Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi

Lakshmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi, was one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and a symbol of resistance to British rule in India. She has gone down in history as a legendary figure, as India’s Joan of Arc.

After her marriage, she was given the name Lakshmi Bai. The Marriage ceremony was performed in Ganesh Mandir, the temple of Lord Ganesha situated in the city of Jhansi. Because of her father’s influence at court, Rani Lakshmi Bai had more independence than most women, who were normally restricted to the zenana: she studied self defense, horsemanship, archery, and even formed her own army out of her female friends at court. They became her bodyguards.

Rani died on 18 June, during the battle for Gwalior. She donned warrior’s clothes and rode into battle to save Gwalior Fort, about 120 miles west of Lucknow in what is now the state of Madhya Pradesh. The British captured Gwalior three days later. In the report of the battle for Gwalior,General Sir Hugh Rose commented that the Rani “remarkable for her beauty, cleverness and perseverance” had been “the most dangerous of all the rebel leaders”

However, the lack of any corpse to be convincingly identified as Rani convinced Captain Rheese of the so called “bravest” regiment that Rani had not actually perished in the battle for Gwalior, stating publicly that:”[the] Queen of Jhansi is alive!” Because of her bravery, courage, and wisdom and her progressive views on women’s empowerment in 19th century India, and due to her sacrifices, she became an icon of Indian independence movement.