Rani of Jhansi
By Saurav BasuNovember 2007
Of all the characters in the epic mutiny of 1857; 150 years later there is one name which stands tall over all others and yet ironically was one who was neither the initiator of the mutiny; neither among the leaders until the last stage. Yet, in many ways she was alone in her magnificence, a singular figure among a gallery of heroes. [1] She was Lakshmi Bai; and that small town immortalized forever is Jhansi.
Jhansi is a small town in the province of Uttar Pradesh, part of the region known as Bundelkhand. The town still feels that it owes its fame to the young Rani; who ruled for barely four and half years. It keeps alive the memory of its beloved Rani with her image on horseback imprinted all over; at crossroads; on hoardings; in parks her ubiquity conforming what people believe.
The article is divided into smaller chapters:
- Brief history of Jhansi.
- Birth of Rani Lakshmi Bai.
- Arrival at Jhansi.
- Dalhousie & the Doctrine of Lapse
- Rani’s defense against this doctrine.
- Massacre and Muslim rule.
- Battle of Jhansi.
- Fall of Jhansi.
- Greatest of her Age.
1. Jhansi: a brief history
Bundelkhand’s warlike history is steeped in a historical tradition of repulsing the imperial Islamic armies and being in the vanguard of Hindu resistance by acting as a rampart in protecting the Hindu civilization of the Deccan. Way back in the 9th century, Rajput kings overthrew Afghan invaders. Bundelkhand lost its independence briefly to the Mughal armies; but reclaimed it finally under the able leadership of the queen, Durga Vati. As the head of the armies; she repelled three Muslim attacks, during the last of which she fell nobly fighting, on a heap of her slain countrymen. Travelers still place flowers or rock crystals at a monument raised by her people. [2]
The Raja of Orcha built the small citadel of Jhansi in 1615. In the 17th century; Aurangzeb, keen to establish Dar-Ul-Islam in India ordered a frontal attack in the region but in a stunning reverse was beaten back, and lost his generals to Chhatra Sal., a Bundela Sardar. The latter won independence for his region and until 1732 peace reigned in the region.
When a fresh onslaught came from the Muslim viceroy of the region, Chhatra Sal now old and infirm appealed to the Maratha Peshwa for help. He responded, and the Islamic armies were beaten back. Out of gratitude, he ceded a third of his territory to the Peshwa Baji Rao I. Jhansi was included in this territory.
Raghunath Rao; the Maratha General assumed the throne of Jhansi in 1759. He was an efficient administrator. He retired to the holy city of Benares, several years later; and was succeeded by his brother Shivaram Bhau. Bhau realizing the decline of the Maratha power; made an abject offer of unconditional surrender to the East IndiaCompany. The company naturally assumed him not to be an enemy, declined his offer of surrender, and confirmed him as a ruler. The greater achievement of both these rulers, was managing to maintain a cordial atmosphere and win over the Rajputs of Bundelkhand; who throughout history had no love lost for the Marathas.
When the Maratha Confederacy ceased to exist in 1818 after their dismal defeat in the second Anglo-Maratha war; Jhansi was recognized as an independent state of hereditary principality. Shivaram, finally quit his throne, became a sanyasin, and was followed by his grandson Ramachandra Rao, whose servility towards the British knew no bounds. He begged Lord Wellesley to allow him to hoist the Union Jack over the fort of Jhansi.
He would emerge as an object of much hatred, for he had left the state treasury almost empty and took no measures to control famines due to repeated bad harvests. The Rajput rulers of Orcha and Datia took advantage of the situation and a rebellion started brewing amongst the significant Rajput population of Jhansi [3]. By the time he died in 1835 at young age of 29, he was neither happy nor were his subjects. A even worse ruler, Raghunath Rao, followed him; who died within 3 yrs due to leprosy. But even within that short span his debauchery had rendered the treasury empty, and revenue collections had dipped below the 3 lakh mark. The British hastily decided that Gangadhar Rao; the descendant of Sheo Ram Bhao would ascend the throne. It was to this man, that Manu, the future LakshmiBai would be married and metamorphose into the legend that was the Rani of Jhansi!
2. Birth of Lakshmi Bai
Kashi (Benares) in the 19th century was home to over 30,000 Marathi Brahmin families. The Tambes were a Karhad Brahmin family from Vai in Satara. Balwant Rao Tambe, son of an ordinary soldier in the Peshwa’s army chose to reside in this holy city. Moropant and Sadashiv were his two sons. Moropant was married to Bhagirathi Bai from the Sapre family in Karar. Beautiful, and well versed in Hindu tradition, she gave birth to a beautiful daughter who was named Manikarnika [a synonym for the river Ganges], called Manu at home. The world would remember her as the Rani of Jhansi.
Her date of birth remains controversial but modern scholars unanimously propose 1828[4], overruling that of erstwhile scholars like Vrindavan Lal Verma who chose 1836.
The Tambes were a traditional Marathi family. Little Manu regularly visited the Kashi Vishwanath temple in her childhood and developed a deep sense of devotion and piety. They would later move to Bithur, where Baji Rao II, the last defeated Maratha Peshwa had migrated to from Poona, and ushered in a new wave of prosperity in an anonymous town.
The childhood of little Manu was different from that of any ordinary Indian girl. She was stubborn and would never take no for an answer. This indefatigable spirit would be the hallmark of her short military career too. Moropant had joined the exiled court of the Peshwa, Baji Rao II, along with his adopted son, Nana Sahib [another enigmatic and chief personality of the year 1857] along with Tatya Tope, arguably the finest native military campaigner of the same period.
Little Manu lost her mother at the tender age of four; and the heartbroken father chose not to marry again but instead brought up his only child with great tenderness and care. The motherless child would remain indomitable, and indulge in activities like flying kites, watching wrestling matches which hitherto were considered the domain of boys. She would learn to read and write with boys something that was not encouraged then but she was rebel. Among her girlfriends, she chose to play queen and those who disobeyed her were fined. Some English historians naturally detected a streak of the tomboy in her. However, she possessed every grace of the fair sex, and knew how to exploit the abundant feminine charms at her disposal as was evident time and again in her brief political and military career.
Significantly, her astrologer had correctly predicted that inspite of her humble origins she was destined to be queen and bring everlasting fame to her family.
Moropant Pande took the astrologer’s advice seriously and started grooming his daughter for the high position.Manu was given a thorough training in the Sanskrit religious texts, some of which like the Bhagavad Geeta she could quote verbatim, as evident from the only Indian eyewitness account of Vishnu Godse. Unlike the women of her times she as given special training riding horses, fencing, sword fighting and firing guns. [5]
A couple of incidents prove to her congenital determination and steadfast composure under adverse circumstances.
While riding Nana Sahib fell from his horse and was covered with blood. Aghast, he started howling and braying. Rather then getting petrified, Manu mounted him on the horse and returned home. She narrated the whole incident to her father without showing any emotion whatsoever. Her father was very proud of her. Late in the night, Manu asked her father, why was there so much fuss about such a trifling thing. Nana was not a baby, and his injury was so little. Manu promised she would never be cowed down by circumstances like Nana and all her life she would demonstrate unflinching courage [6]
Little Manu always wanted to ride an elephant. One day, the Peshwa asked her to go along with Nana and his brother Bala on an elephant joyride. The little girl was delighted and eagerly waited for the moment but Nana had not got over the chastisement he received at her hands the other day. In a vindictive mood he set without her.
Little Manu was angry but she stood defiant. Her father’s attempts to mollify her only helped in further insinuating her. Moropant lost his patience, and exclaimed that fate had no elephants in store for her. The epic words which are a constituent of each of her biographies were swift and sharp, and passionately prophetic “I am destined to have not one, but ten elephants!”
3. Arrival at Jhansi
Like other fathers Moropant Tambe too want to get his daughter married. His daughter was well past the age of puberty, and yet, he could find no suitable match for her. But he soon received a proposal from a Brahmin astrologer Tantia Dikshit; for marriage to the Maharaja of Jhansi, a widower without children.
Manu left her carefree days behind and assumed the name of Lakshmi. During the marriage ceremony; Lakshmibai said in clear, ringing voice “Tie the knot hard”. Her unfeminine conduct and boldness was shocking to the priests for whom a bride was to be reticent and put up a demure display. Nevertheless, she cast an impressionable appearance on most; and her declaration was considered as a solemn promise on her part to stand by her husband and people until death did them apart.
Her husband Gangadhar Rao was a controversial figure. Although the British had declared himself to be the official heir the entire district had fallen in complete disarray [7] due to the previous king’s debauchery and incompetence; coupled with natural disasters; and series of loot and plunder by the Bundela Sardars and increasing interference from the neighboring Rajput kingdoms of Datia and Orcha.
Gangadhar Rao appealed to the British for military help as he was helpless in maintaining control over his kingdom. The British took control of Jhansi in 1838. For 4 years Gangadhar Rao was a king without a kingdom but was ultimately restored his kingdom. It was for this reason that the British enjoyed a reputation for being just, if not noble; especially because they ensured that the kingdom had not been reduced to absolute anarchy during the troubled times. Moreover, the reinstatement of their king, by the British naturally put a favorable impression on the citizens of Jhansi.
But it is the personal character of Gangadhar Rao which has been the subject of most debate. Indian contemporary accounts especially that of Vishnu Godse have severely reprimanded him and alleged that few fathers wanted to hand their daughters to him. Why he remained a widower for so long remains a mystery. Moreover, Indian authors claimed that he was around 40 when Manu married him, but Tapti Roy has conclusively proven that he was in his late twenties at most. He was also a patron of theatre where he used to perform certain parts assigned to women. Although, in those periods, men used to enact the roles assigned to women, for verily this reason, rumors used to freely circulate that he was gay or impotent to which the king was totally oblivious. One can appreciate the fact, that why accounts of parochial Brahmins like Vishnu Godse steeped in traditional virtues, were highly critical of the Rajah, for they could not appreciate the nonconforming unorthodox attitude of his, especially when pitted against the orthodox and sympathetic attitude of the Rani.
Yet, in his second stint as king, Gangadhar Rao ushered in a new wave of peace and prosperity in his kingdom. His collection of horses and elephants were nonpareil, the royal court was elegant in its design, there was a library, which housed thousands of priceless handwritten and rare Sanskrit manuscripts, which was unfortunately burnt down during the siege of Jhansi. There was a remarkable decline in crime rates across the town. Gangadhar Rao appointed responsible men for security, and demarcated separate domains for each of them. He also improved roads and sanitation. As Atkison, a statistical officer noted, people spoke of his rule with fondness and blessed his soul. While hagiographic accounts of the Rani attribute all this to her coming as the embodiment of the goddess of wealth; the eminent historian Tapti Roy asserts that these were all proof of Gangadhar Rao’s accomplishments. She rightly proclaims him to a man of diverse talents, a sensitive person; who was an excellent ruler in his own right.
It might be fruitful to let the adage “behind every successful man is a woman” apply in this case. The Raja’s virtual initial stint as king could not even take flight. Yet, his second stint as king along with his wife, cannot exclude the latter’s colossal contributions which must have occurred behind the scenes. The Rani must have blended in the background of his work, supporting him, advising him and cajoling him into incessant action. Some of the fine temples constructed during this period in all likelihood must have received a substantial thrust from the highly religious Rani.
The Rajah’s relationship with the British was one of maintaining a deliberate distance.
Once he compelled the British cavalry to work on a Sunday because it fell on the occasion of Dussehra (by threatening to cut their wages.)
As for their personal relations, they must have been quite cordial. They cemented a deep bonding towards one another, and the Rajah often used to surprise her with myriad gifts. He unflinching broke tradition to go on a lengthy north Indian pilgrimage along with her, where she would get the chance to experience once again, the glory of the Ganges, on whose banks she had spent much of her childhood. The din of the temple bells of Kashi would rekindle her cherished memories again.
They would return after six months, with the news that the Rani had at last conceived. Almost the entire city of Jhansi, turned out to greet them. There was great rejoicing and fanfare. In time, she would give birth to a young son. But then disaster struck, as the child died in 3 months time. The whole city was engulfed in a pale of gloom. The raja was heartbroken, and became increasingly eccentric and soon began to be consumed by repeated episodes of bloody diarrhea.
4. Dalhousie and the Doctrine of Lapse
Dalhousie was perhaps the most ambitious of the governor generals in India. He was the first to destroy the power of the Punjab, and annex it. He ordered fresh enlistment in the army for expeditions into Burma. His final stroke was the annexation of Oudh, reasons being gross mismanagement by the Nawab. But his most audacious gamble was to proclaim the doctrine of lapse, which in Major Bell’s words “a disastrous and rapacious policy.”
According to this promulgation, the British government would directly annex any state whose king left no natural heirs, although traditional Hindu law allowed kings to adopt sons, to continue their rule and lineage. Surprisingly, the so called British fairplay was nowhere in sight, as not even a single question was raised in the British parliament against this move of Dalhousie. Blinded by greed, and the 4 million pounds in excess revenue generated in its wake, the queen and the British public left no stone unturned in eulogizing Dalhousie and deluging him with congratulatory texts. Indeed, at that moment, Britain for all its intellectual traditions, betrayed its real worth as a parochial nation of shopkeepers.
Satara, a kingdom in Maharashtra became the first victim of this farcical policy. It was soon followed by Jaitpur and Sambalpur in 1849. The next in line was the kingdom of Jhansi.
The Fate of Jhansi
Gangadhar Rao’s condition progressively worsened, and sensing the approaching danger, and to prevent the state from lapsing into British hands, he decided to adopt Damodar Rao, a child of around five, from the same family tree of the Nevalkar family. The deed was done in the presence of the principal nobles of his court and Major Ellis, political agent of Jhansi and Captain Martin, officer commanding Jhansi contingents [7] the king asked the British to remember his fidelity towards them, and treat the child and the widow to whom he had vested administrative rights with utmost kindness. Gangadhar Rao died in November, 1853, and rendered Lakshmi Bai, widow and queen possibly under the illusion that ‘native fidelity would be rewarded’ by the British masters.