On Rani Lakshmibai’s death anniversary: How the queen of Jhansi became an enduring nationalist icon

Rani Lakshmibai was the queen consort of the princely state of Jhansi. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

In consequence, the queen of Jhansi took the reigns of the kingdom in her own hands, reorganised the forces and fought the colonialists. Despite her vigorous attempt at fighting the British, she lost the battle and her life. Historian Harleen Singh in her book, ‘The Rani of Jhansi: Gender, History and Fable in India’ (2014) noted: “A figure of loss but not defeat, the Rani lost her family, her kingdom and died in battle, but she also became a legendary figure in Indian history.”

The nationalist reimagination of the Rani of Jhansi

In the years following her death, the figure of the queen of Jhansi became a legend with immense potential. Singh in her book described her as “India’s greatest heroine”. Her life and martyr-like death were easily transformed into myth and oral traditions.

From the late 19th and early 20th centuries onwards, her name came to be intimately connected with Indian nationalism. This was a period when the nationalist movement in India was picking up force, and leaders were on the look-out for historical figures who could represent resistance to colonial rule. Lakshmibai proved ideal in this regard, especially because unlike several other princely rulers who cooperated with the British, she symbolised resistance and sacrifice.

At a time when colonial authorities discouraged and censored sympathetic accounts of the 1857 rebels, the first nationalist depictions of the Rani were in the form of oral traditions. An early literary account written about her was that by Rabindranath Tagore in 1877 called, ‘Jhansir Rani’.

A milestone moment in the literary tradition around the queen was the publication of the poem, ‘Jhansi ki Rani’ by Subhadra Kumari Chauhan in 1930. The poem was performed by singer Shubha Mudgal at the 150th anniversary celebration of the Revolt in the Parliament in May 2007. The poem is especially remembered by the lines: ‘Bundelon harbolon ke mukh humne sunee kahani thee/ khoob ladi mardani woh Jhansi wali rani thi’ (We heard this story from the mouths of the Bundela clan/ It was the Rani of Jhansi who fought like a man).

Yet another work that was hugely influential in establishing Rani Lakshmibai as a nationalist heroine was Vrindavan Lal Verma’s 1946 novel, ‘Jhansi ki Rani Lakshmibai’. Historian Prachi Deshpande in her paper, ‘The making of an Indian nationalist archive: Lakshmibai, Jhansi, and 1857’ (2008) has observed that in Verma’s novel, the Rani was represented as an “idealised Indian womanhood” set in a site of “progressive Indian modernity with deep roots in tradition.”

One other noteworthy work from the 20th century was that of Mahasweta Devi’s ‘Jhansi Rani’ written in 1956. It shifted the narrative of Rani Lakshmibai by placing special attention upon folk traditions, stories, and oral testimonies especially from the subaltern sections of society.

Other attempts at cannonising the queen as a heroine of the freedom struggle included naming the women’s regiment of Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army (INA) as Rani of Jhansi Regiment.

The legacy of Rani Lakshibai continues to evolve more than a century after her death. She is celebrated as a freedom fighter, a pioneering and courageous woman leader, as well as a historical icon and is often invoked alongside figures such as Chhatrapati Shivaji and Maharana Pratap as a symbol of resistance and heroism.