Hello dear readers! How are you all ? I hope you are having fun and staying healthy. In this article today we are going to talk about a brave woman freedom fighter from Indian History, Rani Laxmibai who was also known as "Jhasi ki Rani"
- who protected her fort by fighting day and night
- who fought bravely against the British with his four-year-old son tied on his back
- as her husband died suddenly and her son was only four years old, the responsibility of taking over the throne fell on her
So let's go ahead and find out about the great queen of Jhansi.
Rani Laxmibai |
Who was Rani Laxmibai ?
"Khood Ladi Mardani Wo To Jhansi Wali Rani Thi". Rani Laxmibai or Jhasi ki Rani was considered the heroine of the Indian freedom struggle. She was born in Varanasi on 19 November 1828 to Moropant Tambe and Bhagirthibai. Her childhood name was Manikarnika. which was changed to Laxmibai after her marriage.
Manikarnika was learning weaponry along with literature since she was only four years old. She was very skilled in weaponry, she was proficient in both hand swords. She was married to King Gangadhar Rao Nivarak of Jhansi of 14 years. After marriage, she became the queen of Jhansi, Laxmibai.
Why did Laxmibai adopt Damodar even though he was a son?
Rani Laxmibai gave birth to a son in Gangadhar Rao's house in 1851. Her son was named Damodar. But Damodar died within four months due to some reason. Father Gangadhar could not bear the shock of his son's death so his health was deteriorating day by day due to the loss of his son's love. So both the husband and wife decided to adopt the son.
Gangadhar Rao adopted a four-year-old son from his brother and named the son Damodar. So that the memory of his son remains and after a few days Gangadhar Rao dies.
What was the Khalsa policy of the British ?
Lord Dalhousie was the British Governor in India at that time. He introduced a new law in India. The law was that if a king had no children of his own, the entire property of the king would be incorporated with the East India Company. and that King will be pensioned by the British Government.
If a king has no children of his own and if a king adopts a son, that too will not be accepted. This was Lord Dalhousie's expropriation policy which can also be called the Khalsa policy.
For what did Rani Laxmibai wrote statement letter in London ?
The British government knew that Rani Laxmibai had no children of her own and that Damodar was an adopted son. So Lord Dalhousie applied the rule of Khalsa policy to Jhansi also.
Rani Laxmibai writing statement letter |
But Rani Laxmibai refused to accept the Khalsa policy and wrote a letter to London court with the advice of Johnlaug who was a lawyer. But her petition was rejected and the fort was ordered to be evacuated.
Why was Rani Laxmibai preparing her own army ?
The British asked Rani Laxmibai to vacate the Jhansi fort and move to the Rani Mahal. But she refused to vacate the fort of Jhansi and said that she will not give her Jhansi to anyone. Now she realizes that the British are not the one to sit still and their troops will need to attack the fort.
So Rani Laxmibai was already preparing and building a new army with the help of other states. Women were also being trained in that army along with men. In her army many maharathis viz Sundar Mudanr, Dosh Khan, Gulab Khan, Lalabhau Bakshi, Khuda Bux, Moti Bai, Kashi Bai, etc. were involved as many as 24 thousand soldiers. Laxmibai bravely faced the British invasion of Jhansi.
But since the British army was big and strong, Laxmibai could not face the British for a long time. So she strapped her four-year-old son on her back and jumped down from the fort on her horse and went by the back way.
How Tatya Tope helped Rani Laxmibai in Kalpi ?
Rani Laxmibai reaches Kalpi with her troops as the British capture the fort of Jhansi. She takes refuge in Kalpi along with her soldiers after some time. But the British reach Kalpi chasing Laxmibai and invade Kalpi. Then she defeats the British invasion with the help of Tatya Tope and conquers Kalpi.
The British again invade Kalpi and this time the British win. Defeated at Kalpi for the second time, Rani Laxmibai moves towards Gwalior with her allies and troops. and by invading Gwalior, the fort of Gwalior was conquered by Rani Laxmibai.
What difficulty Rani Laxmibai faced in Gwalior ?
The British invade Gwalior after knowing that Rani Laxmibai has conquered Gwalior. She was finding it difficult to fight due to the sudden invasion of the British. Even though she was advancing like a storm, facing the enemy and killing the soldiers. After sometime she got very tired and injured in the war.
Rani Laxmibai |
So she turned her horse in another direction. But the horse could not go as far as it should. Because this horse was not a trained horse of Rani Laxmibai and the horse did not support her much. So Rani Laxmibai fell badly injured in the battle.
What promise Rani Laxmibai sought from her loyal comrades?
Laxmibai wore men's clothes so the British could not recognize her. But she falls down injured and is seen by Rani's loyal servant Ramachandrarao Deshmukh who lifts the queen to Gangadas Baba's hut nearby.
Then she asks for a promise from her comrade that my body should not fall into the hands of the British under any circumstances. Saying these words, she died. So the loyal servants cremate Rani Laxmibai's dead body inside the hut. So that her dead body does not fall into the hands of the British.
Conclusion:
In this article we have seen that Laxmibai derives the title of Queen Laxmibai of Jhansi from Manikarnika. She did not follow the Khalsa policy of the British. Even the dead body of Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi does not fall into the hands of the British. Rani Laxmibai was born in Varanasi and died in Gwalior.
So readers, how did you like the story of Rani Laxmibai? What are the things which should be added more in this article? If anything is remaining about Rani Laxmibai in this article feel free to comment in the comment box.
Thank you very much for reading this article till the end.
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We will come back very soon in another article with such another women freedom fighter from Indian History, till then take care.
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