Nov 19, 2024

Why Manikarnika Tambe Is Know As "Jhasi Ki Rani"? All You Need To Know About Her

Komal Das

There isn’t a single person in India who does not know about the daring Jhasi Ki Rani and her courageous exploits against the British

Such is her legacy that even today, two and a half centuries later, young girls in the country are given her example of fearlessness and gallantry while growing up

Born as Manikarnika Tambe on November 19, 1828, in Varanasi, she rose to prominence as the "Jhasi ki Rani" and a symbol of Indian resistance during the Revolt of 1857

In 1842, Manikarnika got married to Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, the Maharaja of Jhansi and got the name of Rani Lakshmibai

Few years after marriage, in 1851, Manikarnika gave birth to a boy, but he couldn't survive and died after four months

Then Lakshmibai and Gangadhar adopted Rao's cousin's son, Anand Rao, who was later renamed as Damodar

Soon after they adopted Anand, Maharaja died due to an illness in 1853. Rani Lakshmibai was just 18 at that time

After the death of the Maharaja in 1853, the British East India Company refused to recognize their adopted son as the heir, leading to the annexation of Jhansi under the Doctrine of Lapse

After the death of the Maharaja in 1853, the British East India Company refused to recognize their adopted son as the heir, leading to the annexation of Jhansi under the Doctrine of Lapse

When British forces besieged Jhansi, she defiantly declared, “Main apni Jhansi nahin doongi” (I shall not give away my Jhansi), embodying the spirit of resistance

In March 1858, when British forces attacked Jhansi she defended the city with remarkable bravery, organizing an army and leading it against Sir Hugh Rose’s forces, despite being heavily outnumbered, she held off the British for two weeks before Jhansi fell

Eventually, Rani Lakshmibai escaped to Kalpi and then Gwalior, where she continued to fight alongside rebel leaders like Tantia Tope and Nana Sahib

After a fierce war, when the British army entered Jhansi, Rani Lakshmibai, tied her son Damodar Rao to her back and fought bravely using two swords in both her hand

Rani Lakshmibai died during the Battle of Gwalior on June 18, 1858. In a fierce confrontation with British forces, she was mortally wounded but refused to be captured alive

She lived and died for the country, we cannot forget her contribution to India and for her bravery, courage, struggle for independence she is called as " Jhasi ki Rani"

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"