Rani Lakshmibai was the queen of the Maratha-ruled princely state of Jhansi (present-day Jhansi district of Uttar Pradesh). She is considered one of the most prominent leaders during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and became a figure in India’s resistance to British rule.
Wiki/Biography
Rani Lakshmibai was born as “Manikarnika Tambe” on Wednesday, November 19, 1828, in Benaras, Kingdom of Kashgar (now Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh). Her zodiac sign is Scorpio.
She was educated at home and learned to read and write. Unlike other girls in society, she was given more independence during her childhood and learned different war techniques such as horseback riding with her childhood friends Nana Sahib and Tantya Tope , fencing, shooting and malakamba. Rani learned these skills with the support and motivation of her father, which made her an independent and courageous girl.
Statue of Rani Lakshmibai
family, caste and husband
Rani Lakshmibai was born into a Marathi Kahad Brahmin family. Her father, Moropant Tambe, was an official in the court of Peshwa Baji Rao II in Bisore district. Her mother’s name was Bhagirathi Sapre, who died when Lakshmi was four. On May 19, 1842, the 14-year-old Rani married Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, the prince of Jhansi.
Raja Gangadhar Rao
Gangadhar’s first wife died before giving birth to an heir to the kingdom. In 1851, Rani Lakshmibai and Raja Gangadhar gave birth to a son named Damodar Rao. However, 4 months later, the child died of chronic illness. Later, in the presence of a British political official, the couple adopted a child named Anand Rao, the Raja’s cousin, the day before Gangadhar’s death in November 1853 son. The child was named Damodar Rao.
Lapse and Jhansi Doctrine
After the death of Raja Gangadhar Rao, their adopted son Damodar Rao will become his legal heir and Rani Lakshmibai will become the lifelong Governor of Jhansi Province. However, Lord Dalhousie, who served as the Governor-General of India from 1848 to 1856, implemented the “invalidation doctrine” in 1859 and rejected Damodar’s claim to the throne.
lord dalhousie
According to this doctrine, the British East India Company could annex any princely state under the company’s suzerainty if the ruler died and the state had no legitimate male heir to the throne. When Rani Lakshmibai came to know about this, she refused to hand over Jhansi to the British.
Letters issued to annex Jhansi
With the help of Australian lawyer John Long, Rani submitted a petition to London opposing the annexation of Jhansi, but Rani’s request was rejected. This was reportedly one of the factors that led to the 1857 Indian Rebellion. During the lapse doctrine, the East India Company acted as both judge and defendant, but without a proper court of law. In 1854, Rani’s appeals against the doctrine of invalidation were repeatedly rejected and Lakshmibai received a pension of Rs. 60,000/- and ordered to move to Rani Mahal; left Jhansi Fort. However, Lakshmibai was determined to protect the throne of Jhansi. She reportedly refused to take pension initially and threatened to leave Jhansi. In many fictional accounts, she cries—
I will not give up my Jhansi” (Main apni Jhansi nahi doongi)
These words have been circulated in ballads, songs, and poems for many years.
Revolt of 1857
The Indian uprising broke out in the form of the Sepoy Mutiny on May 10, 1857, in response to the oppressive British rule in Meerut. Gradually, riots began to spread across India, culminating in the First Indian War of Independence. When news of the rebellion reached Jhansi, Lakshmibai asked Captain Alexander Skeen to allow him to raise an army, and Skeen agreed. The city was in the midst of regional riots and to bring security to her subjects, Rani performed the haldi-kumkum ceremony with all the women of Jhansi. In June 1857, rebels from the 12th Bengal Native Infantry Regiment captured the Star Fort of Jhansi and massacred 40 to 60 European garrison officers, their wives and children. Rani’s involvement in the massacre remains controversial. After the rebellion broke out, army doctor Thomas Lowe described Rani as:
The Jezebel of India…the young Rani, whose head is stained with the blood of the slain.”
She then wrote a letter to Major Erskine, the Sogol Division Commissioner, explaining to him the events, expressing regret for the massacre, and asking for his help. In reply, Erskine asked the Queen to administer the “British Government Area” until the arrival of the British Governor. Meanwhile, Rani’s troops foiled rebel attempts to claim the throne of rival Sadashiv Rao (nephew of Maharaja Gangadhar Rao), who was subsequently arrested and imprisonment. Thereafter, she defended Jhansi from incursions by the neighboring Orchha and Datiya armies. Their aim was to divide Jhansi. She strengthened the defenses of Jasi; amassed a “volunteer army” of 14,000 men, including many brave warriors such as Tantia Tope, Nana Rao Peshwa ( Nana Rao Peshwa), Gulam Gaus Khan, Dost Khan, Khuda Baksh, Deewan Raghunath Singh, Deewan Jawahar Singh, and women warriors like Jalkari bai, Sundar-Mundar, and many more. Women received military training to enhance their ability to fight against the British army.
Jhansi Fort
In 1858, General Hugh Ross, commander of the British forces, arrived to find the palace heavily fortified. Rose demands that the city be handed over, telling the Queen that if she refuses, the city will be destroyed. Lani declared in response to Rose,
We fought for independence. In the words of Lord Krishna, if we achieve victory, we will enjoy the fruits of victory, if we are defeated and die on the battlefield, we will surely win eternal glory and salvation. “
The bombardment began on March 24, with the British occupying the fort of Jhansi in four columns; attacking the fortifications at various locations and killing those who tried to upgrade the walls. But Rani was unwilling to surrender and fought with the British for more than ten days.
Rani Lakshmibhai’s painting on the battlefield.
At the same time, the army led by Tantya Top tried to rescue Jhansi, but was also defeated by the British army. Lakshmibai’s army could no longer hold out against the British, who within days breached the walls and captured the city.
Illustration of Jhansi Army
However, Lakshmibai managed to escape the fort by jumping off the palace wall on her horse Badal with the help of a small group of palace guards, with her son (Damodhar) tied to her back. Rani and her son were safe, but the horse died. After the defeat of Jhansi, Rani’s father Moropant Tambay was reportedly killed by the British.
A wooden board at Jhansi Fort marking the spot where Rani jumped
Rani and her son Damodar Rao went to Kalpi with her small army and joined others including Tantia Tope The rebels (also fighting the British). While defending Kalpi with her troops, Lakshmibai again lost to the overwhelming British army. With no other option, Rani along with Tantya Top, the Nawab of Banda and Rao Sahib moved to Gwalior and joined other Indian troops. They moved to Gwalior with the intention of capturing the strategically important Gwalior Fort. The rebels captured the city without resistance. The rebels declared Nana Sahib as the Peshwa of the revived Maratha territory and Rao Sahib as the subedar of Gwalior. General Ross’s forces captured Morar on June 16 and then successfully attacked the city of Gwalior.
die
While fighting the British forces in the city of Gwalior, Lakshmibai was deployed on the eastern flank, which was considered one of the toughest battlefields of the time. On June 18, 1858, Rani participated in the battle of Gwalior. Rani succumbed to her wounds while fighting against the 8th Hussars (King’s Royal Irish) at Kotah-ki-Serai. She fought with undying patriotism until her last breath and was ultimately martyred.
Rani Lakshmibhai portrait on the battlefield
Rani did not want her body to be captured by the British, so she asked a hermit to burn her body. After her death, some locals cremated her body. Three days later Gwalior was captured by the British. Her tomb is located in the Phool Bagh area of Gwalior and has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Gwalior city; the place is known as “Rani Lakshmibai’s Samadhi Sthal”.
Samadhi Starr by Rani Lakshmibhai
Facts/Trivia
- According to Indian writer Vishnubhat Godse, Rani used to practice weightlifting, obstacle races and wrestling before breakfast. She was an intelligent, simply dressed woman who ruled in a businesslike manner.
- Her father nicknamed her “Manu”. Peshwa Baji Rao II of Bisur district was very close to her and affectionately called her “Chhabili”.
- According to Damodar Rao’s memoirs, Damodar was part of his mother’s unit and family during the Battle of Gwalior and survived the battle. Damodar fled to Rao Sahib camp in Bittur and lived with refugees from Jhansi in Jalapatan city. He later surrendered to a British official. He received a pension of Rs. 10,000 people under the guardianship of Munshi Dharmanarayan. He died on May 28, 1906, at the age of 56.
- Rani Laxmibai’s palace, Rani Mahal, has been converted into a museum displaying a collection of archaeological remains from the 9th to 12th centuries AD.
Rani Mahal Jhansi
- When Subhas Chandra Bose founded the Indian National Army, the army’s first female unit was named after Rani Lakshmibai as the epitome of Indian female bravery.
- A letter written in Persian by Rani Lakshmibai in 2009; citing Lord Dalhousie’s hypocritical ploy to annex the Kingdom of Jhansi, was discovered in the British Library, UK.
British Library discovers Lakshmibai’s letter
- In the British report on the 1957 campaign, General Ross once commented –
Graceful, intelligent and beautiful, Rani Lakshmibai is the most dangerous of all Indian leaders. A grand ceremony was held under a tamarind tree under the rock in Gwalior, where I saw her bones and ashes. “
- Indian poetess Subhadra Kumari Chauhan wrote a poem “Jhansi ki Rani” which is considered to be the most popular literary work for her heroic act. Schoolchildren in India still recite this poem.
- Famous Indian singer Shubha Mudgal sang an influential ditty “Khoob Ladi Mardani” on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the first freedom movement in the Indian Parliament.
- Several films and TV shows have been produced on the theme of Rani Lakshmibai and her heroics, including Jhansi Ki Rani Laxmibai (2012), Jhansi Ki Rani (1953) and the 2019 film starring Kangana Ranaut as Rani Lakshmibai The movie Manikarnika.
Manikarnika: Queen of Jhansi
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education