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Biography Of Rani Lakshmibai

LAKSHMI BAI

NAME  :  Lakshmi Bai (originally MANIKARNIKA)
DOB     :  19 November 1835
DEATH :  17 June 1858




                                                 Qriginally named Manikarnika at birth nicknamed Manu , she was born on 19 November 1835 at Kashi Varanasi to a Maharashtrian Karhade Brahmin family from Dwadashi, District Satara. She lost her mother at the age of four. She was educated at home. Her father Moropant Tambey worked at the court of Peshwa Baji Rao II at Bithur and then travelled to the court of Raja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, the Maharaja of Jhansi, when Manu was thirteen years old. She was married to Gangadhar Rao, the Raja of Jhansi, at the age of 14.



                                                 During that period, Lord Dalhousie was the Governor General of British India. The adopted child was named Damodar Rao. As per the Hindu tradition, he was their legal heir. However, the British rulers refused to accept him as the legal heir. As per the Doctrine of Lapse, Lord Dalhousie decided to seize the state of Jhansi. Rani Lakshmibai went to a British lawyer and consulted him. Thereafter, she filed an appeal for the hearing of her case in London. But, her plea was rejected. The British authorities confiscated the state jewels. Also, an order was passed asking the Rani to leave Jhansi fort and move to the Rani Mahal in Jhansi. Laxmibai was firm about protecting the state of Jhansi



                                                   After her marriage, she was given the name Lakshmi Bai. 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.



                                                   Rani Lakshmi Bai gave birth to a son in 1851, however this child died when he was about four months old. After the death of their son, the Raja and Rani of Jhansi adopted Damodar Rao. However, it is said that her husband the Raja never recovered from his son's death, and he died on 21 November 1853 of a broken heart.



                                                  Because Damodar Rao was adopted and not biologically related to the Raja, the East India Company, under Governor-General Lord Dalhousie, was able to install the Doctrine of Lapse, rejecting Rao's rightful claim to the throne. Dalhousie then annexed Jhansi, saying that the throne had become "lapsed" and thus put Jhansi under his "protection". In March 1854, the Rani was given a pension of 60,000 rupees and ordered to leave the palace at the Jhansi fort.



                                                    Rani Jhansi was determined not to give up Jhansi. She strengthened its defences and assembled a volunteer army. Women were also given military training. Rani's forces were joined by warriors including Gulam Gaus Khan, Dost Khan, Khuda Baksh, Lala Bhau Bakshi, Moti Bai, Sunder-Mundar, Kashi Bai, Deewan Raghunath Singh and Deewan Jawahar Singh.



                                                   While this was happening in Jhansi, on May 10, 1857 the Sepoy (soldier) Mutiny of India started in Meerut. This would become the starting point for the rebellion against the British. It began after rumours were put about that the new bullet casings for their Enfield rifles were coated with pork/beef fat, pigs being taboo to Muslims and cows sacred to Hindus and thus forbidden to eat. British commanders insisted on their use and started to discipline anyone who disobeyed. During this rebellion many British civilians, including women, and children were killed by the sepoys. The British wanted to end the rebellion quickly.




                                                   Meanwhile, unrest began to spread throughout India and in May of 1857, the First War of Indian Independence erupted in numerous pockets across the northern subcontinent. During this chaotic time, the British were forced to focus their attentions elsewhere, and Lakshmi Bai was essentially left to rule Jhansi alone. During this time, her qualities were repeatedly demonstrated as she was able swiftly and efficiently to lead her troops against skirmishes breaking out in Jhansi. Through this leadership Lakshmi Bai was able to keep Jhansi relatively calm and peaceful in the midst of the Empire’s unrest.



                                                   Up to this point, she had been hesitant to rebel against the British, and there is still some controversy over her role in the massacre of the British HEIC officials and their wives and children on the 8th June 1857 at Jokhan Bagh. Her hesitation finally ended when British troops arrived under Sir Hugh Rose and laid siege to Jhansi on 23rd March 1858. Rani Jhansi with her faithful warriors decided not to surrender. The fighting continued for about two weeks. Shelling on Jhansi was very fierce. In the Jhansi army women were also carrying ammunition and were supplying food to the soldiers. Rani Lakshmi Bai was very active. She herself was inspecting the defense of the city. She rallied her troops around her and fought fiercely against the British. An army of 20,000, headed by the rebel leader Tatya Tope, was sent to relieve Jhansi and to take Lakshmi Bai to freedom. However, the British, though numbering only 1,540 in the field so as not to break the siege, were better trained and disciplined than the “raw recruits,” and these inexperienced soldiers turned and fled shortly after the British began to attack on the 31st March. Lakshmi Bai’s forces could not hold out and three days later the British were able to breach the city walls and capture the city. Yet Lakshmi Bai escaped over the wall at night and fled from her city, surrounded by her guards, many of whom were from her women’s military.



                                                             Along with the young Damodar Rao, the Rani decamped to Kalpi along with her forces where she joined other rebel forces, including those of Tatya Tope. The Rani and Tatya Tope moved on to Gwalior, where the combined rebel forces defeated the army of the Maharaja of Gwalior after his armies deserted to the rebel forces. They then occupied the strategic fort at Gwalior. However on the second day of fighting, on 18 June 1858, the Rani died.



She died on 18 June, 1858 during the battle for Gwalior with 8th Hussars that took place in Kotah-Ki-Serai near Phool Bagh area of 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 Uttar 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".

BIOGRAPHY OF BHAGAT SINGH

NAME  :  Bhagat Singh
BIRTH  :   28 September 1907
DEATH :   23 March 1931

                                             Born into a Sikh Punjabi family which had earlier been involved in revolutionary activities against the British Raj, as a teenager Singh studied European revolutionary movements and was attracted to anarchist and Marxist ideologies. He became involved in numerous revolutionary organisations, and quickly rose through the ranks of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) to become one of its main leaders, eventually changing its name to the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in 1928

                               Bhagat Singh was born in British India during the year 1907. As a child he witnessed numerous atrocities committed on fellow Indians by their British rulers, who came to trade under the guise of the East India Company, but ended up controlling most of the nation, and permitting tyrants such as General Reginald Dyer to massacre thousands of innocent men, women and children in Jallianwala Bagh. As a child he was impressed by Mohandas K. Gandhi, especially his call to launch the non-cooperation movement, which led to thousands of people burning British-made clothing, giving up schools, & college studies, and government jobs – only to be let down by Gandhi himself when he called off the movement. Undaunted, Bhagat Singh decided to be a revolutionary, starting with getting into petty fights, then as a grown-up joining the Hindustan Republic Association. His father, Kishan, paid Rs.60,000/- and bailed him out, so that he could get him to run a dairy-farm and get married to a girl named Manavali.

                           When Lala Lajpat Rai was beaten to death by the police, Bhagat, along with Shivaram Rajguru, Sukhdev, and others daringly carried out the assassination of a police officer named Saunders, which eventually led to Bhagat's arrest, where he was lodged in a cell, tortured and beaten mercilessly. But being a revolutionary was in Bhagat's blood, and when the British proposed the Trade Disputes and Public Safety Bills, he would initiate the bombing in the Indian Parliament Building, along with Batukeshwar Dutt, be arrested, and tried in an open court. This is where Bhagat launched his much-publicized revolution, and became popular with the masses, especially the younger generation, laborers, and farmers, so much so that his popularity rivaled that of Gandhi himself.

                             Even in Lahore prison, Bhagat made headline news when he and other prisoners undertook a 63 day fast unto death to improve the conditions of Indian freedom-fighter prisoners. Then the British re-opened the Saunders' murder case, which led to death sentences being imposed on Bhagat, Shivram, and Sukhdev. The entire nation rose up in protest, including the Congress party – with the ball being in Gandhi's court – for he was due to sign the Irwin Pact, and Indians hoped that he would use this as a bargaining chip to save the lives of the heroic trio.

ALLURI SEETHARAMA RAJU

ALLURI SEETHARAMA RAJU


NAME :  ALLURI SEETHARAMA RAJU
DOB    :   July 4, 1897
DIED   :   1924
ALIAS :  Aluri  Rama Raju, Rama Chandra Raju, and Alluri Seetha Rama Raju


                                                                            Sri Alluri Seetarama Raju is remembered as a great son of India in the annals of Indian History of the early period of the freedom struggle. Born on 4-7-1897, in a renowned kashtriya clan, he fought against the mighty British war-machine, leading tribesmen of Andhra Pradesh with old traditional war weaponry and sacrificed his life true to his clan in the battle field. 
                                                                                 
                                                                            While he was studying at Kakinada he got his political contact with Sri Madduri Annapurnayya, a great freedom-fighter, and Rallapalli Atchuta Ramayya, a great scholar. At the age of 15, Raju was shifted to Vishakhapatnam for his studies. Though he had little inclination for school studies, he was very keen and began to accuire knowledge of political situation in India.
                                
                                                                              Sri Alluri Sitarama Raju went deep into Gond land where nearly a thousand tribals had sacrificed their lives during the first war of independence in 1857. He attended theA.I.C.C. session at Gaya in 1916 and at Kakinada in 1923 and got blessings of the top-ranking leaders of India. raju inspired and organised the tribals to wage war against the British, Soon Raju's plan of action took shape with vigour and quickness, on 22/8/1922.
                                                                     
                                                                                         Raju's Army raided Chintapalli Police Station, on 23rd Krishnadevipeta Police Station, and on 24th Rajavommangi and captured a good number of guns, bayonets and cartridges and swords. He set free the revolutionary, Veerayya Dora from jail. The British Army got alerted and platoons of Police and Army were sent to capture Setarama Raju. At Peddavalassa, Raju attacked the British Army. They were defeated during this battle and suffered very heavy casualties and retreated. From That day onwards there was a regular warfare between Raju and the Britishers. Raju came out triumphant in all.

                                                                                  Virtually for two years from 1922 to 1924 Seetarama Raju ruled over vast agency area and became a terror to the British rulers. Later British rulers deployed big contigents of Assam Rifles and others. Fighting a fierece battle, Raju laid down his life and attained martyrdom 

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