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Thinkers and political figures

Nineteenth-century painted depiction of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi in armour.

Portrait: Contemporary depiction, artist unknown, via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab) · Public domain

Rani Lakshmibai

Country
India
Era
1828–1858
Tradition
Anti-colonial resistance

Queen of Jhansi who refused the East India Company’s annexation of her state under the doctrine of lapse and died in the field commanding her forces during the 1857 rebellion.

01

Documented positions

Documented positions come from the sources listed. Similarity is this project’s inference from those positions, and is a much weaker claim.

  • Rejected the East India Company’s refusal to recognise her adopted son as heir, and contested the annexation of Jhansi in law before taking up arms
  • Raised and commanded a force including a women’s regiment during the 1857 rebellion
  • Refused terms offered by the British in exchange for surrendering the fort at Jhansi
  • Joined with Tantia Tope to seize Gwalior in 1858 and died in the fighting that followed
02

Where it sits on each dimension

Nation and the world

92

Evidence: Well documented

Dimensions left unscored, for want of evidence: Wealth and inequality, The state in the economy, Personal liberty, Tradition and change, Religion and the state, Power and its limits, Environment and growth, Crime and punishment

Sources

  • Joyce Lebra-Chapman, The Rani of Jhansi: A Study in Female Heroism in India · University of Hawaii Press · 1986
  • Richard Collier, The Great Indian Mutiny · Dutton · 1964

Last verified: