Born as Manikarnika Tambe, the Rani Lakshmibai, known as Rani of Jhansi, was the Queen of Jhansi, an independently ruled state in India. She is known as the first female rebel in fighting the British’s rule of India.
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| Rani of Jhansi, painted shortly after her death in 1858. |
Born in 1828, Lakshmibai was one of the few women who were raised with the learning of reading, writing, shooting, horsemanship, and fencing. She contrasted the patriarchal cultural expectations for women in India’s society at this time.
"She [Lakshmibai] emerged as a symbol not just of resistance but of the complexities associated with being a powerful woman in India."
-Alisha Hardasani Gupta
"She [Lakshmibai] emerged as a symbol not just of resistance but of the complexities associated with being a powerful woman in India."
-Alisha Hardasani Gupta
Rani Lakshmibai was 14 when she was married Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, the Maharaja (King) of Jhansi when she was young. She became pregnant but lost her first child within their first year of life. By the time she was 18 he had died, leaving her to rule over Jhansi. When the Maharaja died the British East India Company put the Doctrine of Lapse policy into place over Jhansi. This policy basically took all power away from the Rani and they ultimately planned to take her land, money, and rights away from her.
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| Artwork of the Rani usually represents her as being feared and powerful. |
One specific aspect of the policy was that Lakshmibai’s child, Damodar Rao, who was adopted because her biological child died very young, was not going to be recognized as an heir. When the Rani heard this, she supposedly screamed out “I shall not surrender my Jhansi.” This shows the love and connection between this woman and the state she ruled as well as the British’s attempt to find loopholes in the government alliance they had formed with Jhansi.
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| In 2019 a movie about the life of Lakshmibai was released. Kangana Ranaut portrays Lakshmibai. |
This led to the Rani assembling an army of rebels, made up of both men and women and began the training process for the rebels. During the war the Rani supposedly tied her adopted son to her back and fought while carrying her son on her back. Eventually she escaped the war with other rebels but ended up dying on either the 17th or 18th of June in 1858, martyring herself for Jhansi.
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| An equestrian statue of Lakshmibai in Solapur, Maharashtra |
To this day, the Rani of Jhansi is known as being not only one of the first Indian rebels to truly change the reign of the British over India but was one of the most powerful female rebels to ever fight for their country.
The Rani of Jhansi is a cultural icon for India, but also for women and for all cultures of those who are oppressed. In 2019, Zee Studios produced a film adaption on the life of Lakshmibai that was selected for the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.
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The Rani of Jhansi is a cultural icon for India, but also for women and for all cultures of those who are oppressed. In 2019, Zee Studios produced a film adaption on the life of Lakshmibai that was selected for the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.
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Images:
1. British Library. Rani of Jhansi. 1850’s, http://www.copsey-family.org/~allenc/lakshmibai/gallery.html
Dharmadhyaksha. Laxmibai’s statue in Solapur. 1 January 2013, Wikipedia,
2. Swarup. “Jhansi ki Rani Lakshmi Bai.” Youtube, 29 May 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mks4egS-g3M
3. Marnikarnika Poster. Wikipedia,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Manikarnika_Poster.jpg
4. Dharmadhyaksha. Laxmibai’s statue in Solapur. 1 January 2013, Wikipedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rani_of_Jhansi#/media/File:Laxmibai's_statue_in_Solapur.JPG
Content:
Gupta, Alisha Haridasani. “Overlooked No More: Rani of Jhansi, India’s Warrior Queen Who Fought the Britist.” The New York Times. 14 August 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/14/obituaries/laxmibai-rani-of-jhansi-overlooked.html
India Today Web Desk. “All about Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, the young queen who became an icon against the British Raj.” India Today. 17 10 January 2019. https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/know-all-about-rani-lakshmibai-of-jhansi-born-as-manikarnika-tambe-1316804-2018-08-17
Maren Goldberg. “Jhansi.” Enyclopaedia Britannica,https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lakshmi-Bai
Marnikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi. Directed by Radha Krishna, Kangana Renaut, and Jargarlamudi, performance by Kangana Renaut, Atul Kulharni, Jisshu Sengupta, Vaibhav Tatwawaadi, and Mohammed Zeeshan, Zee Studios, 25 January 2019.
Hi Sarah! I really enjoyed reading your blog! It is so hard to believe how she was not only married off at such a young age but, also ruled an Indian city too! It's unbelievable how a policy was made to constrict her rights over the land after she had just became the ruler over it! This shows how men feel about women being in power and how they believe that they're incapable of doing it as well as a man could. Yet, Rani did not surrender there! Furthermore, the picture of Rani and her son on the horse is so powerful and the fact that she fought with him while in the war represents her willingness to fight for her country and her loved ones of her family. That's a true female warrior!
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