Impact of the highly improbable – Part 12

Rani reached Kalpi and fought against the British forces with Tatia Tope and Rao Sahib.

The combined forces of Rani were, however, routed by General Rose at the battles of Poonch and Kalpi. Lakshmi Bai then reached Gwalior and established the Peshwa's authority after defeating the Maharaja Sindia. At last, when Rose attacked Gwalior, she fought stubbornly to the finish, sword in both hands and the reins of the horse in her mouth, and died a glorious death in the thick of battle. She was cremated in a nearby garden where a memorial was erected after independence in honour of her martyrdom.

Mahasweti Devi reports the brief remembrances of Damodar who was only a child at the time. One in particular tells of how one 'evening in Gwalior came back to his mind over and over again when a loving glance from a pair of enormous eyes seemed to reach out towards him and then move far off - it was as if his mother was going far away, where one could no longer touch her.'

Understandably the Rani's funeral was carried out very quickly after her death since none could guarantee that she would be dealt with proper respect if they delayed.

Lakshmibai had two 'maids of honour' who accompanied her from Jhansi. Fortunately we know little more than their names, Mandar and Kashi Kumbin. Mandar is said to have been a childhood friend of Lakshmibai and was killed in the same incident in which Lakshmibai was fatally wounded. Kashi had stayed behind to look after Damodar. It was Kashi, according to Devi, who prepared the Rani for her funeral pyre and who with another close attendant of the Rani's looked after Damodar for two years before surrendering him to the British with the promise of safety. She then disappears from history.

One has to be impressed by their loyalty and courage. Their indomitable spirit inspires us. But then there were many such people even more anonymous, their acts unknown to history. We can only acknowledge the deeds of a few, and they must also stand for all these others.

Two days later the rebels left Gwalior making no attempt to continue the fight. The death of Lakshmibai seems to have utterly demoralized them. The 'impregnable' fort of Gwalior was easily retaken by the British.

Rani was thus cheated twice by the British. First was the way in which they annexed Jhansi on the death of her husband, the Raja Gangadhar Rao in 1854. Second, when they unjustly accused her of involvement in the mutiny and massacre that occurred in Jhansi 3 years later. And this of course was Black Swans ignored by the East India Company.

As a result of the actions of the British, and others, she plunged into the Warfield, transforming herself as the leader of an army and the most important personality of the Indian Rebellion. With her death the rebellion was over. It did erupt again but that’s a subject of another post in this series.

Today her name is commonplace throughout India, renowned as a leader of the Rebellion. The Queen, who fought the first war of Indian independence despite the challenges it posed. She inspired many to follow suit.

 But according to me she was more than a martial leader. In her brief time she cast aside many conventions to unite people of all castes and religions in her cause. She put aside purdah, which she only observed with respect to the British in any case, encouraged other women to do the same and trained them to fight and support the army;

 Lakshmibai was not the only Jhansi women to die fighting the British. She cut across the social norms of the time, refusing to accept her fate 'as a woman'. She cared for all her people, and consulted with them at crucial times, and carried them with her.

I would talk in next post what happened to others, why Indians lost the first war of Indian independence and what happened to the East India Company after the rebellion.

But this post is not for that.

I would like to have this post as a tribute to the remarkable women. It does not matter whether you are fighting with sword or with words. If you are fighting for your right while doing your duty then you are indeed a Lakshmi Bai.

In 1942, an all-women regiment of the Indian National Army formed to fight British colonial rule, was named in honour of the Rani of Jhansi. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rani_of_Jhansi_Regiment)

Indeed Rani is a symbol of Women empowerment.

Mahasweta Devi in her book Queen of Jhansi writes as follows (a small extract)

“Everywhere in Jhansi, Kalpi and Gwalior – ordinary people will tell you that the Queen will never die. Halfway between Bhandir and Jhansi people will tell you, that even now, Bai Saheba (Rani) sometimes appears at midnight. She is dashing off with her young son in the mare sarangi. In the faint moonlight, Bai Saheba’s pearl necklace and sword can be clearly seen. The ancient man who sells grass would say he has seen Rani Lakshmibai standing still as a painting on the fort wall. Tell them she is dead they would say “You just don’t know that’s all. The Queen hasn’t died! “Baisaheba jarur jinda houni”

Then where is Rani Lakshmibai?

Even today Rani Lakshmi bai is invoked and worshipped daily in Bundelkhand as goddess Durga, as Shakthi.

Is all the reverence people feel towards her just and overflow of emotion? Was there no basis for it? If we want to know that, we will have to go back in time and see the Bundelkhand 100 years ago. English trampled upon the heart of India with their booted feet and India let out a cry of pain from her broken ribs. It erupted as the rebellion

Rani Lakshmibai was an expression of what India felt in those times

Devi says “One truth rises above countless mistakes, flaws weaknesses and defeats of those days and that is of the first conscious rebellion taking place against the stranglehold of the foreign rule. As long as we are aware of that, the name of Rani Lakshmibai will be etched in our memory. No one will forget the Queen, even if there is no worthy memorial raised to her. As long as people insist “Rani margay na houni’ – The queen did not die, the Queen will be alive. It’s true that her body was consigned to flames on 17^th June 1858, but she is immortal. The Queen of Jhansi lives for ever in the heart of her people. In a sense she achieved what she desired; her name and that of Jhansi are inextricably linked, Jhansi will be 'hers' forever.”

If you want to find her, you will have to go to those places and get to know the people who still believe with all their hearts that their Bai Saheba never died. Then, out of the belief of these uneducated, poor, farming men and women, slowly the image of a unique woman will appear – an amazing woman from India’s lost days.

To be continued…