Mizoram woman Zadingi who killed tiger dies at 72
The Hindu
Zadingi, Mizoram's tiger slayer, dies at 72 after battling cancer, leaving behind a legacy of bravery and wildlife conservation.
GUWAHATI
A woman who became a household name in Mizoram after killing a tiger in self-defence in 1978, died on July 19 after battling cancer for several months.
Zadingi, believed to be the only woman in India to have struck a tiger down with an axe, was 72.
Reports in July 1978 said the tiger attacked her when she had gone to a jungle near Buarpui, her home in central Mizoram’s Lunglei district, with her companions to collect firewood. She was three months pregnant then.
Recounting the incident later, she said she had no time to flee when the tiger pounced upon her. Reflexively, she sidestepped as the tiger leapt, and swung her axe with all her might.
The axe caught the tiger mid-air and the blow was so powerful that the blade penetrated the skull, killing the tiger almost instantly.
Zadingi, 24 years old then, became a local icon of bravery and her feat was recognised by the President of India in 1980.