1828 – 1858
The queen of Jhansi who rode into battle with her child on her back.
Born: 19 November 1828, Varanasi | Known for: 1857 revolt, defence of Jhansi | Famous words: “I will not give up my Jhansi.”
Manikarnika — lovingly called Manu — was born on 19 November 1828 in Varanasi. Unusually for a girl of that era, she grew up learning horse riding, sword fighting, and archery alongside boys, trained with the future Peshwa's household. She married the Maharaja of Jhansi and became Rani Lakshmibai. After her infant son died, the couple adopted a boy — and then the Maharaja died too, leaving the young queen alone with a child and a kingdom.
The British East India Company had an unjust rule called the Doctrine of Lapse: if a king died without a 'natural' heir, they simply swallowed the kingdom — adopted sons didn't count. They ordered the 25-year-old widow to hand over Jhansi. Her answer became a war cry that still echoes: 'Main apni Jhansi nahi doongi' — I will not give up my Jhansi.
When India's great revolt of 1857 erupted, the Rani turned Jhansi into a fortress. She trained her own army — including women — and when British forces besieged the city, she fought on the walls beside her soldiers. When the fort finally fell, she did the unthinkable: with her adopted son tied to her back, she leapt on horseback from the fort and cut through enemy lines by night. She fought on at Kalpi and Gwalior, dressed as a soldier, sword in each hand by legend, until she fell in battle on 18 June 1858. She was 29.
Even her enemies bowed to her courage. The British general who fought her, Sir Hugh Rose, wrote that of all the rebel leaders, 'the Rani was the best and the bravest'. The poem every Indian child learns — 'Khoob ladi mardani, woh to Jhansi wali Rani thi' (She fought like a warrior, that queen of Jhansi) — keeps her riding through India's memory forever. The INA's women's regiment was named after her.
Photo: Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons