Birth Anniversary Of Rani Lakshmibai:
The Prime Minister has paid tributes to the symbol of the bravery of Indian women power, Rani Lakshmibai on her birth anniversary(19th November 1828 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh).
- Rani Lakshmibai, originally named Manikarnika was one of the brave warriors of India’s struggle for Independence and the Queen of the Maratha-ruled princely state of Jhansi.
- She married Maharaja Gangadhar Rao at the age of 14, adopting the name Laxmibai. Her son died, and she later adopted Damodar Rao.
- In 1853, when the Maharaja of Jhansi died, Lord Dalhousie refused to acknowledge the child and applied the Doctrine of Lapse, and annexed the state.
- According to this, any princely state that was under the direct or indirect control of the East India Company where the ruler did not have a legal male heir would be annexed by the company.
- She was one of the leading figures of the Indian Revolt of 1857.
- Rani Lakshmibai fought bravely against the British to save her empire from annexation.
- She died fighting on the battlefield on 17th June 1858.
- When the Indian National Army started its first female unit (in 1943), it was named after the valiant queen of Jhansi.
