Rani of Jhansi: Difference between revisions

| successor2  = ''Kingdom abolished''

| birth_place  = [[Varanasi|Benares]], [[Benares State|Kingdom of Kashi-Benares]] (present-day [[Varanasi]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[India]])

| death_place  = Kotah-ki-Serai, [[Gwalior]], [[Gwalior State]], [[British Raj|British Raj]] (present-day [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[India]])

| burial_place = [[Phool Bagh|Phool Bagh garden]], [[Gwalior]], [[Madhya Pradesh]]

'''Lakshmibai''', the '''Rani of Jhansi''' ({{audio|Laxmi bai.ogg|pronunciation}}; 19 November 1828<!-- Please do not add birth year 1835 as historians no longer accept it as correct; see cited sources and discussion on Talk page --> — 18 June 1858),<ref>[[Karl E. Meyer|Meyer, Karl E.]] & [[Shareen Blair Brysac|Brysac, Shareen Blair]] (1999) ''Tournament of Shadows''. Washington, DC: Counterpoint; p. 138--"Known to history as Lakshmi Bai, she was possibly only twelve in 1842 when she married the aging and infirm Rajah of Jhansi ..."</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Though the day of the month is regarded as certain historians disagree about the year: among those suggested are 1827 and 1835.</ref> was an Indian queen, the Maharani consort of the [[Maratha]] [[princely state]] of [[Jhansi State|Jhansi]] from 1843 to 1853 as the wife of [[Gangadhar Rao|Maharaja Gangadhar Rao]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/who-is/who-is-manikarnika-4760894/|title=Who is Manikarnika?|date=21 July 2017}}</ref> She was one of the leading figures of the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] and became a symbol of resistance to the [[British Raj]] for Indian nationalists.

Rani Lakshmibai was born on 19 November 1828<ref name=" Reference A name=Meyer, Karl E. 1999 p. 138">Meyer, Karl E. & Brysac, Shareen  

Blair 1999) ''[[Great Game|Tournament of Shadows]]''. Washington, DC: Counterpoint; p. 138--"Known to history as Lakshmi Bai, she was possibly only twelve in 1842 when she married the aging and infirm Rajah of Jhansi ..."</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Copsey|first1=Allen|title=When was she born?|url=http://www.copsey-family.org/~allenc/lakshmibai/qanda.html#id2247378|website=Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi|access-date=28 June 2014}}</ref> (some sources say 1835)<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Lakshmi Bai |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lakshmi-Bai |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=18 June 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>The 177th anniversary of the Rani's birth according to the Hindu calendar was celebrated at Varanasi in November 2012: {{cite news|url=http://article.wn.com/view/2012/11/13/Lakshmi_Bai_birth_anniversary_celebrated/|title=Lakshmi Bai birth anniversary celebrated|date=13 November 2012|work=[[The Times of India]]|publisher=World News|access-date=6 December 2012}}</ref> in the town of [[Varanasi]] into a [[Maratha people|Marathi]] [[Karhade Brahmin]] family.<ref>{{cite book| title= Women Against the Raj: The Rani of Jhansi Regiment| first= Joyce| last= Lebra|year=2008|publisher=Institute of South Asian Studies, Singapore|quote=Myth and history intertwine closely in the life of the Rani of Jhansi, known in childhood as Manu...She was born in the holy city of Varanasi to a Karhada brahmin, Moropant Tambe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fuw1Wt1-O7EC&pg=PA2|page=2| isbn= 9789812308092}}</ref> She was named Manikarnika Tambe and was nicknamed Manu.<ref>{{cite web|first=Allen |last=Copsey |url=http://www.copsey-family.org/~allenc/lakshmibai/early.html |title=Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi – Early Life |publisher=Copsey-family.org |date=23 September 2005 |access-date=7 July 2012}} (gives date of birth as 19 November 1835)</ref> Her father was Moropant Tambe<ref>Edwardes (1975), p. 115</ref> and her mother Bhagirathi Sapre (Bhagirathi Bai). Her parents came from the Tambe village of the Guhagar taluka located in the Ratnagiri district of  [[Maharashtra]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1922-04-16/ed-1/seq-24/|title=The Washington times. (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, April 16, 1922, SUNDAY MORNING, Image 24|date=16 April 1922|pages=5|via=chroniclingamerica.loc.gov}}</ref> Her mother died when she was four years old. Her father was the Commander of the war of Kalyanpranth. Her father worked for [[Peshwa]] [[Baji Rao II]] of [[Bithoor district]].<ref>Later in his life Moropant Tambe was a councillor in the court of Jhansi under his daughter's rule; he was executed as a rebel after the capture of the city.{{cite web|url=http://www.copsey-family.org/~allenc/lakshmibai/victims.html|title=Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi; Victims|publisher=Allen Copsey|access-date=17 May 2013}}</ref> The Peshwa called her "Chhabili", which means "beautiful " and "lively and cheerful". She was educated at home and was taught to read and write, and was more independent in her childhood than others of her age; her studies included shooting, horsemanship, fencing<ref>David (2002), p. 350</ref><ref>N.B. Tambe and Sapre are clan names; "Bai" or "-bai" is honorific as is "-Ji" the masculine equivalent. A Peshwa in a Maratha state is the chief minister.</ref> and [[mallakhamba]] with her childhood friends [[Nana Sahib]] and [[Tantia Tope]].<ref name=Book1>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h747vxHZd9wC&q=mallkhamb&pg=PT10|title=Rani Lakshmibai|first=Deepa|last=Agarwal|date=8 September 2009|publisher=Penguin UK|isbn=9788184758061|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>David, Saul (2002) ''The Indian Mutiny 1857'', London: Penguin, p. 350</ref>{{dubious|date=June 2019}} Rani Lakshmibai contrasted many of the patriarchal cultural expectations for women in India's society at this time.<ref>[http://www.copsey-family.org/~allenc/lakshmibai/index.html Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi]; accessed 15 August 2019</ref> And she was known for her unique perspectives and her courage to fight against social norms even in front of the whole society.

Manikarnika was married to the [[Maharaja]] of Jhansi, [[Gangadhar Rao Newalkar]], in May 1842<ref name="Reference A name=Meyer, Karl E. 1999 p. 138" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.copsey-family.org/~All-encompassing/lakshmibai/timeline.html|title=Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi; Timeline|access-date=3 June 2015}}</ref> and was afterwards called Lakshmibai (or Laxmibai) in honour of the Hindu goddess [[Lakshmi|Devi Lakshmi]] and according to the Maharashtrian tradition of women being given a new name after marriage. In September 1851, she gave birth to a boy, later named Damodar Rao, who died four months after birth due to a chronic illness. The Maharaja adopted a child called Anand Rao, the son of Gangadhar Rao's cousin, who was renamed [[Damodar Rao of Jhansi|Damodar Rao]], on the day before the Maharaja died.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-07-21 |title=Who is Manikarnika? |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/who-is/who-is-manikarnika-4760894/ |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> The adoption was in the presence of the British political officer who was given a letter from the Maharaja instructing that the child be treated with respect and that the government of Jhansi should be given to his widow for her lifetime.

There was then an invasion of Jhansi by the forces of Company allies [[Orchha State|Orchha]] and [[Datia]]; their intention however was to divide Jhansi between themselves. The Rani appealed to the British for aid but it was now believed by the governor-general that she was responsible for the massacre and no reply was received. She set up a foundry to cast cannon to be used on the walls of the fort and assembled forces including some from former feudatories of Jhansi and elements of the mutineers which were able to defeat the invaders in August 1857. Her intention at this time was still to hold Jhansi on behalf of the British.<ref>Edwardes, Michael (1975) ''Red Year''. London: Sphere Books. p. 117</ref>

The leaders (the Rani of Jhansi, Tatya Tope, the Nawab of [[Banda, Uttar Pradesh|Banda]], and Rao Sahib) fled once more. They came to Gwalior and joined the Indian forces who now held the city (Maharaja Scindia having fled to Agra from the battlefield at Morar). They moved on to [[Gwalior state|Gwalior]] intending to occupy the strategic [[Gwalior Fort]] and the rebel forces occupied the city without opposition. The rebels proclaimed [[Nana Sahib]] as [[Peshwa]] of a revived Maratha dominion with Rao Sahib as his governor (subedar) in Gwalior. The Rani was unsuccessful in trying to persuade the other rebel leaders to prepare to defend Gwalior against a British attack which she expected would come soon. General Rose's forces took [[Gwalior#Morar|Morar]] on 16 June and then made a successful attack on the city.<ref>Edwardes, Michael (1975) ''Red Year''. London: Sphere Books, pp. 124–25</ref>

The British captured the city of [[Gwalior]] after three days. In the British report of this battle, Hugh Rose commented that Rani Lakshmibai is "personable, clever and beautiful" and she is "the most dangerous of all Indian leaders".<ref>David, Saul (2003), ''The Indian Mutiny: 1857'', London: Penguin; p. 367</ref><ref>Ashcroft, Nigel (2009), ''Queen of Jhansi'', Mumbai: Hollywood Publishing; p. 1</ref> Rose reported that she had been buried "with great ceremony under a tamarind tree under the Rock of Gwalior, where I saw her bones and ashes".<ref>Meyer ''Tournament''; p. 145</ref><ref>"The British believed they had found some of her bones at the place where she was said to have been hurriedly cremated by her followers, but this too is open to doubt."--Edwardes ''Red Year'', p. 125</ref>

Her tomb is in the Phool Bagh area of Gwalior (''illustrated below''). Twenty years after her death [[George Bruce Malleson|Colonel Malleson]] wrote in the ''History of the Indian Mutiny''; vol. 3; London, 1878-

in [[Thiruvananthapuram]], [[Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College]] in [[Jhansi]] are named after her. [[Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University]] in Jhansi was founded in 2013. The [[Rani Jhansi Marine National Park]] is located in the [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]] in the [[Bay of Bengal]]. A women's unit of the [[Indian National Army]] was named the [[Rani of Jhansi Regiment]]. In 1957 two postage stamps were issued to commemorate the centenary of the rebellion.  Indian representations in novels, poetry, and film tend towards an uncomplicated valorization of Rani Lakshmibai as an individual solely devoted to the cause of Indian independence.<ref>The Rani of Jhansi: Gender, History, and Fable in India (Harleen Singh, Cambridge University Press, 2014)</ref>

* ''Seeta'': This mutiny novel written by [[Philip Meadows Taylor]] in 1872 is showing the admiration of Taylor for the Rani.<ref name="rani jhansi">{{Cite journal|last=Sen|first=Indrani|date=2007|title=Inscribing the Rani of Jhansi in Colonial 'Mutiny' Fiction|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=42|pages=1756}}</ref>

[[Category:19th-century Indian monarchs]]