of the legendary women of Kashmir," said Kaul.

It was not just her bravery but her extraordinary ability to overcome challenges despite her disability that makes Didda a truly all round role model for women of the world, he added.

'Didda - The Warrior Queen of Kashmir' is the overwhelming story of how a beautiful princess abandoned by her parents rises to become the longest serving Queen in medieval world.

Born in 925 AD, not only does Didda defeat death at birth, survives being pushed into Sati but also went on to create the world's first commando force, counter-intelligence mechanism and invented the deadly Guerrilla warfare strategy.

Didda despite being disabled, is the account of world's first para-athlete and serves as an icon full of people who hide behind their challenges.

Trampled by wars and religious crusades, lies hidden the story of a glorious woman who was considered a harbinger of bad times when born but went on to become a legendary warrior - the saviour of Srinagaram, the capital city of Kashmir.

'Didda - The Warrior Queen of Kashmir' is the untold story of a woman's rise to power during the 10th century.

The legend of Didda is entwined with the life of solitary struggles against the prejudice and patriarchy.

She eventually went on to rule the unified Kashmir encompassing the Lohar Kingdom and Kashmir for a period of 44 years, taking it to the glorious heights and making it the most powerful kingdom in medieval Asia.

She overcomes her physical disability and rises to crush the mutiny by the prime minister to take control of a kingdom on the verge of disintegration. She sacrifices her own life and love for the sake of her promise to the dying King to ensure the Kingdom transforms into one of the largest and most feared kingdoms.

The foundation laid by Didda helped Kashmir defeat the the dreaded warlord Mahmood of Gaznavi twice. Didda defeated the King of Iran who attacked with 32,800 mercenaries with just 500 soldiers in just 44 mts in the battle of Kabul and saved India for 44 years.

Rare combination of her beauty, courage and glory was hard to accept by powerful men - and they believed the warrior queen was a witch.