Wikipedia:VideoWiki/Rani of Jhansi
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Introduction
[edit]Lakshmibai or the Rani of Jhansi was the queen of the princely state of Jhansi in North India[1] She was one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857.[2]
Early life
[edit]Lakshmibai was born on 19 November 1828[3] in the town of Varanasi into a Marathi Karhade Brahmin family.[4] She was named Manikarnika Tambe and was nicknamed Manu.[5] Her father worked for Peshwa Baji Rao II of Bithoor district.[6]
Childhood & education
[edit]She was educated at home, able to read and write, and was more independent in her childhood than others of her age; her studies included shooting, horsemanship, fencing[7][8] and mallakhamba with her childhood friends Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope.[9]
Marriage
[edit]Manikarnika was married to the Maharaja of Jhansi, Raja Gangadhar Newalkar, in May 1842[3] and was afterwards called Lakshmibai (or Laxmibai) in honour of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi and according to the traditions.[10]
Death of baby and adoption
[edit]She gave birth to a boy, later named Damodar Rao, in 1851, who died after four months. The Maharaja adopted a child called Anand Rao, the son of Gangadhar Rao's cousin, who was renamed Damodar Rao, on the day before the Maharaja died.[11][12]
Doctrine of Lapse
[edit]After the death of the Maharaja in November 1853, because Damodar Rao (born Anand Rao) was an adopted son, the British East India Company, applied the Doctrine of Lapse, rejecting Damodar Rao's claim to the throne and annexing the state to its territories.[13][14].
Rejection by Laxmibai
[edit]When she was informed of this she cried out "I shall not surrender my Jhansi" (Main meri Jhansi nahi doongi). In March 1854, Rani Lakshmibai was given an annual pension of sixty thousand Indian rupees and ordered to leave the palace and the fort.[13]
Indian Rebellion of 1857
[edit]On 10 May 1857 the Indian Rebellion started in Meerut. The city was relatively calm in the midst of the regional unrest.[15][16] Until this point, Lakshmibai was reluctant to rebel against the British.
Star Fort of Jhansi
[edit]In June 1857, rebels of the 12th Bengal Native Infantry seized the Star Fort of Jhansi containing the treasure and magazine.[17]
_Regiment_of_Bengal_Native_Infantry,_1st_Sudan_war,_1884.jpg)
Massacre
[edit]After persuading the British to lay down their arms by promising them no harm, broke their word and massacred 40 to 60 European officers of the garrison along with their wives and children. The Rani's involvement in this massacre is still a subject of debate.[18][19]
British response
[edit]There was then an invasion of Jhansi by the forces of Company allies Orchha and Datia. 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.[20]
Siege of Jhansi
[edit]From August 1857 to January 1858 Jhansi under the Rani's rule was at peace. Though the British had promised to send troops, no one arrived until March, and this led them to demand independence from the British rule.
Arrival of British troops
[edit]When the British forces under the command of Hugh Rose arrived, they found it well-defended and the fort had heavy guns which could fire over the town and nearby countryside.They demanded the surrender of the city; if this was refused it would be destroyed.[21]
Besiege
[edit]Jhansi was besieged on 23 March 1858, and bombardment began on 24 March but was met by heavy return fire. Reinforcements sent by Tatya Tope to relieve Jhansi failed to do so fighting the British on 31 March.[22]
Fort walls
[edit]On 2 April it was decided to launch an assault by a breach in the walls. Street fighting continued into the following day and no quarter was given, even to women and children.[22]
Rani's withdrawal
[edit]The Rani withdrew from the palace to the fort and after taking counsel decided that since resistance in the city was useless she must leave and join either Tatya Tope or Rao Sahib.[22]
Escape
[edit]According to tradition with Damodar Rao on her back she jumped on her horse Badal from the fort; they survived but the horse died.[23] The Rani escaped in the night with her son, surrounded by guards.[24]
Flight to Gwalior
[edit]The leaders (the Rani of Jhansi, Tatya Tope, the Nawab of Banda, and rao Sahib) fled once more. They moved on to Gwalior intending to occupy the strategic Gwalior Fort and the rebel forces occupied the city without opposition.[25]
Nana Sahib as Peshwa
[edit]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.[25]
Siege of Morar
[edit]General Rose's forces took Morar on 16 June and then made a successful attack on the city.[25]
Death
[edit]On 17 June in Kotah-ki-Serai near the Phool Bagh of Gwalior, a squadron of the 8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars, under Captain Heneage, fought the large Indian force commanded by Rani Lakshmibai.
Account One
[edit]In this engagement, according to an eyewitness account, Lakshmibai attacked one of the hussars; she was unhorsed and also wounded. Shortly afterwards, as she sat bleeding, she recognised the soldier and fired at him with a pistol, whereupon she was shot by a carbine.[26][27]
Account two
[edit]According to another tradition Rani Lakshmibai, the Queen of Jhansi, dressed as a cavalry leader, was badly wounded; not wishing the British to capture her body, she told a hermit to burn it. After her death a few local people cremated her body.[28][29]
.JPG)
Legacy
[edit]Statues of Lakshmibai are seen in many places of India, which show her and her son tied to her back. Several educational institutes such as Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University were named after her.[30]
References
[edit]- ^ "Who is Manikarnika?".
- ^ Meyer, Karl E. & Brysac, Shareen Blair (1999) Tournament of Shadows. Washington, DC: Counterpoint; p. 138--"The Rani of Jhansi ... known to history as Lakshmi Bai, she was possibly only twelve in 1842 when she married the .. Rajah of Jhansi ..."
- ^ a b Meyer, Karl E. & Brysac, Shareen Blair (1999) Tournament of Shadows. Washington, DC: Counterpoint; p. 138--"The Rani of Jhansi ... known to history as Lakshmi Bai, she was possibly only fourteen in 1842 when she married the .. Rajah of Jhansi ..."
- ^ Joyce Lebra (2008). Women Against the Raj: The Rani of Jhansi Regiment. Institute of South Asian Studies, Singapore. p. 2.
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
- ^ Allen Copsey (23 September 2005). "Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi – Early Life". Copsey-family.org. Retrieved 7 July 2012. (gives date of birth as 19 November 1835)
- ^ 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."Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi; Victims". Allen Copsey. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- ^ David (2002), p. 350
- ^ 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.
- ^ Agarwal, Deepa (8 September 2009). "Rani Lakshmibai". Penguin UK – via Google Books.
- ^ "Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi; Timeline". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- ^ Edwardes, Michael (1975) Red Year. London: Sphere Books, pp. 113–14
- ^ N.B. Rao only means "prince; the Maharaja was Gangadhar Newalkar of the Newalkar clan"
- ^ a b Edwardes, Michael (1975) Red Year. London: Sphere Books, pp. 113–14
- ^ N.B. Rao only means "prince; the Maharaja was Gangadhar Newalkar of the Newalkar clan"
- ^ David E. Jones (March 2000). Women Warriors: A History. Potomac Books Incorporated. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-57488-206-3.
- ^ Vishnubhat Godse Maja Pravas
- ^ Edwardes (1975), pp. 115-16
- ^ David, Saul (2002) The Indian Mutiny 1857, London: Penguin, p. 368
- ^ "One Indian source [Vishnubhat Godse] alleges that the day before the sepoys mutinied, Skene went to the Rani and asked her to 'take charge of the state'. But there is no supporting evidence. Nor is there any real basis for the assertion that she was involved in conspiracy with the sepoys before they mutinied."--Edwardes Red Year, p. 115
- ^ Edwardes, Michael (1975) Red Year. London: Sphere Books. p. 117
- ^ Edwardes, Michael (1975) Red Year. London: Sphere Books, pp. 117–19
- ^ a b c Edwardes, Michael (1975) Red Year. London: Sphere Books, p. 121
- ^ "Jhansi". Remarkable India. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ Rani of Jhansi, Rebel against will by Rainer Jerosch, published by Aakar Books 2007; chapters 5 and 6
- ^ a b c Edwardes, Michael (1975) Red Year. London: Sphere Books, pp. 124–25
- ^ David (2006), pp. 351–362
- ^ Allen Copsey. "Brigadier M W Smith Jun 25th 1858 to Gen. Hugh Rose". Copsey-family.org. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
- ^ David, Saul (2003), The Indian Mutiny: 1857, London: Penguin; p. 367
- ^ Ashcroft, Nigel (2009), Queen of Jhansi, Mumbai: Hollywood Publishing; p. 1
- ^ The Rani of Jhansi: Gender, History, and Fable in India (Harleen Singh, Cambridge University Press, 2014)