Queen of Jhansi

"A symbol of bravery and patriotism"

The Great Warrior " Rani Lakshmi Bai "

 On 19 November 1828, a girl was born to a Maratha family at Kashi Varanasi, India at the time of British rule. She was named as "Manikarnika". She lost her mother at the age of four. She was educated at home. Her father raised her like a son. He supported her to learn to ride elephants and horses and also to use weapons effectively.  She grew up with Nana Sahib and Tatya Tope, who were active participants in the first revolt of independence. Her father Moropant Tambey worked at the court of Peshwa Baji Rao II at Bithur and then traveled to the court of Raja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, the King of Jhansi. 

                                   

When Manikarnika was thirteen years old, she was married to Gangadhar Rao. After her marriage, she came to be known as "Queen Lakshmi Bai". In 1851, Rani Lakshmibai gave birth to a son , Damodar Rao but unfortunately this child died when he was about four months old. Her husband the Raja never recovered from his son's death, and he died on 21 November 1853. After this tragedy, she adopted a son. His name was Anand, but was renamed Damodar, after their actual son. During that period, Lord Dalhousie was the Governor General of British India. As per the Hindu tradition, Damodar Rao was their legal heir. However, the British rulers refused to accept him as the legal heir. As per the Doctrine of Lapse, Lord Dalhousie decided to seize the state of Jhansi. 
Rani Lakshmibai went to a British lawyer and consulted him. Thereafter, she filed an appeal for the hearing of her case in London. But, her plea was rejected. Lord Dalhousie decided to conquer the state of Jhansi as Maharaja Gangadhar Rao had left no legal heir. This misfortune of Jhansi was used by the British to expand there Empire. 

In March 1854, the Rani was given a pension of 60,000 rupees and ordered to leave the palace at the Jhansi fort. Rani Jhansi was determined not to give up Jhansi. She had more independence than most women and even she assembled a volunteer army of rebellions.

After all the British in Jhansi had been killed by mutinous Indian troops in June 1857 the Rani took over the administration provisionally until the British returned. However she had to form an army to defeat the invading forces of Orchha and Datia. The British believed she had been responsible for the earlier British deaths. In March 1858, British forces led by Sir Hugh Rose came to Jhansi to take back the city from the Rani who now wanted independence. Jhansi was besieged and finally taken after strong resistance. Many of the people of the city were killed in the fighting. Along with the young Damodar Rao, the Rani decamped to Kalpi along with her forces where she joined other rebel forces, including those of Tatya Tope. The Rani and Tatya Tope moved on to Gwalior, where the combined rebel forces defeated the army of the Maharaja of Gwalior after his armies deserted to the rebel forces. They then occupied the strategic fort at Gwalior.  However, on 18th June of 1858 the second day of fighting, the great heroine of the first struggle for India freedom, lost her life. 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 and cared for, although he never received his inheritance.

 Owing to her bravery, courage, wisdom, sacrifie and her progressive views on women's empowerment in 19th century India, 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 on horseback. Rani Lakshmi Bai became a national heroine and was seen as an epitome of female bravery in India. When the Indian National Army created its first female unit, it was named after her.

"No one could guess whether she was Laxmi or Durga devi ( Durga Goddess , also called Bhavani ) or reincarnation of Devi durga,
Her expertise in using a sword made the people of Marathward (Pulkit) wonder,

She came as a good luck to the royal palace of Jhansi and for a log time the palace remained decorated with lighting candles in celebration.
But as days passed the dark clouds of misfortune covered the royal palace.
She stopped wearing bangles for that was the time for a battle.
The queen got widowed and her fate was very unkind to her.
The royal king had no children when he died and the queen was grief stricken.
From the mouths of the Bandelas and the Harbolas (Religious singers of Bandelkhand), we heard the tale of the courage of the Queen of Jhansi relating how gallantly she fought like a man against the British intruders: such was the Queen of Jhansi" - Subhadra Kumari Chauhan
Translated by Qazi Muhammad Ahkam