Question

what was the role of rani lakshmi bai in the revolt of 1857????

Answer 1

The queen of Jhansi, Rani Lakshmibai, who died fighting the British during the 1857 revolt and became a supreme symbol of Indian nationalism, was born on November 19, 1828, in Varanasi (in present day Uttar Pradesh) in a Maharashtrian Brahmin family.

Answer 2

Manikarnika Tambe[1] otherwise known by her famous name, Rani Lakshmibai was the wife of Maharaja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar[2] who ruled the Jhansi province which was in turn a vassal of Maratha Empire[3].

In 1851 AD, Rani Lakshmibai gave birth to a son named Damodar Rao who died an infant in less than 6 months. Gangadhar Rao died in 1853. Days before his death, he adopted his cousin’s son Anand Rao and renamed him Damodar Rao.

The then British East India Company’s Governor General - Lord Dalhousie[4] applied Doctrine of Lapse[5] and decided to force the vassal state of Jhansi[6] into submission post Gangadhar Rao’s death. This didn't go well with Rani Lakshmibai. She was enraged initially but tried to work with the British on terms that are amicable to both the parties.

However in 1857, the revolt broke out in Meerut and began to spread as wild fire to neighboring kingdoms. When talks with the British failed, she turned to the Maratha General Tantia Tope[7] on the urging of her fellow supporters in the hope of taking over Jhansi fort. Tantia Tope did arrive with a strong army of 20,000 Men. However, he was soundly defeated by the British army and they had to flee and regroup and attack the British later.

In May 1858, Rani Lakshmibai, Tantia Tope and other rebels captured the Gwalior fort (The Gwalior’s king Maharaja Scindia[8] fled to Agra after his defeat in the battle of Morar). Rani Lakshmibai once again reached out to the British in the hopes of finding truce and a demand of Rs. 60,000 as pension. The British rejected the proposal and went into a full offensive mode demanding complete surrender.

This convinced Rani Lakshmibai to fight for independence and revolt against the British Rule in India. She fought in the battlefield against the British and finally perished in the ensuing battle.

Her revolt against the British rule and the imposition of Doctrine of Lapse by Lord Dalhousie forced her to take up arms in the hope of independence and freedom.

For being a young brave woman, mother of an infant child (adopted) and standing up to the might of British East India Company, she was hailed and regarded as once of the defining faces of 1857 Indian Revolt