Rani Lakshmi Bai: Some Unknown Facts About Jhansi Ki Rani

Rani Lakshmi Bai – The icon of India’s struggle against the Colonial rule, is still used as a synonym for patriotism, bravery, courage, and honour. She died fighting the British army, but the courage with which she fought inspired many during that time to raise their voice against the Colonial rule. The spark that she ignited spread all over India, and her legacy is still remembered and inspires women and men everywhere. We all have heard about her stories in books, TV, by our parents and grandparents. We all are familiar with the famous line “Khoob Ladi mardani woh toh Jhansi wali rani line thi.”

Today in this article, we will discuss some more unknown facts about this brave woman in India. Let’s get started.

Unknown Facts About Rani Lakshmi bai.

• She was born in a Marathi Brahmin family who lived in Varanasi.
• There are many conflicting views on the exact date of birth, but 19 November 1828 is accepted as her birth date.
• Her parents gave the name Manikarnika in her childhood, and she was often called ‘Manu’ in short by everyone.
• Her mother died when she was just four years old, and after that, his father took care of her. His father worked under the Peshwa named Bajirao II, who loved her a lot like her own daughter. He used to call her by a different name, ‘Chhabili.’
• She was raised differently from the other girls. Nana Saheb and Tatya Tope guided her during the early days and helped her master martial arts, horse riding, sword fighting, and many different fighting techniques. This made her utterly unique from other girls of her age and also made her more independent.
• She used horses a lot while moving over small distances and even between the temple and the Palace. Pawan, Sarangi, and Badal were few of the horses that she rode.
• At the age of 14, she got engaged to Gangadhar Newalkar. He was the King of Jhansi, and this was the time when she got her the most famous name, Laxmi Bai.
• There were many conspiracies against her infants as Britishers didn’t want the provinces of that time to have someone to rule as if there was no successor. That province would eventually go into the hands of Britishers as per the rules of the doctrine of lapse.
• The first child of Rani Lakshmibai was Damodar Rao, who was born in 1851, died soon after his birth when he was just four months old. She later adopted Anand Rao and changed his name to Damodar Rao. He was the son of her husband’s cousin.
• Her husband died the day before she adapted Anand, and the Britishers refused to consider Anand as her son and demanded her to surrender Jhansi to them. But she did not accept this and revolted against the doctrine of lapse with her famous slogan “Main Meri Jhansi Nahi Dungi.” She took all the city control in her own hands and protected it receive her last breath fighting bravely with the cunning Britishers.
• The commander Huge Rose described her as “the most dangerous of all Indian leaders.”
• During the war against the British army, she fought with the sword in her hands while carrying his adopted child on the back.
• On 17 June 1858, she died on the battlefield. Ahe was very much injured and caused a lot of loss to her enemies. The army feared her bravery and her sword.
• She demanded that her body not fall into Britishers’ hands and asked to be burnt by a local hermit.
• Her sacrifice and bravery inspired generations, and there was a unit a woman under the Azad Hind Fauj, which was led by the Subhash Chandra Bose, and that was named ‘Rani Jhansi’ regiment.
• Her PalacePalace is now a museum, and many places are named after her to honour her. Some of them are Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education, which is located in Thiruvananthapuram, the Lakshmibai National University of Physical Education, in Punjab, also a medical college -Maharani Lakshmi Bai Medical College which is located in her city Jhansi.
• Many statues of her are built at various places, and Indians still sing her memories.
• In 2019, a film was also released on the life of Jhansi Ki Rani. Kangana Ranaut played the role of the brave queen in this film- Manikarnika, and the help is worth watching.

Hope you enjoyed reading this article about the life of Jhansi queen.

Image Source: “commons.wikimedia.org.”