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Template:Infobox revolution biography Lakshmibai, The Rani of Jhansi (c. 1828 – 17 June 1858) (Hindi- झाँसी की रानी Marathi- झाशीची राणी), the queen of the Maratha-ruled princely state of Jhansi in North India, was one of the leading figures of the Indian Mutiny of 1857, and a symbol of resistance to British rule in India.
Early life
Originally named Manikarnika at birth, she was born to a Maharashtrian Karhade Brahmin family sometime around 1828 in the Hindu city of Varanasi. She was educated at home. Her father Moropant Tambey traveled to the court of Raja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, the Maharaja of Jhansi, when Manu was thirteen years old.
Annexation
At that time, Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General of India, decided to annex the state of Jhansi under the Doctrine of Lapse.
Rani Lakshmibai was determined to defend Jhansi. She proclaimed her decision with the famous words: Mi maajhi Jhansi naahi denaar .
In September and October 1857, the Rani led the successful defense of Jhansi from the invading armies of the neighboring rajas of Datia and Orchha.
In January of 1858, the British Army started its advance on Jhansi, and in March laid siege to the city. After two weeks of fighting, the British captured the city, but the rani escaped in the guise of a man, strapping her adopted son Damodar Rao closely on her back. She fled to Kalpi where she joined Tantya Tope, another maratha general and leading figure of the 1857 mutiny, who was later hanged by the British.
Death
The rani died on June 17, during the battle of Gwalior. She donned warrior's clothes and rode into battle to save Gwalior Fort, about 120 miles west of Lucknow in what is now the state of Madhya. There is dispute about the exact circumstances of her death. According to contemporary British reports she was mortally wounded by a stray bullet and climbed her own funeral pyre. The British captured Gwalior three days later. In the report of the battle for Gwalior, General Rose commented that the rani had been "the bravest and the best" of the rebels. Because of her bravery, courage, and wisdom and her progressive views on women's empowerment in 19th century India, and due to her sacrifices, she became an icon of Indian independence movement. The rani was memorialized in bronze statues at both Jhansi and Gwalior, both of which portray her in equestrian style.
Her father, Moropant Tambey, was captured and hanged a few days after the fall of Jhansi. Her adopted son, Damodar Rao, was given a pension by the British Raj, although he never received his inheritance.
Influence
Rani Lakshmibai became a national heroine and was seen as the epitome of female bravery in India. When the Indian National Army created its first female unit, it was named after her.
Indian poetess Subhadra Kumari Chauhan wrote a poem in the Veer Ras style about her, which is still recited by children in schools of contemporary India.
In a prophetic statement in the 1878 book The History of the Indian Mutiny, Colonel Malleson said "...her countrymen will always believe that she was driven by ill-treatment into rebellion; that her cause was a righteous cause; ..... To them she will always be a heroine."
In fiction
- Flashman in the Great Game by George MacDonald Fraser, a historical fiction novel about the Indian Revolt describing several meetings between Flashman and the Rani.
- La femme sacrée, in French, by Michel de Grèce. A novel based on the Rani of Jhansi's life in which the author imagines an affair between the Rani and an English lawyer.
- Nightrunners of Bengal by John Masters provides a fictional account of the relationship between a British officer, Rodney Savage, and a rani based on Lakshmibai. It was the American Literary Guild's Book of the Month on publication in January 1951, but faced some criticism for perceived political views. It is part of a series of historical novels about a fictional British family serving in India.
- The Queen of Jhansi, the English translation of Jhansir Rani by Mahashweta Devi. This book is fictional reconstruction of life of Rani Lakshmibai and was originally published in Bengali in 1956. ISBN 81-7046-175-8
- Flow Red the Ganges, a 1972 novel in English by Norman Partington.
- Rani, a 2007 novel in English by Jaishree Misra.
In film
- The Tiger and the Flame (1953) was the first technicolor film released in India, directed and produced by Indian filmmaker Sohrab Modi.
- The Rebel is a new film by Ketan Mehta, and is a companion piece to his film Mangal Pandey: The Rising. The screenplay is by Farrukh Dhondy from a story by Chandra Prakash Dwivedi. The film is currently in pre-production.
See also
External links
- Timeline of the birth Lakshmibai until her death
- Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi
- John Lang's account of his meeting with the Rani
References
- Malleson, Colonel (1878), The History of the Mutiny, London: William H Allen & Co., pp. 154–155
Maza Pravas: 1857 cya Bandaci Hakikat (marathi "My journey: the truth about the 1857 rebellion") by Vishnu Bhatt Godse. Amar Balidani by Janki Sharan Verma Zila Vikas Pustika, 1996–97, Jhansi Meyer, Karl E. and Shareen Blair Brysac. Tournament of Shadows. Washington D.C.: Counterpoint, 1999.
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