Rani Lakshmibai was born on November 19, 1828, in the town of Varanasi into a Marathi Karhade Brahmin family. She was named Manikarnika Tambe and was nicknamed Manu. Her father is named Moropant Tambe and her mother is named Bhagirathi Sapre. Her parents came from Maharashtra. Her mother died when she was four years old. Her father worked for Peshwa Baji Rao II of Bithoor district. She was homeschooled where she learn how to read and write. She was very independent during her childhood compared to others of her age. Her studies included shooting, horsemanship, fencing and mallakhamba (aerial gymnastic) with her childhood friends. When engaging in activities like horseback riding, she was always accompanied by escorts and usually stayed around the palace and temple grounds. At times her escorts would carry her by palanquin. Her assets has been converted into a museum where it stores the archaeological history and antiques of the period between the 9th and 12th centuries. In May 1842, She married to Gangadhar Rao Newalkar of the Maharaja of Jhansi. After marriage she was called Lakshmibai in honor of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi in accordance to the traditions. She gave birth to a baby boy, named Damodar Rao who died after four months in 1851. The family adopted a child named Anand Rao, the son of Gangadhara Rao’s cousin, who was renamed Damodar Rao. The adoption was in the presence of the British political officer who was given a letter from the Maharaja family instructing that the child be treated with respect and that the government of Jhansi should be given to his widow for her lifetime. After the death of the Maharaja in November 1853, the British East India Company, under Governor-General Lord Dalhousie, applied the Doctrine of Lapse. Which meant that the British rejected the adopted son as heir to the throne and annex the state to its territories. When Rani was informed of this she refused to surrender her territory. In March 1854, Rani was given an annual pension and ordered to leave the palace and the fort. In May 1857, began the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in Meerut. When the news spread to Jhansi, Rani asked the British army if she could raise a small army of her own for protection. She spoke to her people in a ceremony and assured her people that the British were cowards and they should not be afraid of them. During the initial period of the war, Rani was reluctant to rebel against the British. Next month, a rebel unit had seized Star Fort of Jhansi and looted the treasures and magazines. The rebel unit and the British army negotiated for an armistice but the rebel forces didn’t follow the agreement. They slaughtered the European garrison officers and their families. There was no proof that Rani was involved in this incident but the British continued to regulate Jhansi. During August 1857 to January 1858, Rani was governing Jhansi and it was in peaceful times. The British mentioned that they will send forces to maintain control of the state but none arrived. Rani’s party grew stronger and more confident, which lead them to believe that they can fight for independence from the British. The British forces came in March 1858 commanded by Sir Hugh Rose. The commander demanded the surrender of the city. Rani’s party fought for their independence and continued to ask for neighboring support against the British. Overall the British were the superior force and Rani’s party had to flee from the city. They fled to a neighboring city that supported her cause but eventually, the British army came and defeated Rani again. Rani’s party fled to Gwalior and again they looked for neighboring aid and tried to hold the fort. In her death, it was a ritual for a hermit to burn her body as she didn’t want the British to capture her, and eventually, her people will cremate her.

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