| Luxmi Bai was born on 16th November 1835, in Varanasi (U.P.).
Her childhood name was Manikarnika or Manu. After the death of her mother
she came to Bithur with her father. In Bithur, she learnt horse riding and
martial arts. When she was eight, she was married to Raja Gangadhar Rao
of Jhansi and so Luxmi Bai was called the ‘Rani of Jhansi’.
In 1851, she gave birth to a son but by 1853, both her son and husband had
died. The Rani of Jhansi adopted a son under the ‘policy of lapse’,
but, the British Government did not recognize the adopted son and annexed
Jhansi in 1853. On 4th June 1857, the sepoy regiment stationed at Jhansi
rebelled. The British control broke down in Jhansi also and the British
representative himself asked the people to obey the Rani. |