Rani Lakshmibai

Infobox revolution biography
name=Rani LaxmiBai
lived=1828 – 17 June 1858


caption= Equestrian statue of Rani Laxmibai
alternate name=Manu,Manikarnika
placeofbirth=Kashi, Uttar Pradesh, India
placeofdeath=Gwalior,India
movement=Indian Independence Movement
organizations= 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 Manikarnikka at birth, she was born to a Maharashtrian Karhade Brahmin family sometime around 1828 in the Hindu city of Varanasi. The simplest and most direct evidence comes via John Lang. In his account of his meeting with the Rani in 1854 he mentions that her vakil said she was a woman of about 26 years.

Her father Moropant Tambey was a Karhade Brahmin and her mother Bhagirathibai was a cultured, intelligent and religious woman. Born Manikarnika, she was affectionately called Manu in her family. Manu lost her mother at the age of four, and responsibility of looking after the young girl fell to her father.

Marriage

Moropant Tambey traveled to the court of Raja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, the Maharaja of Jhansi, when Manu was thirteen years old. Manu was to be married to Gangadhar Rao.According to Vishnu Godse, Gangadhar Rao was not normal man. He lives like women.

She married Raja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar,in 1842, and became the Maharani of Jhansi. As is customary with Indian royalty, she was given a different name after her marriage, and was henceforth known as Lakshmibai.Lakshmibai gave birth to a son in 1851, but this child died when he was about four months old.

In 1853 Gangadhar Rao fell very ill and he was persuaded to adopt a child. He relented only a day before his death, and adopted a distant relative, a boy named Damodar Rao. To ensure that the British would not be able to contest the adoption, the Rani had it witnessed by the local British representatives. Maharaja Gangadhar Rao died the following day, 21 November 1853.

Annexation

At that time, Lord Dalhousie was the Governor General of British India. Though little Damodar Rao, adopted son of late Maharaja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar and Rani Lakshmi Bai, was Maharaja's heir and successor under Hindu tradition, the British rulers rejected Rani's claim that Damodar Rao was their legal heir. Lord Dalhousie decided to annex the state of Jhansi under the Doctrine of Lapse.

The Rani then did the unprecedented: she sought the advice of a British lawyer and an officer of East India Company, Robert Ellis, and appealed her case in London. Although these petitions were well-argued, they were ultimately rejected. The British Indian authorities clearly sought to punish Rani for her presumptuous behavior. They confiscated the state jewels and deducted her husband's debts from her annual pension of Rs. 60,000. She was required to leave Jhansi fort for the Rani Mahal in Jhansi town, as well. But Rani Lakshmibai was determined to defend Jhansi. She proclaimed her decision with the famous words :"Mi mahji Jhansi nahi dehnar" (I will not give up my Jhansi)Fact|date=July 2008.

The Mutiny of 1857

Jhansi became a center of the rebellion upon the outbreak of violence in 1857. Rani Lakshmibai started strengthening the defense of Jhansi and assembled a volunteer army. Women were recruited as well as men were given military training. The rani was accompanied by her generals. Many from the local population volunteered for service in the army ranks, with the popular support for her cause on the rise.

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 another leading figure of the 1857 mutiny (later hanged by the British).

A Victim of Circumstances

Contrary to contemporary portrayals in Indian media and literature , the Rani of Jhansi had her own grievances. There is nothing on record to say that she had any hand in planning, instigating or organizing the mutiny of sepoys at Jhansi. In fact, she informed the British that she had been ill-treated by the mutineers and forced to pay money, and she asked for their help to maintain order. Believing in her innocence, the Commissioner of Saugor division nominated her to rule in Jhansi till the British could re-establish their administration. When the British changed their attitude and suspected her of complicity in the mutiny, she sent appeals to the authorities pleading her innocence and professing her loyalty to the British. If she had succeeded in dispelling the suspicions of the British, she would have gone to their side. But when at last she found that the British held her responsible for the mutiny and massacre at Jhansi, she preferred to fight. And it may be said to her credit and glory that she died heroically in the battlefield.

Death

Rani died 17 June, during the battle of Gwalior. Rani of Jhansi 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 Pradesh.cite web|url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE5D71430F936A15751C0A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2| title = The India of the Nawabs|publisher = The New York Times|accessdate = 2007-05-15] 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. A letter written by T.A. Martin says that,

refusing the assistance of Tantia Topee who offered to take her off, she ordered a ladder to be planted against a hayrick which was close by, ascended it unassisted, and ordered her people to set fire to it, which was done. This happened in Goosain's Bagh near Phoolbagh. I went and saw the spot. [ [http://www.copsey-family.org/~allenc/lakshmibai/martin.html Extracts from three letters by a Mr Martin to John Venables Sturt] ]

The British captured Gwalior three days later. In his 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 unprecedented 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 nationalist movement.

Epilogue

* 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.
* The administration of an undivided India passed on from the East India Company to the British crown.
* The Rani was memorialized in bronze statues at both Jhansi and Gwalior, both of which portray her in equestrian style.

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 on her, which is still recited by children in schools of contemporary India. As per historical view Tottally false poem.

Literature on Jhansi ki Rani

* "The Queen of Jhansi" is the English translation of "Jhansir Rani" by Mahashweta Devi. This book is fictional reconstruction of life of Rani LaxmiBai and was originally published in Bengali in 1956, ISBN 81-7046-175-8.

* "Flashman in the Great Game" - Two meetings between Flashman and the Rani are described in this historical fiction novel about the Indian Revolt by George MacDonald Fraser.

* "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.

* "Rani" a novel (2007) in English by Jaishree Misra.

* "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.

Films about Jhansi ki Rani

* "The Tiger and the Flame" (Jhansi Ki Rani) (1953) was the first technicolor film released in India, directed and produced by Indian filmmaker Sohrab Modi.

* "The Rebel (Jhansi Ki Rani)" is a new film by Ketan Mehta, and is a companion piece to his film "". The screenplay is by Farrukh Dhondy from a story by Chandra Prakash Dwivedi. The film is currently in pre-production.

Timeline

Please see [http://www.copsey-family.org/~allenc/lakshmibai/timeline.html] for a presentation of a Timeline, from the birth Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi, until her death.

ee also

* Jalkari Bai
* Subhadra Kumari Chauhan

External links

* [http://www.esamskriti.com/html/essay_index.asp?cat=896&subcat=895&cname=Rani_of_Jhansi THe Rani of Jhansi, a brief biography]
* [http://www.copsey-family.org/~allenc/lakshmibai/index.html Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi]
* [http://www.copsey-family.org/~allenc/lakshmibai/lang.html John Lang's account of his meeting with the Rani]
* [http://www.4to40.com/poems/index.asp?article=poems_jhansikirani Poetry on Jhansi Ki Rani by Smt Subhadra Kumari Chauhan]
* [http://www.1857mutiny.com/Analysis/jhansi-run/ Day by day account of Rani Lakshmibai's role during the First Indian Rebellion]
* [http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/itihas/queen_of_jhansi.htm Queen Lakshmibai of Jhansi] by Dr. Jyotsna Kamat

References

"" (marathi "My journey: the truth about the 1857 rebellion") by Vishnu Bhatt Godse."Amar Balidani" by Janki Sharan Verma "Zila Vikas Pustika", 1996–97, JhansiMeyer, Karl E. and Shareen Blair Brysac. "Tournament of Shadows." Washington D.C.: Counterpoint, 1999.